The Crotchety Old Man

Tag: tea olives

  • Progress in the Garden

    Since moving to this house in November 2012, I’ve removed more permanent plants from the yard than I’ve added. The removals had outgrown their allotted space–and then some. Committing to replacements has been a challenge. I decided to hold off before planting anything to study the space. I fixed drainage issues, improved the soil, and…

  • Tea (Olive) Time!

    Every fall, a delightful fragrance fills the air here in Athens. Tracking the scent to its source is a challenge. I don’t recall how long I’d lived here before a garden buddy told me it came from tea olives (Osmanthus fragrans). Tea olives are broad-leaved evergreens that bloom intermittently from fall to early spring. The…

  • Bitten by the Garden Bug

    When my first ex and I moved into a duplex back in the late 1980s, the yard wasn’t even a factor in our search. The previous tenant must have had a big dog or two, as the fenced in back yard was more mud than grass–especially the perimeter. I planted a few impatiens around the…