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By JUDY WAGNER

I love trees — their shapes; their shade; the varied textures of their barks; the colors of leaves from early budding to fall glory; the soothingly steadfast hues of the evergreens. I love the sounds of wind gently stroking or fiercely lashing...

By JUDY WAGNER

 Suddenly, everything is going to seed. Rain and heat earlier in the summer prompted the crabgrass to spread aggressively, and other tall grasses are thrusting up seed stalks galore. Poke weed is setting its berries, as is the invasive bittersweet....

By JUDY WAGNER

 Ah, bless the breeze. After days and days of oppressive temperatures over 90, forcing us to forego outdoor gardening time, we finally had a slight respite. We still couldn’t work outside more than half an hour without being soaked with sweat, but...

By JUDY WAGNER

 Throughout the history of our country there has been a pattern of shifting priorities for the political parties seeking power through elections. There has been some fluidity as people sought the party that best reflected their interests. One group of...

By JUDY WAGNER

 Like it or not, the transitions are upon us. The calendar doesn’t say “summer” yet, but we have already felt some summer heat. The luscious blooms of spring — trees, shrubs and early bulbs — have all passed by, petals falling like forgotten confetti...

By JUDY WAGNER

 This is the time of year that I think about dividing daffodils, tulips, iris and day lilies. I know, I know; I am supposed to do this in the fall, when the bulbs, corms and tubers can be resettled for the winter, to rise again to bloom the following...

By JUDY WAGNER

 At the moment, most trees are still biding their time, shyly staying curled and safe in bud wraps for now. A few days ago that seemed very wise as we woke to a landscape whitened by an April snowstorm. But in just days we will witness the wonderful...

By JUDY WAGNER

This is March’s dilemma: Is it time to be spring or not? March has a tough role to play. It is haunted by the old saying: “In like a lamb, out like a lion; in like a lion, out like a lamb.” March is saddled with expectations of changeable behavior and...

By JUDY WAGNER

 If April is the cruelest month (T.S. Eliot), February must be the most disconcerting. After an inordinately gray January, punctuated by only one noticeable snow, and just one brief stretch of single-digit temperatures overnight, we were left...

By JUDY WAGNER

Each year we wait to see the last rose of summer. This small ritual is a way to ease the transition from the bounty of summer — and some of its excesses, like rain, heat or mosquitoes — to the more spare seasons of fall and winter when many things...

By JUDY WAGNER

The fall of the summer is subtle, at least at first. You might momentarily think those few slim bright yellow shapes flirting to the ground are goldfinches, but you’d be wrong. With closer attention you note they are the first leaves to declare their...

By JUDY WAGNER

So, about those raspberries. When we decided what to plant in this, our first-ever sizable food garden, we chose those foods we enjoy but always found too costly in the grocery. Blueberries came with the house along with plenty of blackberries and a...

By JUDY WAGNER

Blueberry picking is a skill. First there is the color calibration. Is that berry truly blue? The best have a slightly frosted look but some are just outright dark polished midnight blue. You have to reach the ripe berry in the cluster and pluck or...

By JUDY WAGNER

Ah, Thanksgiving! It’s my favorite holiday of all, even though in recent years we have rarely celebrated with family. Kid schedules, work responsibilities, travel hassles, limited vacation and other challenges (like pandemics) lead us to plan other...

By JUDY WAGNER

There is a brief moment between late spring and early summer when our our yard is a synchrony of white.The white iris shared by a friend several years ago is finally established and glows its accent among its purple kin. Strawberry blooms begin to...

By JUDY WAGNER

This time of year I hardly know whether to laugh or cry.The recently magnificent crabapples have drifted their petals to the ground like quiet tears sliding down a cheek. The tulips look worn at the edges and the earlier varieties have collapsed,...

By JUDY WAGNER

I was mildly surprised to notice first one, then another, of our Christmas cactuses beginning to set buds again. Most of them bloom between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, with a couple of pale pink varieties showing up more around Easter. So flowers at...

By JUDY WAGNER

On the drive from western Pennsylvania back to New England, there was a wide tract of land, near the New York and Pennsylvania border, with low hills and a gray and beige demeanor in the rain-soaked day. Then, my eye registered green. A stand of bare...

By JUDY WAGNER

So for a while it looked like all of January was going to be a thaw. Once, the January thaw was a short reprieve, a brief reminder that winter would eventually end. This year after one hard cold snap we were left wondering when winter might begin.One...

By JUDY WAGNER

The first measurable snow of this winter gently and persistently covered the landscape in a soft blanket of white for two days. Trees were flocked and decorated. Grasses were smoothed; hardly any drifts marked the surfaces. It was a peaceful scene,...