Two Yucca rostrata (below) were in dire straits when rescued several years ago. After the first winter, their fate was more in question. Finally, by this late spring they seem fully recovered, though this has little to do with my efforts. I must take small credit for planting them in an area that is slightly…

I am not a patient man, no matter that I often protest otherwise (unconvincingly, it seems). With a long established garden, I am reluctant to start small and allow any but the most vigorous of plants to grow up to match its neighbors. This is doubly true for trees, the reason that several Japanese maples…

Four of the garden’s five ponds are too shaded for waterlilies, and several waterlilies in the sunny, shallow bog area of the deeper koi pond were long ago crowded out by irises, pickerel weeds, and dwarf variegated cattails. Once, waterlilies flowered in all the ponds, but increasing areas of shade are the progression (not a…

A week ago, a two by four was set to brace one heavily ladened branch of an apple espaliered to the wall of the garden’s shed. I was concerned that the bent branch might break, but I need not worry any longer. The apples are gone. I suspect deer, ever present but mostly deterred by…

I believe that this relatively small, nearly yellow leafed hosta is a seedling, though I cannot be certain. This is a young hosta, probably two or three years old, that was transplanted to the edge of this shaded bed. Though most are uninteresting, several intriguing hosta seedlings have been discovered through the years. These are…

In early afternoon it is seventy degrees on this mid-August day. Yes, the humidity is ninety-one percent, so today cannot be mistaken for a pleasant October afternoon, but with a thick cover of clouds and a slight breeze I won’t quibble over details. The recent ten days have been wet, not only with occasional thunderstorms,…

Extended periods with minimal rainfall are typical of our summers, so there is no reason to whine when hostas that were foolishly planted in too much sun turn crispy along the edges. Though I could hardly care, the lawn begins to brown with clover and crabgrass gaining greater prominence. And then, rain comes, and again…

It is unclear if seedlings of ‘Tardiva’ hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Tardiva’, below) are identical to the parent, but there is no doubt that seedlings derive from this late summer flowering hydrangea. Flowers of the seedlings, in two places bordering the koi pond, are not ideally placed, but roots are solidly entrenched and difficult to get…

Most of the garden’s terrestrial orchids are simple to spot, with prominent foliage and flowers. These are easily placed, particularly Bletilla cultivars, vigorous growers that spread readily, and with pleasant, grass-like leaves. Several orchids are flowering in early August, and though all have been given priority positioning, their small flowers and stature do not provide…

The garden was blessed with more than an inch of rain near the far western edge of this week’s tropical storm. Thunderstorms in the week earlier were helpful, but cracks in exposed ground remained that were finally filled by the steady rainfall. Gardens much closer to coastal areas might have had too much of this…

Despite a month of heat and drought until the recent week, the garden is quite glorious to my eye, in particular for early August when the worst is expected. Yes, the lawn is worn, part brown, at least those areas not overrun by lush expanses of clover, but that is not much of a bother….

My wife tells me I am too old to be moving boulders without assistance. Often, her resistance to projects derives from her insistence that no more lawn be converted to garden, but I think she sort of likes this small addition, and today her concern is for my nearly sixty-six year old body rather than…