A gorgeous landscape of easy plants
We’ve been going to Mirbeau in Skaneateles, NY for quick getaways since at least 2017. For full-on escapism within a 2-hour drive, it doesn’t get much better. The place is [...]
Elizabeth Licata
Wild, with an assist
Inevitably, plane travel makes me think of America as a much wilder place than I ordinarily judge it to be. We were flying into Charlottesville last week and I marveled [...]
Trying not to anger the hostas
Of all the plants I have covering the ground, from the front hellstrip to the back alley, the ones that really do the best job of just that - consistently [...]
Now I love geraniums
Many of my fellow Buffalo gardeners can barely bring themselves to embrace petunias. As for geraniums (pelargoniums)? They’re pretty much off the table. However, out here in the wider gardening [...]
It’s a rumble, but the weeds aren’t invited
There are a few sayings about weeds. The favorite one is that weeds are just plants in the wrong place. Or plants the gardener doesn’t want. Or that we need [...]
Enjoyable opening acts
It is that brief, thrilling time when my front garden blazes with color - well, at least to me it blazes. Anyone walking by will note clumps of species tulips, [...]
Sick and tired of vendors jumping the gun
Last Sunday, we stopped at a local market to pick up vegetables for dinner. It was a rainy warmish day, with temps in the mid-to-high 50s. As we were entering [...]
Getting a bad name
Before embarking on this post, I did a quick search to see how many times the name “Audubon” comes up in Garden Rant posts and comments. The answer: many, many [...]
Pansies will do the trick
It’s still early, where I live. So far, only hellebores, chionodoxa and (waning) snowdrops are holding down the flower fort, with erythronium, scilla, species tulips and a few other bulbs [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]