Abigail Higgins
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...
Garden Notes: The state of buckeyes
Are we pollen-ated enough, already? Wait — there’s more! Autumn olive, pine, many grasses, and all plants in flower that utilize wind pollination for...
Garden Notes: Spring in bloom
Outdoor living is here again, and lily of the valley, lilac, and especially, Viburnum carlesii scent the air. Memorial Day weekend reignites the grill....
Ask an Expert: What exactly is a beetlebung tree?
Beetlebung: a beautiful tree with a wonderful name. Many people are not especially tree-aware, but everyone perks up when they hear “beetlebung.” It is...
Garden Notes: Mother’s Day ideas
The memorable Mother’s Day gift is the one that survives and flourishes. Mother’s Day is linked in American culture with cards, flowers, and flowering...
Garden Notes: Getting to work
“Life into death into life.” In this Easter season, when Earth Day — care for our common home — is also observed, the epigram...
Garden Notes: Spring is in the air
The soil is warming, and daily — whether anyone witnesses or not — plants are advancing their growth and insects are beginning to stir....
Garden Notes: Spring is here, but be cautious
Island spring is often fluky. It is officially here, though, and, like many, I hope for plentiful rainfall: only at night, hold the snow....
Regenerative gardening 101
Regenerative gardening is gaining popularity across the country. It is a response to global setbacks, like climate change and population growth, which present more...
Garden Notes: Leguminous trees
Snowdrops and early crocus cheer, red-winged blackbirds sing, buds on lilacs enlarge. Stray flowers on flowering quince open. Look upward: Under a first-quarter moon,...
Garden Notes: Get outdoors and start pruning grapevines
Overall, this time of year could be characterized as “waiting for spring.” And wait we shall, for Vineyard spring is a season of delay...
Garden Notes: Camellias could be your heartthrob
Orion glitters front and center in clear nighttime skies. Celebrate February! Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society’s Meatball (Dinner and Dance with the Space Invaders), plus...
Garden Notes: In the temperature chasms
We experience it in the now: Heavy January downpours and downward temperature spikes (maybe they are temperature chasms?) seem to be the pattern. As...
Garden Notes: Light returning
The good news: witch hazel blossoms have already started to unfurl. On Jan. 17, the sun will have risen at 7:10 am and set...
Garden Notes: Wishes and resolutions
The end of 2018 and the start of 2019 have been filled with interesting events and quite a lot of news, mostly about topics...
Christmas dinner from the garden
“Morning frost, Transforming blades of grass Into diamond edged swords.” –Wenonah Silva, “Full Circle” Have you donated to the Red Stocking Fund yet? Mrs. Crist, and later, Mrs....