Author Archives: Denise

Who’s Zoomin’ Who?

With salvias planted just a few feet away from windows and doors, humans and hummers are in constant close proximity here. This is by necessity, the constraints of a small garden, rather than by design. The fact is, hummers and … Continue reading →

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Spring?

Seems impossible that just two days ago I was having that tender moment about spring. Yesterday and today heat records were broken, and now everyone is grousing that it’s hotter than Jakarta (really only mid 80’s but we’re a delicate … Continue reading →

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And So It Begins Again

Yes, phrases do bubble up from the depths unbidden until I find myself saying them aloud on a day such as this, about 75 degrees, neither cold nor warm, more like an amniotic bath, birds and insects attending to their … Continue reading →

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Boundaries

I’m constantly accused of not respecting boundaries, of letting plants take over spaces which some people feel should properly remain under the control of humans and not the plant kingdom. That a sight which gladdens my heart, a pathway seeded … Continue reading →

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Type G Personality

Although the science behind the Type A and B personality theory seems to have become largely discredited, I believe there is a strong case to be made for the Type G personality. (Type G’s, you know who you are. Don’t … Continue reading →

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The Jasmine and the Snowman

After working in front of a computer 40 hours the last four days, I was in desperate need of a walk. Coat, coffee money, and a camera were found and I headed out the door. Reading other garden blogs, I’m … Continue reading →

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Dog’s Breakfast

British slang dating to about the 1930’s, meant to convey an unholy mess of dribs and drabs, a hodgepodge. Although origin is uncertain, it seems likely to have dated from the morning someone, possibly slightly hungover, dumped last night’s fried … Continue reading →

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Waking Up to White

Sometimes I seem to be sleepwalking when planning the garden. For example, how could I not have noticed this build-up of white-flowering plants? White valerian, agrostemma, diascia, Geranium maderense, arctotis, gaura, foxgloves. True, it surprised me this morning doing a … Continue reading →

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Pelargonium ‘Chocolate Mint’

For eating, it’s dark chocolate, please, and hold the mint. For the 5×5 plot of ground under the Chinese Fringe tree, Chionanthus retusus, this Chocolate Mint will do. Thought to be a sport of P. tomentosum. The small white flowers … Continue reading →

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March is Women’s History Month

Let’s keep to the theme of horticulture, shall we? And just to make it easy, we’ll choose a famous and flamboyant practitioner of the garden arts, Vita Sackville-West, creator of the garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent. I doubt there’s … Continue reading →

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