hellebore success; what birds are saying; recap: potato-growing 101  

On a former Virginia tobacco farm that has been in her family for six generations, Judith Knott Tyler and her husband, Dick, have spent 30ish years breeding and raising quite a different crop: hellebores. We talked about how to get these deer-resistant perennials settled in the garden; how semi-shade (and not deepest darkness!) is more to their liking; and of course about some extra-gorgeous varieties, like Judith's picotee double, above. Success with hellebores.

good morning, birds! (but is that a song or a call?)

Each morning as we run up to full-on spring, another bird voice seems to join the strengthening chorus. But is that a song, or a call, and what are birds vocalizing about, and why -- and how can we learn to tell who's saying what? The fascinating lowdown. 

recap: how to grow potatoes

A friend I order seed potatoes with and I were scratching our heads as we filled out the form, blanking on the line where it said "preferred ship date." How early do we want them to arrive? Time for a review of that and other questions about when and how to plant, hill and harvest potatoes (without any chemicals, of course).