Editor’s Note: The Spectator is reaching into Michelle Smith’s gardening column archive for some weekly advice that is as relevant now as when it was first written. This column was first published on 12 June 2019.   What to do this week My plum and pear trees are blooming nowRead More

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 3 April 2019.   What to do this week It’s about time to start tomato seedlings inside to have them ready for transplanting at the beginning of June. Each year I agonize over the wide variety of colors, textures and sizes available. IRead More

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 17 January 2018.   What to do this week: It is still winter, and we are still holed up with our seed catalogs. In case you haven’t noticed, some catalogs are better than others. Some are pretty, and inspirational for that reason. OthersRead More

Editor’s Note: We’re reaching into Michelle’s Smith’s archives for posts as useful now as when they were first published and this week, we’re revisiting one of her lovely long-form essays, last published in November 2020.   The cat and I huddled under the blankets in the dark as the windRead More

Editor’s Note: The Spectator is reaching into Michelle Smith’s gardening column archive for some weekly advice that is as relevant now as when it first appeared on 7 August 2019.   What to do this week There are so many garden projects vying for my attention these days. The red currants and gooseberriesRead More

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 11 April 2018 and you’ll notice the opening the line could have been written today. Told you Michelle’s tips were timeless.     What to do this week Well, perhaps you noticed that it snowed this week, so maybe we have to goRead More

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 29 March 2017.   What to do this week Garden planning time is the perfect time to think about what is needed for saving your own seeds. Even at the home level you want to do it properly, which means, you want toRead More

Editor’s Note: The Spectator is reaching into Michelle Smith’s gardening column archive for some weekly advice that is as relevant now as when it was first written.   What to do this week This week, I’d like to give you a few tips on how to get started with seed saving. If youRead More

What to do this week The Spectator‘s gardening columnist will be back to her regular schedule next week. (Full disclosure: the Spectator forgot to tell her we were resuming the weekly publication schedule as of September 11. Sorry Michelle!) Luckily, she has written oodles of advice for September gardeners, andRead More

What to do this week This week we need to have a talk. Yes, it’s advice I find hard to follow myself, but just between you and me, we’re going to have to suck it up. It’s for our own good. The advice? Don’t take on more than you canRead More