Goldenrod has its place in the civilized garden
In recent years, I have found even more reasons not to bother with the standard autumn plantings of mums one sees everywhere—stiff bunches of them on front porches, usually surrounded [...]
Elizabeth Licata
The eternal optimism of the stubborn gardener
This happens in my online group all the time. Gardeners post images of pathetic, clearly ailing, sometimes two-thirds dead shrubs, perennials, and annuals all the time. Who knows how long [...]
Stinzen me not
It started with a media release that I was about to delete, but first I needed to google a term I’d never heard before: stinzen gardens. The release concerned bulb [...]
No rest for the late summer gardener
Gardening takes no prisoners at this time of year, especially when it comes to patio containers. Yes, the weather is mellow and balmy and it’s so pleasant just to sit [...]
The grumpy bulb forcer’s lament
It’s a bit sad when the lilies drop their final petals, the hosta leaves start to brown, and it’s time to deadhead the last double rudbeckia. One of the ways [...]
Is there a High Line(ish) in your town’s future?
There’s no replicating the beautiful Piet Oudolf-designed gardens and sophisticated ambiance of New York’s iconic elevated park, but municipalities throughout the world have been inspired by what such a scenic [...]
I’ll never be without zinnias again
For years, I ignored these very popular annuals, thinking of them as low-rent versions of dahlias. I chased after dahlias instead, starting them inside in April, planting them out, staking [...]
How a viral hoedown got started
It didn’t take much. As I noted in this July 7 post, Facebook removed three or four comments in WNY Gardeners, a 8k-member group I co-admin, for various uses of [...]
Puce is not a good look for flowers
You can call it bronze all you like, but basically, we’re talking brownplus or—old-school—puce. I love to experiment with unusual annuals and have long mail-ordered old-fashioned tall nicotiana from companies [...]
Oh Facebook, really? We can’t say hoe?
We’re in danger of losing our WNY online garden group because of one word. Hoe. Sometimes, Facebook seems to understand that this is a garden tool and leaves it be. [...]
Philly flower show sees the light of day (UPDATE)
It’s better to be outside. That is surely one of the central takeaways from the past year. Rather than simply cancel its annual late winter event, which has been held [...]
Call me mellow yellow
I’m not exactly mad about saffron, but I do love the seasonal yellows I am seeing throughout the garden. As it happens, a yellow shade, Illuminating, is one of the [...]