Temperatures have remained chilly through last week, but a few more daffodils are opening and the magnolias have given up waiting for warm days and decided to bloom regardless. On average Redbuds should begin to flower this week, but I doubt that will happen for another week (the picture below shows the swollen redbud flower…
Month: March 2009
Garden pics – March 21
Blooming plants are a bit late this season, though they are not bound by time schedules as most of us. Many early bloomers will range a couple weeks earlier or later through the years, and the cool, cloudy weather has pushed them later this year. If it warms up over the next week we’ll see some the…
Walk through the Landscape nursery
There is much more to the landscape business than the design and installation process. The exciting part is planting and building the patios, decks, and gazebos. The background work is not nearly so interesting, but necessary to get the work done. I wouldn’t dare bore anyone with a look over my shoulder on an average day in the…
When good plants turn bad
Yikes! There are thugs out there. Plants that want to rob you of your garden. This is not a debate about using native plants rather than foreign invaders. There are many fine native plants, but there are so many wonderful non-natives that it would be shameful to exclude them. I’ll try just about anything that…
Garden ponds in early Spring
There’s so much to do, and so little time. The easy part is planting and building, though not so easy at the time. Inspiration is likely the culprit, for motivation is easier in the doing than in maintaining. Now is the time to pick up and clean up, and I fear every year that I’ve…
Screening plants
Today I’m taking off my gardening gloves, and putting on my Meadows Farms landscapers’ hat. None of the photos below are from my garden, but from displays in our nursery and from clients’ landscapes. No doubt screening is a priority for most homeowners in developing their landscapes. Whether the goal is to give a backyard garden…
My favorite plants
These are some of my favorites in the garden, both trees, shrubs, perennials, and tropicals. ‘Ivory Silk’ tree lilac is a delightful tree with long lasting fragrant blooms and a full rounded leaf canopy. It grows a bit too large for small gardens. In contrast to other lilacs it seems quite happy to grow as a…
Japanese Iris
Back by popular demand today, more pictures less chatter. All the iris in these photos are Japanese iris, Iris ensata. All are growing in shallow water in the ponds in my garden, although they will grow nicely in the ground also. Japanese iris are said to be somewhat difficult to grow, but in my ponds…
Garden pics – March 8
Following an extended period of cold with a half foot or more of snow a week ago, and a couple days when temperatures didn’t get out of the twenties, hope that Spring is near has arrived with weather in the seventies. Many plants will be on a later schedule this year, but a stroll through…
Spring blooming trees
Flowering trees announce the beginning of Spring. No wonder that trees that bloom in March and April are the most popular in garden centers. The pictures below are from trees in my garden. They are all highly recommended. Royal Star magnolia is the first tree to bloom for me, usually in early March. The large white…
Late Winter snow
On the heels of a 70 degree day a couple weeks ago I predicted that we would see a few more days with temperatures nearing single digits before we could call an end to Winter, and sure enough, a March 1st snow is followed by two days of highs in the twenties and lows near ten. While…
Confessions of a Rockhead
I love rocks. Mostly big ones, but little ones too. I’m frequently compared to them, not necessarily as hardheaded (although certainly that is occasionally true), but as in “that boy is dumb as a box of …..”. Mostly by my wife when I’m talking about adding more rocks to the garden. I have rock walls…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 