rainy forecast for my june 2 open day

We strongly believe that planning and preparing are crucial for success in every area. Gardening is no exception, but sometimes it can be difficult to know what you are supposed to do this month—especially if you have limited experience in the gardening area.

SOMETIMES I GET TWO VERSIONS OF A DOODLE from Andre Jordan, and he wants me to choose. And usually I can’t.

T ODAY IS OPEN DAY AT A WAY TO GARDEN, THE FIRST THIS SEASON. It’s been a little hectic (understatement), but I’m as ready as I can get.

AS ANDRE SO CORRECTLY AND MODESTLY pointed out to me, nobody draws birds with the precision he does. Watch out, David Sibley, our dear Andre Jordan is nipping (chirping?) at your heels.

NORTHERN GARDENERS KNOW ABOUT FINALITY. Its name is hard frost, and it will be here any day now…having sent an advance guard of light frosts three or four nights already to visit and survey the premises.

THIS WEEK’S DOODLE IS REALLY A POSTCARD, one to send to the beloved garden in appreciation for a year of its devoted service and joy. Thanks, Andre Jordan, for just the right thing at just the right moment–one less thing on my to-do list, now that you have “send card to garden” covered.

THAT ANDRE JORDAN IS UNCANNY, WITH HIS ABILITY to see what I am doing from halfway across the nation. I am beginning to worry that he has somehow placed a 24/7 Skype video device here in my dining room–is that your secret, dear doodling Andre? Yes, it’s seed-mania time, and I am having a hard go of it–trying to avoid doing just what the lady in the nightgown has fallen prey to.

GRAY SKIES, BABY BIRD, CAUSE MAMA DONE FLEW OFF. That’s the message of Andre Jordan’s latest–and I don’t think Papa Bird is talking about your average seasonal migration here.

Full lecture and class descriptions below, along with ticket ordering for succulent events:11 am lecture: ‘succulent love’PRACTICALLY carefree, with low water needs and available in amazing forms in nuanced colors that mix and match beautifully…that’s why succulents have been the rage in horticulture in recent years.In this visually rich talk, longtime collector, nursery owner and garden designer Katherine Tracey will share some of her favorite ways of using both hardy and tender succulents in Northeastern gardens, including using them as ingredients in mixed planters, vertical gardens and lately as the subject of long-lasting cut material for

IT’S NO WONDER WE’VE ALL BEEN INCHING CLOSER to a prostrate position lately, with days shrinking steadily like the water level in a leaky pail. But take heed: The hole in the bucket’s been mended; happy solstice! Get up off the floor and do a little dance, won’t you? Brighter days lie just ahead.

Sunday May 23 is Garden Conservancy Open Day from 10-4 (you can get details and directions at the Conservancy website, here). The $5 donation goes to their work to help preserve and promote gardens in America.Then Saturday May 29th, 11-1, my friend Bob Hyland of Loomis Creek and I do an encore of our most popular workshop of 2009: “Contained Exub

FETISHES COME IN ALL DIMENSIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS, and Andre’s is shaped like a shed–a very unusual shed. My only questions: Where’s the deer-preventing moat; does it come with an army of serfs who mow and weed, and is there a dungeon for plants that prove to be thugs?