THE 2012 EVENTS CALENDAR features more open garden days than ever (May, June and August); more workshops than before (including writing workshops with my sister, Marion!); lectures I’m co-organizing that feature garden-writing stars like Page Dickey and Ken Druse, and talks I’m giving as far afield as Maryland, Vermont and more. Hope to see you here, there and everywhere. The scoop: [Read more...]
margaret roach’s 2012 events calendar
a new take on full-moon gardening
I WAITED TO SHOW YOU the art of French photographer Laurent Laveder until the full moon this morning, which seemed the right timing to admire the work of a man who likes to make magic with it. Laveder has been doing astrophotography since the last appearance of Halley’s Comet in 1986, including playful images like the one above. A distinct take on gardening by the phases of the moon, no? (Image copyright Laurent Laveder; more can be seen at PixHeaven, where you can purchase photos, or on his website, where I particularly love the section called Nuit, or Night.)
giveaway: vines q&a with brushwood’s dan long

IALWAYS MADE A BEELINE to see Dan Long and his Brushwood Nursery booth of climbing plants at a big annual spring sale nearby, but in the event chaos could never pester him long enough to ask all the questions I had stored up—which Clematis I was pruning wrong; what vines I could overwinter indoors; what climber would play nice with what other intertwined. Thinking (as I am) about adding more vines to the garden this year? My Q&A with Dan may help with some choices, growing tips and combination ideas—plus I am offering two $30 gift certificates to kick off A Way to Garden’s 2012 giveaway season. [Read more...]
my january 2012 garden chores
AND AWAY WE GO: Admittedly, January may be one of the quietest outdoor gardening months of all here in the North, and perhaps in most every part of the country. It’s prime time to assess the winter garden and plan additions, and with the influx of catalogs and fruit-tree-pruning season coming into view, I’ll manage to stay busy. The current chores list follows—in print or in podcast. [Read more...]
before you order seeds: assessing viability
WAIT—DON’T GET SEDUCED, or at least not by seeds, not quite yet. Try to resist that inevitable catalog binge at least until you inventory what’s left over, and still viable, from last year’s stash. I spent part of yesterday doing my tally, fearing impulse-buying would otherwise land me with double beans and no spinach, or worse. Seed viability was one of the topics on this week’s radio podcast (stream it, or subscribe free on iTunes), and while you listen, you can skip right to the handy reference piece on the matter (the chart above comes from there).
what you fancied: 2011′s top 11 stories
CAN YOU GUESS what the top 11 new stories of 2011 were on A Way to Garden? As was the case last year, not even one featured the increasingly cushy life of Jack the Demon Cat, now operating under the assumed name Jack the Mama’s Boy–and just completing his first full year of nonstop sleepovers and on-demand feeding courtesy of his personal valet. Speaking of eating, a lot of this year’s top posts involved garden-fresh ingredients. Here’s what else: [Read more...]












