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Growing Season
Spring is the season for all things green and, in my case, grandiose gardening plans. This weekend, I bought 40 packs of seeds. Now the question is: will I execute this time? It feels like ages since the last time I had my fingers in the mud. Our trip around the world in 2019-2020 was…
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Green Thumbs
Gardening is not my superpower. As a young adult, I was known for the speed with which I killed my houseplants. When my husband and I moved from Washington, DC to Amsterdam, 30 years ago, I saw it as a welcome opportunity to rid myself of all those sad specimens lurking in the corners of…
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How Does Your Garden Grow
Mistress Mary had a garden where, astonishingly, silver bells and cockle shells grew. I have a vegetable garden. I have no pretty maids to help weed or water or harvest. It’s a one-woman operation in the middle of Amsterdam. Not quite farming on an industrial scale. In the midst of a pandemic, it’s a comforting…
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Heartland
The heartland is the breadbasket of America. It grows our grain and meat. In my mind, it’s a verdant plain rich with food for all. Imagine then my surprise to learn from Civil Eats that the heartland can’t feed itself because of the coronavirus crisis. How can this be? Cash crops Farming is a business…
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Home Project
On March 15, when the Netherlands entered its intelligent lockdown, my husband and I were in Australia. From Perth, we watched the initial stages of panic unfold in Amsterdam: the fisticuffs over toilet paper and the run on tinned tomatoes. By the time we got home, the Dutch had recovered their blasé equanimity. Most household…
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In the Chinese Garden
At this particular juncture of the stars, I am in the process of putting to bed both my garden and my novel manuscript. My garden doesn’t deserve this treatment. There are at least 3 more months of growing season here in Amsterdam. According to my gardening app, I should be sowing lettuce, marigolds, red beets,…