Garbage isn’t always garbage. Sometimes it is the beginning of an indoor garden. Who among us hasn’t taken an avocado pit, planted it in a pot and enjoyed a large lush houseplant? It would never bear fruit, but it was fun to see this large seed grow into a substantial plant. Growing seeds, roots and tubers from the kitchen is a great way to remind children of the different ways edible foods are propagated. This…
Recently I’ve been writing about the books you read, for information and inspiration. Now I want to talk about the book you write, your garden journal. Garden journals are as individual as a gardener’s garden. I have seen beautifully kept journals, annotated with delicate sketches and drawings. Mine have never looked like that. I’ve seen journals devotedly kept every day of the year, with notes on the weather, what’s been done in the garden,…
Going into a new year I have resolutions about making my gardens more beautiful, more productive, and greener. The term sustainability is a companion to organic in the gardening world these days. As usual, books, and now online sites, old and new will travel with me in my labors throughout the new year. My 1978 edition of Rodale’s Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening has been a loyal companion by my side ever since it was published. New…
As I stand on the cusp of another new year, to me it looks as blank as the snow covered fields in Heath. The deep snow covers any mess, weeds or brush, and presents me with a new blank page. Mistakes are forgotten, the page is waiting for my imagination and energy to mark it. Most of us feel the energy of possibility as we face a new year. This year, with a new…
The Commonweeder website did not exist in January 2008; I thought it would be fun to reprint this New Year’s Between the Rows column and see how I did. For a number of years now I have not been too keen on New Year’s Resolutions. This is partly because I have lived long enough to have developed what I call the Driver’s Philosophy of Life. I remember when I was learning to drive I was always concentrating on…
The Christmas story is filled with familiar scenes and characters, a harsh innkeeper, a stable, shepherds, wise men, angels and friendly animals keeping watch over a Babe in the manger. And, of course, the parents of that Babe. It is easy for me to imagine that those parents would have been even more anxious than any new parents. What did those angelic visitations and dreams really mean? Poor Joseph doesn’t play a big part in the telling…
As a lover of roses, I longed to plant a Christmas rose, although I could not imagine how, in Heath, it would bloom at Christmas. When my garden knowledge grew I realized that while I may be able to plant a Christmas rose and have it bloom, it is no rose, and will probably not bloom for me at Christmas. The Christmas rose is, in fact, a member of the buttercup (Ranunculaceae) family. Its…
Flowers are a part of the festive holiday decorations. Some are even named for the holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus bloom in shades of white, pink and red all through the holidays. They are hardy plants needing very little care, but it is important to remember that even though we call them cactus, they are not desert plants. Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus are actually a part of the Schlumbergera family, natives of moist tropical…
Once upon a time the only bulbs that anyone thought of forcing and bringing into bloom during the dark days of winter were paperwhite narcissus. And very nice they were, delicate and elegant and subtly fragrant. Who would not want a bowl of these beautiful pale flowers in a cozy room while the snow is falling outside the window? I have forced many bowls of paperwhites and been delighted each time, but I have learned over the…