The Chinese dogwoods (Cornus kousa, below) are glorious this mid May. The fast growing, but often sporadic blooming ‘Galilean’ and variegated leaf ‘Wolf Eyes’ are flowering more heavily than I can recall. The pink ‘Satomi’ is a dependable bloomer, but it’s flowers have only the faintest hint of pink this year, not uncommon for Satomi…

Only a few days ago I whined that the golden chain tree (Laburnum) does not perform well in my Virginia garden despite a favored position to protect it from the late afternoon sun. The sparse foliage and meager blooms  in a photograph substantiated my claim that this European native is poorly adapted to the heat…

Nothing could be simpler than to select plants for the garden that bloom in April and May, unless you are utterly confused by the wealth of choices. Walk through your local garden center this weekend and there are dozens of blooming plants, for sun or shade, wet areas or dry, that grow ankle high or…

I am usually late for the party, if I arrive at all. I have been negligent updating what’s blooming in the garden, so today I’ll try to be as brief as possible and cover as much ground as possible. From one end of the garden to the other there are blooms, with some continuing from…

Yes, I have Japanese maples. Hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions! Or more. In the soil below the Bloodgood maple, and the Burgundy Lace, beneath the two Seriyu maples the seedlings are as thick as pachysandra. I haven’t the heart to pull them when so many people spend their hard earned dollars for these treasures, but eventually…

I’ve been gardening this one acre plot since 1988. When I look at photos from the early years I’m amazed at the open pasture land, and minuscule plants that tower over the garden today. The space filled quickly with a few shade trees (a magnificent purple beech, katsura, and black gum), flowering trees (magnolias, dogwoods, redbuds, crapemyrtles,…

In any garden there are difficult areas, poor soil, too dry, soggy, too many roots, sun baked, or dark as a dungeon. In my garden I have spots with some of all of these, often with a combination of issues that makes plant selection tricky. Mostly through trial and error I’ve discovered trees, shrubs, and perennials…

The last weekend in April is drawing to a close, and blooms in the garden couldn’t be more abundant. The flowers of redbuds (below, the glossy new leaves of ‘Forest Pansy’ redbud) and dogwoods have faded, though there are a few remaining on dogwoods in the shade, but fringetree (Chionanthus) and ‘Ivory Silk’ tree lilac…