Late in the spring I noticed that the creeping plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, below) was being overtaken by cypress sprurge (Euphorbia cyparissias), a threadleafed euphorbia that is generally identified as weedy, but serves quite nicely as a spreading ground cover in my garden. The plumbago is tolerant of sun or part shade, and of dry conditions,…

Oops, no more room! Well, maybe there’s a little. I’ve been adding plants to this garden for twenty-two years, and seven or eight years ago my wife informed me that we had reached maximum capacity. Of course, I knew she was mistaken, and each year a bit of the lawn disappears and more plants appear. A…

I’ve just returned from my annual trek through the southeast, visiting nurseries to see what’s growing for the autumn and spring. Over two weeks our group of weary travelers rested in a new hotel every night, and after nearly four thousand road miles (and too many others bouncing through nurseries) it’s wonderful to return home….

In coastal Alabama summer rain can fall in torrents, but most commonly it gushes for fifteen minutes or an hour, and not throughout the day. On this Sunday the rain began early and ended late, though periods of gentle rain in the afternoon allowed me to stroll through the lush plantings at the Mobile Botanic…

The rear garden slopes gently so that the soil along the rear property line remains soggy through much of the summer, and in a rainy spring the area will be saturated for days. Two river birches and a variegated pussy willow thrive, and immediately beyond the border are cattails, brambles, and native vegetation that tolerates…

A year ago the passion vine (Passiflora, below) didn’t emerge from the ground until early in August, so of course it didn’t grow nearly as tall as is usual, and there were fewer blooms. This year the vine popped up by the end of May, a late arrival for most plants but normal for passion…

The garden’s hydrangeas and roses bloom off and on from late spring through the summer into early autumn. Other blooms last for weeks, and some only days. ‘Jane’ magnolia flowers early in the spring so that occasionally blooms are damaged by late freezes, but it also flowers sporadically through the summer (above). In July the…

Hiking trails crisscross the southern edge of Bull Run Mountain, an area that includes the ruins of Beverley’s Mill (below) and the site of a Civil War skirmish. The 800 acre preserve is maintained by the Bull Run Mountain Conservancy. Bull Run is more a tall foothill than mountain, and the most difficult hikes are only…

At the start of July the hydrangeas are most prominent in the garden, and one or the other will flower into late September. The large blue, pink, and white blooms demand attention, but there are other splendid flowers equally deserving, though for shorter periods. Daylilies (Hemerocallis, above) are quite common, but longed lived perennials that…