My Perennial Dilemma – The New York Times – Op-Ed – 6/2015
For one gardener, a lifetime of instant gratification yields to longer-term commitment.
Thank goodness for farmers. As a mere gardener, I don’t know how they do it. The heartbreak. My phlox had powdery mildew last summer and it about killed me. The worry. Was I applying the right mildew spray? The doubt. Had I read the Department of Agriculture’s official Plant Hardiness Zone Map correctly? Was Provincetown in Zone 7A? I had to remind myself that my life and livelihood did not depend on my phlox crop.
One morning I stood like a garden ornament among my plants trying to laser-kill mildew with just a look. I was also deep in a narrative about being down to my last… continued
