AS PROMISED: On this week’s public-radio show (available anytime as a podcast, too), I answered some of your recent Urgent Garden Questions. The topics ranged from how deep to build a raised bed for vegetables, to a whole range of crabapple inquiries: What’s the best crabapple variety for jelly, the crabapple with longest-lasting fruit, and more. All the details–plus the links to the show if you prefer to listen, not read. [read more…]
my new book: order now! on Amazon Barnes and Noble Indiebound
As a passionate, hopeful and often self-delusional gardener (the only kind of gardener there is!), I loved this gorgeous book. Margaret’s work is a blessing.
building raised beds, and choosing crabapples: radio q&a
May 7, 2013 By 5 Comments
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6 early native spring wildflowers for shade
May 3, 2013 By 10 Comments
MY GARDEN, LIKE MOST (and like the assortment at the garden center), is a jumble of non-native and native plants. But at this early spring moment, a half-dozen Eastern wildflowers take my breath away. In a slideshow, six easy, captivating natives for the woodland or shade garden. [read more…]
doodle by andre: his better half?
May 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I SAID IT WHEN I first saw this doodle by Andre Jordan: It’s as if the refrain of “Reunited” (circa 1980 by Peaches & Herb) came face to face with that “You complete me” one-liner from “Jerry McGuire.” Two halves of the same whole–but which in this case is whose better half?
the may garden chores: 2013
May 1, 2013 By 3 Comments
MAYDAY–OR SHOULD I SAY ‘MAYHEM,’ as in: Somebody rescue me by helping with the edging, weeding, mulching required to get ready for the first Open Days of the season (May 11 this year—you coming?). Most important, though, of course, is not to get too swept away by the to-do list, since May is also one of the garden’s most extraordinary months here in Zone 5B and elsewhere, with lots to sit back and savor. [read more…]
growing native fruit trees: pawpaws and persimmons, with lee reich
April 29, 2013 By 2 Comments
APPLES TREES—the fruit everyone thinks they want in their backyards—aren’t easy to grow East of the Rockies, as those who have tried probably noticed when they produced blemished fruit (or required multiple pest-defeating tactics on a strict schedule). And if you’re keeping track, apples aren’t native. Fruit expert Lee Reich offers up two unusual but delicious American native fruit-tree beauties that require little more than to be planted. In print or the latest public-radio podcast, how to grow pawpaws (top photo) and persimmons to perfection. [read more…]
