Abigail Higgins
Garden Notes: It’s February
“For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Could this serious injunction of Lent be the King James Bible’s way of referencing...
Garden Notes: Pruning
The very earliest of the spring bulbs are making their garden entrance. It is a special moment, even if it is way too soon....
Garden Notes: Right bench, right place
Hens have resumed laying, branches and twigs show deeper color, and high up but visible, buds are swelling in treetops. And plenty of snowdrops!
Bench...
Garden Notes: Don’t wait any longer for the freeze
The sun creeps back, stronger now. The witch hazels are unfurling their flowers. A turkey vulture sails a wobbling course over the backyard treetops....
Garden Notes: Happy New Year
“Plant dreams, pull weeds, grow a happy life,” a greeting on a card sent by lovely people. Today’s edition marks the new era of...
Garden Notes: Acorns and moths
“To be content with little is difficult, to be content with much, impossible.” –Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, 1830-1916
The December whirlwind is upon us, and so...
Garden Notes: There are still native centerpiece materials about
The Thanksgiving afternoon cold front, steely gray cloudscape pierced by peachy sunset rays, was beautiful. It gilded treetops from Christiantown to Lobsterville. Even though...
Garden Notes: Our freeze-dried gardens
From “The Gardener Says”: “Don’t think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It’s quiet, but the roots are down there, riotous.” –Rumi (1207–73)
The...
Garden Notes: Alluring alliums
It is hard to believe we are in November already. Fallen leaves have blown everywhere, and the autumnal atmosphere increases as the nights draw...
Garden Notes: Hydrangeas, Island dream flowers
The Columbus Day weekend nor’easter was a big, prolonged blow: two-plus inches of rain, masses of stranded seaweed for those energetic enough to collect...
Houseplants: What do you live with?
Winter is on its way, and life indoors prevails until well into 2020. For you, what greenery is going to cheer the indoor interval?
Think...
Garden Notes: Poison sumac
Poison ivy, poison sumac, poison oak! These are the feared plants that visitors to the Vineyard want to know about. Only the first two...
Garden Notes: Fall is here
The Gardener Says: “Gardening involves the incredibly complicated alchemy of life, involving not just plants and animals, but the entire cosmos and the microcosm.” ...
Garden Notes: Cutting back
Dewfall is heavy. Aloft at dusk, bats find plenty to feast upon. The meadowsong chorus swells as early fall approaches — the chorus of...
Garden Notes: Ahoy, Labor Day!
The season winds down, and containers often look it, with lanky stems short on flowers. You can toss them, or — you can practice...
Garden Notes: Summer’s decline
Beach roses are ripening their hips, and the foliage of poison ivy gleams in the shore’s crystalline light. Soon the fruit of beachplum will...
Garden Notes: Bring pollinators to your garden
The gardener says: “When you bring flowers into your vegetable patch, be prepared for good things to happen.” –Lisa Mason Ziegler in the book...
Garden Notes: Summer conditions, good and bad
July is daylilies and rambler roses lining roadsides, and privet and honeysuckle scenting summer evenings. Gardens leap into prime time; there is so much...
Garden Notes: Peas, please
The Gardener says, “Gardening is a controlling practice, but a gentle one — mostly.”
Crows are doing a great job of roadkill pickup. Think what...
Garden Notes: Blooming colors
Fireflies are flashing, “Summer is here.” Long-range forecasts predict the Northeast will be on the receiving end of higher-than-normal rainfall, while other parts of...