Relocating to New England from England about four years ago seemed, at the time, (and often still does) like the landscape equivalent of a chef moving from Paris to Poughkeepsie. More than anything, I get frustrated by the overuse of a relatively small palette of plants. The primary target of my irritation is the rhododendron. […]
The idea of a lawn free front garden isn’t the exclusive domain of water-worried environmentally minded modern gardeners… it was originally the very practical design of slaves in the south. And as you can imagine, there are some very compelling reasons why these gardens can and should inspire us today.
If I had closer neighbors, I am pretty sure they’d be looking out their bedroom windows into my garden and thinking I’d lost my mind. I’ve been using my snow blower to make paths in the grass. Is that weird? It is just that if I make a path, I am more likely to walk […]
What did you get up to this week? Since resolving to write this post on a weekly basis (just last week), I have managed to slow time. That wasn’t the goal, but is certainly a welcome side effect. Paying more attention, looking forward to creating this list, and then actually taking the time to write […]
There are things that I want to share – but that seem to have no place to gather. I used to send them out in email – but I lose them in my inbox and I am sure you do as well. So I am going to gather them here, hopefully weekly. That way I […]
Dear Winter – I’m so glad you are here – I’ve been conflating your arrival with the completion of a major home renovation project. Thank the gods of makeovers, you’ve arrived a little early and we are moving back home next week! I can’t wait to test out all the expensive new […]
It’s now or never. Or at least, now or who knows when. Or if I’d followed that Chinese proverb, I should have done it 20 years ago, but since I didn’t, then I should do it now. I am, obviously, talking about planting trees. A home orchard, specifically. Point is, I […]
Do you ever have that feeling like the universe is trying to send you a message and you notice it, but then you are like ‘nah -universes don’t send messages to people, that is dumb’? I think the universe is trying to tell me plant lots of foxgloves. Is that dumb? I posted earlier this […]
It has been a few years since I actively cultivated my huge vegetable patch. I’ve found that I’d rather spend my summers having adventures than babysitting a vegetable patch that makes me feel like an indentured servant. The last straw was also the summer that the woodchuck tunneled all the way under the width of […]
