The Most Dangerous Game? Hardly.
http://smalltowngardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/The-Most-Dangerous-Game.mp3 Laetiporus sulphureus My mind is not on my work at this time of year. Though conscience dictates that I should be...
View ArticleFall Foliage Fun
http://smalltowngardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Fall-Foliage-Fun.mp3 The autumn show-stopper, A. hubrectii backed by viburnum and thuja The maples and oaks began to blush red in the woodlands...
View ArticleEating Cheaply. Eating Well.
http://smalltowngardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Eating-Cheaply-Eating-Well.mp3 Recently, I was fortunate to participate in a panel discussion about eating well on a tight budget. Though I love...
View ArticleNature Wants It Back
http://smalltowngardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Nature-Wants-It-Back1.mp3 Brush clearing has been the order of the day for the last few weeks, spurred on by the annual exchange of power tools...
View ArticleThe What, Where & How of Seed Starting
Thanks to a snowy day there is order where once was chaos. There is a certain kind of panic at this time of year when the winter starts to draw to a close and I calculate how many tasks I need to...
View ArticleThe Merry Month of Mud Time
Whether Robert Frost originally coined the term or not I do not know, but ‘mud time’ must be the simplest and most accurate expression to describe the period from the last snow melt to the first tulip...
View ArticleFickle April
Convalaria shoots are just as fascinating to my Jack Russell as they are to me The crocus and winter aconite have finally appeared, only to find me standing over them, tapping my watch. Everything is a...
View ArticleDeck That Deck!
The spring reclamation of patios and decks has begun across the Mid-Atlantic and New England. And, unlike our brother gardeners in sunnier climes, this will involve something more extensive than...
View ArticleThe Gnat Hat
We’re on the Virginia side of the river now, but even so, I have read with interest the heroic efforts of a local Maryland citizen who is determined to eradicate our shared gnat problem by enlisting...
View ArticleThe Necessity of Underwear
The tricky business of staking is on the agenda chez Willburn; but with the heat, humidity and resulting malaise affecting all forms of life whether flora or fauna, it is difficult to do more than wave...
View ArticleJust Wait Until Next Year
By the beginning of September, many gardeners are thinking about next year’s garden. Whatever failures have been experienced this year – whatever insults have been suffered – all are erased by a...
View ArticleHydrangeas for the Confused
http://smalltowngardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Hydrangeas-for-the-confused.mp3 There are a lot of hydrangeas out there. A lot. In fact as far as I’m concerned, too many. This is of course, no...
View ArticleIt’s Time to Get Serious About Your Vegetables
What once was Melones Reservoir in Calaveras County. If you look closely you can see the old bridge once covered by a hundred feet of water. I’m writing from California this week. My whereabouts are...
View ArticleFive Smart Moves for Fall
Whether it’s back to school, back to sports, back to work or back-to-back holidays, autumn can get a little crazy. At the same time our schedules are exploding, there’s tons to be done in the garden,...
View ArticleWhen Everyone Is Watching: Garden Design for Non-Designers
http://smalltowngardener.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/When-Everyone-Is-Watching.mp3 A front-and-center garden puts artwork on display and invites accolades or criticism. I’ve got nothing but...
View ArticleHOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR GARDENERS
In my part of the world, Winter arrives as a gentle jolly spirit and departs like a raving banshee. However, before I start navigating three-inch ice with an ancient Land Cruiser, I plan to enjoy the...
View ArticleAn Exhausting Autumn
A warm wet autumn means lots of mushroom foraging. Here oyster mushrooms & wood ears, destined for a stir fry. Boy we’ve had it good this season. A fall season that doesn’t just tempt, but delivers...
View ArticleNeither an Influencer Nor a Follower Be
[ed. The following article can also be found stirring up comments at Garden Rant later this week.] Tesselaar’s Blue Storm Agapanthus is worth growing because it’s a high-impact, no-nonsense plant, not...
View ArticleNotepads and Jackets
Have you been walking through your garden? I hope so. At this time of year we are as clearheaded as we will ever be. Winter may not afford us congenial temperatures, but what it lacks in warmth, it...
View ArticleFirst, Do No Harm: Coping with Snow on Trees
This extremely rude specimen has been affectionately named “Happy” – and I always avert my eyes when brushing off the snow. I’d like that bit of errant bark to make me smile just as broadly in ten...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....