Again I am disappointed by the failure of another of the garden’s daphnes. Just when I think I’ve figured them out, wrong again, as a long established ‘Eternal Fragrance’ fades and finally is dug out and hauled to the compost heap. No doubt the garden evolves, shade and root competition increases, so what works one…

Flowers of ‘Jane’ magnolia (below) are disappointing, and the few buds on the recently planted ‘Yellow Bird’ were damaged by a freeze a week ago. I hoped that unopened flower buds would have adequate protection, but many were close enough to opening that they were damaged by a twenty-three degree (Fahrenheit) nighttime freeze. About half…

While a scattered few flowers must satisfy the gardener in the winter months, April is glorious in its abundance. With many dozens of hellebores in the garden the slowly fading flowers remain the most obvious presence in early spring, but other flowers are now too numerous to count. While hellebores (above) were late starting after…

More than once my wife has told me, “you don’t have to have one of every plant in the world”, and of course I agree. That’s a lot of plants, so how is it possible for me to disagree? However, and this a huge however, she wants fewer plants and I want more, even a…

The gardener’s inclination (at least mine) is to suspect that any plant is dead that has not woken from its winter slumber by the start of April. Surely, blight has vanquished the hostas, all hundred of them, he thinks, but then some sense creeps in to argue that these must only be late in waking….

There is little reason to fret over minor damage resulting from recent freezes. Yes, flowers of early magnolias and camellias were lost, but that happens most years and blooms were in full, magnificent display for nearly a week. So, why be bothered? Enjoy the garden today, and if one thing or the other goes awry,…

As expected, the season for two early flowering magnolias, ‘Merrill’ (below) and ‘Royal Star’ came to an end in Monday night’s twenty degree cold (Fahrenheit). Rarely do the magnolias’ flowers fade without damage from a March freeze, and though flowering was a bit late this year the cold was not unusual. No harm was done,…

Unfortunately, there is but one lonely bloom on the yellow leafed winter hazel (Corylopsis spicata ‘Ogon’), further evidence of my too often faulty judgment shoehorning plants into spaces with less than ideal conditions. In this instance, I shall claim that options were limited. The hazel was struggling in damp ground, and this space facing west…

Several of the magnolias are flowering today, with others set for next week. But, cold is on the way, so while already opened flowers of ‘Merrill’ and ‘Royal Star’ will last four or five days (at least) the next batch of blooms might last for only a few hours. Weather in March is variable, but…

After several very mild days, the earliest of the magnolias have quickly burst into bloom. Buds of ‘Merrill’ (Magnolia x loebneri ‘Merrill’, below) were cracking open on the weekend, and a few warm days have pushed it quickly into flower. ‘Merrill’ is always first to flower in this garden, beginning thirty feet up and working…

The primary caution while tidying up the edges of the koi pond is, don’t tumble into the chilly water. Northern water snakes must be avoided in summer when they might suddenly appear from beneath the cover of Japanese irises, but they are not a threat in the cold of mid March. The water of the…

True to its name, Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxa, below) flowered just in time for last weekend’s snow. Unfortunately, the snow was deep enough to hide the blooms, and when it melted the flowers were on the decline. Such is the garden in March, with daily additions that come more quickly than the subtractions, and…