A few months ago, I wrote these lines...   Thankfully, the thaw has come, but not before the Winter of 2014 wreaked havoc in the garden. Many plants experienced such trauma that their only hope was found in a drastic springtime pruning. Others, once treasured, are now no more than treasured memories – their blank spaces in the landscape recently filled by tiny replacements... as if one could really replace a treasure.   For still others, like our stately magnolia, the verdict is still out. We worked so hard to save the Southern favorite – the arboreal beauty that's shaded our century-old house for many decades – but I fear its days are numbered. Every time I look out my kitchen window and see another brown leaf fall to ... Keep Reading...