WHEE! The birds and I were happy yesterday for snow here at Cupcake Falls, New York (and I suspect you can hear some opera playing in the background, which ain’t bad, either). We asked for a winter, and maybe–just maybe–we’re going to get our wish.
woo woo
first look! my new book video and excerpt
November 23, 2012 By 11 Comments
DRUMROLL, PLEASE: It’s time to give you a sneak peek at “The Backyard Parables: Lessons on Gardening, and Life” (due January 15, 2013).
If I’ve ever produced something that embodies my mantra of “horticultural how-to and woo-woo”—a blend of philosophical and practical, or spiritual and scientific—this is it.
Part memoir, part handbook. Curious? Watch the video and read a free sample chapter now. It’s all on this page.
of fairy rings, and amanita mushrooms
October 16, 2012 By 15 Comments
ANOTHER REMINDER TO STOP, LOOK—and then look it up: A ring of mushrooms, big enough and plentiful enough to be seen from out the window 50 feet away, piqued my curiosity. It had formed gradually the last few weeks around a big concolor fir in the field that is my steep backyard. What is going on, I wondered, and took the time to go find out. Apparently I have been cohabiting with a fairy ring. (Talk about woo-woo!) [read more…]
giveaway: the ‘why’s’ of 30 garden writers
October 9, 2012 By 253 Comments
I WAS HONORED to be invited to be one of 30 voices in the new essay collection “The Roots of My Obsession: 30 Great Gardeners Reveal Why They Garden,” just out from Timber Press and edited by Thomas Cooper, former editor of “Horticulture” magazine. On the jump page, I’ve harvested a few tidbits from a handful of the other contributors, English and American alike—and if you tell us your reason, you’ll get a chance to win one of three copies I’ve bought to share. Care to confess what really gets you going–out the back door, I mean, to weed, water, and experience the wonderment such as only a garden can provide? [read more…]
slideshow: appreciating september’s offerings
September 14, 2012 By 17 Comments
WITH THE FIRST COLD NIGHTS (we hit 41 degrees F Monday!) I’m suddenly invigorated–and overtaken by two impulses: to nest and get cozy (including tossing out loads of things), and to edit the garden (additions and subtractions both lie ahead). While plotting my plans, look what beauties I noticed through my camera lens in the almost-fall landscape: [read more…]
