The Constant Gardener
A spate of arrests reveals Russian spies have been living undetected in the U.S., posting on Facebook—and tending to their gardens.
plants
A collection of 19 issues
Go Climb a Tree
When all you want is get away from it all, just grab a branch, hoist yourself up, and leave your troubles below.
Timescape
We preserve old buildings, why not old landscapes? Transplanted horticulturalist JESSICA FRANCIS KANE discovers a mysterious garden outside time's realm in Greenwich Village.
Curb Your Dog's Enthusiasm
New York City is a wonderland for dogs--to defecate on, and for their owners to look the other way. An argument for a more civilized scenario, where dogs aren't encouraged to kill plants.
Secret Gardens
Now a New Yorker, our resident green essayist brings her yardwork series to the big city, even if it means breaking into private plots.
Leaving Charlottesville
Departing the (garden) lovers' state for one that loves its cement and money more, our scribbler of the lillies Our writer realizes the crucial difference between caring about plants and caring for them.
Catalog of Dreams
Our resident poet of the orange blossoms discovers the literary charms of gardening catalogs: reading for aesthetic pleasure, also for planning the future.
Tomato Mori
The botanical arts can be passed down, whispered along, or demonstrated with a spade. But who the teacher turns out to be can be a greater surprise than his secrets for growing tomatoes. Our resident gardener gets ready for the Fourth of July.
Plantmanship
What sort of gardener looks forward to winter's first frost? Our in-house green thumb doubts herself after seeing what an expert Virginia gardener--and her garden--looks like.
The Heirloom Ficus
When a loved one's houseplants are divided up, what you get isn't a condition of your standing as a relative, but of your ability as a gardener. Our writer has a story of memory and maintenance, and the discovery of a special bond.
Forced: A Flower Show
Gardeners love to commune with nature. Though not as much as they love to commune with ice cream and plasma screens and loud noises and personality quizzes. Our writer reports from the middle of 33 indoor acres of plants.
Landscaped Beyond all Recognition
We bemoan the rise of the McMansion, the slash-and-burn path of the strip mall--but the real problem may be lurking in the shrubbery.
Raising the Stakes
Drooping flowers are no gardener's friend. So how can you fix them? And, more to the point, how did these things ever get by without us? A few simple ways to make the world bend to our will.
Container Gardening
Even in urban decay, nature can find a way to thrive. This week: Making the case for making friends with your neighbors, both human and insect.
The Weed Hound
We want gardening to seem so natural, something any of us, given a trowel, can do. But the autodidacts among us should realize that sometimes help is needed. This week: How a mail-order gardening tool saved a marriage.
The Homeland Security Annuals Budget
What looks better with sandbags--marigolds or bluebonnets? A privied look at how the decisions are made on what to plant and where, and ways to beautify a bollard.
Houseplants
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we catalog many popular houseplants, from bulbs to succulents, explaining which would be the best choices for your particular interior décor and style.
The Secret Gardener
Your parents' hobbies seem odd and quaint until you discover you can't sleep late on the weekends anymore. Finding early middle age in the flower boxes of your backyard.
Springtime for Washington
Daisies and rifles are never easy bedfellows, especially when both are just starting to bloom.