Description:  Red camellias blooming in mid-February Background:  Before moving to Georgia, I cannot recall ever seeing camellias. I was invited to a party at a colleague’s house the first December after moving south from Washington, DC. Winters for me started in November and lasted until April and always brought grayness and ice.Continue Reading

Gardening makes one pay close attention to the weather.  I keep a rain gauge and check the levels after each rain, then average those values over the week to determine whether I need to water.  I never imagined caring that much about rainfall.  Weather changes receive the same attention.  IContinue Reading

Every winter, I look back over flower season to rue mistakes and cheer successes. This year has been a mixture of both. Since 2014, the first season, I have documented the garden—first with an iPhone 4s, and now with an iPhone 8 and Minolta Maxxum 7D. Documenting is a separateContinue Reading

Undoubtedly, this sounds like a stupid question. The question struck me as somewhat foolish as well, since I had just spent three hours yanking weeds. But, the thing is, some of those weeds I kind of liked. After thinking about this question for a day or so, I looked upContinue Reading

Description:  A bellflower cluster (Campanula Carpatica) shot in the late afternoon sun Background:  I knew almost nothing about bellflowers when I bought this plant. What little I knew had been gleaned from the label on the pot. They made their way to the garden by overwhelming me with their bluish-purple color presentedContinue Reading

Looking out over the garden in late August, I see the flowers entering the final stage of the season. The Black-eyed Susan blooms are fading, producing seeds that the goldfinches love. The verbenas along the sidewalk have given up, no longer able to take the heat reflected off the cement.Continue Reading

Description:  Resurgent bee balm, Jacob Kline Background:  Bee balm has a unique flower. It strikes me as looking like a court jester’s cap, the kind with bells and such. When people passing by pause to ask a question about the garden, invariably, they point to a bee balm bloom and ask whatContinue Reading

Dig, if you will, these pictures of a few things purplish. Yellows and magentas surround them—now can you, can you picture this? Purple is the dominant color in my garden. There is actually an assortment of purples, and I have no idea what the correct names are. I’m still notContinue Reading

When I heard tropical storm Claudette was headed to Atlanta, I panicked, remembering how past storms had bowled over my flowers. Those flowers never recovered. Years ago, when I moved to Atlanta, dodging tropical weather systems was not high on my list of concerns. But these days, I pay veryContinue Reading