gardening

Over a century ago, somewhere on the American Great Plains, an immigrant family sat huddled in their sod home as the snow fell outside. Their single-room dwelling made out of bricks of grass sod peeled from the surface of the heartland offered little to brighten their sparse Christmas fare.

Once upon a time, people worked in their gardens and yards not only to create a beautiful setting, but for the simple enjoyment provided by the process. Somewhere between then and now, we've lost sight of that kind of simple pleasure. Where I come from, there's a word for what I'm talking about: piddling.

Small trees are powerful design tools that anyone can use. Whether it's a white star magnolia in spring, a magenta crepe myrtle in summer or a fiery Japanese maple in the fall, small trees are always exquisite in the landscape. They are not planted for shade like the great oaks or sycamores. Small trees act like bright, beautiful arrows that point out and accentuate landmarks in your yard.

Many ambitious vegetable gardeners start seeds indoors in February, nurture and nudge them along through March and plant them outdoors sometime in April, often weeks ahead of the last potential frost. Sometimes they get lucky, defying Jack Frost with cloches, cold frames, row covers, mulch and more.

A World War II veteran asked me to design a memorial for his fallen brothers in our local park. I could see in Jack's eyes a great sadness because so many didn't make it home, while he himself was lucky.

Patrick is the sole survivor of his Vietnam War platoon, and to this day, he struggles under a mountain of guilt that only he made it out alive.

Even the most passionate gardeners usually need a break by the time summer draws to a close. Yet within a few short weeks, experienced gardeners are heading back outside. They know some of the most productive and long-lasting improvements to any outdoor space take place in the fall. Here are just a few things to consider for your autumn to-do list:

Landscaping

In states with mild climates, a garden doesn't go to bed for the winter, it simply changes character. By Thanksgiving, the beds and borders are filled with plants that crave cooler temperatures. Try to grow these same plants in summer and they'll promptly wilt or become infested with wooly aphids.

As we invent things to make our lives more efficient, the net result is often more things on our to-do list and a greater sense of pressure to get them all done! Let's face it; some of the hottest-selling products and concepts today are all about saving time.

LAUGHLINTOWN, Pa. - Terry Coyne sowed the seeds for her new floral and gift shop while working as a nutrition researcher for 13 years at the University of Pittsburgh during the late '80s and 1990s.

Amaryllis and colorful Cape primroses, which are members of the African violet family, crowded her office, thriving behind floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that faced east.

I awoke in the dark of night to the sound of flapping wings and something sizable flying around and around my bedroom. "There's a bat in here," my husband said in a half-muffled voice from the bathroom. I recalled I'd gotten up earlier to let the dog out and left the front door ajar. One of our resident bats had come calling.