pansies

The Last of the Hardiest

– Posted in: Hellebores, What's up/blooming

November started out marvelously with highs in the 50s(F) and one day even hit 66°(19C). The second week the switch flipped and the real November showed up with a vengeance. Most nights have been in the teens, but we also got two nights that dipped into single digits (9F=-13C)--that's unseasonably low for November and was [...]

Cottage Garden Discoveries

– Posted in: Plant info, Seeds and Seed Starting

One of the lovely things about gardening is that no matter how long (or short) you've been doing it, there's always so much more to learn and discover. Lately, I have been discovering "cottage gardening"--that serendipitous combination of flowers and vegetables and herbs, with the flowers being largely traditional and very fragrant. Last year was [...]

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day July 2010

– Posted in: What's up/blooming

Five days late. I considered skipping it this month. But participating in Garden Bloggers Bloom Day has allowed me to track changes in the garden, so I decided to post most tardily. Several plants that were blooming last year are done blooming already, such as cephalaria and pink foxglove. The tunic flower and perennial flax [...]

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day May 2010

– Posted in: What's up/blooming

It always seems like there is nothing blooming in mid-May, but when I really look around, I realize there is a lot blooming but none of it is flashy, like the big yellow sheets of daffodils previous or the three Grandes Dames of June that will soon be here. The blooms of mid-May are modest [...]

Black Plants: Book Review

– Posted in: Book reviews, Plant info

Black Plants: 75 Striking Choices for the Garden by Paul Bonine is the kind of book that drives me wild. Seventy-five gorgeous plants and over half of them are not hardy for me. Wait. Maybe it's just that half of the ones I want to grow aren't hardy for me. I actually didn't go through [...]