Paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysanthus, below) seems to be well known among longtime gardeners in the southeast, though few seem to actually grow one in their own gardens. A handful of years ago, I hadn’t seen one in southern gardens, or in ones closer to my northwestern Virginia garden, but I was intrigued when I first read…
Month: July 2013
Dragonflies
Besides the seemingly ever more abundant population of snakes in the garden, my wife is most bothered by the small, but aggressive Tiger mosquitoes. I’m not nearly as troubled by them, though my wife is horrified, and constantly swatting them on my legs and back when we’re sitting together. I don’t know if I’ve become…
A swallowtail convention
Late this afternoon was intermittently sunny, then cloudy as storms passed nearby. But, no matter, throngs of Tiger swallowtails (below) dropped by the garden to sip nectar from a variety of blooms. On cloudy days the number of bees and butterflies is far fewer, I suppose because sun brings out the flowers’ scent, but not…
Surviving the heat of July
The stone path beneath the serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) is littered with a carpet of brown leaves. The neighbors ask if their trees are dying, but this is only a reaction to last week’s sudden heat wave. In summer, many trees drop at least a few leaves due to heat and dryness, and some, such as…
After two weeks away
I’ve just returned from two weeks touring nurseries, and it should be no surprise that the garden doesn’t look the same as when I left. With inches of rain the grass has grown long, but this has been easily remedied. However, much work remains to clean up mulch and debris eroded by the downpours, and…
Bumping through a North Carolina tree nursery
Humidity settles into the bottom lands of the North Carolina mountains early in the day. Even on this cooler than average July morning a considerable sweat is worked up on a short walk through a field of ‘Stellar Pink’ dogwoods (Cornus x ‘Rutgan’, below). Today, more walking than usual is required because recent heavy rains…
Deer problems? Not in this garden.
I am continually dismayed to hear the numbers of gardeners who have problems with deer, and more than that, how many report poor success with deer repellents. In place of repellents they prescribe varied remedies, from ugly, tall fences to exotic, home brewed concoctions, to recommending planting nothing but deer resistant plants. At the risk…
Spreading exuberance
A groundhog resided for several years beneath a mound of plume poppies (Macleaya cordata, below) in the rear garden. The dense clump provided ample cover for forays into the neighbor’s nearby vegetable garden, which is now fortified like Fort Knox to prevent further invasions, though the groundhog has departed. Plume poppy can be a bit…
Snakes’ paradise
Finally, I’ve discovered the secret to keeping my wife from meddling in the garden. Most recently she hasn’t been much of a problem, but when she has a bit of time on her hands, there’s trouble. I made a bit of a stink several years ago when she purchased overpriced, undersized pruners, but there are…
Through standing water
With repeated downpours in recent days the depression along the lower southern border of the garden has remained flooded for weeks. While several plants show some ill effects from the constant moisture of this low lying section of garden, I’ve selected plants specifically to tolerate the often standing water of this swale. Bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus…
Too good to be true
In 2008, ‘Rozanne’ geranium (Geranium ‘Gerwat’ Rozanne, below) was declared the perennial of year, and recently I read that voters at Britain’s Chelsea Flower Show selected it as best of the past fifty years. I can’t keep it alive! And, I don’t think I’m the only one. This seems to be a plant that requires…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 