It’s the time of year when lists of gifts for gardeners are everywhere, and while any gardener would love an amaryllis bulb, a pruning snip or a new set of garden gloves, sometimes you want something a bit more unusual. Here are a few gifts for gardeners that aren’t expected. An Olla. I bought this for myself last year after…
Read More
I had a heck of a time coming up with a title for this post because none of the three books I’m reviewing exactly fall in the same category, even the category of garden books. What they have in common is the value (no, necessity) of experiencing and appreciating nature. Let’s take them in reverse order. How to Make a…
Read More
Garden travel is good for the soul, to revise an old saying. And, for gardeners from—how shall we put this?—more restrictive climates, travel that let’s us see what gardeners elsewhere grow and what they deal with helps us put the limitations we have in perspective. Earlier this fall, I visited gardens around Salt Lake City, Utah, with GardenComm, the organization…
Read More
This morning, I was looking out the second story window over my insectary garden watching two hummingbirds. The birds had landed on a tomato cage near the garden and sat next to each other for more than a minute in companionable repose. Then, they flitted off together, stopping first at the nearby salvia, then at one of the last flowers…
Read More
Every experienced gardener has heard the truth about deer. First, if hungry enough, they will eat anything. Second, if you want them out of your garden, build an 8-foot fence. Garden designer Karen Chapman doesn’t deny those facts, but in her new book, she encourages gardeners to be more creative, more clever, more understanding and more resilient in the face…
Read More