The tender plants are in, the beds are mulched and the leaves have fallen. November is never an exciting month in the gardening calendar, filled as it is with so many to-dos and so few ta-das. I find my enthusiasm lessened somewhat by the cold, and the dreariness of a grey sky, yet coming indoors [...]

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Once again, I am hearing myself say the words, “I don’t ever think I’ve seen a fall so beautiful.” It is not true of course – I have said this too many times during our years on the East Coast to be right this year. And yet I feel justified once again in defending [...]

'Andrea Atkinson' anemone and 'Summer Showers' pelargonium bring color to the fall garden

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Sometimes it’s good to get your head out of your own garden and see if there is anything greener on the other side of the fence.  If you do so at this time of year, you will no doubt start to [...]

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With the exception of three lovely evenings at yoga, it has been six months since I charged up my mp3 and headed off to the gym for an hour’s endorphin rush. Sure I’ve kept active in the garden, and the warm weather inspires a few more walks with attached dogs than does bitter January; [...]

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Hydrangea macrophylla

When you have a small garden and you are trying to make it sparkle for more than the oh-so-brief month of May, it is necessary to blend a thoughtful assortment of annual, biennial and perennial plants that can pull double and even triple shifts with flowers and/or foliage well into November.  As [...]

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A week ago I was leisurely wandering with a friend through his garden when I spied the familiar burnt orange of leaf blotch discoloring what could only be a large horse chestnut tree (Aesculus hippocastanum) near his drive. I was surprised to see the tree in such a dry, rural Californian setting and proclaimed [...]