Impermanence Is Here to Stay

    A garden teaches many things: how to dig in and get dirt under your fingernails; the art of patience; and the constancy of impermanence. My friend and hero Anna Timofeyeva-Yegorova, the wonderful Soviet combat airwoman whose memoir I edited, taught me those lessons as well. For more than half a year I lived…

The Power of Grumpiness

From August through the end of the growing season, the lazy gardener grows ever lazier. And seriously grumpy. In August, syrup-thick ninety-five-degree days broil hosta, lilac (Yes, there is one that’s hardy here-it’s called ‘Miss Kim.’), and heuchera leaves to a crispy, rippled brown. The echinacea are a wave of burned black seedheads, and the…