January 30th, 2012
GUILT FREE FOXGLOVES I really should write a column about growing tomatoes. The catalogs are coming in fast and furious now, and they are full of tomatoes and other edibles. Even nurseries like White Flower Farm, longtime bastion of ornamental plants, are selling at least a few tomatoes, strawberry plants and berry bushes. It is heartening that people are growing their own food and I will undoubtedly do a bit of that myself once again this year. ... (click here to read the full article)
January 23rd, 2012
SPRING ORDERS Spring is leaping up from the pages of the catalogs that arrive by snail mail every day. The e-mail traffic from the plant vendors is also surging, with new offers and enticements appearing on an hourly basis. My head spins at the color and the variety. My heart sinks—but only a little—at the thought of what my garden fantasies would cost if allowed to go unchecked. But now I have to get serious. The ... (click here to read the full article)
January 15th, 2012
IZNIK We are currently enjoying a mild winter, but even so, I miss my garden and the flowers that provide me with inspiration during the growing season. My front beds are full of clusters of emerging daffodil tips, but instead of giving me joy, their presence this early worries me. The holly trees are bright with berries and there are flashes of color from other fruiting species, but those flashes are only tantalizing pinpoints. I need more. Last ... (click here to read the full article)
January 9th, 2012
BOOK REVIEW: Mr. Marshal’s Flower Book I love garden books so much that my bookshelves are listing under the weight of my collection. Reference volumes have always been in the minority on my shelves because I favor books that go beyond the “how” of gardening, to the “why” of gardening. After all, I can do an internet search and find five thousand articles on how to plant a tomato, but I find it infinitely more enlightening to ... (click here to read the full article)
