The new hardiness map put out by the USDA is not going to help you at all if you've been gardening in the same spot for any length of time with your eyes open and your mind engaged. Let's face it: common sense and experience will trump aggregated data every time. It doesn't matter what [...]
cold-climate
Gorgeous Autumn Day
August 27, 2009 – Posted in: Garden Tweets, WeatherToday is a gorgeous autumn day. Yes, autumn.
Weather
April 12, 2009 – Posted in: Garden Tweets, WeatherLow tonight=15F? !! Probably should pile leaves on those foxgloves greening up, if the wind ever dies down.
What is a cold climate?
February 7, 2008 – Posted in: FAQThis photo was taken two days before the digital thermometer bottomed out in January 2005Quite a while ago, someone emailed me, asking what was a cold climate. I never did answer them, because I thought it was obvious. A cold climate is any climate too cold to grow the plants you really want to grow. [...]
The Intimate Garden: Book Review
April 8, 2007 – Posted in: Book reviews, DesignThe Intimate Garden: Twenty Years and Four Seasons in Our Garden by Gordon and Mary Hayward belongs to the rare breed of landscape design book that is actually helpful: One private residential garden--not little glimpses of a dozen gardens The garden was developed over many years. (They figured it out as they went along) They [...]
Blooming in March
March 15, 2007 – Posted in: Weather, What's up/bloomingI took this photo yesterday, a day ahead of Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. I knew that rain was predicted for Wednesday afternoon and throughout today, but late yesterday morning it was merely overcast and quite mild, and I thought, "Go looking for flowers now, or forget about it." So I went galomphing about in the [...]
Valentine’s Day Snowstorm
February 14, 2007 – Posted in: WeatherTough Plants for Northern Gardens: Book Review
February 13, 2007 – Posted in: Book reviewsQuite a while back I cast aspersions on the ability of a southerner to write a book about northern gardening. I take it back. Felder Rushing has done an excellent job writing Tough Plants for Northern Gardens: Low Care, No Care, Tried and True Winners. Mr. Rushing, sir, I apologize. Turns out the man has [...]
What does a zone map really tell you?
December 26, 2006 – Posted in: FAQ, WeatherHistory 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 [...]
Cabin Fever in Extremis
February 27, 2004 – Posted in: Meditations, WeatherI wrote this essay several years ago after the winter of 1993-1994 and I dig it out to reread every winter in which I feel I'm suffering excessively. Of course, no matter how bad your winter is, someone else can top you, so I don't promote this as the worst cabin fever anyone ever had, [...]
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