Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate: The Daylily Whisperer
Some gardeners grow lots of different plants. Others fall in love with one or two plants and specialize…
Latest Through The Garden Gate
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate: It’s too hot in the garden
We’ve had day after day of temperatures above 90F, and the heat has taken a toll on both…
Lifestyles
Through The Garden Gate: Dinner parties and otherworldly vegetables
In 1972 Ricky Nelson sang about going to a garden party and being disappointed by what happened; he…
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate: Controversy in the garden
My gardening friends in England and Scotland are bemoaning the rise of what they call eco-rectitude. They’re all…
Lifestyles
Through the garden Gate: Quiet in the Garden
During the height of the pandemic, baby Anca and I would sit on the porch steps and listen…
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate: December in the Garden
December is usually a quiet time in the garden. The days are short, and the temperature is crisp.…
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate: Behold the Snake Plant
Many years ago, everyone’s front parlor had one. It sat in a dark corner in that cold, seldom-used…
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate: Change in the garden
When we bought our house over 30 years ago, it was surrounded by massive oak trees. They provided…
Lifestyles
Through The Garden Gate: A look through other people’s gardens
Curiosity killed the cat! Cats are, indeed, known for being curious and for getting into trouble because of…
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate: The best of intentions
Way back in late January, when I was still browsing plant catalogs and making wish lists of plants…
Lifestyles
Through the garden gate: Plants that thrive in hot summer weather
It’s hot and humid and my garden has a bad case of the blahs. Truth be told, so…
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate: Garden Clubs — Not just who raised the best rose
There is a long history of clubs just for men – social, botanical, historical, culinary, even ones for…
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate: Time to fight against Mother Nature
Several years ago, I visited the Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall. The gardens were at their peak…
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate: Just a typical week in the garden
Gardening is supposed to be peaceful, calming, and restorative. Most of the time that’s true, but once in…
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate: Butchery in the garden
Gardens seem so peaceful. We talk about them as refuges, great places to relax, read, meditate, and just…
Lifestyles
Through The Garden Gate — Darwin’s Orchid: An uncommon house plant
It’s February, that short month that seems to go on forever. It threatens us with cold, wet weather…
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate — ‘The neighbors are gonna talk!’
If you’re of a certain age and grew up in the South, then you’re probably familiar with this…
Lifestyles
Through the garden gate — The beauty of dry stacked stone walls
Throughout New England and the mountains in Virginia, there are stone walls built by farmers primarily from the…
Lifestyles
Through the garden gate — Garden envy
A few weeks ago, I escaped to Maine to explore some gardens and late-blooming native plants there. Obviously,…
Lifestyles
Al and Betsy’s pollinator patch
Nestled at the end of a long winding driveway in Pamplin is a picturesque farm belonging to Al…
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate — A message from Anca
Hi fellow gardeners, it’s me, Anca. My Mom is busy filling in some holes in the backyard, so…
Lifestyles
Through the garden gate: Oh! Those odd names
You all know that I’m slightly obsessed with daylilies. They’re the perfect plant for hot summer days when…
Lifestyles
Through the Garden Gate — The joys of a simple garden
Farmville is blessed with many talented gardeners. Explore the various neighborhoods, and you’ll find English kitchen gardens with…
Lifestyles
Through the garden gate — Iconoclastic container plantings
Now that warm weather is definitely here to stay, it’s time to prepare new container plantings for the…
Lifestyles
When plants bloom
I’m fascinated by plants that bloom at a specific time every day. That old garden favorite, the four…
Lifestyles
Why rhododendron leaves curl and droop
Many gardeners say that they can tell the temperature outside simply by looking out the window at the…
Lifestyles
Ragweed: A highly adaptable plant
Have you ever tried to define a weed? I often hear that it’s just a plant that appears…