November often starts with gentle frosts and easy, Instagrammable scenes, but by its end, winter is unofficially upon the Mid-Atlantic. Lawns have taken on a muted, tawny shade and the deciduous trees will stand naked by December 1st. Hopefully you have planted some colorful stemmed shrubs and trees to make this transition exciting. Maintenance is [...]
October remains my favorite month. No doubt I have said that of May -- and might do so again during a particularly charming spring, but October will always possess a deep resonance that May cannot muster. At once it immerses us in the sights, scents and bounty of the growing season, and then just as [...]
September gives us a chance to miss the summer before it's gone. The heat is letting up, the evenings are cooler, and we start to anticipate the end of the harvest season. Suddenly, every tomato... every squash is more precious. And once the fall greens begin to come in strong, we can begin combining the [...]
August is deep summer. Fireflies are at their peak, and the sun is only just starting to wane. My water barrels run dry a little more frequently this month - and so does my patience - but when I'm feeling overwhelmed, I try hard to make time for a little dusk-wandering with a glass of [...]
A shift is happening in the garden with the onset of July. The exuberance of spring is over, and gardeners are left looking at the remains of a pretty good party. Whether your garden looks hungover or not depends on the planting you did in the spring. Let's hope it included some flowering heat survivors [...]
The gardener will be busy this month, and find that the available hours to work bear no relation to the amount of work that needs to be done. That is the hallmark of the June garden. In the Northern Hemisphere, we officially transition in June from the spring garden to the summer garden with the [...]
May has symbolized rebirth and a definitive end to winter throughout the centuries. It is at once a vigorous month and a calming one, but we must calm our vigorous urges so we might see it. This year, I think we could all do with an end to a figurative, if not literal, winter. For [...]
Last week, I glanced at a bronze statue of a pig with wings that sits on my stone steps, and thought, "Well, that pretty much sums it up right now." Crazy things are happening. Crazy times make us re-examine our dependencies. Even if we don't change anything, it's good to know where we stand and [...]
The signs of spring right now are real, but can feel illusory when the wind begins to gust or the sun is covered by a passing cloud. Or we get phone alert that our state is issuing a Stay At Home Order. But assuming that the earth has not fundamentally changed its course, we should [...]
Spring or Winter? March is of two minds. I understand completely. Although this month marks a significant change in the weather going forward, that change brings with it many tasks for the gardener. Sometimes we feel up to hitting them hard and sometimes we could use a few more weeks of winter to prepare for [...]
Some consider February deep winter, others feel they've got the worst behind them and it's just a quick sprint to March. I have grown to appreciate February. The sentiment is surprising and a long time coming for this once-California girl, but I can trace its evolution back to the moment we moved to Oldmeadow six [...]
A new year, a new growing season. We are experiencing quite a warm up this month both in the Mid-Atlantic and elsewhere in the Northeast and Midwest. Muddy pathways are not fun, but to walk down to the barn in the morning and feel the sun warm on my face instead of gritting my teeth [...]
December is a month of transition in the gardener’s mind -- I look at it like a well-deserved break and savor every second. The growing season is well and truly over, but most of us are not quite ready to begin the daydreaming which will eventually lead to spring. We're still thinking about this year's [...]
Not satisfied with feeling overwhelmed with spring cleaning, spring wardrobe changeover, spring home repairs and spring holiday plans, I thought it might be clever to go outside last week, pick up a trowel and increase my anxiety in the spring garden. Beginning the process means a shift in priorities and a horrifying realization of everything [...]
[ed. The following article can also be found stirring up comments at Garden Rant later this week.] Tesselaar’s Blue Storm Agapanthus is worth growing because it’s a high-impact, no-nonsense plant, not because it typifies the 2016 Color of the Year “Serenity” – photo credit: Tesselaar Plants, 2006 Though I enjoy dressing well, I’m [...]
Maybe it's time to stop saying "I should do that this year..." and put the date firmly on the calendar. If you've heard about the Philadelphia Flower show but never been, find a companion, drive into beautiful Philadelphia and experience the magic that wows over a quarter-million visitors every year. The show couldn't be at a better time for [...]
Thrilled to announce that I have recently signed a contract with Skyhorse Publishing for a book to be released in Spring 2017. It’s about creating a garden wherever life finds you, even when it’s not where you thought you’d be by now. If you’re a regular reader of The Small Town Gardener, you’ll know how [...]
In my part of the world, Winter arrives as a gentle jolly spirit and departs like a raving banshee. However, before I start navigating three-inch ice with an ancient Land Cruiser, I plan to enjoy the next month of merry merry merry. In order to do that, I need to be organized. In order [...]
This month a guest post from Tesselaar Plants that I found exceedingly helpful in guiding the gardener to take a hard look at things that may or may not be working in his or her garden - and then taking steps to solve them. Tesselaar grows some gorgeous plants, but many of them are not [...]
By the beginning of September, many gardeners are thinking about next year’s garden. Whatever failures have been experienced this year – whatever insults have been suffered – all are erased by a killing frost and the ability to start again. I am just as guilty of the sweet pleasures of delusional thinking, but there is [...]
