Whenever I’m home or working in the garden, I wear a beat up, worn out pair of sandals that probably should have been tossed out long ago. They’re so often covered in mud that I see no reason for a new pair, so I’ll wear them until they disintegrate. My wife cringes whenever I wear…
Year: 2011
A clematis for every need
The deck that is attached to the back of the house is four and a half feet above the ground on the downhill side, and for years I searched for the right plant to hide the area beneath it. I envisioned a vine that would grow quickly to cover the lattice and railing, and hoped…
The other dogwoods
Speeding down a winding road in the hills of northern Fauquier county a few days ago I saw a few native dogwoods blooming along the highway. The dogwoods in my garden are usually a week later than others in the neighborhood, and mine finished blooming two weeks ago, so I was delighted to see a…
Stand back!
….. and watch it grow. The bulk of the spring’s garden chores were accomplished one March weekend when I was feeling particularly spry, and though every muscle in my body ached on Monday, it was good to be finished. In a large garden there are always weeds and small tasks to keep the gardener occupied,…
Down to business
Today we’ll get right down to business without any chitchat, no woe-is-me tales or memories from long ago. There are, of course, more blooms in the garden in early May than can be covered in one day, but if the foolishness is kept to a minimum then we’ll be able to get to the meat…
Please don’t sit on the furniture
A few days ago I included a photo of one of the patios where a green leafed dissectum Japanese maple is perched over two lichen-covered wooden chairs. Let this serve as a warning, if you should ever visit the garden, DO NOT sit on the furniture. This set once included a bench, which maybe ten…
Rain, rain, go away
This is getting a little ridiculous! I can hardly walk in the lower end of the back garden. The lawn is saturated, the planting beds are a swamp. and those are the areas that are usually dry. The depression that runs along the lower southern border stays damp through the year from the constant trickle…
Early May
I have only myself to blame. The garden now covers almost an acre, with only a few small areas of lawn. So, until the perennials grow up to shade the ground there are weeds in abundance, too many to keep up with. Seedlings from the Golden Rain tree are popping up everywhere, even a hundred…
Everything’s coming up roses …
… Except the roses. And the roses look great, but it’s a bit too early for them to bloom. I cut most of the roses back severely a year ago, so I’ve not pruned them at all this year, and they’re covered in buds, ready to bloom in a few weeks. At every turn there…
Twenty-one and counting – part two
So, you’re looking to add a Japanese maple to your garden, or to add another one or two to your budding collection. There are many fine choices in the garden centers, and many dozens more available through mail order nurseries if you’e willing to start with a little guy. There are hundreds of named cultivars,…
Twenty-one and counting
Twenty-two years ago the garden was begun in a simple fashion, with a few shrubs, two white flowering dogwoods, and two Japanese maples planted in the front of the house. A rudimentary bluestone path was constructed through the mud from the gravel drive to the front porch. The maples were common cultivars, ‘Crimson Queen’ (Acer…
Dogwoods and other April bloomers
I cannot recall a spring when blooms of the native dogwoods have been so magnificent. Perhaps this is because gardeners tend to remember their miseries and failures rather than successes, but in any case, the dogwoods are perfect this April. Sadly, our native dogwoods is troubled by a variety of pests, so that it is…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 