Mystical Gardens

Mystical Gardens

Collection Notes

Gardens can be filled with mystery, as legends of the supernatural can attest.

Legends abound of the mystical gardens of fairies and spirits. It’s not surprising, really. With mushrooms that seemingly appear overnight, flowers that open their petals every morning and close at night, and plants that “magically” produce red and orange tomatoes, deep purple eggplants, or rainbow-colored chard, it’s no wonder gardens have long held mysteries. READ MORE

Stories

My Uncommon Sense

A few years ago I was asked to plan the gardens of a big estate in northern New Mexico. The site was in a lazy bend of the Rio Grande River, between the main house and outbuildings. READ MORE

Scottish Lot

The old fast food-joint was a great place until it burned down. At first, the gossip in the Scottish town was about how it happened. Was it arson or just old electrical wiring? Then folks wondered if it would start up again. READ MORE

Pruning Lessons

The contents inside the large and soggy cardboard box are unimpressive when you peel away the plastic coverings: tightly-stacked, plastic tie-bound bundles of 10 sharp, green, thorny sticks, each stick growing out of a muddy, rope-like mass. READ MORE

Summer’s Departure

Autumn is knocking at the door of Summer. She—Summer—does not want to open the door. But she knows that, if she ignores his knocking, soon enough he will beat down the door, and there is nothing she can do to stop him. READ MORE

The Sound of Gardens

Trevor, why the $&@**!! did you do that?” I hear my neighbor yell at his 12-year-old son. I am on my back deck; they are in their front yard two houses down. That’s something I’ve never understood—cussing at a child. READ MORE

The Hairy Boggart (with audio)

Once there was a lady who was determined to grow her own vegetables to feed her young family. She had no space at home, so went to her local allotment to ask about a plot. READ MORE

Wormwood

The Forbidden Garden, published in April, is a page-turner romance/mystery and definitely a “chick book.” But it has one difference from others in its genre: It could not be more about gardening. READ MORE

Garden Thief

In Spring, Summer, and early Fall, half of the yard behind our small bungalow on Detroit’s East Side was a vegetable garden. I often sat at the foot of my bed looking out the small window that faced the yard. READ MORE

Growing food, fun & more