High Tide

The CapeMay.com blog

Author Archive

Lorraine Kiefer

Lorraine Kiefer has gardened all of her life. She is a garden writer, floral designer and professional horticulturist. Lorraine teaches many classes at Triple Oaks nursery and Herb Garden in Franklinville, NJ.

End of Summer Gardens

Sometimes I feel like a character on little house on the prairie when I am in my garden at dusk. Gardens and sunsets are timeless. As we approach the end of the summer, gardens in southern New Jersey are more colorful than ever. Zinnia and marigolds pop from their foliage and look great on a… Read more »

Herbal Tea Gardens

It is not too late to plant a tea garden. Think about an herb tea garden! Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little herb area in the sun near the kitchen door where you could snip fragrant pieces of fresh green herbs for tea? This garden would be pretty, fragrant useful and alive about… Read more »

Prunus maritime

I remember a gnarled old beach plum in my mother-in-law’s back ally in Ocean City. That was a long time ago and the tree was taken out by new owners years later. This 95-year-old little lady told us of picking beach plums inOcean City when she was a child and later picking them as a young mother… Read more »

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

The New Jersey coast is one of the best places to have an herb garden. The well drained soil, sunshine and breezes all encourage healthy plants. Rosemary and lavender grow best at the shore and throughout most of the Delaware Valley, but then so do many other herbs. A mild but cool winter allows perennial herbs… Read more »

Scents of the Season

On a warm, sunny May day, there are many wonderful fragrances in the air. May is the month of hundreds of blooming perennials, shrubs, and trees.  Wildflowers dot the ground in shady areas and old fashion perennials, such as iris and poppies bloom in the sun. Often there is a fruity, spicy scent in the air in our… Read more »