The spring flowering bulbs have arrived, and once I figured out where they would go (no simple task), they were quickly planted. Planting is the easy part, and all bulbs were small enough to fit into the hole dug by the cordless drill and auger. I’ve hand dug too many holes for bulbs over the…

Several nights bordering on frost have passed, but it’s likely that milder temperatures will prevail for several weeks until more regular chances for frost and freeze arrive. While a September frost is not unheard of, mid or late October is more typical for our first cold nights. I’m in no hurry. This afternoon, I’m hoping…

A few chilly nights have started me thinking about next year. Every time I walk by the Korean Sweetheart tree (Euscaphis japonica, below) I envision next spring when it will almost certainly grow another foot or two, and perhaps I’ll enjoy its first blooms. While today it is hardly taller than the mass of competing…

Frost is on the way, possibly tonight, but soon. My wife says the weather turned cold a week ago when muggy daytime highs in the eighties and nineties slipped into the seventies, but this is only cool, and thankfully so. Now, the forecast, in this week before summer ends, is for three nights dropping into…

In this very wet late summer I have continued to plant enthusiastically, dividing and transplanting from thick clumps in areas that are overpopulated, and ordering ferns and native orchids to plug into every small gap in shaded parts of the garden. This is work that typically is planned (if it’s planned at all) for spring…

Berries of several beautyberries (Callicarpa) have turned to purple and white in recent weeks, though the variegated ‘Duet’ and two new introductions are tardy in turning. In contrast to their unremarkable, tiny summer flowers, the berries provide a long and beautiful display. Beautyberries must be planted prominently to properly appreciate their berries, but the shrubs…

Dagummit! A newly planted variegated Japanese kerria (Kerria japonica ‘Fubuki-nishiki’) was nibbled by deer the night it was planted a month ago. I could not imagine that a skinny twig with only a few leaves would be worth the bother, but I suppose deer must sample choice morsels whenever they are found. Weeks after being…

Not that further inspiration is required, but a weekend on the western slope of Roundhead Mountain, without the distraction of internet, has encouraged  adding to the somewhat recently begun collection of ferns. My mostly shaded garden has included common Autumn, Cinnamon, Ostrich, Tassel, Christmas, Ghost, and Japanese Painted ferns for years, with volunteer Sensitive, Rock…

Arguing that bugleweed (Ajuga reptans, below) is not a weed, given its aggressive reputation, can be wasted effort. But, after two prior failed efforts in this garden when bugleweed was improperly sited and neglected early on, several areas now flourish, spreading vigorously but treading gently so as not to disturb neighbors. Now, I endorse it…