Creeping Timidly Toward a Colorful Backdrop for my Garden
During the first years in my townhouse, this was the dull-dull backdrop of my front garden, with old grey siding, black shutters and metal chairs, and a forest green umbrella. [...]
Susan Harris
Animals, Vegetables, Flowers and Farm Kids Still Happening at the County Fair
It's fair season and I'm curious - is there one near you and do you attend? The Virginia State Fair was a highlight of my childhood, an event only outdone [...]
I Love these Enlightened Hedges at Stoneleigh Garden
I've ranted about hedges in suburbia and the many problems they cause, especially single-species hedges and ones in small spaces. Still, I'm more than open to better hedges in better [...]
Good fences make good gardens. Flags, not so much.
In small townhouse gardens like mine, I've found that fences not only make good neighbors - they help create "garden rooms," the sense of enclosure that makes you want to [...]
Boldly Growing with Tamar Haspel
Tamar Haspel has written the "Unearthed" column in the Washington Post since 2011, so why hadn't I even heard of it until two weeks ago? Because it's in the Food [...]
Bonsai-like Junipers were Revealed, not Planned
I posted here about deciding NOT to remove all the old, overgrown and crappy-looking Junipers in front of this building. Commenters warned that if allowed to stand, the massive plants would [...]
At 50, the Washington Youth Garden is Looking GOOD
If like me you follow the American Horticultural Society on Facebook, you've seen lots of posts this week about their National Children and Youth Garden Symposium that's finishing up [...]
Should gardening advice pretend to cover the whole U.S.?
Garden-Writing for the Wrong Region Imagine my surprise when I opened my local newspaper (the Washington Post, to which I've subscribed since 1971) to find this cover image of "Local [...]
Gorgeous Natives I’m Growing that MAKE the Garden
New neighbors have been asking me what native plants I recommend, and could they please see them in my garden? What a great idea! Seeing them in nearby gardens is [...]
I’m apparently thrilled by basic clean-up
After This isn't your typical "after" photo, known on HGTV as the "Reveal!" What you see is the most prominent corner of my housing co-op's HQ building where I've been [...]
Assessing my College Town’s Gardens
A while back I ranted about the inclusion of my alma mater, Ohio's Oberlin College, in its list of Most Beautiful College Campuses. So let's pause and ask what makes [...]
Lowest-Maintenance Borders are All-Shrub
I'd venture to say the vast majority of Americans want their home landscape to be "low-maintenance." Indeed, as low as possible! When I was garden -coaching, at least 95 percent [...]