jack to margaret: it’s a snooze, mom

In case you hadn’t noticed, weeds are having a bit of a moment, and have been for some time. They were stars of the show at Chelsea this year and are increasingly being appreciated for their up-until-now-overlooked ornamental value. They are also living proof that our attitudes to gardens – who they are for and how they should look — are shifting. Gardens have always been a mirror to society, and now more than ever we see the pressing issues of our time reflected in how we think about them. We are no longer creating gardens solely for our enjoyment, but for the birds and the bees too. We are also being much more mindful about resource management, selecting plants and materials which will have the lightest footprint, requiring the least intervention. Weeds (whatever that term means) are the perfect solution. Incredibly well adapted to their environment, they will need little or no nurture to get established and thrive. And because they’re native, they support a huge range of insects and invertebrates who have evolved alongside them.

Cardamom vs Coriander – well, there might be a lot to talk about, especially when you want to clear the air of – Is Coriander The Same As Cardamom. Let’s find out!

FOR THOSE OF YOU IN THE AREA, meaning the Hudson Valley of New York State or thereabouts, these spring events here in the garden and elsewhere may be of interest: Saturday March 14, Spring Garden Day, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County. (518) 272-4210. This popular, day-long annual event in Troy, New York, includes a choice of classes, from growing orchids at home to successful vegetable gardening.

GARDENING WITH SKUNKS isn’t a phrase that rolls off the tongue, the way “…with deer,” or “…with rabbits” might. But here at A Way to Garden, outsmarting awakening skunks is one of spring’s first challenges.

CO-HOST AND GARDEN DESIGNER CARMEN DEVITO really got me going on the popular weekly “We Dig Plants” show on Heritage Radio Network the other day, when she asked me to think back–now four-plus years–about my journey from the city life of my past to the here-and-now of living in the garden. Apparently I shared such wisdoms as: “With things that you treasure, whether it’s a person, a thing or plant, sometimes you can hold it a little too close and suffocate it.

Let this excerpt from my recent book, “And I Shall Have Some Peace There,” tell the rest of  the story of what happened next as I drove faster and faster north toward my weekend home, the place I now live fulltime, a story of finding some measure of peace and comfort even in unspeakably uncomfortable times:Postscript:BLOODLETTING HAS ALWAYS BEEN n one of Jack’s trademarks. It was many years, at least the first seven or eight together, before he stopped attacking me and drawing blood, seemingly for no reason other than to show who was boss.Then, after a middle-of-the-night injury one year ago this month inflicted by some prey he thought he’d subdued but hadn’t quite—the first nick of his long, violent hunting career—Jack had to stay inside for a month while a shredded paw healed after surgery.  It was the first time he’d ever spent more than a few hours in the house, a bit uncomfortable for both of us.At first.Then he cau

HAS YOUR COMPOST HEAP swallowed up any of your tools, jewelry, other personal possessions? A week after my “good pair” of glasses went missing, I found them in the pile the other day, miraculously, just a second before I dumped another load of compost-to-be on top. Ever lost anything in your heap, only to find it a season later (or never)? Tell us.

ONE OF MY TOP BIRD-GARDEN PICKS (and not bad from a gardener’s-eye view, either) has been stealing the show the last few days. It’s crabapple season here, so I wanted to be sure to invite you to stroll through my slideshow on them, which includes lots of tips and links loaded with crabapple information as well.

THE FROGBOYS REPORT THAT THEIR MOTHER, who does not say “Urp,” or “Glug,” or “Rivet” or anything else very interesting or endearing like they do, was nevertheless the subject of a 3-part interview with Alan Chartock on Northeast Public Radio network last week.

First, the workshop back story: Last year, Bob Hyland and I started teaching together again, something we hadn’t done in more than a decade, not since our “old lives” in New York City, where he was head of horticulture for Brooklyn Botanic Garden. What started as, “Do you want to do a container workshop at Berkshire Botanical Garden together?” turned into another and another over at his nursery. The bug bit us; we remembered how much fun we have working together this way, so this year’s schedule reflects that.The April and September workshops begin here with light breakfast, tours and teaching in the garden, then we all head over to Loomis Creek for two-plus hours more learning. Hope to see you at some of the events.MARCH Sunday, March 7 – Reading at Berkshire Botanical Garden, Stockbridge, MA, with my sister, Marion Roach Smith, to celebrate Paris Press’ publication of its “Sisters” anthology. 2 PM. Free, but must RSVP to in

MY MOTHER KEEPS SPOUTING some crap about how my catnip is really called Nepeta cataria. See the words “pet” and “cat” in there?—I’m telling you, she talks in word puzzles, though she’s no Will Shortz. She blathers on that it’s “a perennial that self-sows” (what?).

I WAS GOING TO SKIP ANY MENTION of 9/11, not because it’s not on my mind, but because it’s tricky: Today marks the 10th anniversary of one of the primary catalysts for my eventual exit from city living, for my withdrawal from the mainstream, and also the day that Jack the Demon Cat quite unexpectedly came to live with me.