Susan Higgins

Volunteer Susan Higgins writes about what she learns and loves in the Garden.

Sep 17th, 2024

Before the Fall

Nature has kept one of her most colorful secrets hidden for months now. Since early spring, she has dressed her deciduous trees in regulation green. Then, through some sartorial sleight […]

May 15th, 2024

How the Rose Garden Grew

Louise Cochrane loved roses. She grew roses in her home garden at Walnut Hill. She captured the essence of roses in many of her paintings. And for many years, she […]

Apr 26th, 2024

A Salute to Southern Blue Flag

Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow, traveled between heaven and earth on a celestial curve of color, delivering messages from the Gods to their mortal subjects below. (She is […]

Feb 14th, 2024

Owning an orchid is an exercise in obedience. Both delicate and demanding, these exotic beauties with their elusive blooms are very particular about light, temperature, humidity, growing medium and even […]

Jan 26th, 2024

Virginia’s Native Winterberry

Nature tosses a spray of scarlet orbs into the lackluster landscape this time of year, decorating the bare branches of Winterberry holly with much needed nourishment for local wildlife. Winterberry […]

Dec 26th, 2023

10 Ways to Reuse or Recycle Christmas Trees

The presents are all opened, and the holidays will soon draw to a close. But the evergreen in your living room still has a lot to give. Here are some […]

Nov 30th, 2023

The Legends and Lore Behind Holiday Greenery

The holly, mistletoe, poinsettias and pine we decorate with this time of year have their own backstories that tell of mythical beginnings and magical powers. We have been bringing evergreens […]

Oct 11th, 2023

The Mighty Oak Tree

At the apex of every arch, a keystone is laid. Large, wedge-shaped, usually proud and often embellished, its role might seem ornamental; in truth it is monumental. A keystone locks […]

Sep 1st, 2021

Volunteers Making a Difference Gardening

“The Garden would be a jungle without them,” says Senior Horticulturist Elizabeth Fogel, the gratitude in her voice infused with respect and relief. “Or overrun with weeds, for sure. They’re […]

Jul 9th, 2021

Pollinating Figs: the Inside Story — Fig Wasps

A fig is a flower turned inside out. That soft pod of sticky summer sweetness is not a fruit at all. “It’s actually an inflorescence – an inverted cluster of […]

Jun 17th, 2021

Planting for Pollinators

Something serendipitous happens when a bee or a beetle, a bird, a bat or a butterfly rummages through the bright bloom of a flower in search of food. Lured by […]

Apr 25th, 2021

Building Biodiversity

Landscaping in Layers Nature loves a layer. She cements courses of sediment into solid stone. She laminates an annual succession of circles into living trees. She layers an onion in […]

Mar 14th, 2021

Planting for Nature’s Best Hope

Teddy Roosevelt stood on the rim of the Grand Canyon in 1903 and, looking out across the country’s 1.2-million-acre National Park, made an impassioned plea to the American people. “Leave […]

Dec 15th, 2020

Christmas Cactus: A Case of Mistaken Identity

My friend Carla knows a lot about plants. Ever since the day her mother found dirt in her diaper, she’s been a gardener. When she told me she couldn’t figure […]

May 29th, 2020

Native Plants: An Elegant Solution

Along the eastern edge of Lake Sydnor, on the narrow strip of land between the shoreline and the Children’s Garden, a group of plants is hard at work. The beauty […]

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden