Abigail Higgins
Garden Notes: Protecting the environment
Last Monday’s spectacular harvest moon and the autumnal equinox have ushered in a new season to garden in. Photons diminish daily, nighttime temperatures drop,...
September song, or silence?
Late summer meadowsong, September’s insect chorus, is swelling. Its leitmotif surrounds us, day and night. Remove your earbuds and listen for it.
Uncountable crickets and...
Garden Notes: North and south
Weather-titillation buildup? As I write, it looks as though New Orleans is headed for another fearful, Force 4 bashing. Simultaneous with this column’s appearance,...
Garden Notes: Summer winds down
“We’re in the countdown,” the frequent greeting heard around mid-August, “only two and a half weeks to go!” Summer is winding down, and for...
Garden Notes: Of phlox and floods
The daytime sound of August, cicadas’ rattling crepitations, has filled the air in the last week or so. Their shed exoskeletons startle when found...
Garden Notes: Pollination
Bats and fireflies at dusk mean glorious high summer. Butterflies, lovers of sunlit places and warmth, are more numerous and noticeable now, especially the...
Garden Notes: Heat on our minds
We are lucky to be here. The Western part of North America baked in deadly, incendiary heat as the holiday weekend neared, with the...
Garden Notes: Pruning after blooming
Gardeners are thrilled. This spring, the dazzling bloom on flowering plants and shrubs has been the best kind of gratification; fantastic really, and it...
Garden Notes: Loving the Rain
We have gone neon green, and every other color too. Late spring is beloved for the peony, iris, poppy, and rose display. Is there...
Garden Notes: True colors
For those of us privileged to have gardens or a patch to grow, gardens are our windows into a world of existences that put...
Garden Notes: Waking up
The perfume of May seems to be saying, “Wake up, you sleepy insects!” Early irises are blooming, and everyone is astonished apparently by the...
Garden Notes: Mulch wisely, and eschew volcanoes
The amount of sunlight makes 6 am a real pleasure. Cells of everything in the Northern Hemisphere surge in response, and leaves unfurl before...
Garden Notes: Ideas for spring
Woodpecker, mourning dove, and pinkletinks dominate the early morning stillness. Then the ‘thrumm’ of internal combustion engines and truck tires begins to compete, and...
Garden Notes: Getting ready
Grass, buds, twigs: everything with chlorophyll in it is becoming greener. The Passover full moon and gale last weekend were March’s grande finale. April...
Garden Notes: Think long-term
Spring, beginning officially with the Vernal Equinox, March 20, is when outdoor activities resume. With that very much in mind, what better time to...
Garden Notes: Getting our gardens ready
Under February’s Snow Moon, our cold soil underlain with clay seems to be the last on the Island to lose its snow cover. However,...
Garden Notes: Winter Wonderland
This is February: month of snowstorms, clearing blue skies, and bright sunshine! Deep and pristine, shadowed in exquisite blue, this snowfall was a pillowy...
Garden Notes: I (Heart) Martha’s Vineyard
Already, Valentine’s Day is almost upon us. Subject matter of garden columns is usually plants and flowers, especially around Valentine’s Day; but today’s is...
Garden Notes: Light-driven
Each day now we receive about one minute more daytime at sunset. Sunrise is about to start earlier too. According to the adage, “as...
Garden Notes: Fresh start
A lot has happened that we did not imagine at this time one year ago. Stating the obvious, the year 2020 has been a...