We who choose to live in cold climates sometimes despair and wonder if its worth the trouble – keeping our houses, loved ones and selves warm as the temperatures drop, protecting the plants that we *needed* to buy but don’t really appreciate the chill, trying to get out of bed on a morning where your breath solidifies in the air, etc. Then there are times where it all becomes clear and we wouldn’t change it for the world. Continue reading »

The Front Yard

When I first moved in, the garden was neatly laid out with concrete edging but was terribly ugly. An enormous conifer dominated my front yard and the garden bed in the middle had nothing but three overgrown shrubs in it that excluded any possibility of other plants. I had been in the house less than a week when the tree surgeons came around to remove that conifer. Gutting the rest of the garden beds in the front took rather more time and bribery of some good friends.

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