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Gearing Up

Having a garden is a bit like having a child that is reborn every year. You wait and wait for the "firsts"--the child's first tooth or the garden's first daffodil of the season. Then, time seems to speed up as everything happens at once. In the garden that first daffodil is followed...

Posted to Growing Wise (Weblog) by Elisabeth on 03-31-2008
Genus Loci

If you have read or absorbed much garden history, you have probably heard the phrase "genus loci", which comes from ancient Greek and means "sense of place" or "spirit of place". You may not be able to remember the foreign phrase, but the concept is good for all gardeners...

Posted to Growing Wise (Weblog) by Elisabeth on 02-23-2008
Organization

The problem with great garden ideas is that so many of them come at the wrong time. For example, yesterday I was out in the garden and I noticed that the very first snowdrops were blooming. This was very exciting, of course, since winter has not yet given up the fight in this part of the country. But...

Posted to Growing Wise (Weblog) by Elisabeth on 02-19-2008
Holly

The weather outside is cold and blustery, with wind chills below zero. When I look out my dining room window I see the three big holly trees (which are actually shrubs) on the south side of the house. They are covered with bright berries, which is wonderful all by itself at this time of the year. Best...

Posted to Growing Wise (Weblog) by Elisabeth on 02-11-2008
Book Review: Rosemary Verey's Garden Plans

Garden planning, for a single new bed, a garden "room" or an entire landscape, is a daunting task. If you have the money, you can hire someone to help. If not, you should visit lots of gardens and indulge in some serious reading on the subject. One of the most inspiring books I've come...

Posted to Growing Wise (Weblog) by Elisabeth on 02-07-2008
The Year of the Peach

I have wanted a peach tree for the longest time. Peaches ae among my favorite fruits and their season is relatively short. Supermarket peaches are usually awful. They are shipped hard and unripe and even if you ripen them in a closed brown bag, the end result is often grainy and flavorless because of...

Posted to Growing Wise (Weblog) by Elisabeth on 02-04-2008
Something New

One of the best things about gardening is that there is always something new to learn. At this time of the year, when the weather in much of the country makes outdoor gardening unappealing or impossible, learning and planning take center stage. One of my New Year's resolutions, this year and every...

Posted to Growing Wise (Weblog) by Elisabeth on 01-01-2008
The Great Equalizer

I think of gardening as a great equalizer. You don't have to be rich to grow beautiful plants and have a great home landscape. You can fertilize your garden with lots of money or just a little money and a lot of ingenuity. You can purchase amazing plants from expensive boutique nurseries, or you...

Posted to Growing Wise (Weblog) by Elisabeth on 12-31-2007
The New Gardening Season

"Calendar winter" (as opposed to actual winter) only started a week ago, but I feel as if the new gardening season has already begun. Why? Because the catalog and internet vendors of plants and seeds have started mailing out catalogs and posting spring offerings on their websites. In these...

Posted to Growing Wise (Weblog) by Elisabeth on 12-26-2007
Autumn Dreams

I am stuck with too little space and too many big plans for my garden. Some people who have this problem just forge ahead, like a woman I know who has two waterfalls, an island, a gazebo, a rose garden, a rock garden and an outdoor kitchen--all on the back third of a standard size suburban lot. I can't...

Posted to Growing Wise (Weblog) by Elisabeth on 11-14-2007

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