An endangered pocket park in Charlotte
As a longtime preservation activist, I have special empathy for those who advocate for landscape preservation. It’s hard enough to keep historic buildings going, but landscapes are a special challenge. [...]
Elizabeth Licata
When some gardens may be too scary to visit
The opening graph contained these words: “This may be the strangest garden in America, at once the darkest and most joyous, unlike any other place I’ve been.” Now there’s an [...]
I can wait until July for tomatoes
Not to pick on the Brits, who were involved in my last rant concerning the isle of Wight’s Ventnor Gardens, but now I’m hearing that there’s a vegetable shortage on [...]
A Ventnor across the pond
About halfway through a fascinating article about a botanic garden on the Isle of Wight I’d never heard of - I’ve never heard of any gardens on the Isle of [...]
Snowdrops in February: a little bit boring but welcome
Anna Pavord has the right attitude toward snowdrops. In her 2009 book, Bulb (recommended), she notes, “Though there are only 18 species, you can now get hold of at least [...]
Annuals by mail – it’s not for the faint of heart
Why mail order annuals? I get surprised looks when asked - usually during Garden Walk - about interesting plants I have that came in that way. But for years, though [...]
A hyacinth madness hold-out
My constant ranting about hyacinths at this time of year is veering close to the definition of insanity. Regular reports of my delight at how successfully they force and how [...]
When winter gets too interesting
It’s probably now obvious to everyone why Buffalo gardeners might not put too much effort into gardening for “winter interest.” Here, winter survival - or, more accurately, blizzard survival - [...]
Attack of the plant lady
Indoor plants were a way of life at my previous job. It wasn’t that we really paid all that much attention to them, but they were everywhere - mainly your [...]
The best holiday escape is still garden-related
This may sound more like a promotion than a rant, but that’s too bad. I must express how much I appreciate good garden centers at this time of the year. [...]
Let it snow
In Western New York, we had what we like to call an “event” last weekend. There was a great explanation of what happened in the Washington Post on Thursday, November [...]
When did it all get so extreme?
Just as many in America - as evidenced by this year’s election results - are hoping that people are drawing back from the politics of extremism, I’d love to see [...]