Little damage was done by a recent twenty-eight degree night. This followed several nights that flirted with the freezing mark, and fortunately, seldom is damage severe on tender new leaves unless temperatures fall to twenty-five degrees or colder. Two seedling Japanese maples were at the tenderest stage of growth, with leaves just out, and while…

An evergreen Pragense viburnum (Viburnum x pragense, below), once planted at the forest’s edge twenty-five years ago, has long been relegated to deep shade behind the tall and wide spreading ‘Merrill’ magnolia. Miraculously, it survives, though at a fraction of its once formidable size and with many fewer blooms. A nearby Korean Spice viburnum (Viburnum…

A goose has taken residence beside the koi pond, fortunately not on the side where I regularly lounge to relax, but on the far side. I watched as she (it is safe to assume a she) prepared her nest, and in order not to be rude to our guest I have not spied in the…

My wife tells me that this garden is full, with some good reason though there are small open spaces to be plugged wherever I look. The larger picture overflows with trees and shrubs planted over thirty one years, and she demands that any more planting will have to spill over onto the neighbor’s property. Long…

Several redbuds and handfuls of dogwoods of various sorts are scattered about the garden. Most have been around since the garden’s early days, and of course all are favorites (even hybrid and Chinese dogwoods that flower in May). But the weeks pass, and as blooms of dogwoods, redbuds, and serviceberry fade, the view out the…

Cypress spurge (Euphorbia cyparissias, below) is an aggressive bully, I hear, and perhaps it is grudgingly admired but reviled by most gardeners, though it is favored in this garden for its finely textured, needle-like foliage and bright blooms. Here, it displays little sign of its reputed invasiveness, so while I cannot recommend this spurge, I…

White blooms of the serviceberry (Amelanchier) drift to the ground, nearly covering the walk and clogging a section of the stream (below) that runs roughly parallel to the stone path. I sit on the stone patio, rocking gently, fighting to stay awake in a low slung chair that has been refinished several times, and probably…

The earliest flowers of redbuds and dogwoods are often separated by ten days, sometimes two weeks, but this otherwise troubled spring continues to be blessed by a splendid year in the garden. A drive down a local highway, or a walk through the neighborhood reveals delightful blooms that are even more abundant in natural settings…

Encore azalea ‘Autumn Amethyst’ (below) is an unusual sort, at least at my place. While Encore azaleas typically begin their autumn blooming season as early as August, with heaviest flowering in September and October, ‘Amethyst’ often begins this cycle late in October or November. And, it’s the only azalea that I’ve experienced with a few…

I don’t claim to speak for gardener’s as a group, but I suppose that like me, many are fascinated by the beauty of simple things, today perhaps the tiniest violet (below), considered a weed by many, but richly colored and beautiful enough that the gardener momentarily forgets the woes of this world. There are plenty…

Today I’ll step away from my typical wordiness to catch up on blooms that have slipped past in the last week. This is a splendid time to be in the garden, so enjoy.