The planting bordering the granite cobble and bluestone path leading from the driveway to the rear garden is a bit sparse until very late spring when a variety of toad lilies (Tricyrtis) become shrub-like hulks. With a mid-May freeze stunting spring growth, toad lilies lagged a few weeks slower this summer, and when an overly…

I returned from two weeks of travel expecting to see the peak blooms of one Downy Rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera pubescens, below) and flowers of others that are slightly behind. Unfortunately, a beast of some sort severed the tall flowering stalk of the native orchid, so I must wait another week for others to reach their…

A keen memory is required when planting in winter to avoid injuring dormant bulbs and perennials. It is long established that I possess no such powers of recollection. On occasion, a bulb is unearthed or sliced, or one thing is planted within inches of another. Usually, these minor conflicts are easily corrected, and again I…

I can’t help myself. I’m traveling through the mountains of North Carolina, shopping for evergreens and trees for the nurseries (my day job), but always with an eye watching for something, anything of interest to add to the garden. Without question, there is no room for another tree, but here’s one I must have. This…

As I travel on business for a few short weeks, I’ll miss the garden, even as I search for new treasures to plant. There will be flowers that will be missed, with ones budding today past bloom when I return. No doubt, an abundant crop of weeds will greet me, and this I’m not anxious…

I hear from acquaintances that the annual invasion of Japanese beetles has begun, so I went looking. I’m quite certain that beetles were a problem once, though I can’t remember exactly when, but it seems that I barely notice them in recent years. Of course, I tracked them down, but again, there aren’t many. The…

Certainly, it is true that the gardener never stops learning, so it must also be true that forgetting never ends. More for some than others, and here I plead guilty. I suspect that most often I am inattentive to details rather than just being forgetful, though you should not consult my wife on this matter….

Undoubtedly, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And no question, the beauty of the garden surrounding the koi pond is a matter of taste. But, does it matter if anyone besides the gardener is less than enamored by such a jumble? I cannot quite claim that I created this lovely mess, at least…

The stream runs along a section of the southern property line, bordering a narrow area of forest bisected by a natural, spring fed creek. A wide spreading serviceberry (Amelanchier) overhangs the small pond and much of the length of the stream, dropping leaves during various dry spells until autumn. References warn against placing water features…

The planting surrounding the new greenhouse has quickly filled. The space is not large, but an extension of a long planted area into which the small, octagonal greenhouse was shoehorned. The new planting is no more than two hundred square feet, and as if given new freedom to spread, it seems that long ago planted…

Two large buttonbushes (Cephalanthus occidentalis, below) were long overdue to be cut back, but both are situated in swampy ground and more or less out of sight, so there was no rush. I could get around to a project such as this sometime in the next decade, but beavers beat me to it over the…