From the category archives:

Native/Invasive

Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day May 2009

May 16, 2009

Spring has finally arrived at Purdville. Unfortunately, I seem to have lost some of my photo gallery features when I switched to this new design. You can click on each thumbnail for a larger image, but then you have to use your browser’s Back button to get back to the thumbnails
Also blooming:

Creeping phlox
Narcissus poeticus, ‘Irish [...]

10 comments Read the full article →

Mystery Flower Blooms for Bloom Day

May 16, 2009

Mystery Flower Up in the Woods
We have lived here for almost twenty years now, and yet almost every year I discover a new wildflower growing up there. I don’t know how much this is due to the maturing of the the woodlands, and how much is due to my making more of an effort to [...]

16 comments Read the full article →

American Beech

May 4, 2009

span class=”drop_cap”>You just never know when you’re going to run into a teachable moment. I mentioned on Twitter that I had hurt my back sliding downhill on newly fallen beech leaves, and someone from the South remarked that they had never seen a beech tree. Well! It’s time you were acquainted.

12 comments Read the full article →

Designing with Native Plants: Creating Sustainable Landscapes for the Finger Lakes & Upstate New York

January 19, 2009

Just learned of a fabulous workshop on designing with native plants for the Finger Lakes and upstate New York. Here’s a brief synopsis of the offerings:

Creating Habitats for Birds on Properties Large and Small
Stephen W. Kress, National Audubon Society and Lab of Ornithology
Learn how to attract birds using the native plants they love, from [...]

10 comments Read the full article →

Goldenrod: This native plant should be kept out of the garden

October 9, 2008

Goldenrod is my enemy
There, I’ve said it. I don’t care if goldenrod is a native plant; it is no longer welcome in my gardens. I tried to be understanding, truly, I did, but it just did not want to play nice with the other plants. It did not want to play at all: total garden [...]

29 comments Read the full article →

Native Plant Resources for Central and Upstate NY

March 4, 2008

In 1878, Sherman Stowell sold to Elizabeth Brockett 30 acres of land which he had earlier purchased from George Jennings. I now live and garden with my family on some of that land, which Jennings or Stowell, or perhaps Ms. Brockett, had cleared of trees to make pasture. The forest is growing back, but itâ€™s [...]

13 comments Read the full article →

Campanula rapunculoides, The Evil Twin

July 26, 2007

Good looking but hardly innocent

I call creeping bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides) the evil twin because it looks just like ladybells, (Adenophora confusa), only it is aggressively spreading and ineradicable, and ladybells is well-behaved.
So they say.

13 comments Read the full article →

A Virginia bluebell with a funny blossom

May 26, 2007

I’m not sure what’s going on here, whether it’s some kind of mutation or a result of weather or other kind of damage. On the right is a typical Virginia bluebell (Mertensia virginica). It has the typical salverform blossom, and 5 sepals in its calyx (the part that is circled).

11 comments Read the full article →

May Blooms: Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

May 17, 2007

Yes, I know the Garden Bloggers Bloom Day was yesterday the day before yesterday. I didn’t get finished in time. So just pretend this is May 15th, okay? (As always, hover your mouse over any thumbnail for a caption, and click on any photo for a larger image.)
Narcissus
Let’s start off with the narcissus. The early [...]

13 comments Read the full article →

The brown marmorated stink bug

March 11, 2007

One thing about an old house, there are lots of nooks and crannies for creatures to find their way in. It’s a fact of life. Call it sharing habitat. While we try to minimize it, there is no way we can keep everything out, especially since our house is on a stacked stone foundation and [...]

597 comments Read the full article →

Central and Upstate NY Horticultural Events

February 17, 2007

Brave the snow, get out of the house, and learn something new! Here are some gardener-worthy events coming up in my neck of the woods.

“CNY Blooms” –Spring 2007 will sprout up before you know it, and with it the blossoming of Syracuse’s flower and garden show, now known as “CNY Blooms”. Mark your planting calendar [...]

1 comment Read the full article →

Kathy’s Autumn Picture Show

October 21, 2006

Sunday, October 8th, was a gorgeous autumn day, sunny and warm. I decided to go up the hill for a walk in the woods, camera in hand, and you get to share the results. (Be forewarned: this is an even longer than usual post.) But first, a little bit about where we’re going. Our family [...]

15 comments Read the full article →

Wicked Beauty

September 16, 2006

Isn’t this a stunning specimen of Polygonum cuspidatum? The generous rainfall we’ve had this season has brought it into top form. Too bad it’s on America’s Most Wanted list. Yes, this is Japanese knotweed, aka Japanese bamboo, Mexican bamboo, fleeceflower, and Fallopia japonica. (I’ve been told that it’s also known as privy weed, but I [...]

14 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries