Maryland HOAs can’t require lawn but neglected-looking yards still aren’t okay
December 14, 2022 story in the New York Times This Maryland couple fought HOA rules requiring them to grow lawn and it resulted in a new state law [...]
Susan Harris
Why I moved these containers INTO the borders
It seemed only natural to place my planted-up containers ON the patios in my garden, as seen in this photo of my front yard. But there were problems with this [...]
Who’s Ready for Lego Houseplants?
The answer: ME! I've murdered enough houseplants in my decades of trying to keep them alive to be curiously open to the idea of fake plants for indoors. So the [...]
A Journey and Much Glory for a North Carolina Red Spruce, the 2022 Capitol Christmas Tree
UPDATE: Big spread in the Washington Post about this tree's role in the campaign to save the Red Spruce. (Paywall troubles? Try accessing it through your public library's website.) [...]
New Plant-Based Landmarks at the U.S. Botanic Garden
I last posted about the amazing plant-based monument replicas at the U.S. Botanic Garden back in 2018, and I think it's time for an update. One of the recent additions [...]
Truth-Telling and Unusually Interesting People on Garden Podcasts
I'm a long-time podcast listener, using them for entertainment and sometimes even enlightenment while I'm gardening, walking, driving and even cycling. And mixed in with the many podcasts about politics, [...]
Fall Foliage and the Scariest Garden in Town
Great Foliage in My Garden Fothergilla in my garden, late October. In July I showed off the 16 native plants that MAKE my garden, but excluded my Fothergilla [...]
Imperfections, like this crooked planter, are stand-outs in the garden
Have you noticed that when visiting a garden or even wandering through your own, what jumps out at you are the flaws? Like the errant piece of trash or the [...]
Thoughts on local beautification awards – like the one MY GARDEN WON – and what makes a garden sustainable
I haven't mentioned it until now - because I wasn't sure of success - but I can now confess that I nominated one of my adopted gardens for a county [...]
White House Gardener’s Send-off with Error-Ridden WaPo Article
I share everyone's appreciation for Dale Haney, superintendent of the White House grounds, now retiring after 50 years working on that hallowed landscape (and walking some famous dogs, too). So [...]
The WORST Weed I’m Working on? Mugwort! What’s Yours?
Look what appeared in a landscape I'm working on after I weeded and planted a groundcover (Liriope) that will eventually fill in enough to prevent weeds. Mugwort seeds have sprouted [...]
Cincinnati Zoo has Baby Hippos and Great Landscapes, Too
If you know anything about the famous Cincinnati Zoo, it may be thanks to its photo- and video-genic baby hippos, like Fiona and Fritz above. I follow the Zoo on [...]