Starting a blog is the beginning of an open-ended journey. One never knows what path it will take and where/when it might end. Looking back, some things have turned out well; others are still just plans. For example, I expected that by now, the fourth year of the blog, 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
Regional differences in food and dialects fascinate me. I suppose some of that fascination grew out of my having spent time in very different regions of the country. My early childhood years were spent in rural southwest Virginia, tween and teen years in Ohio, a large chunk of my adultContinue 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
A while back, I shared my take on shooting flower portraits in low light. During that shoot, I had to deal with breezes that made the 1/8 sec shutter speed a headache. At the time, I was irritated by how the breeze kept moving the agapanthus around, wasting my time,Continue Reading
When planning the garden, I deliberately chose plants that attracted bees and butterflies. I had no idea which butterflies to expect, but whatever showed up was welcome. Over the last eight seasons (has it really been eight!?), six kinds of butterflies have been regulars–Black Swallowtails, Eastern Tiger Swallowtails (yellow), Silver-spottedContinue 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
Phloxes are great garden flowers. They have beautiful blooms and smell as if they could be an ingredient in Sweet & Sour Tarts. I have had good luck growing regular garden phlox and creeping phlox, but I’ve planted dwarf phlox multiple times, and it has never made it past aContinue Reading
