mallow

A Few Fall Surprises

– Posted in: What's up/blooming

Much to my regret, I missed Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day this month. For the most part, the same things that were blooming last September were blooming this September. (No mums yet, oddly.) But I did want to share a few things. The mallow is a descendant of Malva sylvestris ssp. mauritiana that I originally grew [...]

Bibor Felho, the purple cloud

– Posted in: Mallow family

She says, he says She says: "Mom, you'd better cut that plant back. It's blocking the entrance to the house!" He says: "What gorgeous color! Don't touch it! I'd be happy to inconvenience myself for that plant!" I have this dilemma just about every year. To chop or not to chop. Many years ago, I [...]

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

– Posted in: Design

Long-time readers of my blog know that I have never shied away from being honest about the poor upkeep of my garden. Sometimes I find beauty in the weeds, and sometimes they depress me, but I've never pretended they didn't exist. I agree with Colleen that fear of "not doing it right," or "not being [...]

The Purple-and-Gold Bed

– Posted in: Plant info, What's up/blooming

Over fifteen years ago, my very first plant order had an error in it. I had ordered coral bells (Heuchera) and I was sent Heliopsis 'Summer Sun' instead. The mail order nursery very quickly remedied their mistake, sending me the coral bells and advising me to keep the false sunflower. Great, I thought, free plants. [...]

Bibor Felho: Now I Know!

– Posted in: Mallow family, Plant info

Mr. Hinsley, the publisher of the Malvaceae Info site that I mentioned in my previous post, emailed me concerning the meaning of Bibor Felho, and addressed himself to other statements in my blog entry that I didn't bring up in the email. He is better at search engine use than I am. He searched on [...]

Mud Season is here

– Posted in: Mud Season, Weather

I can tell by the dirty footprints leading from the front door to the bathroom. All the compacted snow is off our driveway, which used to be a gravel driveway but is now a dirt driveway, due to all the snow shoveling over the years, which throws both snow and gravel onto the lawn. (You [...]