Dave – Page 111 – Ramblin' through Dave's Garden

A case of cold

After a single day a week ago when temperatures rose above fifty and a start was made on the long list of chores that must be accomplished by spring, the current spell of cold is even more an annoyance. February is often a month of extremes, one day teasing that spring is imminent, and the…

Hurry along

After a day or two in early February when temperatures rise more than a few degrees above freezing, the gardener becomes particularly anxious for spring to arrive. His patience is not helped at all by witch hazels and hellebores with buds that are ready to burst into bloom, and snowdrops that have flowered sporadically for…

Adding a few vines

In this long established garden, spring planting rarely involves anything more grand than shoehorning a few hostas or hellebores between existing plants, though there are occasions when an area must be rejuvenated due to damage from storms, or when a space might simply become overcrowded. In early February, as I consider what can be planted…

Plan for spring, more hostas

As I recall, and this is a tricky proposition since my memory has never been much to talk about, there were once a hundred or more varieties of hosta in the garden. This was, of course, before the invasion of deer a decade ago, and despite the sturdy constitution of hostas, constant nibbling took a…

Bird watching

Not once in January was I tempted to begin working on chores that must be accomplished sometime before spring growth commences. Several times each week I’ve scurried through the garden to catch up on the few blooms and swelling buds, but I’ve hardly stopped for a moment to pull a weed or to pick up…

Buds

After a flush of growth in autumn, the hellebores (Helleborus) are plump and now heavily budded. I have not yet removed the foliage so that the nodding flowers will be more evident when these begin to bloom in several weeks. Certainly, I’ll get around to this, at least by the time the first color begins…

Contemplating the garden

Without question, winter is time for contemplating the garden, though I readily admit I’m not much on planning. With cold temperatures and less labor there is opportunity to consider what went wrong, and no doubt countless minor tragedies befall the best of gardens. Also to consider, what worked, no matter how small the successes might…

Flowers and foliage in January

Following days of cold and a bit of snow and ice (though hardly enough to be disturbed about), the yellow, winter flowering mahonias (‘Winter Sun’ and ‘Charity’) have finally faded from bloom. Vernal witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) and a few early snowdrops (Galanthus, above) continue to flower, and these will continue through until the now…

Winter flowering camellias

Two camellias reside in shade beneath the canopy formed by the combined planting of Golden Rain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata) and ‘Jane’ magnolia (Magnolia x ‘Jane’). The shading is not so dense that the camellias do not set buds, but the effect is that flowering is delayed by a month or longer as identical varieties with…

January flowers

A single stem of the Vernal witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis, below) has begun to flower at the start of January, and though the blooms are small and not brightly colored, there is a satisfaction that the gardener has done something right to be rewarded with winter flowers. In fact, there is no particular skill in…

Flowers in the snow

This is a gentle snow. Temperatures are cold and getting colder, so this is not the sort of snow that threatens to bend and break branches. It accumulates on branches of evergreens, trapped by dense needles, but even the tall stems of nandinas (Nandina domestica, below) do not arch under the slight weight. Reports are…

Dead magnolias

The dead magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora ‘Alta’) at the rear of the garden must finally be chopped out. The tree died in last winter’s cold, and for a few months into the spring I hesitated, hoping that this was only damaged foliage from the cold and nothing more serious. The bark on a tree that has…