THIS is EASILY my most favorite summer-related passage from any book, ever. Then he asked me what my plans were for the summer, and in the flush of some strong emotion or other I said, more or less: It’s the beginning of the summer and I’m standing in the lobby of a thousand-story grand hotel, [...]

How about a song? Now seems a good time for a song. Seu browser não suporta iframes. Buy the album at Amazon* → Also, WordPress wants to give all my posts banner images now, so we’re going to oblige them. Dramatic, yes? *Amazon Associates link. If you buy, you support the artist, and you support [...]

I’ve always loved Apiaceae — a family of plants also called Umbellifereae, hence their common name and a word I dearly love, umbellifers — but I come to appreciate them more all the time.

On January 1, 2010, I launched Garden Smackdown, and what a trip it’s been. OK, so it hasn’t quite been six months, but you’ve probably noticed I’m in the thick of the growing season as we speak, and I want to get this in print before I get busy and forget. So what’s happened with [...]

Suddenly, summer. This is one of my favorite summer songs, in spite of the title. Seu browser não suporta iframes. Download the MP3 at Amazon* → *Amazon Associates link. If you buy, you support the artist, and you support me too!

Oh, I see you sitting over there, all smug and thinking you know who’s going to win this one. Well, hold onto your chair. Kolkwitzia amabilis, the beautybush, is the only old skool foundation shrub I love that came with my house. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why the species isn’t [...]