After thirty-six years in this garden, I long ago ceased being surprised when a plant declines and eventually must be replaced. Here, the reason for decline is most often due to increasing shade as the many Japanese maples, dogwoods, and redbuds (and others) increase in size. In rare cases, I’ll prune tree branches to allow…

If no harm is imminent, I will often delay a task that must be done, but maybe it can wait until tomorrow (or a year from tomorrow). And so, pruning of the paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha) in the lower rear garden was not accomplished a year ago, and here it is, now bumping against the stone…

I have mistreated the variegated Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas ‘Variegata’) too often to expect its forgiveness, but after multiple transplants, the small tree appears to be recovering despite my efforts. The dogwood (commonly called a cherry due to its red fruit) was once in ground far too damp, then too shaded before landing in a…

Today’s hike is the annual physical challenge for Barbara and me. Each year, we must prove to ourselves that we are still able to scamper up through the boulder lined gorge of Keyser Run on the appropriately named Little Devil’s Stairs trail. But, the trail is not only a fitness test as we age. The…

I congratulate myself for refusing to whine excessively through this overly long and chilly winter. While not cold to an extreme, a month of snow cover is reason enough for sorrowful moans and groans, and yet somehow I survived in good spirits to experience this glorious week when spring has undeniably arrived. With spring bulbs…

The planting of sweetbox (Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis) between a stone path and stream was a disappointment at the start. Small plants grow slowly, but today, the creeping stems have filled the area, long ago crowding out a daphne and a large portion of what was once a vigorous clump of Japanese Forest grass (Hakonechloa…

While handfuls of the garden’s hellebores flowered quickly after the snow melted in early February, most were weeks later. In this second week of March, peak bloom is near. While I would have enjoyed more flowers in late winter, this is among the many delights that I have no control over. Over the few decades…

The upcoming week will be busy, perhaps the busiest of the year. With temperatures in the sixties and seventies, I’ll be indoors only to eat and sleep (and maybe to rest up a few minutes). This is the long-awaited cleanup week, but I’ll also make the season’s first trip to the garden center. After pulling…

The wild swings in temperature in March are not unusual and hardly a concern early in the spring. Yes, the warm, sunny afternoons are glorious, but freezing nights and some chilly days are expected in the weeks to come. In the garden, the ups and downs aren’t a problem, in particular since the winter chill…

The garden is getting close. A year ago, this point was reached by early February, but a colder and snowier winter has delayed flowering by weeks. But we’re almost there. In milder winters, there will be short periods of bloom with holdover buds from autumn flowering and spring flowering camellias. The flowers are typically ruined…