Ten Tips for Visiting Gardens with Non-Gardeners
In many places all over the country, the garden tour season is beckoning. If you’re a subscriber to this site you’ve most likely got your engines revving and already have [...]
Marianne Willburn
I’m painting my fence black and I love it.
I could begin and end this post with its self-evident title, but there’s a little backstory for those who want something more than a declarative sentence. I’ll try and keep [...]
Carex Conundrums and Groupie Gripes: A Letter to The Midwest
Lovettsville, VA 20180 March 17, 2022 Dear Scott, I am glad we agree upon the many joys of Brunnera and Carex, if not the fact that you are clearly affable [...]
In A Troubled World, Is Gardening Trivial?
Thursday morning and my deadline looms. How many times can you type a sentence only to erase it? I’ve been working on a world record this week. What can be [...]
On Ads, Voices, and Building a GardenRant Community
A year has gone by since GardenRant celebrated our 15th anniversary by revamping our logo and site, adding new voices, and showcasing our Guest Ranters. Around that time, we also [...]
Winter Fear Porn Brings Out The Rant in Me
There is nothing quite so tender as the sight of a grey, ice-locked landscape melting into warm browns during a winter respite. I am struck by the beauty of it [...]
A Garden Tragedy in One Act
Anger. Heartbreak. Homicidal thoughts. All stemming from the collision between people who don’t garden, and the garden of someone who does. Thought I’d tell the tale as the classic tragedy [...]
Fake Plants Saved My Tablescape, and My Bathroom
Fake plants have come a long way over the last few years. There’s a chance that these words issue from the disturbingly hazy standards of my middle age; but though [...]
Hackneyed Metasequoia and Other Confessions: A Letter To The Midwest
6 January 2022 Lovettsville, VA Dear Scott, I thought I’d confuse you by preempting your letter with one of my own. No, you are not behind, I am simply ahead. [...]
Hardened Plant Nerd Seeks Horticultural Innocence: A Letter to The Midwest
December 9, 2021 Lovettsville, VA Dear Scott, My apologies for allowing your letter to float gently down through the inbox until it lodged somewhere between a reminder to pay my [...]
Welcome to The Suburban Outback
It’s happened again. The quizzical stare – the wide smile – the head cocked to one side, all ending with the tentative, half-apologetic question. And even though the asking of [...]
Houseplant (and Magazine) Madness
I am that friend/relation/rando who, fascinated by the snapshot of prevailing culture that characterizes a periodical, will happily accept your grandmother’s stack of fifty-year old magazines she couldn’t bear to [...]