I’m not suggesting that flowers be banned, or that fewer be planted, only that there should be more to gardens than impatiens and petunias. There are trees and shrubs that have delightful foliage that’s colorful even when not a flower’s in sight. And don’t forget perennials, for hostas are greatly prized for their colorful and…

Broken, bent, and battered, the garden in early March was a depressing shambles. There seemed no end to the damage, shrubs crushed under the weight of the heavy snow, and large evergreens with branches broken or bent to severe angles, or completely uprooted. Many deciduous trees were spared the worst, but densely branched Japanese maples…

Flowers and more flowers, nothing but flowers every week. Of course, I treasure the blooms in my gardens, but flowers are here today and gone next week, or with some long blooming perennials and annuals, the flowers get tiresome, more of the same day after day. As a practical matter this journal is most often dedicated…

The Chinese dogwoods (Cornus kousa, below) are glorious this mid May. The fast growing, but often sporadic blooming ‘Galilean’ and variegated leaf ‘Wolf Eyes’ are flowering more heavily than I can recall. The pink ‘Satomi’ is a dependable bloomer, but it’s flowers have only the faintest hint of pink this year, not uncommon for Satomi…

Only a few days ago I whined that the golden chain tree (Laburnum) does not perform well in my Virginia garden despite a favored position to protect it from the late afternoon sun. The sparse foliage and meager blooms  in a photograph substantiated my claim that this European native is poorly adapted to the heat…

Nothing could be simpler than to select plants for the garden that bloom in April and May, unless you are utterly confused by the wealth of choices. Walk through your local garden center this weekend and there are dozens of blooming plants, for sun or shade, wet areas or dry, that grow ankle high or…

I am usually late for the party, if I arrive at all. I have been negligent updating what’s blooming in the garden, so today I’ll try to be as brief as possible and cover as much ground as possible. From one end of the garden to the other there are blooms, with some continuing from…

Yes, I have Japanese maples. Hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions! Or more. In the soil below the Bloodgood maple, and the Burgundy Lace, beneath the two Seriyu maples the seedlings are as thick as pachysandra. I haven’t the heart to pull them when so many people spend their hard earned dollars for these treasures, but eventually…