Fall

Why I Use a Garden Auger to Plant Bulbs; And When It’s Not A Great Idea.

By |2022-12-28T21:48:51+00:00December 28th, 2022|

Yes, I know. We could have done with this post about two months ago.  But two months ago I was planting bulbs and didn’t have time to write it.  Still, there’s a good chance there are more than a few of you with boxes of bulbs that haven’t gone in yet, and very little time [...]

#HouseplantVacation is Over For the Season. Here’s What to Do. And When.

By |2022-09-28T20:30:27+00:00September 28th, 2022|

I wrote this article originally for The National Garden Bureau, of which I'm a proud member. However, the info is so important, I asked to reprint it here for the benefit of my readers too .  I hope you enjoy it and find a few tips for making the transition from garden plant to houseplant, [...]

New Trick for an Old Gardener: Planning and Designing EXACTLY what I want.

By |2022-09-22T17:32:41+00:00September 22nd, 2022|

Last weekend I started the process of becoming professionally serious about a small area west of my fenced kitchen garden. It's functioned as a mini-wildflower meadow (and then general eyesore) for the last four or so years.  With the advice and help of the talented horticulturist, designer and author Gregg Tepper, I’m diving into the [...]

On Podcasts, Conversation, and My Column with The American Gardener

By |2021-09-24T14:31:03+00:00September 24th, 2021|

From Margaret Roach to Niki Jabbour, I’ve been asked to do many podcasts and radio shows over the last few months due to the publication of Tropical Plants and How To Love them – opportunities for which I’m extremely grateful. I’ve enjoyed each one of them tremendously. My kids would say that this is because [...]

Growing Windflowers for Late Season Color

By |2020-09-20T00:17:26+00:00September 19th, 2020|

Effusive, late-season displays of color become harder to come by as the days become cooler, which is why I enjoy growing the bright, carefree wands of windflower in my garden, and always make room for their clumping foliage between other spring and summer flowering perennials. Paired with berried shrubs, reddening foliage, maturing tropicals, and other [...]

Garden Regionally. Get Inspired Globally.

By |2020-04-18T18:28:27+00:00October 18th, 2019|

I can't resist a challenge.  And neither, apparently can Scott Beuerlein of Horticulture & Garden Rant.  Thus, my rebuttal to his rebuttal to...well, you get it.  She-devil? Me? Somewhere near the bottom of every writer's artistic license, a clever wordsmith will find the following recommendation: "Comically exaggerating the position of one's opponent is encouraged in [...]

Weed Smart: Strategies to Accomplish More with The Time You Have

By |2019-09-20T15:11:12+00:00September 20th, 2019|

September has suddenly turned.  Last night on the deck we ate an al fresco dinner of bratwurst, sauerkraut and apples with heaps of coarse mustard on warmed plates and I found myself thinking out loud about a large fire in the hearth on the other side of the window. My husband stared at me wordlessly [...]

Decorating The Thanksgiving Table with Natural Materials

By |2018-11-23T15:38:48+00:00November 21st, 2018|

It’s Thanksgiving morning.  What have you forgotten? You’ve thrown the turkey in the oven, the stuffing is made and on its way to being glorious, and your sister is bringing the rolls and jello. In a few minutes the game and/or parade will start blaring from the living room and you can start to relax. [...]

Right Plant, Right Place – The Wisdom of Beth Chatto

By |2018-11-16T20:01:10+00:00November 16th, 2018|

“We lost too many plants in our impatience to possess them, because we had not achieved the proper growing conditions.” - Beth Chatto, The Beth Chatto Handbook _______________________________ If ever a sentence deserves a garden writers' gold medal for excellence and simplicity, it is this one, written decades ago by gardener and garden designer, the [...]

Houseplant Madness

By |2018-11-07T16:34:51+00:00November 7th, 2018|

In a corner of my office under a table sporting a large philodendron and other miscellaneous greenery, there sits a large, gifted stack of ‘70’s era Horticulture magazines waiting quietly for a rainy day and the resident gardener who finds enjoyment in such things. That metaphorical day arrived last week – for the literal one [...]

The Berries of Autumn

By |2018-10-29T09:55:14+00:00October 27th, 2018|

Pumpkins. Cinnamon. Wood fires and Robert Frost. With familiar regularity, autumn evokes in us an emotional response and draws us back to center as winter approaches.  It softens the knowledge of what is to come and gives us time (if we choose to take it) to reflect on what has been. I think this is [...]

Title

Go to Top