“Plant for foliage!” is a term you have probably heard a great deal over the last few years. But then you’ve probably also heard “Plant for pollinators!” and more than likely you’ve heard both slogans here (though I do try and stay away from the excessive use of exclamation marks in my proselytizing). But if [...]
Thankful as most of us are for the drenching rain this weekend and thunderstorms this week, it remains a hot summer with wasps and Johnson grass around every corner. Spring gardeners are leaving their hard-core cousins outdoors as they beat a hasty retreat to air conditioned sunrooms, prosecco glasses in hand. Any further gardening will [...]
Muttering to oneself in the garden must have been at an all-time high this week. Quite apart from the fact that it is July and there is mandatory muttering to be done after the expensive party that is spring, having to endure day after day of high heat and cloudless skies is enough to coax [...]
There’s something new on Frederick County’s plant scene. Perhaps you’ve seen signs in your neighborhood, pointing you in the direction of a garden center that you’ve heard about, but never visited. Perhaps you’ve been driving along a country road in Jefferson only to screech to a halt in front of a wild and wonderful assortment [...]
Shopping for plants is good. Shopping for heirloom vegetables is even better. But when you combine those plants and veggies with a hand-crafted beer, then add a band, a food truck and a lot of loungeable patio furniture on a weekend in the summer, you have the makings of Heaven on earth. That’s the vibe [...]
‘One must be cruel to be kind’ is a hackneyed phrase that must have originated in a garden setting. Where else do men and women of good conscience perpetuate extreme acts of violence without a moment’s thought or consideration of that conscience? Once the deed is done – be it dismemberment or execution – ‘tis [...]
May has dawned, and with it, the realization that my edges will have to be seen to. I speak of course of garden beds. There is little that can be done to smooth the sharpness of my tongue and it certainly needs no further definition. There are many ways to approach this problem, and [...]
We all believe (as Garden Geeks) that the minds we have at twenty-four will stay supple and fit, able to remember a thousand genera and ten thousand named species at a moment’s notice – not that we have much call to provide such information at a moment’s notice (at that age) unless we’re lucky enough [...]
For many gardeners, the new plants that we stumble upon each year at our nurseries, feed stores and big boxes are happy accidents. We are attracted by color, texture, shape, vigor and a host of other characteristics that encourage us to take it off of the rack and place it in our cart, and..well…why [...]
Not satisfied with feeling overwhelmed with spring cleaning, spring wardrobe changeover, spring home repairs and spring holiday plans, I thought it might be clever to go outside last week, pick up a trowel and increase my anxiety in the spring garden. Beginning the process means a shift in priorities and a horrifying realization of everything [...]
Beautiful vegetables? What is she talking about? Aren’t all vegetables beautiful? For those who live and breathe a garden life and not just a garden life-style, the answer is of course yes. Even flopping potato vines are attractive when you know that there are forty pounds of soon-to-be buttered lusciousness a few [...]
Over the first half of this month I have been in California. Surely an insensitive way to start a column in a Mid-Atlantic newspaper, but I ask you to set aside your envy for a moment. There is both more and less to this statement than you might assume. Almond orchards a few [...]
Whether you like it or not, planning what you’re planting in the season ahead is less important than figuring out what you’ll be planting it in. Soil matters, and can spell the difference between healthy, beautiful plants that resist the malevolent forces of Mother Nature, or weak, pest-infested plants that you have to stop yourself [...]
If you look carefully, there are very few places teeming with more stories than an airport terminal. In more innocent days when such things were still allowed, I’d hang out occasionally at the international arrivals gate watching people reconnect after time apart. The idea that I should have so much free time on my hands [...]
I’ve got better priorities. Granted, this is a pretty gutsy thing to say as a garden columnist, but before you revoke my license, let me tell you exactly why I think it’s critical to share this with you. I try very hard to live what I write. That is, if I spend an [...]
My mother has seed packets that are older than I am. Frugality plays a role here I am sure, but nostalgia is probably at the heart of it. I still keep a somewhat crumpled Martha Stewart packet, long emptied of its thyme seeds, just to remind me of how high-end marketing and softly lit photos [...]
This week, five tips for beginner gardeners just starting to plan their spring gardens. Tip #1. Keep it small Whatever else I try to do in this column, my overriding goal is to encourage more life-long gardeners, and nothing makes a person feel more inadequate and exhausted than biting off more than they can [...]
Many activities we perform in this life (and which others might never consider) are undertaken simply because we saw them modeled for us as children or young adults. Exposure to these skills helped us understand that they were far from magical, and that we were most likely capable of doing them ourselves at some point. [...]
Now that the garden has gently shifted into architecture and mush, it’s time to reflect on the plants we grew this season and decide whether we’ll continue to grow them for seasons to come. Whether sexy new introductions or old favorites, plants excite each one of us for totally different reasons and what lights [...]
The last of the tomatoes are ripening on the vine. Many more are currently ripening on the ground after a spate of blustery weather, and it takes a Herculean effort on my part to pick them this morning, as it is not just the harvesting but the promise of preparation implicit in the gathering that [...]
