Imprints from deer hooves are four inches deep in the swampy rear garden. The muck seems not to deter their visits, and as the garden enters winter dormancy, deer are invited to dine at their leisure. The repellent was last sprayed in early September, I think, though perhaps it was August. Now, several hostas and…
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.
A day in the garden
Mid-October in northern Virginia is not the best time to visit a garden. A garden group visited my place in early November a year ago, and with a warmer than average first half of autumn there were still a few things to see. But of course, I would prefer visitors to see the garden’s peak…
A change of seasons
Remnants of Hurricane Michael were hardly to be concerned about in this part of northwestern Virginia (except for another two inches of rain while areas nearby received three times this amount), but a breezy night as the storm exited was enough to dislodge many loosely attached leaves (and innumerable branches) of trees bordering the garden….
A forgotten treasure
Yesterday, ten substantial divisions were taken from a clump of Japanese Sacred lily (Rohdea japonica, below). Ten more could be taken without noticing that the original clump is diminished. Sections of the dense clump were undercut, but the inch and a half thick rhizome could not be pulled loose by hand. Admittedly, I am often…
Summer rain, for better and worse
While several shrubs have perished in saturated soil after a summer of flooding rains, some plants on higher ground have grown with unusual and notable vigor. Two variegated ‘Silver Cloud’ redbuds (Cercis canadensis ‘Silver Cloud’) and an Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) have grown to engulf a Hinoki cypress (Hinoki gracillis ‘Compacta’). I am not noted…
The colors of autumn, before leaves turn
While leaves are slow to turn with summer temperatures extending into October, the garden remains colorful with abundant blooms. Without a doubt, cold weather and colorful leaves will be here soon, but I’m in no rush to be rid of this unusual warmth. While the pink blooms of Encore azalea ‘Carnation’ (above) are hardly my…
Unseen blooms
Flowers of the hardy ginger (Zingiber mioga ‘Dancing Crane’, below) are not particularly ornamental, even when they can be seen, which is only when the arching stems are lifted and the gardener bends nose down from his knees. The flowers are perhaps an inch above the soil, not seen without effort, and who would know…
Mostly minor problems
Among many, but mostly minor issues related to this year’s summer deluge is that Alstroemeria ‘Tangerine Tango’ barely grew, and only a few flowers were seen in early summer. In fact, I cannot be certain that the problem is not an overhanging Distylium instead, but shade from the evergreen seems not far different from a…
A lack of self control, who me?
I must start today by denying the obvious. I insist that I am able to control a seeming compulsion to purchase one of too many plants, and collections of far too many. There is meager evidence to support my claim, I understand, but I must point to a recent decision to halt further collecting of…
Delightful berries
Long, arching stems ornamented with clusters of white berries emerge from a tangle of foliage behind the koi pond. Oakleaf and mophead hydrangeas nestle tightly beside an ‘Okame’ cherry, with little space to access for maintenance through crossed branches. Somewhat worse than the typical mess in this garden, but considerable effort would be required to…
Surprising blooms
Unsurprisingly and typically, I’m clueless to explain why ‘Jelena’ witch hazel is flowering in September instead of mid-February. No unusual weather event explains this, and this is not a single flower or stem, but every bud on every branch. Four other winter flowering witch hazels nearby show no sign of imminent flowering, or even swelling…
Ideal planting
Ideal spots for planting are easily identified in shaded areas of the garden. Here, sporelings of Japanese Painted and Sensitive ferns appear together, competing in scattered pockets of deep, moist soil. Too often, Japanese stilt grass encroaches, though it is less particular about the spaces it invades. Fortunately, while persistent and a considerable nuisance, the…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 