For years, I have been battling the elements in two small patches of land between the front sidewalk and the street. At one point, variegated liriope lived there, but it allowed too many weeds to grow. Since 2020, various combinations of angelonia, verbena, ice plant, and other plants haveContinue Reading
Typically, rainy season in Atlanta lasts from September through April. During those months, it rains at least once per week, and those are good, drenching rains that last for hours. Many, if not most, of these rains originate in the Gulf and move north and east. From MayContinue Reading
It’s been a month since I began working on the garden, and there is still a lot to do. After a cold winter, it warmed up much faster than expected, with 80-degree days early on. As a result, I’m fighting weeds much earlier than usual. VMLP photography projectsContinue Reading
Every spring brings new ideas and new challenges. This winter has been the coldest I can recall for the garden. Usually, the daylilies poke their heads above ground by late January. However, this year, I was still watching for them until early March. The Gerber daisies,Continue Reading
I set out to photograph this building because of its colonial architecture, which seemed out of place given the modern buildings surrounding it. It’s unclear what it houses, as there were no signs hinting at its function. On developing and scanning the film, my interest shifted dramatically. Now, allContinue Reading
Garden-wise, this has been an odd year. In my little corner of the world, it has only rained a few times since August. And yet, somehow, the catmint, which has always done poorly in summer, grew bigger and more lush than any year since I’ve had it. IContinue Reading
Three years ago, many front-yard ferns were banished to the backyard because they had overwhelmed the halcyon, raspberry sorbet, and Fire Island hostas. Things went well for two years, but this year, we are back where we started. This halcyon leaf tells me that it still survives, but itsContinue Reading
Favorite colors have different domains—those for clothes may not be the same as those for cars. My favorites for flowers are yellow and purple and various shades thereof. So far, the yellow flowers have been prolific. The tickseed has spread everywhere the wind blows (not necessarily a good thing). Continue Reading
I’ve had bee balm since 2014. Every year, it sends up 20-30 3.5-foot-tall scarlet flowers. After a few years, I discovered a raspberry variety that bloomed longer and looked better over the summer. I planted raspberry and removed the scarlet (to the extent it’s possible to remove bee balm). AfterContinue Reading
The first flowers appear with the creeping phlox in March. Next come the catmint, tickseed, and coneflowers, sometime during April. But true bloom season always begins the last two weeks of May. If there’s a lot of rain it may move up a week or so. TheContinue Reading
