garden angst

Preserving the Harvest or Preserving Sanity?

By |2020-07-12T22:01:11+00:00July 24th, 2020|

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 [...]

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 [...]

Weed Smart: Tools and Tips

By |2019-09-20T21:10:40+00:00September 13th, 2019|

Printed directions and warnings for products that require only a modicum of common sense exhaust me. Yesterday I purchased a vanity mirror with accompanying booklet in four languages on how to a) plug it in and b) turn it on.  On page four were various line drawings in red and black depicting line people being [...]

New House. New Garden. New Choices

By |2019-09-12T17:09:25+00:00September 6th, 2019|

Friends have recently moved into their This-Is-The-One.  ‘Exciting’ doesn’t seem strong enough to capture the emotions that such a move elicits.  There is excitement, certainly, and joy; but also sadness in the changing of neighborhoods, of community, and in losing the familiar daily routines that quietly build the foundations we rely upon. Two weeks ago, [...]

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 [...]

Plant Propagation: With Great Cuttings Comes Great Responsibility

By |2018-08-02T21:04:50+00:00August 3rd, 2018|

When I give you a cutting, it’s more than likely I’m going to remember. It’s not that I’m obsessed, controlling or critical (that’s a different conversation held when I’m not around), it’s simply that I love my plants. If someone expresses an interest that goes beyond “Hey that’s pretty.” I jump on it, usually offer [...]

When Renovation Meets Landscape: Top Ten Tips for Dealing With It

By |2018-07-06T21:44:51+00:00July 6th, 2018|

In the first few days of March, a freak windstorm used a dying ash tree to create mayhem in our lives. The roof came out of that attack with over twenty holes, some of which came right through the ceiling. The chimney was cracked. The deck lost railings. Supporting beams were split and the seals [...]

Weeks of Water

By |2018-06-04T16:16:46+00:00June 6th, 2018|

Last night my husband and I were awoken by yet another storm pounding on what currently passes for a roof around here.  After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling thinking about the gutters, the bridge, the foundation, the tarped roof, the barn, the trees and the newly sand-mortared patio amongst other night terrors, [...]

The Patience to Wait

By |2018-04-11T00:20:22+00:00April 10th, 2018|

  Great gardeners and optimists know that a dead plant represents an opportunity to grow something new. But what of a dead tree? What of five? So much opportunity at one time can cloud a mind already weakened by the fumes of a chainsaw. It’s probably best then to stifle knee-jerk reactions – particularly the [...]

In The Frenzy of Spring, Remember The ‘Why’

By |2018-04-02T18:40:00+00:00March 30th, 2018|

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 [...]

Ashes to Ashes: The Legacy of The Emerald Ash Borer

By |2018-03-24T15:04:45+00:00March 23rd, 2018|

About two years ago in the early winter months, I spied three pileated woodpeckers on an ash tree outside my office window and immediately felt like an Audubon rock star.  These are large, colorful birds – the sight of which gives the amateur birder a feeling of accomplishment. The sight of three sent this ignoramus [...]

East Coast / West Coast: We’ve All Got Our Issues

By |2018-02-23T20:15:17+00:00February 9th, 2018|

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 [...]

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