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Peace Out, Frog

peaceinthepond2THE FROGBOYS AND I wish you peace in the pond, baby, in 2009.

doodle by andre: water or else, dollface!

THOSE OF YOU TRAVELING at some point during the holidays may have left someone in charge of the houseplants. Doodler Andre Jordan wants to be sure you know this one teeny detail on that score: If the beloved charges are dead when you get back, it is NOT, repeat NOT, an excuse for violence. Please be advised. (On second thought, isn’t that what the plea “justifiable homicide” was invented to describe? I mean, if someone kills your plants…)

best ‘pine’ cones, ever

THE KOREAN FIR, Abies koreana, wins my award for best “pine” cones ever, with 3-inch purple cones produced even on quite-young plants. If only this fantastic conifer displayed its cones at Christmastime here, instead of in June, though I’m not sure that purple actually matches anybody’s holiday palette, does it? [Read more...]

and you’re waking up NOW?

TWO POTS OF BEGONIA BOLIVIENSIS, the straight species behind the flashy ‘Bonfire’ cultivar that we’ve talked about so much this year, arrived by mail-order in May, theoretically for use in pots. But they sat like a pair of stones all spring, summer, and fall (like the one in the photo still does, except for that tiny new dot of green on the right side of the tuber). Dead, I wondered, or just recalcitrant? [Read more...]

doodle by andre: thinking of you

ROBIN REDBREAST is a classic symbol of spring, the early bird who catches the worm, but in my northern garden, the flock stays in view in winter just as long as the holly and crabapple fruit lasts. I miss their happy song when they finally push back from the buffet, and miss the oddball run-and-stop, run-and-stop movements of North America’s most widespread thrush. The robin that doodler Andre Jordan knows from England is a smaller red-breasted bird, not closely related, but with a similarly cheery demeanor…a bird you like having around. Is there someone you are thinking of this holiday season, some friend who won’t be at the table?

frogboy? dogboy? frogdogboy?

THERE’S A FIRST TIME for everything, and this is the first time that I’ve ever grabbed a photo from the internet and posted about it. Blame my holiday-unwind mindset or the fact that I spend way too much time online now with the birth of The Sister Project, whatever. I just could not suppress the instinct to share these canine-amphibian intergeneric hybrids with you, directly from Castellon, Spain, from the studio and mind of one Javier Retales Botijero, a 30-year-old male unknown to me except for these strokes of genius. [Read more...]

The Sister Project

The Confessional

Some stuff really gets A Way to Garden-ers going. Weigh in, or just lurk while everyone else shares about these hot buttons:

Compost, Compost, Compost

I am as proud of my compost heap as I am of any part of my garden. It is the archaeological record of my garden past; it is the stuff from which future gardens will arise. I read a lot about, from sources like these: Garden Organic, a 50-year-old British charity; Journey to Forever (don’t worry, not some into-the-bunker survivalist cult); and the vast Cornell Composting archive. Dig in.

Juicy Bits

375 VISITORS, 1 BIG RHODIE: spring garden open day, in a virtual visit. How it looked, and also what they all asked about

keeping deer out DEER FENCE: I tried every potion and anti-deer trick till I finally got real and fenced. Strategies for every garden situation.

secrets to great tomatoes TOMATO TIPS, seed to harvest: Dozens of tricks for a better crop.

yes, even in dry shade MY 4 TOUGHEST GROUNDCOVERS perform even in the worst spots, like dry shade. Maybe these tough perennials will serve you as well?

5 great small trees GARDEN-SIZED TREES can’t just be the right scale; they need to have multi-season interest, too, to earn a spot here. Maybe you have room for one of my 5 favorites?

10 underplanting do’s and don’ts MAKING MOSAICS—that’s what I call good underplanting of trees and shrubs with a tapestry of plants for many months of enjoyment. Here’s how I do it.

a ribbeting bullfrog whodunit LET BULLFROGS BE BYGONES? No way. Where have all my biggest frogboys gone? The latest frog mystery explained.

stars of the spring shrubbery BEYOND LILACS (and forget forsythia!), a slideshow of some of the finest spring shrubs you may not grow (yet).

speeding up the compost DRIVE BY, HIT-AND-RUN composting is my latest craze, and speeds up the decomposition process while making good mulch quickly. Here’s how.

making a 365-day garden THINK FALL (YES, FALL): Don’t get sucked in by spring-bloomers only when nursery shopping. A great garden happens 365 days a year: Shop smart to make it so.

the facts about bulbs SOMETHING UP with a flower bulb? Paltry bloom, or wondering when to feed or cut off the foliage? It’s all here.

must-read garden poem MY FAVORITE GARDEN POEM celebrates loss, one of gardening (and life’s) realities. It does it with humor: "Why Did My Plant Die?” is a must-read.

12 steps to sanity? HELP FOR GARDENERS: Hi, my name is Margaret, and yes, we operate a 12-Step program here. Welcome.

orchid rebloom made easy I REBLOOMED MY FIRST ORCHID last year (finally!) and it turns out to be pretty easy going. Here’s how.

my seed-starting 101 WHAT ABOUT SEED-STARTING in general? The A Way to Garden method.

crispy refrigerator pickles WHAT IS IT ABOUT refrigerator pickles that makes everybody so happy? Get those cukes growing now. And then some.

hail the stewartia I LIKE PLANTS THAT EARN THEIR KEEP. By that I mean they do more than a week or two of showing off; they look good in more than a single moment, or season. The small-ish to medium trees in the genus Stewartia are a good bet if that’s the kind of multi-season interest you are looking for. Sound good?

can-do pruning REPEAT AFTER ME: I can prune. I can prune. If you follow this simple method for starters, your woody plants will thank you.

the ‘other’ peonies JUNE IS PEONY TIME, the big raucous kind of peony time, but just before that another kind of peony you might want to consider adopting does its subtler, wonderful thing.

which lilac to plant? SO MANY LILACS, so little space. Browse a glossary of some of my favorites before you shop—maybe you’ll like them, too.