If someone says "You're not doing that right," hand him the shovel, sit and watch. That's the right way to garden.

We blame Walt Disney for goldenrod's undeserved bad name. Despite Sneezy's pronouncement, plants such as goldenrod with heavy, insect-carried pollen rarely cause allergic reaction.

Gardeners often focus exclusively on plants, missing the absolutely essential visual role played by structures, from paths to pavilions.

When many plants are out of the picture in winter, it becomes clear that many of them should be pitched out. It's also much easier to do that before they come up and begin to talk to us.

If you cut a shrub back because it's just too big, and it dies, you haven't lost anything but a plant that couldn't live by your rules.

I don't rely on muscle power to dig, I use a sharp spade and I wear boots.

Be pleased with your real garden, don't persue the perfection of a picture. What you see in a photo lasted only as long as the shutter snap.