A year ago I noted that the mild winter temperatures were more akin to South Carolina than to northwestern Virginia. I’m not at all certain that this was a result of the warming of the planet (that seems inevitable), or an anomaly, but I was all for it in the short term. If this matter were…
Author: Dave
I've been in the landscape business with Meadows Farms since 1976. I have a one acre+ garden in Warrenton VA started in 1989 that I test new plant introductions and landscape products. I have 6 ponds in the garden and a number of patios and paths.
Unusual and uncommon March blooms
For the first time since I planted the Persian ironwood (Parrotia persica, sometimes referred to as Persian witch hazel, below) I’ve seen its unusual blooms. Parrotia is in the witch hazel family (Hamamelis), and the flowers are somewhat similar to other witch hazels. This tree was a late addition to the garden, planted long after…
So, this is the first day of spring?
Today is spring? I’m not impressed. There should be no surprise that the weather on the first day of spring is not much different from the preceding three weeks, and much the same or worse is forecast for the next ten days. It’s not exactly cold, but this doesn’t feel like March, or spring. It’s…
Mid March
Despite cool temperatures, March is dragging the garden (kicking and screaming against its will, it seems) into spring. On Saturdays’s gray morning I was convinced on first glance that the day was too inhospitable to undertake the garden chores that surely must be accomplished within the next few weeks or disaster will strike. Rain seemed…
Gun control
On several occasions my wife has been angry enough to declare that she is ready to purchase a gun and put it to good use. Not that I’ve done anything to deserve being shot, but it makes sense to me that a husband should not be in favor of arming his wife. There are too…
Almost spring
Prompt action in the early morning prevented all but minor damage to Japanese maples and evergreens that were bent from the heavy, wet snow a few days ago. Of course, I happily crow my successes (few as they are), and remain largely silent when schemes go awry. The garden has suffered considerably from heavy snow in…
Today, heavy snow and the garden
Long before daylight this morning several inches of snow had fallen, and the worst of the storm is still to come. When I first went outside in the dark I was alerted to the problems ahead. Limbs of the wide spreading ‘Seriyu’ Japanese maple planted just off the corner of the garage were weighed down…
No doubt, it will get warmer
There will be warmer days. Soon, I hope. After considerable consternation in recent years (and earlier this winter) about the warming of the planet, the past few weeks have been cold, just when there was hope that spring was around the corner. With witch hazels and hellebores in full bloom a week into February, there…
Right plant, right place …sometimes
Too many times through the years I’ve been guilty of squeezing a plant into a space that is too small for its eventual growth. Fortunately, or not, the cause is not ignorance of the mature size, but over exuberance in attempting to shoehorn too many treasures into too small an area. In fact, the garden…
Bulbs in late February
There have been years when the clump of ‘February Gold’ daffodil (Narcissus ‘February Gold’) has flowered in February, but I don’t recall when. In most years the blooms arrive after other varieties that should flower weeks later. The blame, I suspect, is that ‘February Gold’ is somewhat shaded by a multi-trunked ‘Jane’ magnolia so that…
Planning for spring
Just because I don’t plan ahead for spring planting doesn’t mean that you should follow my lead. I’m sure your mother warned you not to jump off a bridge just because one of your bonehead friends said it seemed like a good idea. Here, the same principle applies. My garden is mostly fully developed, with…
The garden in February
I see no reason to attempt to convince anyone that growing flowers in their garden through the winter months is worthwhile. For someone who ventures outdoors only to get to the warmth of their automobile there is no earthly reason to make any effort to plant flowers that are never seen. I’m not crazy enough…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 