To avoid discouragement, the gardener must accept repeated failure. Despite best efforts, plants will be lost to cold or drought, to wind and ice, and occasionally to neglect. Others will suffer with circumstances less than ideal, showing meager growth, but managing to survive without too much concern by the gardener. The non-gardener complains of his…
Category: gardening
Toad lily seedlings galore
After three decades in this garden it seems that too often I am baffled by one thing or the other. There is no need to delve more deeply into why I know so little, but rather we will discuss today’s mystery. I have grown toad lilies (Tricyrtis) for eight or ten years, and older plants…
Away for a few weeks
I will be traveling for a few weeks, on business, so don’t send wishes for an enjoyable vacation. In fact, it’s a nice break to be out of the office for a while, and I’ll be visiting many long time acquaintances who own the nurseries our company purchases plants from. I’m always enthused to see…
A few daylilies
On occasion, I regret not having planted a broader array of daylilies. Not often, but today I’ve seen the tall, but otherwise ordinary, yellow flowered ‘Hyperion’ poking out from between shrubs in a garden up the street. Mostly, I would like to have the height of the flower and grass-like foliage, and not necessarily the…
The summer garden
Some trial and error is to be expected while creating a garden that is satisfactory through the seasons. A superb garden in spring is easily devised, when dependable rainfall and moderate temperatures encourage splendid blooms and lush foliage. But, planning a garden to shine through the heat of summer is another matter. I have tried…
Low expectations
Occasionally, I’m reminded of a plant that once grew in the garden that’s no longer here. Certainly, this is not only me, and I suspect that it’s not unusual to lose a plant or two each year. Some are lost to the heat and dryness of summer, some to winter’s cold, and unfortunately, others to…
Rain, rain, rain
Parts of this country have been deluged by rain in recent weeks, so a gardener must be pardoned for even the mildest complaint about too much rain. One storm after another has turned the rear garden into a swamp, which in recent years it has become for too many months of the year, but rarely…
A determined coneflower
I once planted a very nice, red flowered coneflower, ‘Tomato Soup’ (Echinacea ‘Tomato Soup’, below) that bloomed splendidly for several years, until one spring it was gone. Often, there are signs that a plant’s health is fading, but this coneflower simply did not return in the spring. Certainly, there are many more examples of this…
When good sense is ignored
I have some good sense, but at least as far as the garden’s concerned, it’s displayed only on rare occasions. In an effort to cram as many delights as possible into the garden, sensible design is occasionally overlooked (or disregarded). I see no reason to excuse or apologize. I will gladly sacrifice proper design to…
First shoots of the purple passion flower vine (Passiflora incarnata) pop up anywhere except where they’re supposed to. A steel obelisk stands above where the vine was planted, but the first sign of the passion flower in late spring is eight feet away, growing through gaps in the stone patio. These are plucked out, and…
The many or the few
I suspect that many gardeners are hopeless collectors of plants. Recently, I wrote about the collection of Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) in the garden, and the many irises, but there are more. Possibly, too many. There are a dozen or more dogwoods of various stripes in the garden. The native Eastern dogwood (Cornus florida) begins…
A month of irises
Several clumps of Japanese iris (Iris ensata, above) surrounding the koi pond have been invaded by yellow flag (Iris pseudacorus, below). These are pried from the tangle of roots with great difficulty, and with only limited success. Yellow flag works splendidly to populate the gravel bog filtration area of the pond, but if left alone…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 