First off, my apologizes to writer E.L. James for riffing on his popular novel title “50 Shades of Grey”. I rather doubt that my comments here will ever make it to the big screen. Just the same, the month of December in my garden is a pretty steamy mix of tan, brown, or black (and all the shades in between) emanating from foliage, seed heads, and bark, and frankly, I find it pretty stimulating…


Each and every month of the year I can hear the garden calling my name, asking politely to please make time for this task or that one. To me, time spent in my garden is always pleasant, perhaps even more so in…