Cold Climate Gardening

I was among those who suggested My Favorite Plant as a selection for the Garden Bloggers Book Club, and I am sorry to hear that so many found it not to their liking. I was an English major in college. I loved writing and I loved reading, so I thought it was a perfect fit. […]

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History repeats itself. According to this article (in pdf format) by Peter Del Tredici* on the history of plant hardiness zone maps, there used to be two hardiness maps floating around, the Arnold Arboretum map and the map put out by the USDA. Donald Wyman first created what would come to be called the Arnold […]

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If you are the kind of gardener who snorts at books like The Garden in Winter or A Flower for Everyday: A Practical and Inspirational Guide to Year-Round Color in the Garden, have I got a book for you.
Books on winter gardening aren’t written for regions where daily routines include clearing snow and chiseling ice […]

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Gardeners know that the calendar year is an artificial construct. It’s not even so much that the new year really begins in spring, as that to everything there is a season. Consequently, I find the concept of New Year’s resolutions rather alien to my thinking and way of life. I am resolving to do better […]

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Lookee here: a blog devoted to New England Garden Events. Events with big names, like Dan Hinkley, Rick Darke, Sean Conway, Gordon Hayward, Fergus Garrett . . . need I go on? If New England is your territory, or you’re going to be in the neighborhood, this is worth checking out. And just think, you […]

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In her latest Washington Post column Barbara Damrosch writes
It’s raining seed catalogues and the forecast is for the downpour to continue well into January.
She then starts in on her vegetable wishlist, what she would like to see the “elves” at the “North Pole Experiment Station” tinker with in her favorite vegetables to make them even […]

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When growing food, the greatest obstacle a cold climate presents to the gardener is the short growing season. In a classic example of great minds thinking alike, here are two books that address that obstacle with similar approaches. All of the authors live in New England and were influenced by Scott and Helen Nearing and […]

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