There is always something, and often many somethings that the gardener is not quite satisfied with. Rarely is there anything he despises, for he has made do and become convinced that this is not so bad after all. But, if he had his druthers, there are things that could be changed for the better. If,…
Month: November 2015
Winter flowers
If they could, they would. Have flowers through the winter, of course, and clearly most do not suspect the range of flowers that are possible through the dark and cold winter months. There is nothing magical about it, and certainly no skill or wisdom is required to have flowers every day through the winter in…
Foliage in late November
While eating breakfast this morning, my wife and I observed a red-tailed hawk perched on the tree lilac (Syringa reticulata), only a few feet from our kitchen window. This low branch is not an ordinary perch for hawks that are ever present soaring high above the garden, though with most trees bare in late November the…
Opps, what about the aconites
Earlier, I mentioned that alliums and Dogtooth violets (Erythronium ‘Pagoda’) were planted over the weekend. More time was spent trying to figure where they should go than time spent planting, but that’s behind me with a lesson learned (unlikely). Now, the thought has occurred that in early spring I planned, but later failed to order fifty…
Planting alliums
Several hours have been spent on this cool and blustery Saturday planting an assortment of alliums, though only an hour in digging. I fear I have miscalculated, and too many bulbs have been ordered for the too few sunny spots available for planting. Not that my schedule is hopelessly backed up, but time has been…
An annual chore
As certain as winter’s cold and summer storms, leaves will fall in autumn to cover much of the garden. Now, I must plan to mow, rake, or shred to remove a large portion of the leaves that drop from the forest that borders the southern edge of the garden, and the dozens of trees that…
A splendid start to November
At the start of November, the garden shows mixed results from recent frosts and a single night of twenty-eight degrees. While brightly colored leaves of ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) and blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) have fallen, stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia, above) has only recently changed color, and it is as lovely as in any autumn. Earlier, I observed…
Purple and white, on one bush
The purple beautyberries (Callicarpa dichotoma, above) berried heavily in the garden this year, while I’ve observed that fruits on white berried types were a bit more sparse. White berries on the variegated beautyberry ‘Duet’ (below) are barely seen, even with a heavy crop, due to the exceptional vigor that hides the small berries, and due to…
The colors of autumn
Most likely I’m mistaken, but around here it seems that autumn foliage colors are late and more muted than usual. Until the past week there was not much at all to see, but now, after a week of cold, dogwoods (Cornus x ‘Celestial Shadow’, below) have turned to crimson, and just about everything else, to…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 