“Looking for inspiration and relaxation? It’s all in your own backyard.”
Report From An Opinionated Gardener – May 31 People come into the garden center at this time of year, see shrubs, trees or perennials that are in bloom and ask, “How long does this flower?” When I candidly answer, “About two weeks,” they say, “Oh…” and turn away. In many cases, if I were really [...]
Report From An Opinionated Gardener – May 24 My gardens, The Rapture and 1940’s gospel music have all rooted in my mind these past few days. Let me begin by asking this: Have you ever had a tune stuck in your head so that you wake in the night listening to your mind playing a [...]
Report From An Opinionated Gardener – May 6 Put this on your calendar for September of 2011: Plant a patch of tulips. Yes, I know what many of you are thinking. “Tulips only bloom well for one year and then they peter out so that by the fourth season you’re left with only some stray [...]
Report From An Opinionated Gardener – April 27 It’s so exciting to watch the perennial garden wake up in the spring. Plants that looked winter-worn or dormant two weeks ago are putting on daily growth. Only the most heat-loving perennials such as the hardy hibiscus are taking their time to emerge. From a distance perennial [...]
Report From An Opinionated Gardener – April 24 I confess that from the beginning of February to mid-April I’m orderning plants online. Some of these fall into the “I’ve always wanted one of these,” category and others are impulse purchases. In March I may read an article about a particular plant and think, “This sounds [...]
Report From An Opinionated Gardener – April 5 Everything is connected to everything else, and at no time is this easier to feel than in spring. All over the northern hemisphere, people are leaning into the growing season whether they are gardeners or not. And the plant people? Forget about it. We’re pouring into the [...]
Report From An Opinionated Gardener – March 31 It’s snowing, again. Still. I’ve decided to ignore it. Instead, I’m focusing on a talk that I’m giving at the Eastham Senior Center tomorrow morning. The topic will be, Give Me More Color!, and we’ll look at plants that deliver just that, be it through foliage or [...]
Report From An Opinionated Gardener – March 15 At the risk of beating the longing for spring to death, I want to confess that my impulse today was to scream at my landscape: “Wake UP!” I know my desire for the growing season to get on with it already is pointless…the seasons will do what [...]
Report From An Opinionated Gardener – March 14 Inch by inch, as I said in my last post. I heard from several people who replied that where they live snow still blankets the landscape. My brother who lives in Atlanta tells me that the Bradford Pear tree outside his window is in full bloom. Spring [...]
Report From An Opinionated Gardener – March 12 We make our way toward spring. Taking pleasure in one small Helleborus orientalis or the Schlumbergera truncata (Thanksgiving cactus) that’s in full bloom again. Rejoicing in a day that is over 40 degrees. Being grateful that every day above freezing thaws the soil just a bit more, so [...]
