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,…
Month: April 2019
Moonflowers & Other Plants for a Night Garden – Free Night Garden Plan
The scents that waft from my garden are almost as important to me as the appearance of the plants. In mid-summer, it is too hot to sit outside during the day, but I love to sit outside and sip a glass of wine while I watch the sun wave goodbye to the day. Because I…
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…