We quickly discovered that two kittens were much more fun than one.

When I need to be precise about a plant, I use its Latin name, even if my nongardening friends sometimes look at me a little funny for using big words in a dead language - or in the kind of horticultural Esperanto that botanical names make up.

Am I accurately reporting what I see in such a blossom? The answer is no ... and yes.

An angel, legend has it, took pity on a little shepherd girl who had nothing to give to the Infant Jesus in his manger. The angel handed her a weed, but first transformed it into this beautiful flower of winter.

I know of no common interest that exceeds gardening as a source of lifelong friendships, nor as a means of making new friends almost constantly.

One becomes a gardener by becoming a gardener.

Plants are the original chemists. Their sophistication makes DuPont and Monsanto look like little kids with chemistry sets.