My young niece has an emphatic manner of saying “No!”, so that you are undeniably assured that this is the final answer, no matter the question. My wife adopted a similarly stern tone this winter whenever I excitedly told her my plans for the garden for the upcoming spring. Fortunately, I’m not easily discouraged. Admittedly, I…

Yesterday’s strong thunderstorms soaked the garden so that there was standing water at the lower end of the back garden. Otherwise, there was no damage, though some of the pine bark chunks that mulch the new bed areas were washed out. I use the large chunk mulch because it is long-lasting, so long as it…

With cooler than average temperatures over the past several weeks forsythias, flowering pears, magnolias, and cherries remain in bloom, though with warmer weather they will fade quickly. In my garden the uppermost branches of serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis, below) that reach into the sun have begun to bloom. The shaded lower branches will flower in a…

The blooms of ‘Merrill’ and ‘Royal Star’ magnolias opened fully a few days ago, just in time to be damaged by a series of cold nights. Not unusual, but I was hopeful that unblemished flowers would remain for a few days. The frost damaged edges of petals have browned, but the trees are still quite…

My camellias are confused, at least the autumn blooming hybrids that flowered a bit in November, but are now beginning to bloom again in early April. This is not so unusual, though I’ll not attempt to explain the phenomena for fear that it will confirm that I’m a complete idiot. Anyone who has followed these…

Under the cover of a breezy, cold, gray March afternoon three Japanese maples and a Parrotia were planted in the garden, and beds were cut out of the rear lawn to accommodate the shrubs and perennials that will be planted in the coming weeks. Stealth is required whenever any portion of lawn is removed, and certainly when…

Snow late in March is usually accompanied by considerable consternation by gardeners who fear that emerging flowers and tender new leaves will be irreparably damaged. Let us put those fears to rest, the fleeting snow will result in no injury. Abnormally low temperatures are the primary concern at this date, and though the current cold is…

In mid-February the dull monotony of the winter garden is broken by blooming witch hazels, then snowdrops, crocus, iris, narcissus, and hellebores. Witch hazels bloom on bare stems, and of course the bulbs do not have woody stems at all. Hellebores are low growing, shrub-like perennials with evergreen foliage, though by late winter it is…

The peak bloom period for the flowering cherries on the national mall is predicted to be March 29 through April 3. I expect that there’s already significant bloom along the Tidal Basin, but the peak is a week away. Cherries in the outer suburbs will be a week to ten days later, and in my…