Maples and tulip poplars bordering the garden shed leaves weeks ago, but several trees in the garden remain colorful, at least for a few days as November’s end is near. The best autumn foliage color in this garden comes from Japanese maples that range from coloring in October to trees that are at their peak…

Influenced by visits to brilliant gardens on visits to the Pacific Northwest, I once had grand visions of developing a large portion of this garden as a conifer garden. And why not? The contrasts in color, form, and texture are marvelous, and most conifers flourish in Virginia, even if some bright colors are slightly muted…

With newly opened space as the sunroom nears completion, the time seems appropriate to divulge my process in planning the addition to this thirty-four year old garden. While the typical shoehorning of plants into small gaps in this cluttered garden is often accomplished with little attention, this area demands thoughtfulness. A first? And, am I…

With holiday guests visiting soon, a part of the day was spent clearing leaves from the front walk and the patio seen from the sunroom. Again this year, leaves of ‘Bloodgood’ and ‘Seriyu’ Japanese maples fell just in time for the holiday to blanket the front walk, and while Barbara and I rarely use this…

This is an off year for the Koehne holly (Ilex koehneana) that is typically the most dependable and heaviest to berry in the garden. There are scattered berries, but not in the quantity seen every other year. Unfortunately, lower branches were removed recently as the huge holly strayed too far over the driveway. The newly…

A year ago was the first time I’ve grown castor bean (Ricinus communis). In damp ground that I thought at the time would be ideal, it grew only to knee high by summer’s end. With that obvious failure, my second try was planted on a bone dry slope beside the greenhouse. Happily, this one skyrocketed…

While the late winter flowering leatherleaf mahonia (Mahonia bealei, now Berberis bealei) is known to seed around a bit, there is little opportunity for blooms of the autumn flowering mahonias to be pollinated with infrequent mild weather days suitable for bees to be out and about by mid-November. Leatherleafs are often loaded with grape-like fruits…

As autumn progresses, leaves of one Japanese maple after another fall as another comes into brilliant color. Alas, at the start of November the numbers with foliage remaining are diminishing as leaves pile to cover much of the garden. Leaves of several winter flowering witch hazels (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’, below) are now delightfully colored….

The new sunroom is now under roof and enclosed, though still a week or two from completion. This small addition is a luxury for us. Except for boundless plant purchases, I spend cautiously, but this will be a room where we’ll spend considerable time in our imminent retirements. The view from the room is most…

Leaves now cover the side garden that borders the forest of maples and tulip poplars. Eventually, they’ll be cleared from the stone pathways, and some day the leaves will be removed so that winter flowering hellebores are not hidden. But, leaves in the remainder of the garden will be left to decay. Occasionally, I work…

One of the speckled, double flowered hellebores (below) is flowering at the start of November. Clearly, it’s confused, with a second flower on the way. By late in the month it’s possible we’ll see the first of the white flowered Christmas roses (Helleborus niger) that typically begin their flowering in mid-December, but this hellebore planted…

After weeks of waiting, flowers of the somewhat cold hardy Schefflera (now Heptapleurum delavayi, below) have finally opened. First, I should clarify that the hardiness of the schefflera is to low temperatures of five to ten degrees above zero (Fahrenheit) while this garden is rated as a zone 7a with an average winter low of…