Pam Harper died last week in her home in Seaford, Virginia at the age of 93 after a short illness; and the horticultural community who knew her and loved her shared a collective sigh — as well as sharing hundreds of emails and texts alerting colleagues and friends worldwide. ‘Another giant says goodbye.’ wrote Tony … Read more
I recently visited the Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab, not far from me in the Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge. What looks like a military bunker houses a project of great interest to entomologists, ecologists and nature-loving professionals and amateurs. It’s led by Sam Droege (rhymes with “hoagie”), a wildlife biologist with the Eastern Ecological … Read more
I visit an artist at his home studio The bus you see above is one of several eye-popping pieces of vehicular art that I’ve been gawking at for years, whenever I see them in my grocery store parking lot. In fact, commenting on them is a popular pastime around here, as is posting photos of … Read more
I am a bit player in the legacy of a nasturtium dynasty. My mother, Molly Bush, was our matriarch. She sowed annual nasturtium seeds devotionally every Good Friday. This was a few weeks before the last frost date. She knew what she was doing. Seeds were sown along a warm, exposed southern wall of … Read more
I am often grateful when I visit community gardens where there are generous gardeners willing to share and who follow a few rules. Where there is a scarcity of gardeners, unwilling to engage weeds or one another, there is a path to abandonment. At the exuberant Chuckanut Center in Bellingham, Washington, there was steadfast … Read more
Ed Snodgrass is best known for the green roof plants he grows at his nursery in Maryland and his green-roof consulting around the world. After first visiting his “farm” in 2016, I declared the garden shown here the most beautiful stormwater management solution. I’d ever seen, (The design of which is chronicled in an Allen … Read more
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane. Of the many types of gardeners a person can be, I am a devoted floralist. I’m unmoved to plant my own vegetables. I eschew shrubs. I only want the flowers. Give me … Read more
Walking into Dotty and Berry Woodson’s greenhouse is like walking into heaven, but thankfully you don’t have to perish to get there. You do need to make an appointment or be lucky enough to receive an invitation, as I did last week. Could there be anything more fun than spending time with Dotty and her … Read more
Eight years ago, I planted a small orchard, a mix of heirloom and so-called improved modern apple cultivars. Six trees total. I’ve taken good care of our trees—or so I thought. I watered the first two years, pruned limbs each winter to improve production, but did not spray. I had apple cider in mind. Two … Read more
I sometimes go catatonic while standing over an appealing plant I haven’t seen before. Looking like Mr. Pitiful, shoulders slumped, my eyes are fixed on the prize in front of me. I am silently pleading mercy. Gardeners will often rescue me if they’ve got enough time and plants to spare, especially if there is … Read more