Series

‘More and more I am coming to the conclusion that rain is a far more important consideration to gardens than sun, and that one of the lesser advantages that a gardener gains in life is his thorough enjoyment of a rainy day!’ Margaret Waterfield, quoted in The Penguin Book of Garden Writing What kind of [...]

Almost exactly a year ago, I visited Lilactree Farm, the home and garden of Brian Bixley. In 2014, I would have considered this visit quite improbable. I am not a frequent traveler nor an adventurous driver. The only trips I take are ones where all the planning is done for you and all you have [...]

I bought a small pot of 'Blue Moon' woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata) in 2013. It was kind of over its bloom period when I bought it, so I didn't expect much. The following year, it was nice enough, but nothing to write home about. The following year (which was last year) it bulked up enough [...]

My spicebush is blooming! Only a mother--I mean, a gardener--could be so happy about the blessed event. See: Well--ahem--yes, they are rather small. Try this:Okay, let's really zoom in: I saw my first spicebushes in 2009 in the Mundy Wildflower Garden on the grounds of Cornell Plantation in Ithaca, New York. There were several of [...]

The earliest blooming flower in my garden is a snowdrop, Galanthus 'S. Arnott'. The earliest blooming wild flower is coltsfoot. But the earliest blooming native flower? For that, you have to look up. Way up. Because the earliest blooming native flower belongs to the red maple, Acer rubrum. I am always looking down at the [...]

One lesson I learned from Sara Stein, author of Noah's Garden and Planting Noah's Garden, was that non-native (also called alien) plants typically start growing and blooming before the native plants--at least in North America. That is because the climate they originally came from was milder, or warmed up gradually and consistently, and that is [...]

Fickle February. That's what I'm calling it, mostly because it has better alliteration than Roller Coaster February. A roller coaster of weather is what it's been. Every time it's gotten mild, I've been outside walking the trails I've made and taking pictures. Then it gets cold and I hunker back inside. These photos are a [...]

I blame it on the sunshine. If the sun hadn't been shining, I wouldn't have had the overwhelming urge to get outside and DO something. Because, really? February is too early for garden cleanup. But of course, this hasn't been a normal February. A normal February looks like this: So, in a normal February, I [...]

We've been suffering from meteorological whiplash. We had snow on April 23 and a low of 22 (-5C) on April 25 . Thirteen days later it got up to 88F and we've been sweltering ever since. The Roadside Yellow daffodils that I planted last fall have been delivering their sunshine almost as soon as the [...]