Winter in Atlanta is the rainy season. Fall and spring have regular, predictable rain— the kind one expects. Winter is different. From late December until February, it rains—drenching rains. The temperature varies with the rain. Sunny days are cold, while rainy days tend to bring warmer temps. A sunny dayContinue Reading
It has been cold here since early December, at least cold for Atlanta. As usual, it has rained regularly, leading to many chilly, damp days. Looking out over the garden, everything has died, even the creeping Jenny—something that hasn’t happened for the last three years. The air alternates, one dayContinue Reading
Description: Overhead shot of a coneflower cluster taken immediately after a welcome summer rain Background: I knew my garden would have coneflowers before even considering any other plants. They have a certain relaxed elegance that handles summer sun with grace. Here in Atlanta, the first round of buds appears in late AprilContinue Reading
Description: An ostrich fern frond in early summer. Background: Having just enrolled in a darkroom class, I needed film to develop and print. Not long before this image was taken, I bought a set containing a Minolta 400si and three Maxxum lenses. I didn’t want the 400si but very muchContinue Reading
I’ve written about zombie plants before, bee balm and German thyme being the main culprits. But now, I’ll have to add a new name to the list, lantana. Yes, the lantana whose label said it was an annual. Bee balm and thyme are perennials, so one could reasonably expect toContinue Reading
Looking back over six seasons of gardening, I have a few nuggets of advice to pass on. Take what I say as a stern warning with enthusiastic encouragement. Gardening is good for the soul, but so is fasting—remember this… Get a good bookAssuming you have never had a realContinue Reading
The Words with Herbs blog suggested readers create “A Week of Flowers” posts where they shows off their summer flowers, so I decided to jump in. It has been a wonderful growing season here in Atlanta, but next week will be the first frost, and most of my perennialsContinue Reading
After using the Maxxum 7000i, my first Minolta and real camera in more than three decades, I realized I wanted to try other Minolta cameras. That realization led me to research other models. On learning that Minolta favored the numbers 5, 7, and 9 when naming cameras, I decided that,Continue Reading
There is nothing like using fresh herbs for cooking. When I lived in apartments, I usually tried to grow herbs with varying degrees of success. Basil usually worked well, as did thyme. Rosemary never worked—it always died. Naturally, when I planted a flower garden, I saved a small area forContinue Reading
By season four, I had settled on all the perennials. There were many failures before getting to that point. I love hyssop, but cannot grow it. Speedwell and geum did not work out either. Those failures left both gaps in the yard and me yearning for more color. I decidedContinue Reading
