Abigail Higgins
Garden Notes: Never say never
Officially, it is almost here, although spring is never early on the Vineyard. Whatever the signs might be, disregard them! There is usually a...
Garden Notes: Where we are
“As the days lengthen, the cold strengthens.” The old adage is seemingly affirmed. March is in: lion or lamb? January 2023 here was the...
Garden Notes: February flowers
We are far from the stable ages of the Holocene era, and are now firmly in the throes of the Anthropocene.
“Who can see the...
A Vineyard Vignette
I was 13 when I left the Island to board at Westtown School, a Quaker school outside Philadelphia. My first-year roommate there was Emilie,...
Garden Notes: Integrated pest management
Not much winter, so far. The “new normal” action seems to be that it starts later and goes longer into spring. Snowdrops and pansies...
Garden Notes: Winter bloomers
In a now well-established ritual, I check the witch hazels. I have a small collection of five winter bloomers. Three have been of blooming...
Garden Notes: Life’s treasures
The gifts of Epiphany (Jan. 6) may be expanded to mean, in the wider secular sense, that what we have here on Earth is...
Garden Notes: At year’s end
If you are a gardener, keep your eyes to the ground beneath your feet, and carry on. With the onset of winter, anxiety about...
Garden Notes: Turning to the light
We approach the solstice, time of least light. It is Advent season too, which places the focus on the child. The symbolism may be...
Garden Notes: Enter the cold season
Nights now draw in early and we come indoors, appreciating warmth and light. Winds and rains have torn away much of the colorful autumn...
Garden Notes: Death into life
As the 2022 gardening year seemingly winds down, it can be understood as actually the beginning of the next one. Gardening is a cyclical...
Garden Notes: Moving through the fall
October has been glorious. A wistful feeling pervades as we bid it adieu and look ahead to Eastern Standard Time, and late fall’s darker...
Garden Notes: The signs of the season
Scenery and gardens are taking on ruddy autumnal hues as foliage colors deepen, and many hydrangeas make the surprising transformation to russet and ruby...
Garden Notes: Seeing your garden as part of nature
The autumnal equinox’s rainstorm last Thursday measured over an inch in the rain gauge here, and produced a stunning sunset and rainbow, as the...
Garden Notes: Watch for deer on the roads
Fall is lawn repair time. Based on trends, it is likely that dry summers and drought figure in our future. Letting the grass attend...
Garden Notes: Fall arrives, and it’s time to look ahead
Ah, September! College students and summer help are melting away; goldenrod glorifies; Labor Day nears; the Derby bell rings. These punctuate the 10 weeks...
Garden Notes: Tips on our dry gardens
We had a couple of rainfall apéritifs. Thankfully, it was enough to lay the dust, although drought conditions persist.
Checking in with various gardens, it...
Garden Notes: Hostas can help
Meadowsong’s seasonal chorus has already begun. It is an elegy that could rightly be called “September Song.” The trilling and singing of millions of...
Garden Notes: The appeal of quiet in summer
The latest, largest rhododendron, R. maximum, is flowering. Daylilies create banks of color everywhere. Towering oakleaf hydrangeas are like small trees, white flower trusses...
Garden Notes: It was a great June for roses
Not sophisticated enough for the designed garden, the old-time combo of rambler roses, tawny daylilies, blue hydrangeas, and Japanese honeysuckle is a signature of...