The flowers of native Indian pinks (Spigelia marilandica, below) are not big and bold, but they are unmistakable and unusual so that even a casual visitor to the garden will be attracted to notice them. Blooms open over the period of three weeks beginning in early June in my garden, and I was disappointed a…
Month: June 2013
Blooming in June – trees and shrubs
Despite my best efforts to spread flowers into other months, there’s no question that the garden’s most abundant blooms are in April and May. In June, instead of the glorious riot of mid spring, the garden is calmer, more sedate, but still flowering profusely, and lush and vibrant before being worn by the heat of…
Great Expectations
At one time there were over a hundred varieties of hosta in the garden, but a few years of neglect when deer began to ravage the garden diminished the number by at least a third. A few varieties were lost to competition from the thirsty roots of maples and tulip poplars (though hostas will mostly…
Trees and shade
The inevitable result of planting lots of trees on a property is that the garden becomes increasingly shady. When carried to an extreme (which I have) the exposure of the garden changes radically over time so that sun loving plants are plunged into darkness. Many shrubs are forgiving of the encroaching shade, but some are…
A mini derecho?
This morning I saw that a large limb from the top of the Golden Raintree (Koelreuteria paniculata, below) was damaged in one of the severe storms that passed through yesterday. It crashed to the ground, barely avoiding a ‘Winter Star’ camellia and a clump of ‘Winter Red’ hollies. Damage was minimal, but the tragedy is that…
Damp, then damper
In the past week there has been one storm after the other, and the forecast is for more of the same in the next few days. The lower part of the garden is saturated, and mostly the plants in this area are well adapted to damp soil, so there is little harm to be done…
Save the irises
This weekend I saw that one clump of Japanese iris (Iris ensata, below) close beside the waterfall of the large koi pond was dangerously crowded by overhanging branches of an exuberant Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). On the other side of the falls a rambunctious Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) has invaded another clump, and both shrubs…
Stunning blooms in early June
For whatever little credibility I have, I find a few of the garden’s blooms in early June to be incomparably beautiful. I know, I’ve probably said the same thing a handful of times so far this year, and the year’s not half over. But, read on and judge for yourself. The first, and my current…
Degrees of vigor
One tall growing nandina (Nandina domestica) at the corner of the deck hosts two clematis vines. The large flowered, white ‘Henryi’ (below) is the more vigorous of the two, though it has had to start more or less from the ground up this spring after my wife pruned a large branch that supported it. The…
Stellar, but not pink
I have little doubt that you occasionally grow weary reading of the various collections of trees in the garden. The catalog of Japanese maples goes on far too long, but it can easily be argued that the number of redbuds is too few. There are several cultivars that I would add immediately, if only there…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 