The lull of winter dormancy is a time to evaluate and reconsider the garden. Always, something is missing, changes are overdue, and in January, there is ample time for planning. I don’t expect major changes in spring. I’m quite pleased with the long established gardens, and with additions made in recent years. But, as always,…

While noting various plants that remain unblemished by the recent low temperatures, I failed to inspect the brilliant yellow flowers of mahonias (Mahonia x media, now Berberis x hortensis, below) that were mentioned as a highlight of the snow-covered garden. A day earlier, all flowers remained intact, but after nighttime lows of five and nine…

I confess to woeful ignorance regarding microclimates in the garden. Occasionally, I’ll glance to note areas where snow melts quickly, but with infrequent snowfall, these details are quickly forgotten. Of course, you should expect I’d know where the warm spots are after thirty-five years. But, as with many details in the garden, I am apparently…

No doubt, in its native Australian habitat, grevillea (Grevillea victoriae ‘Murray Valley Queen’, below) did not develop with substantial roots to prevent its tilting after a few inches of snow. As a much smaller young shrub several years ago, the grevillea leaned severely under a much heavier snow load, probably our most recent snowfall of…

I shouldn’t complain. But I do, and I will every day until spring, though there is reason for joy each day as I whine that mild temperatures are so far off. I want to be outdoors, preferably in short sleeves, tidying up, planting, or only strolling, I don’t care. As I roam the garden in…

I am not surprised to see a few flowers on the yellow, threadleafed ‘Ogon’ spirea (Spirea thunbergii ‘Ogon’, below) this second week of January. Temperatures have been very average, not particularly mild, but it’s not unusual to see a few scattered white blooms later in winter. This is a week or two early, and the…

I’ve enjoyed photos of collectors’ gardens with plants displayed and tagged for identification, and while I’ve considered tagging in some inconspicuous manner to compensate for my forgetfulness, my eye prefers a less formal presentation. This garden has been laid out a bit at a time with no formal design, and while there are numerous collections,…

I make no apologies for my love of plants or for cramming this garden overly full with family members of plants that I adore. By love at first sight or a slow progression to become a favorite, I then search to obtain close cousins, certain I will have the same affection for other family members….

I’m happy. Not an unusual response to walking through the garden, but after a long wait, and the possibility that grevillea (Grevillea victoriae ‘Murray Valley Queen’, below) could be removed if it again failed to flower, I am overjoyed to see its spidery blooms. Today, the Australian native grevillea is flowering after all flower buds…

In early January, leaves are sparse on the various Oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia, below), but ones that remain are brilliantly colored. In shade, the hydrangeas are bare, but in part sun, the scattered leaves stand out against the dormant landscape. The deeply colored leaves of the gordlinia clump (x Gordlinia grandiflora, below) are evergreen, but…

At the start of the new year, the countdown begins. Every day, on every stroll through the garden, I must look for signs of spring. Flowers help to ease the too long wait. The first spidery flowers of the vernal witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis, above) opened the last week of December, though it will be…

Unfortunately, I did not pause to document the seemingly herculean task, moving a fifteen feet tall, red leafed contorted filbert (Corylus avellana ‘Red Dragon’) from its overcrowded and overly shaded position beside a ‘Bracken’s Beauty’ magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora ‘Bracken’s Beauty’) in front to a slightly more sunny and open spot in the back garden. With branches…