Minding the Garden makes me pause and think about my own garden, bringing back memories of its beauty. It's also reassuring to see how Lilactree Farm has changed in thirty years--there's hope for my garden! This is a great book to give as a gift--or hint for this holiday season.
Lilactree Farm
Rescuing the Madonna Lily: Lilactree Farm Garden Notes, No. 4, 2017
July 31, 2017 – Posted in: Lilactree FarmHave you ever rescued a plant in your garden that had almost died out? Sometimes we can move such a plant and nurse it back to health in a new location. Guest contributor Brian Bixley did just that with the Madonna lily, called by Helen Dillon "the loveliest of all lilies."
Lilactree Farm Garden Notes, No. 2, 2017: Lily Beetles, Weatherland, and A Very Early Spring
May 17, 2017 – Posted in: Book reviews, Lilactree Farm, Pests, Plagues, and Varmints"Most discussions of lily beetles are a little helpful and considerably depressing. Many gardeners have abandoned growing lilies because the battle against the beetles is time- consuming and messy. But may I suggest that if (a) you have lots of free time (as I do) and (b) are willing to get some blood on your hands (as I am) that all is not lost. Many hundreds of lilies grow here so you will understand that we have a major interest in this problem. Here are some suggestions." Tips and a book review from guest contributor Brian Bixley.
Lilactree Farm Garden Notes, Postscript, 2016
December 6, 2016 – Posted in: Lilactree Farm‘The fool remembers only misfortunes and past errors...nothing can take away gratitude for past blessings.’ Rudolph Borchardt, The Passionate Gardener. Every fall, as I sit down to write these final Notes of the year, I am convinced that this gardening year was unique, that it resembled no other and that it was, simultaneously, much like [...]
Nature’s Power: Recovering From An Ice Storm: Lilactree Farm Garden Notes, No. 4, 2016
June 5, 2016 – Posted in: Lilactree Farm‘More and more I am coming to the conclusion that rain is a far more important consideration to gardens than sun, and that one of the lesser advantages that a gardener gains in life is his thorough enjoyment of a rainy day!’ Margaret Waterfield, quoted in The Penguin Book of Garden Writing What kind of [...]
My Visit To Lilactree Farm
June 5, 2016 – Posted in: Lilactree FarmAlmost exactly a year ago, I visited Lilactree Farm, the home and garden of Brian Bixley. In 2014, I would have considered this visit quite improbable. I am not a frequent traveler nor an adventurous driver. The only trips I take are ones where all the planning is done for you and all you have [...]
Winter Bones: Lilactree Farm Garden Notes No. 1, 2015
January 16, 2015 – Posted in: Lilactree Farm, Meditations, WeatherWhat a dark fall and early winter this has been, cold too, now. Hal Borland was right when he wrote that ‘as the day lengthens, the cold strengthens.’ This morning is a brief reprieve, grey again but calm and mild, impossible to resist taking the camera into the garden.
Autumn Magic: Lilactree Farm Garden Notes, Postscript, 2014
November 26, 2014 – Posted in: Lilactree Farm‘How (my characters) look and move and speak and behave, always in the setting I have found for them, is my account of them – of which I dare say, alas, que cela manque souvent d’architecture. But I would rather, I think, have too little architecture than too much – when there’s danger of its [...]
Springtide: Lilactree Farm Garden Notes, No. 3, 2014
May 6, 2014 – Posted in: Lilactree Farm, What's up/blooming…a large number of people over a certain age would insist that spring no longer exists… E. A. Bowles, My Garden in Spring(1914) This week (April 26-May1) has been perfect gardeners’ weather. Cool enough to hold in flower the earliest bulbs, warm enough to encourage new growth. Snowdrops linger throughout the South Jungle and in [...]
What Treasures Have Been Stolen by this Winter?
March 31, 2014 – Posted in: Lilactree Farm, Meditations, WeatherSunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. ~John Ruskin, quoted in Adam Gopnik, Winter. It is a truth almost universally acknowledged that this has been a bear of a winter, battering to the body [...]
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