The tame, too smug, I cry; There's no adventure in security; Yet still my little garden craft I ply, Mulch, hoe, and water when the ground is dry... -Vita Sackville-West The Garden; 1948 The other day I was looking up odds and ends when I came across a word I have never heard. … Continue reading A Peculiar Fight For Turgidity
Tag: roses
Deadly Nightshade
This remedy she rejected, saying that she would rather die than do anything that she believed to be a crime or contrary to God's will. -Vita Sackville-West Saint Joan of Arc: 1936 In one of my favorite books (I mean, if I was stranded on a deserted island (touch wood), this would be one of the books … Continue reading Deadly Nightshade
The Object Of My Disenchantment
There are few more repaying plants. Rabbits dislike them; their flowering season extends through May and June; they last for a week or more as picked flowers for the house; they will flourish in sun or semi-shade; they will tolerate almost any kind of soil, lime-free or otherwise; they will even put up with clay; … Continue reading The Object Of My Disenchantment
Ramble On…
He kept them sitting for hours over the dinner table, he who was usually so impatient to move away; he kept them entertained by anecdote after anecdote, reminiscence after reminiscence, observation after observation... -V. Sackville-West Easter Parade: A Novel Copyright: 1953 Allow me, if you will, to ramble a bit? Ramble like a climbing, … Continue reading Ramble On…
Honeysuckle Fireworks
...it is not generally realized by the amateur gardener how many shrubs and climbers will lend themselves happily to layering. It is possible to obtain quite a nursery of young, rooted stock in a short time, at no cost and for very little trouble. Honeysuckles sometimes layer themselves of their own accord, so avail yourselves … Continue reading Honeysuckle Fireworks
Garden Of Roses…
Indeed, I think you should approach them as though they were textiles rather than flowers. The velvet vermilion of petals, the stamens of quivering gold... -Vita Sackville-West In Your Garden May 28, 1950 I have been waiting all year for this. Waiting for the perfect opportunity to purchase my roses. They will be the … Continue reading Garden Of Roses…
Garden Tour: Memorial Day Weekend
And now, at last, she was seeing daylight; the obstacles were clearing away; things were really beginning to move. -Vita Sackville-West Saint Joan of Arc, 1936 Thank God we made it through another winter and an unpredictable spring. I realize spring is not officially over until June 20th, but the swimming pools are open this … Continue reading Garden Tour: Memorial Day Weekend
A Rose That Spoke
They may roughly be described as roses which should be grown as shrubs; that is, allowed to ramp away into big bushes, and allowed also to travel about underground if they are on their own roots and come up in fine carelessness some yards from the parent plant. -Vita Sackville-West May 28th, 1950 In Your … Continue reading A Rose That Spoke
ROMANCING THE CLEMATIS
An unusual way of treating clematis is to grow it horizontally instead of vertically...but do this as gingerly as you can, for clematis seems to resent the touch of the human hand. ...the reward will be great. For one thing you will be able to gaze right down into the upturned face of the flower … Continue reading ROMANCING THE CLEMATIS
“Magenta is a Nasty Color”
The only nasty color produced by the zinnia is a magenta, and this, alas, is produced only too often. When magenta threatens, I pull it up and throw in on the compost heap, and allow the better colours to have their way. -Vita Sackville-West February 12th, 1950 Yes, magenta does show up all too … Continue reading “Magenta is a Nasty Color”










