Friendship, Gardening, Literature, Plain Speaking

William Blake: When Friends Fall Out

I was angry with my friend; I told my wrath, my wrath did end. What is the best way to handle disagreements? Between friends? Between foes? William Blake, eccentric and brilliant man, early Romantic Poet, Biblical scholar, anti-establishmentarian, advocate for the Free Love movement (who once asked his devoted wife Catherine if it would be alright… Continue reading William Blake: When Friends Fall Out

Beauty, Gardening, Home Improvement, Life, Quote of the Day

“Grow, you buggers, Grow!”

Few English actors have radiated imperiousness upon command (see what I did there) better than did the late Glenda Jackson. Nevertheless, I found myself charmed by a revelation, in a recent Daily Mail column** written by her son, the journalist Dan Hodges, that Jackson struggled as a gardener, even amongst the flowers that she loved. To wit,… Continue reading “Grow, you buggers, Grow!”

Gardening, Life, Quote of the Day

Roses in December

God gave us memories that we might have roses in December–J.M. Barrie It’s a lovely sentiment, isn’t it? Unfortunately, not all our memories come up roses (pace Ethel Merman): https://youtu.be/s62MrU8mHx4 and our memory gardens inevitably include thorns, thistles, poison ivy, and an abundance of other nasty weeds we encountered at some point in the horticultural… Continue reading Roses in December

Gardening, Nature

Oh, My Very Goshness! I’m Trendsetting Again!

The headline from a featured article in today's Telegraph: Garden of weeds takes home gold at Royal Horticultural Society Show. I am crying with joy.  Speechless with pride.  Overcome with emotion.  And--at last--sure of my gardening (if nothing else) prowess. (Those of you who are vehement defenders of your Homeowner Association's right to regulate to… Continue reading Oh, My Very Goshness! I’m Trendsetting Again!

Farming, Friendship, Gardening, Rural Living

The Snowman Cometh

Thirty-five years ago, Mr. Right and I sold our house in one of Pittsburgh’s lowest-rent districts, moved ourselves into a tent in a field in Washington County, PA, where our prospective new home was nothing more than a hole in the ground, and started to build. I’m sure the neighbors thought we were nuts.  Nevertheless,… Continue reading The Snowman Cometh

Gardening, Uncategorized

Covering New Ground

There surely must be a horticultural corollary to the well-known maxim, generally attributed to Winston Churchill, that “a woman’s skirt should be long enough to cover the subject and short enough to be interesting.” And it has to do with “ground covers,” those low-growing, fast-spreading plants that (one hopes) form an attractive carpet, especially in… Continue reading Covering New Ground