Learning from television

Every week my DVR faithfully records A Gardener's Diary and then, months later, I actually watch it. This afternoon I've learned that I could cut back the amsonia by half after blooming to keep it full but not sprawling. Good to know.

All of the gardens Erica introduces are magnificent in one way or another. I'm most amazed by the gardens that are less than an acre but so thickly and imaginatively planted that they seem four times the size. I'm also drawn to the gardens with a sense of humor. My favorite garden of that type was a hillside garden flowing down to a lake and dotted with strange little doors and benches that appealed to the gardener's grandchildren. The gardener, a Southern lawyer who obviously enjoyed the good things in life, showed a wry sense of humor that made his creation intriguing rather than too cute.

Erica herself, despite her obvious enthusiasm for gardening, is a little prissy, but she's grown on me over the years.