I regularly admire gardens chock full of perennials, and occasionally wonder if I could possibly duplicate these fabulous results. No, not a chance. First, this garden is dominated by trees, and now so much of it is too shaded to hope to grow many perennials. Yes, there are hostas and irises, assorted coral bells, daylilies,…
Month: May 2014
Azaleas and iris
The garden’s evergreen azaleas (above) have managed a few more flowers than expected, though their arrival is several weeks late and after I had given up hope that there would be more than a few scattered blooms this spring. After the severe winter most azaleas defoliated (some almost completely), and in late April when there…
More trees
After a brief shower (and minutes before the arrival of a storm that dumped several inches of rain overnight), the mix of dark clouds and streaming sunlight cast a glow as I strolled through the garden, hoping to catch a glimpse of a few blooms before the impending storm blew them to the heavens. The…
A tree centered garden
There is little doubt that there are more exceptional trees than can be fit into a one acre garden, no matter how hard I might wish to include more. By complete accident, the design of this garden is now dominated by Japanese maples and flowering trees, with a few larger trees fit in along the…
24 (or 25) and counting
After a harsh winter there is small consolation that the garden’s Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) have suffered little by comparison to the long established dwarf hemlock and Hinoki cypress that have been cut out and discarded. Evergreen magnolias could be the next to go, and I await the verdict on several crapemyrtles that are tardy…
The most splendid season
I’ve made a considerable effort in recent years to add to the garden so that there is something flowering at all times, and even through this dreadful winter that has thankfully finally ended there were mahonias (Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’, below) or witch hazels in bloom every day through January and February. In fact, this…
Problems, problems
There will be few blooms on the azaleas this spring. A few young azaleas have died, and most have suffered considerable damage to their foliage so that they are mostly bare stems with only a few leaves. Unfortunately, I think that this is the good news. At least most of the azaleas are alive, and…
Dogwoods and silverbell
The dogwood (Cornus florida, below) in the front garden suffers from a variety of maladies, though it does not seem in distress at all. The tree has multiple cankers that swell the stems and cause sucker growth that must be regularly removed, and every year the dogwood’s foliage is plagued by powdery mildew and black spot….
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 