In May’s column, we discussed a quote often seen in gardening literature: “Plant the right plant in the right place.” Selecting and planting a plant that will do well in the place where it is planted (and do well without a lot of extra work by the gardener) is fundamental to a successful lan…

I have always been slightly envious of people who had gardens full of luscious vegetables. My time and energy went into planting flowers — hundreds of them — as I (incorrectly) believed I did not have the right climatic conditions to grow vegetables. What I really lacked was imagination. Veg…

February, the second month of the year, is an interesting month with only 28 days (unlike the rest of the months with 30 or 31 days). Every four years there is Leap Year and we can celebrate the month for 29 days. According to internet sources, having the extra date allows the calendar year …

There have been gardeners in all walks of life who have bequeathed us legacies from their time spent cultivating a garden. Working intimately with nature inspired glorious images in prose, poetry, paintings and activities in everyday lives.

Just as the gardener is ready to pitch the hand spade and the smelly gardening gloves, the chrysanthemums burst into bloom, causing us to smile. Mums are popping up everywhere, beckoning us with vibrant flowers. Time to remove weary summer annuals and replace them with fresh faces.

Yikes. The lilies are in bloom! My husband calls them “statuesque beauties.” This is a perfect description for this showy charmer; some, like the tree lily (a cross between an Asiatic and Oriental lily), can reach five feet with magnificent blooms resting on the tops of slender stems. Althou…

Spring has been a dilly. We have had two or three April nights in the 30s as well as days in the mid- to high 80s. The flowers and the gardener were both confused at times.

Spring officially started on March 20. It has been giving and unforgiving. Terrible storms have wreaked havoc, destroying lives, properties and the sense of security of those in their way.

Any experienced home buyer or seller will tell you that one of the big ticket items when it comes to houses is the bathroom. But why do we care so much about them?

Oxford resident Joy Greenwood grew up surrounded by artistically-gifted family members. 

Lately there has been a quiet drama unfolding in my garden. Birds are dying — especially Pine Siskens and Purple Finches — not because they hit a glass door or ran afoul of a neighborhood cat, but because there are too many of them and they are contracting salmonella.

When Coke Williams and his wife, Kelly Kitchens, designed a getaway home on the old family farm, they wanted it to rust.

Recent columns have dealt with the tremendous influence of color in our lives and in our gardens.

Volumes have been written on proper pruning techniques. Never fear; we are not doing so today. We are, however, going to discuss some basic pruning procedures to avoid mishaps.

As a newbie gardener more than four decades ago, I made a lot of mistakes. It took years to learn new tricks to fix them. The effort has been successful for the most part. (No one is perfect.)

You’d be forgiven if you thought that the columned white house atop a hill at Fiddler’s Green in Jacksonville had been standing there for centuries. 

The holiday season is upon us, despite lockdowns, masks, illness and shortages. The pandemic has not curbed our traditional urge to shop as we seek some normalcy.

Since I am still living in my pandemic bubble, I spend more and more time gardening. These months have been devastating for so many. Loved ones have gotten very ill. Some have died. Jobs have ended. Homes have been lost.