In My Garden: Peter Rabbit and Friend

Statuary of any size can be an attractive feature and, sometimes, a surprising element in a garden. These two rabbits are tucked away under the staircase near a watering can (remember the story of Peter Rabbit?) and an old sandbox toy from two generations ago.

In My Garden: A Terra-Cotta Border

Four unused garden hose fenders and some leftover flowerpots make up this decorative border on the half wall under the wisteria.

The Best Place to Find God

“The best place to find God is in a garden,” George Bernard Shaw wrote. “You can dig for him there.” Anyone who has ever cleared his mind while clearing weeds from a flower patch, or enjoyed a quiet moment while watering plants, knows what Shaw meant.

In My Garden: Japanese Anemone

In spite of its name, this plant is native to central China, although it has been naturalized in Japan for hundreds of years. The species was first named and described in Flora Japonica (1784), by Carl Thunberg. Thunberg had collected dried specimens while working as a doctor for the Dutch East Indies Company. In 1844, Robert Fortune brought the plant to England from China, where he found it often planted about graves. It blooms from mid-summer to autumn and has been a “back-to-school” reminder in my garden for several decades.