Intoxicating.  This is probably the best way to describe the fragrance that hits me as I walk out of the front door to set some tools on the potting table.  It is the heavy scent of the trellised rose that climbs the south side of the house, once “Paul’s Himalayan Musk”, now reverted to something [...]

Somewhere between early spring when the robin heralds the blooming forsythia, and high summer when disease and pests stalk my garden with heat and humidity in tow, my mind turns to an annual pilgrimage made regardless of the rain, regardless of the crowds, regardless of my family.  It is the season to pack a picnic, [...]

A little clock has begun to tick in my head.  It is not a pleasant sound, like the soft ticking of the mantle clock which accompanies me as I write.  No, it is louder, more frantic.  It follows me as I walk past the border and while I inspect the strawberries.  It pesters me as [...]