If there were to be a contest for the most sorely neglected culinary herb, lovage would certainly rank among the top five candidates. I first encountered this member of the parsley family two decades ago, not so much because I’d heard tales of its tastiness, but because I was curious to learn how a plant [...]
I spent an idyllic weekend in far northern Vermont this past Memorial day, one afternoon of which was occupied in helping my friend Christina and her son Julian put in their vegetable garden. As part of the process, we stopped by a local nursery, where I was forced, FORCED, I tell you, to acquire several [...]
One of the nicest things about gardening is that it’s a hobby easy to share, and around the world there are folks with fabulous landscapes just waiting for someone to ask: may I see your lovely garden? That request, golden to any proud gardener’s ear, will open almost every door, if asked politely, and can [...]
I was raised in a family where every penny needed to do double duty, so I learned early the value of preventing waste and preserving what you were given. These lessons followed me into the garden, where I’ve generally been pretty successful in maximizing nature’s bounty – my previous posts on harvesting honey and canning [...]
(Singing) Oh…… it’s so GOOD to be a turtle, on a sunny September’s morn! I just had to share this picture with you. I found this little guy – he’s only 2″ long – earlier this summer – in fact, I almost stepped on him (or her) mowing the lawn. He must have just hatched, [...]
This is a quick post just to alert all you folks who have previously subscribed to my newsletter that it’s now been converted into an illustrated blog. So please, take a look around, read a bit, and if you like what you see, tell your friends! I update the blog three or four times a [...]
My daily walk through the vegetable garden, normally so pleasant, could this morning only be described as dismal. Seventy tomato plants – the pride of my growing activities – are all in various stages of decay and death, struck down by the deadly late blight of tomatoes and potatoes that has swept across New York [...]
If you’re a duckling, death looms large. Injury & Disease are constant companions, and being nothing more than fluff and water, you’re easily squished by hoofed mammals, humans, even other ducks. There are a thousand things that like to eat you; from dogs, cats, and most quadrupeds, to the large bass in the pond, to [...]
This spring the clump of ‘Victoria Louise’ oriental poppies in the long border sent up at least 50 blooms. While the display was truly spectacular, I found it a bit too concentrated, so I decided that dividing and spreading the poppies out along the length of the bed would improve the border’s balance next spring. [...]
For the first 18 years of my gardening career, I lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. For you non-Midwesterners, that’s Zone 5A territory, which in horticultural parlance translates into short, hot summers and long, cold winters. Very long, very cold winters. So cold, in fact, that most broad-leaved evergreens. like holly and rhododendrons, won’t survive there. Thus, [...]