Sadly, I see that the small Wheel Tree (Trochodendron arailiodes) is suffering. I don’t know if this is a result of the heavy rain in June or the sparse rainfall since. I hope it makes it, but I won’t know until April. Already, I’m overly anxious for spring. Too anxious, with months to go before…

With apologies to Minnesota and North Dakota and other parts that are truly cold, I often must consider the varied conditions for planting within this zone 7 garden in dealing with winter temperatures. Degrees of sun and shade are easy enough, but I am often mystified when considering microclimates that can protect plants that are…

Again I’m baffled, not unusual in the garden where flowers occasionally appear in the wrong season. Plants perish and  mysteriously return to life. There are explanations, not always ones I understand. Of varied volunteer positions to help fill the hours in my retirement, working with the Horticulture Department at the local high school is the…

The days are long over when I collected plants for evaluation. For several decades I was able to offer first hand knowledge so others could make informed choices. Of course, I reveled with each acquisition for the garden, just as I do today. But now, the collections have grown into a mature garden where the…

With infrequent snowfall in northwestern Virginia I am obliged to document the garden’s blooms under the thin blanket of snow that covers the garden on this chilly afternoon. Unsurprisingly, flowers of the white ‘Autumn Rocket’ camellia (Camellia sasanqua ‘Autumn Rocket’, above) planted close beside the sunroom have survived recent dips of temperature into the low…

Occasionally, a plant of value disappears in the overgrown clutter of treasures, a consequence of too many collections and scattered attentions. Once discovered, or remembered, these are regretably lost, a category listing too many plants that have suffered due to inattention or procrastination. Now is the time that Underway mahonia (Mahonia x media ‘Underway’ now…

Contrary to online fakery that purports to sell seeds of vibrant purple-leafed hostas and stunning roses without a single faded bloom through a snowy winter, there are real, honest to goodness flowers in the garden this last week of November. I expect several to ornament the garden through the winter months, though some will soon…

The addition of the small stumpery is the most prominent change since the Bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) fell in a late June storm, but there’s more. The side garden had long been a bit sparse, but the huge magnolia dominated the space so the lack of fullness was excused. Without the magnolia, I was happy…

I suppose that delivery folks are not too bothered that the front walk is covered ankle deep by leaves. I don’t think I have any more plants on the way, though some bulbs and seeds are expected soon. Otherwise, no one walks the paths except me, a few times every day or more if there’s…

Autumn foliage color is far down the list of criteria that I evaluate in a plant for inclusion in the garden. Often, my selections are driven by emotion upon seeing a tree while visiting a garden, though a bit of research is certain to follow. A time or two I’ve been tempted by foliage color…

The garden does not shut down for the winter though its progressing bareness can occasionally be distressing. The gardener must focus on the positives, and there are many despite the lack of leaves and fewer flowers. Still, in the fading light of early evening my thoughts drift to February, a hopeful time when the garden…

Occasionally, there is a cost to my inattentive ways. A Flame Thrower redbud (Cercis canadensis Flame Thrower) planted in late summer was initially watered, then neglected until I noticed it defoliating more rapidly than other redbuds in our continuing period of minimal rainfall from late summer into autumn. I did not intend to push the…