After more than three decades designing and taking care of Vineyard gardens large and small, Peggy Schwier has learned that the best horticulture teacher of all is the garden itself.

Peggy Schwier

You stare at that dry, sandy patch of finicky Island soil in front of your home and envision a low flowering shrub that is drought tolerant and can thrive in partial sunlight. Wouldn’t hurt if the plant were a Vineyard native, too. But you wonder, is that combination possible to find?

Nicole Grace Mercier

If there’s one thing most gardeners can agree on, home hobbyists and landscapers alike, it’s that a good pair of gloves is a must.

Alexandra Bullen Coutts

The only sounds were the rustling of branches and the crunching of leaves. It was a brilliant late-summer morning, and a herd of goats was having breakfast on a piece of land near Black Point Pond, where Rebecca Brown of Island Grazing was working on a private meadow restoration project. There were tall Kiko and Boer goats stretching up on their legs to grab leaves, and smaller Arapawa goats staying closer to the ground. The goats – fifty-five of them – moved down the road, eating as they went.

Ivy Ashe

Something there may be that doesn’t love a wall, according to Robert Frost, but who can resist a white picket fence?

No one in Edgartown, it would seem.

Alexandra Bullen Coutts

Protective measures help plants survive the crueler months.

Nicole Grace Mercier

Arnie Reisman and Paula Lyons, the husband-and-wife duo known for their appearances on the weekly National Public Radio quick-wit game show Says You, talk about their shift from seasonal residents in Menemsha to year-rounders in Vineyard Haven.

Frances Tenenbaum’s 2006 book, Gardening at the Shore, holds a place of honor on many an Island bookshelf.

Phyllis Meras

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