From the category archives:

Plant info

Allegheny Vine

August 3, 2009
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I mentioned that Allegheny vine (Adlumia fungosa) was blooming for me in July’s Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day post, and Leslie asked me what that was. Thank you, Leslie. I was dying for someone to ask.

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Endless Summer Hydrangea: Where’s the Blooms?

July 14, 2009
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Almost exactly a year ago, my ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangea was blooming. This year, as you can see above, it doesn’t even have buds.
What Went Wrong?
Okay, I forgot to feed it. Does it completely fail to make buds without fertilizer? I think not. It may not flower as profusely, and the blooms may not be as [...]

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Hardy Roses from Der Rosenmeister

July 5, 2009
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Lee Ginenthal loves roses. And it’s a good thing for me, and for all you cold climate gardeners out there, that Lee decided to focus on hardy roses which thrive in USDA hardiness zones 5, 4, and even 3. Lee operates Der Rosenmeister nursery from his home outside of Ithaca, NY. I visited there in [...]

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Uncovered my ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangea

June 8, 2009
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I finally uncovered my ‘Endless Summer’ and ‘Forever&Ever’ hydrangeas. I had discovered that dumping a bunch of dry leaves over them in the fall was sufficient to protect them from the erratic spring freezes that we have. The old branches help hold the mulch in place, and I cut them down in the spring when [...]

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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 [...]

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Mystery Flower Blooms for Bloom Day

May 16, 2009
cold climate narcissus

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 [...]

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Did my plant make it through the winter?

May 8, 2009
Read about plants that didn't make it through the winter

Spring: when a gardener wonders which of last year’s new plants made it through the winter. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote down a list of things I had planted last year but hadn’t seen make an appearance yet. Here’s the list, with my current thinking on each (click on each thumbnail to enlarge):
Hedyrotis [...]

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American Beech

May 4, 2009
Read about the American Beech

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.

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Daffodils face down in the dirt

April 25, 2009
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High of 88F, a record, perhaps. Can daffodils suffer heat stroke? Some of mine fell over. I took a look at them shortly before nine in the morning, and they were lovely as only a freshly opened daffodil can be. By the time I got home late afternoon, some were already past their prime, and [...]

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Hitch Lyman’s Snowdrops in NY Times

April 16, 2009

The only nursery selling snowdrops exclusively, in the NYTimes today: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/garden/16garden.html

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50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants: Book Review

February 24, 2009

I confess, when I first heard 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants by Tracy DiSabato-Aust was coming out, I was dismayed. I have the first edition of The Well-Tended Perennial Garden, which was incredibly satisfying because it was based on her own close observation and methodical experimentation. At the time it was published, it was very [...]

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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 [...]

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Endless Summer Hydrangea in two different climates

November 4, 2008

Recently, Chris of Backyard Gardening Blog published a timeline in pictures, demonstrating the growth of his ‘Endless Summer’ hydrangeas. I found it very interesting to compare his photos with the few I took. You might want to have his post open in a separate tab of your browser so you can quickly flip back and [...]

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