I have waited a very long time to get this shot. Chipmunks have been around the entire time we’ve lived here, but sightings became rare when the hawks and owls arrived a few years ago. Since then, two large trees have been cut down, and the raptors have moved on.Continue Reading
Living in the middle of Atlanta, one doesn’t expect many genuine wildlife encounters. I’ve had a few–I almost put my hand on an opossum one night on the deck. It was so dark that I didn’t see it resting on the railing. One morning, an opossum ambled across the frontContinue Reading
Description: A sprig of catmint (Walker’s Low) against a background of coral azaleas. The shot was taken in the early afternoon while the sun was high in the sky. Background: Catmint blooms in early to mid-spring and has beautiful, small lavender flowers. Bees love it. I bought three plants from a smallContinue Reading
I have been captivated by impressionist paintings since my first encounter with them at age 13. Foremost is the use of color. Color in the hands of Monet is enchanting. Lately, as I’ve looked at more paintings and taken the time to read more about the artists and their works, aContinue Reading
First-time gardeners have a steep learning curve—how much water, how much sun, best location, when to prune, what kind of fertilizer. Fortunately, help exists in some book or magazine for all of these. However, the weather is trickier. All guides, articles, and websites assume the usual four seasons when givingContinue Reading
So It May Secretly Begin (listen) is a song track from my favorite Pat Metheny album, Still Life (Talking). I have listened to this album, especially this song, hundreds of times—driving, falling asleep, studying, romancing. I like its fluid elegance. It starts softly, tentatively, as if expressing contemplation or uncertainty. As itContinue Reading
When people at a nursery warn you about a plant, believe them. Here are my four cautionary tales. I had never heard of bee balm before deciding to dig up the yard. It earned a spot in the garden because the flowers are so oddly shaped. They resemble jester’s hatsContinue Reading
Gardening magazines and books joyfully extol the wonders and pleasures of having a flower garden. At the top of the list of reasons to have one is the fact that a flower garden is great for pollinators. What they fail to mention—maybe it’s in the fine print—is that pollinators, likeContinue Reading
As I write this, it’s late winter, mid-March. The garden is half green, half brown. The coneflowers and daylilies are up much sooner than is good. Already I’ve had to cover them from frost three times, and more times seem likely. Even the fern buds are up. Over the pastContinue Reading
On a typical miserably hot July day, the third summer of the garden, I was pulling black-eyed Susans out of the coneflowers and pincushions. (Black-eyed Susans spread like a virus and will fill any available space, but that is a story for another day.) An older gentleman walked by andContinue Reading