essays

A Better Way to Plant Colchicums In May of 1999 I opened up my new issue of Horticulture and started reading "In Search of a Mowable Groundcover." Canadian author Brian Bixley described an ingenious planting scheme that involved interplanting colchicums with hardy geraniums. In the middle of August, he mowed down the geraniums. Two weeks [...]

Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities!: Notes from a Gloucester Garden by Kim Smith made me aware of my garden book prejudices: What kind of title is that? You just don't start a title with "oh" and end it with an exclamation point! And then I read the back cover: "Drawn by the tender magic of [...]

I have been re-reading People with Dirty Hands: The Passion for Gardening by Robin Chotzinoff for the Garden Bloggers Book Club. Just like last time, I am amazed by her ability to ferret these eccentric gardeners out, and in awe of her willingness to drive hundreds of miles to talk to total strangers, some of [...]

And what is retirement for, if not to make a few dreams come true? And what is a garden for, if not to satisfy the longings of your heart? I have learned a lot from watching the garden of my best garden buddy, Bub, develop. The most satisfying garden, for the gardener and for others, [...]

One of my favorite places to buy gardening books is Edward Hamilton. They do sell some new books, but most of them are remainders and closeouts. No problem when it comes to gardening books, as they don't go out of date that fast and the good ones always bear re-reading. I hate buying books blind, [...]