Ornamentals

Hie Thee To a Garden!

By |2019-07-11T17:17:16+00:00May 12th, 2019|

May is here. Whether you’re a gardener or merely a part-time forest-bather, those words have got to get your heart pumping.  This year I admit to feeling that we haven’t quite earned it (the winter being so mild), but I will accept the gift nonetheless.  It is my favorite month of the year, and ironically [...]

The Carefree Magic of Zinnia

By |2023-02-02T12:25:11+00:00March 29th, 2019|

Sometimes we need an easy win. We need a riot of color that looks like we planned it, even if we didn’t. We need ‘low maintenance’ and ‘average soils.’ We need something along the lines of ‘direct sow’ and ‘blooms from summer ‘till frost.’ And while we’re at it, we’ll take ‘deer resistant,’ ‘drought-resistant’ and [...]

First, Do No Harm

By |2019-03-14T19:21:48+00:00March 15th, 2019|

I intended yesterday to have a little walk around the place, observing what was and what wasn’t coming up. And I did. But these things always evolve (some would argue, devolve) into a large scale something or other, and before I knew it, I had taken the serpentine bed almightily in hand.  A strong, sexy [...]

Flexibility in the Midst of Uncertainty: A Chat with Scott Aker

By |2019-01-22T21:27:14+00:00January 25th, 2019|

In the last days of 2018, there was one email I looked forward to each morning in amongst the coupons and the Groupons and the chaff and the wheat that now passes for correspondence in the 21st century. It was from Agrible, Inc.® - an agricultural and commercial service headquartered in Illinois that provides farmers [...]

Experimentation as Energy: Lessons from Great Dixter

By |2018-11-30T18:20:20+00:00November 30th, 2018|

Just before leaving for Great Britain three months ago, I threw an overnight case in the back of a friend’s overworked Prius and headed down to Raleigh to attend a lecture being given by Fergus Garrett, head gardener at Great Dixter, and the Chief Executive of its charitable trust. Many gardeners, especially those who read [...]

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 [...]

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