I’m alive and well, mostly unscathed after removing the very tall Blue Atlas cedar that declined in health over several very damp recent years. A couple scrapes were inevitable, and of course the cutting was done while my wife was at work. If I am to be crushed beneath a tree that falls in the…

In part, the constructed garden is intended to portray an idealized version of nature. Though selected plants might be native to diverse areas of the planet, their combination intends to mimic textures and colors the gardener imagines from nature, but with preferred plants. I was not exposed to gardening as a child, but have many…

In mid November, the garden has crashed following a twenty-four degree night. Blooms of autumn flowering azaleas have turned to mush, and leaves that remained on hydrangeas and paperbushes (below, and other shrubs) have faded or fallen. Overnight, even though this was not the season’s first frost or freeze. As expected, flowers of camellias (above)…

Coloring of leaves of the ‘Bloodgood’ Japanese maple is richest when leaves have newly emerged, and then in the last days before leaves drop to carpet the front walk (below). Today, as the deep red has begun to dry and darken, a fierce autumn breeze has swept the bluestone path clear. My wife stops in…

Two weeks ago my wife mentioned that there was little color on the Fernleaf Japanese maple (Acer japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’, below). A small section turned, but colors were not vivid, and larger areas had leaves turning brown rather than mottled reds and yellows. I advised patience, of course mine is well documented, but I know that…

Admittedly, my observational skills can be limited. If there’s a bloom or otherwise notable attribute, I won’t miss it. But, handfuls of camellias that now rise to ten feet in height were hardly noticed when flowers were scarce. Mostly, they were just big, green shrubs, backdrops to more colorful treasures. And then, a year ago…

In this thirty-one year old garden, plants come and go. Most losses were minor presences, not well suited from the start, but occasionally a more prominent focal point is lost. A year ago, a long established, but slowly declining Alaskan cedar was lost, and while I’m happy not to be gazing out the kitchen window…

As many leaves have fallen at the start of November, my wife notices the splendid coloring of the Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia, below) outside the kitchen window. Leaves of several Japanese maples are late to turn, so there are colorful trees, and others that are now completely bare. I am not fooled, however, by the…

Stubborn. Obstinate. Take your pick, but I am not one to give up, even when evidence to the contrary is overwhelming. A discarded ‘Soft Caress’ mahonia (Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Soft Caress’, above) became available, and no matter that several have died in the garden in recent years, the price was right and what the heck. I…