Miss Jan for Christmas Taking pleasure in the small things by Jim Dodson As she eats her Sunday morning breakfast, Miss Jan looks across the table at me and cheerfully remarks, “You look very [...]
Summer twilight The brief, magical time between day and night by Jim Dodson Illustration by Gerry ONeill Not long ago as a beautiful summer evening settled around us, my wife and I were sitting [...]
The incomplete gardener We dream and scheme — and forever learn. by Jim Dodson Over the past five years, I’ve been building a garden in the old neighborhood where I grew up, a garden of shade and [...]
Death of a Green Dragon A gardener’s bittersweet reminder of life’s impermanence By Jim Dodson Last month, I returned from my first trip since the start of the pandemic to discover a baffling [...]
Simple Gifts The secret to a good life? Less is more By Jim Dodson A friend recently wondered why I named this column “Simple Life.” I joked that it was better than the original name I came up [...]
In the Beginning A grande dame, an old beech and other memory-keepers on the path to this gardener’s genesis By Jim Dodson Fifteen years ago, a grande dame of English gardening named Mirabel [...]