E ACH TIME I LECTURE, AS I DID THIS WEEKEND, somebody asks afterward about a photo of “that geranium,” meaning Geranium phaeum ‘Samobor,’ whose picture I show the way you show off the family snapshots and mention only the kids in detail, not saying a word about your spouse. Yes, I’ve come to take ‘Samobor’ for granted, after a decade or so together. But here and now this faithful, indispensable and handsome shade stalwart gets its own profile. You know the routine: This is another plant I’d order if I was letting myself order any more plants, and if I didn’t already have it. More adventures in armchair shopping, once-removed. Onward. [read more…]
a plant i’d order: geranium phaeum ‘samobor’
March 15, 2009 at 8:10 am
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beloved conifer: chamaecyparis obtusa ‘crippsii’
March 13, 2009 at 8:19 am
THE FINAL (?) SNOW MELTED OFF THE ‘CRIPPSII’ last week, and from underneath a frosting of silvery-white this most charming of Chamaecyparis, the golden Hinoki falsecypress, showed its gleaming golden self again. Heavenly days. Fifth in a series on beloved conifers. [read more…]
doodle by andre: did not, did not!
March 12, 2009 at 12:33 am
DID NOT, MR. ANDRE SO-AND-SO, DID NOT. NO WAY. (Already had enough wheelbarrows; got a second tractor instead.)
slideshow: a look back at spring 2008
March 11, 2009 at 10:31 am
NOT MUCH TO LOOK AT YET HERE, so I’m looking back at old photos instead, from spring 2008, our first year online. I know, not very Buddhist or in-the-moment of me, but a lot more fun than looking out at the mud and traces of dirty snow. [read more…]
buried treasure: some tips found in the heap
March 10, 2009 at 10:05 pm
WHILE REBUILDING A WAY TO GARDEN for the new season, I kept digging up forgotten bits I’m glad to have resurfaced, the way your favorite lost trowel turns up in the compost heap. From a crash refresher course in botanical Latin to the do’s and don’ts of composting, and labels that really last, perhaps I exhumed some treasures you could use, too? [read more…]
blog redesign: a new look for a new season
March 9, 2009 at 12:06 pm
WE’RE ABOUT TO TURN 1, AND IT’S ABOUT TO TURN SPRING, so we went and got ourselves a new outfit for the occasion. Meet a shinier, gussied-up A Way to Garden, and welcome. Want a little tour? [read more…]
slideshow: the beloved frogboys
March 6, 2009 at 1:49 pm
THEY HAVE THEIR OWN BLOG NOW, but meantime they’re still under contract here at A Way to Garden, the site that made them famous. Before you head right over to frogboys.com, have a look at some of the familiar faces “before” they were somebodies: [read more…]
doodle by andre: shear ingrates
March 5, 2009 at 12:02 am
AFTER ALL THAT TENDER CLIPPING AND GENTLE GROOMING I gave you all those years, this is what I get in return? Oh, dear doodler Andre Jordan, I ask you, what went wrong?
tips for growing better tomatoes from seed
March 4, 2009 at 8:25 am
THAT OLD, DISCARDED ELECTRIC FAN that isn’t strong enough for the hot summers of global warming…hey, bring it on. It’s perfect for accomplishing one of the tricks to growing better tomato seedlings, which is (after all) the only thing you probably really care about right now. To hell with winter. Onward! [read more…]
