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Bloomin’ Update 32: Lost In The Planting Fields
Gardening is a gift that keeps on giving – and this is especially true of the Planting Fields Arboretum, a jewel of a gift on Long Island’s Gold Coast. William Robertson Coe, who made his fortune in...
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Elephant Ear Gives Birth — LIVE!
This post has been a long time in the making – months, as a matter of fact. At the start of the growing season, I was strolling through one of the big box stores and found a corm for a red/purple/black...
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Breaking Up With August Is Hard To Do
Hi, August. It’s me. Listen, I’m not going to beat around the bush on this one. I’m just going to dive in and let you know . . . It’s over between us. I know I waited until the end of your days to...
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A Labor Of Love — Lost
It’s Labor Day weekend – a time tailor-made for beaches, barbecues, parades, and speeches. But on this particular holiday, I’m staring at the remains of a small, neighborhood garden center on Long...
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Bloomin’ Update 33: See You In September
It seems fitting that after an interesting amd intense couple of days, I have to extend my thanks to a few people. First up is Cheri, a WordPress editor, who selected my previous post about 9/11 to be...
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The Saddest Gardener In The World
Okay, maybe not in the entire world – but certainly in my world. This is the first weekend where fall really feels like fall – as in leaf fall, temperature fall, and mood fall. As much as I would...
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Bloomin’ Update 35: Uncle!
This was supposed to be a post about how I kept myself occupied after Sandy while waiting for my work to resume. Schools have been closed since the storm. Fortunately, Joe and I had power throughout...
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That’s A Wrap!
I hope you don’t mind, but in honor of Thanksgiving, I’m offering some leftovers — in the form of a repost. I’ve reworked it a bit to make it more palatable, but the gist is the same: a couple of...
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And So This Is Christmas
This is not the post I planned for today. I originally wanted to write something funny about one of my favorite holiday films, Christmas In Connecticut, or poke fun at myself for crying over Christmas...
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Bloomin’ Update 36: Wish You Were Here
Joe, also known as “Joey Coconuts,” and I are spending Christmas week in South Florida. When I tell that to people, their reactions usually fall into one of two categories. First, there are those who...
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Whiling Away A Winter’s Day
What to do? It’s an early January day, one of those odd ones that’s wedged between cold fronts. On Long Island, that means it sort of feels like March, and there is an urge to bundle up and start...
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Margaret & Me & A Cup Of Tea
Margaret Roach. For years it was just a name, one that I had seen in the masthead or the editorial pages of Martha Stewart Living. Occasionally, it appeared at the bottom of the television as I...
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The Giveaway Goes To . . .
At last, we have arrived at the big reveal — the announcement of the winner of Margaret Roach’s most excellent book, The Backyard Parables. So without any further delay, the book goes to . . . Now did...
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Amaryllis Boo-Boo: From Wallflower to Supermodel
Amaryllis. With a name like that, I should have known she was destined for stardom — but who could have anticipated any such thing on the Christmas morning that she arrived on my doorstep?...
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The Spoils Of Suburbia
Snow has melted, fallen, and melted again — but winter’s debris is still there. I don’t mean the fallen leaves and broken twigs that litter the beds and lawn. I’m referring to actual litter. Due to a...
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Bloomin’ Update 38: It’s So Easy Seeing Green
With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner and me tuning up my bagpipes, it suddenly occurred to me how appropriate it is that this most Irish of celebrations, where green is the color of the day, is...
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Q & A: Down And Dirty With Dante
With a name like Dante the Comic, it’s pretty obvious that he’s a funny guy. The name, though, barely scratches the surface of all that he does on screen, behind the scenes, and in his yard. Dante...
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Repost: Ladies & Gentlemen, Start Your Seeds
Joe and I made the drive from New York to South Florida, and in 24 hours, we experienced three seasons. We began our journey in winter and then arrived in spring by the time we reached South Carolina....
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Repost: One Week In Two Zones
It was a gut-wrenching, heart-aching goodbye. As we drove north on I-95, we watched spring disappear, its greens and blooms falling away with each passing mile. And now, on a very cold spring day on...
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To Blow Or To Suck, That Is The Question
Of course, I’m referring to leaves — what on earth were you thinking — because my yard is, once again, overrun with leaves — which is strange, since I have very vivid memories of autumn weekends with a...
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