I suppose that some small sections of lawn are necessary, or at least that’s what my wife says, and who am I to argue? Probably, I wouldn’t stretch the garden to cover the entire acre and a quarter even if she didn’t put a stop to it, but I’d be happy to narrow the lawn…

I am encouraged that the garden was not the disaster I feared when I returned after traveling on business for a few weeks. I was certain that weeds would be knee high, but instead, the worst of it was cleaned up in a few hours. Several large limbs fell in storms while I was gone,…

Though the crop of blueberries is not as abundant as years ago when ten large shrubs bordered the shed in full sun, several spindly blueberries grow in the shade between tall blackgum and katsura. A few weeks ago, bunches of blueberries ripened so that I was able to grab  a few handfuls while strolling the…

I’m not complaining, but without question, the peak period for Japanese maples is spring when foliage colors are most vivid. July brings a stark contrast, and while a collector can excuse maples that fade from this peak in summer’s heat, gardeners with more limited space and budgets must choose more wisely. There are no ugly…

Drought or deluge, there is no doubt that the garden will change significantly while I travel on business for two weeks. Changes are likely not to be apparent to a visitor, but hours of weeding will be required to catch up, and more hours will be spent catching up on flowers that are opening (and…

A frequent complaint of gardeners (among a multitude of others) is that shade prohibits growing one thing or another that would prefer more sun. Certainly, I would be happy to tack on another half acre of open and sunnier space, and while I have more than my share of issues to whine about, rarely will…

I don’t mind a path through the garden that is lawn, any variation of leaf or wood mulch, gravel, and hardly mind areas of bare soil, though more than once a ruckus has been raised when clumps of mud are dropped onto the kitchen floor. Of course, it was my wife who dictated long ago…