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Seattle-based garden friends brought me lily bulbs years ago, ones they said were their favorites, but of a type I didn't know. They were martagon lilies, and when I saw my first flowers, they quickly became my favorite, too, with their Turk's cap-style blooms and a natural-looking demeanor -- no stiffness. My gift had come from a nursery near my friends' garden, which has a great assortment of martagons. I've asked that expert grower to give us the 101 on them (quick hint: lime desired!), and lily-growing and dividing in general. All right here.
how-to-canning help, with theresa loe
Canning is hot, and not just when you're standing over a boiling kettle. I've been gathering tactical advice and recipes, including tips from a new video series by Theresa Loe on the public-TV show "Growing a Greener World." Theresa was my radio guest this week, where we talked jam (without too much sugar or added pectin); what cucumber makes crispy pickles; the challenges of canning on electric stoves -- and even how to improvise a few key tools. Ready to learn?
12 years with jack, silver lining to a dark day
My sister called Wednesday morning to wish us well on a dozen years together -- "us" being me and Jack -- but at first I didn't know what she meant. I lose track of dates in this rural life, but she had not forgotten: It was 9/11, the darkest day, but also the day that I met Jack. I suppose you could call him my silver lining -- or at least a black-and-white one. A recollection on finding some small comfort in a large cat.
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