In looking through hundreds of articles written over the last fifteen years – and particularly for those written at this time of year – I realize that I not only have a soft spot for May, but a blind spot. To read these articles, usually penned at this point in April for the glorious lusty [...]
The day before Christmas, I was gathering colorful ‘Arctic Fire’ cornus twigs in the garden, and was feeling content about the fact that the surrounding scene wasn’t the winter wasteland it once had been. Creating a garden that can stand proudly – or at least unashamedly – when leaves are gone and soils are grey [...]
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 [...]
December is upon us, the spirit is in the air, and you have an itch to try the whole wreath-making thing again. Except...you've never really nailed the art of wreath making. 'Spindly' and 'amateurish' are words that figure prominently in the memories you haven't already blocked, followed by 'lop-sided,' and 'award for participation.' Perhaps you'd [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
Inevitably, the time will arrive when many gardeners will consider starting their own seeds indoors. Perhaps it is the threat of being faced, once again, with only two tomato varieties at the big box retailers, and the shock at paying premium prices for the much greater selection available at a nursery. Perhaps it is the [...]
I have received more than a few emails from readers wondering why I haven’t been more active on this blog over the last three months. And for some reason – guilt perhaps – the latest, thoughtful, “Is everything okay?” once answered, did succeed in provoking a painful but involuntary spasm in somewhat atrophied blogging muscles. [...]
Three warrior species are battling for dominance on the hillside outside my kitchen window. It is a cliched phrase in the garden writer’s book of spells, but it is nonetheless apt. Tiny, passive – but aggressive – moves are made every minute under the soil while I wash dishes or sip my coffee or water [...]
There are few things more magical than a snowfall, and few terms more overused to describe it. Nonetheless, the cliché communicates the outright miracle of slowing a world that refuses to slow itself. As the flakes fall, and the cardinals and Jenny wrens bob back and forth from feeder to trees, I am entranced. 24 [...]
Much work, much love and not a few moments of sheer panic have gone into the beautiful book that you now see up on the website and on Instagram and Facebook. The industry reviews from both the US and the UK are in, and they are wonderful -- and humbling! But I'm not so humble [...]
The symbolic promise of a new year is not enough for me this time around. Normally happy to raise my glass and cheerfully throw out The Old as the clock ticks towards midnight, this year I am not so simple-minded as to think that the Fates look at December 31, 2020 and January 01, 2021 [...]
To walk through a young garden in winter is a courageous act when the garden is your own, and the budget, diminutive. We forget how much frosting the active growing season naturally spreads over an imperfect cake – or indeed, how much frosting the resourceful amongst us can whip up with the aid of dramatic, [...]
At this time of year there is much advice floating around to “use natural materials” to create amazing holiday decorations cheaply. Indeed I’ve floated much of it myself. However, for the average suburban or urban dweller with little land at his or her disposal, it might not be second nature to make the most of [...]
At the top of my driveway, slightly hidden on a south-facing slope that could less generously be termed a rocky mound, there is a small gathering of snowdrops and eranthis that in a few short months will poke up amongst the stones and the chickweed. This grouping is visible only to those that pass our [...]
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 [...]
For three days I haven't been fun to live with. Preserving the harvest, fulfilling my writing deadlines, managing my family’s outrageous expectations of motherhood, and doing all of this without losing my ever-living mind. Even the dogs are keeping their distance. Oh, and there’s something else…What was it?….Ah yes. The garden. I actually have to [...]
On the way to the chickens this morning I placed my coffee mug on the ground in order to tidy the fading blooms of a primrose. I can clearly see now that setting down the mug was the point at which I lost control of the situation. A one-handed tidy performed indifferently from the walking [...]
Miraculous spring. In the midst of the worry and panic that currently grips the nation, I am thankful at least that the Northern Hemisphere is emerging into this soul-lifting season. The weather is warming and the earth is awakening – just as we need more access to our outside world and more opportunities to be [...]
It’s early morning in late fall; and as you sprint to the car, your eyes are caught and held by the incredible holiday container display sitting by your neighbor’s front door – a display you know was all about the beauty of autumn just yesterday morning. Berries, pinecones, magnolia leaves and a huge variety of [...]
