Not long before I left New Jersey, I visited The Cloisters in New York City. By definition, a cloisters area is an open hallway that surrounds a protected garden. It is a natural walkway where monks and nuns might retreat into nature and still have a degree of protection from the elements, like wind, rain,…
Lil Dicky’s Earth Music Video Goes Viral – If the Lyrics Were A Little Cleaner, It Could Be Dynamite for Children’s Programs
In 1985, Michael Jackson and over 40 other musical greats came together and recorded the music video We Are the World. I had long been a bit of an old hippie. In fact, I sang in a folk group during the ’60s, and I grew up singing songs of love, hope, and peace. Does…
Sweet Autumn Clematis – A Fragrant, Evergreen Vine That Grows in Partial Shade
I love the smell of old roses, and I would love to plant them all around my porch–close to where I sit. But my porch doesn’t get much sunshine at all–and every rose needs a lot of sun. In mid-summer, it is too hot to sit outside during the day, but I love to sit…
I Wonder the Weeds! Who Decides What Is A Weed? Spotlight: Dandelion
A Weed Is but an Unloved Flower – Ella Wheeler Wilcox When appraising nature, I am perplexed by the question, “Who decided that some plants were weeds that looked like flowers and who decided which were flowers?” Take for instance the common violet that weaves a purple and green carpet across my lawn in spring….
Trying to Define A Cottage Garden
In his introduction to The Cottage Gardener’s Companion: A Seasonal Guide to Plants & Plantings for Informal Gardens, Douglas Taylor said that cottage gardens are like horses. They are easier to recognize than they are to describe: “Perhaps the chief hallmark is informality.” He observed that the old cottage gardens did not have lawns because…
When Spring Comes to the Cottage Garden
“Long before winter is ready to leave the cottage garden, spring has started to coax blossoms from the bare branches and the cold dark soil. Hazel twigs are hung with yellow ‘lamb’s tail’ catkins, and the mahogany wands of pussy willow are studded with beads of silvery white. Buds are plumping along the Chaenomeles’ knobby…
It Is Spring, But I’m Preparing for My Autumn Garden – Planting Sedum Autumn Joy
It’s only April. The daffodils only quit blooming a few days ago. My climbing roses are just beginning to leaf out and reach toward the arbor. My hollyhocks are barely out of the ground, and last winter’s pansies are still in full bloom. But today, I began thinking about fall, and I planted 5 Sedum…
Up from the Grave, He Arose – At Easter, We Remember the Ever-Renewing Power of Spring
Perhaps everyone feels this way, but I cannot help but notice that I experience an abundance of ups and downs in my life. It is almost seasonal. Of course, all of us are moving toward an inevitable final winter, the last season of our lives, but in addition to that, we experience repeated seasons–repeated winters,…
Which Is the Better Value Miracle-Gro Garden Soil on Sale or Plain Timberline Topsoil?
Spring is the biggest season for gardeners, and garden centers have traditionally established a date in either March or April to sell soil, mulch, plants, etc, at great sales prices. The 2019 Spring Black Friday sales run from April 4 until April 17, and I plan to stock up on Miracle-Gro Garden Soil for In-Ground…
Plants for My 2019 Garden – Lists of Plants by Height
This is my first full gardening year after having moved to the Ozarks, and I have the opportunity to plan what I want in my garden and where I want it. There are several considerations. The amount of light and/or shade in a garden space is vitally important to where I’ll plant, but I’ll also…