October 2009

Lady-Slipper Seed Pods

October 25, 2009

Remember this? Now it looks like this: I discovered these while on my witch hazel walk. Lady Slipper Seed Germination

How to Plant a Lot of Crocuses

October 22, 2009

For years now, we’ve enjoyed the crocus display along one side of our driveway. This spring I decided it should be even bigger, and over the last two days I planted a hundred more, bringing the total to over nine hundred. The “soil” is compacted clay, making the corms somewhat difficult to plant, but, happily, [...]

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A Good Year for Witch Hazels

October 20, 2009

It is a family tradition to walk up the hill and into the woods this time of year to seek out the witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) blossoms. This is a native shrub or small tree that prefers moist, acidic soil–which we have in abundance.

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First Snow of 2009-2010

October 16, 2009

Last night it snowed. That, in itself, is not unusual for the second half of October. But normally we get flurries mixed with rain, and no accumulation. Yesterday a weather record for snow accumulation was broken. The official new record is 1.2 inches accumulation. The old record was “trace.” And unofficial reports coming in tell [...]

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Colchicums: Garden Bloggers Bloom Day October 2009

October 15, 2009

You might think after a 26F freeze there would be nothing left blooming in the garden, but you would be wrong. The colchicums continue to shoot up new blossoms. Pictured above is Colchicum autumnale ‘Album’.Early on in my colchicum acquisitions, I discovered three different varieties that, to my eye, were indistinguishable. It turns out a [...]

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Snow? Noooo!

October 12, 2009

Yikes! Snow predicted for Friday! This is happening too fast for me. Just had first hard frost (26F) last night.

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What’s the Difference Between a Frost and a Freeze?

October 11, 2009

Last night the National Weather Service issued a frost advisory for our area, and we did indeed get a frost. They are issuing a freeze warning for tonight. What’s the difference?

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Colchicum Design Ideas from Montrose Gardens

October 10, 2009

Many gardeners complain that it is difficult to place colchicums in the garden because of their unusual growing cycle, in which their leaves grow in the spring, die down in the summer, and then the flowers emerge in the fall. The colchicum bed at Montrose Gardens in Hillsborough, North Carolina, pictured above, contained many colchicum [...]

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One Chore Begets Another

October 5, 2009

Spent 2 hours cutting dead stuff down (mostly peony foliage), revealing weeds that will have to be pulled another day. Sigh.

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GWA in Raleigh: The Movie(s)

October 3, 2009

One noticeable difference between this Garden Writers Association Symposium and the one I attended in 2007 was the increased presence of video recording. Not just the movie function on the ubiquitous digital camera, but more sophisticated set-ups were also used. Here’s a sampling of what’s been posted on the web: I just happened to be [...]

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The 2009 GWA Symposium in Raleigh, NC: A Yankee’s Waking Dream

October 2, 2009

I don’t travel much. As a matter of fact, all the flying I’ve done in my adult life has been because of blogging, and all my flights have been to much warmer climates than my own. Every time I’ve left my home turf, I’ve found the experience a little unreal. Unmoored from my usual routine, [...]

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