violas

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 [...]

What Placeholder Plants Can Do For You

– Posted in: Design, How-to

When I finally grasped the concept of placeholder plants, it changed my life. Well, what I mean is, it reduced my garden maintenance load and I enjoyed my garden more, with less work. Not precisely life-changing, but definitely life-improving. A placeholder plant is a garden-worthy plant that you happen to have a lot of, which [...]

The Flowery Lawn

– Posted in: Native/Invasive

What would happen if you didn't mow your lawn? We often let the grass get pretty shaggy before we mow for the first time, and you might be surprised at how pretty it looks. Also, learn the difference between a flowery lawn and a cropped meadow.

What’s Missing From This Picture?

– Posted in: What's up/blooming

What's missing from this picture are the autumn crocuses. They should be blooming now. No, I don't mean colchicums--they're done. (And they're not crocuses!!) I mean bona-fide crocuses that bloom in the fall. Crocus speciosus, to be precise. I planted more than one hundred of them four years ago, and for the last three years [...]

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 [...]