What was I thinking? In the heat of August I am accustomed mostly to doing nothing. Well, perhaps something, but very little other than pulling a few weeds as I wander about in the evenings, and this is followed by a long rest and several ice teas. A week ago I was home for a…
Category: gardening
The swimming pond -Summer 2010
I’ve had several recent inquiries about my swimming pond, so I figure that it’s about time for an update. This is my favored spot in the garden, where I spend my most relaxed time, and (on rare occasions when I’m sociable) where my wife and I entertain friends and family. There are six ponds in the…
Color for the dog days
Who could argue that the dog days have arrived? The only contentious point could be that they began a month early this summer. If not for the wretched, weedy lawn the garden would show few signs of the stressful heat of the past months. Crapemyrtles, hydrangeas, and shrub roses show plentiful blooms, and now are…
A garden to be lived in
I have seen them in glossy magazines, and they’re quite remarkable, immaculate gardens, perfect in architecture and horticultural marvels, clipped hedges and colorful carpets of annual flowers. No doubt the landscape architect who creates such wonders would scoff at my poor ramshackle patch with one of this and a few of that, with a different…
Big is beautiful
No, not me, I’m big, but more bulldozer than beautiful, useful for digging holes and moving boulders. In my garden I’m a fool for any plant with large leaves, trees, shrubs, perennials, or tropicals, the bigger the better, I’ve got to have them. In garden design big leaves contrast nicely with just about any foliage in…
What’s bugging you?
I’ve talked recently to a number of gardeners who refuse to go outdoors unless the temperatures are below ninety degrees, and, of course there have been few of those over the summer months. I’m afraid that I can’t recommend a remedy for the summer heat, though dangling your toes in a cool garden pond generally…
What’s blooming in early August
I am not disappointed when the garden looks worn and haggard in early August, and with the number of scorching hot days this summer it is a wonder there are any blooms at all. My garden is not irrigated, and I have watered only once, during the dry spell with ghastly heat several weeks back. Surprisingly,…
Plants in the water gardens
The topic today is plants in the pond, not around the pond, but growing in the water. But first, I must address briefly the plants that surround the pond. Through the years I have seen many ponds that are intended to mimic a natural water feature, but are left naked, ringed by stones, stark in…
A bullfrog’s domain
In the heat of summer there is no place so pleasant as sitting on a bench as the sun sets, watching goldfish and koi swim lazily in the garden pond. In my garden there are five ponds, and along side each there is a bench, or a seat, or just a boulder, so that one…
Home, sweet home
Finally, I’m back home from two weeks on the road visiting nurseries in the southeast. That’s three thousand miles of interstates, dusty back roads, and bumping around through tree nurseries. More hollies and junipers than I can count, and roses, hydrangeas, and azaleas that will appear in our garden centers in the spring. There are…
Bellingrath Gardens
There were too many photos to fit into yesterday’s entry about my visit to Bellingrath Gardens, so I’ll finish up today. I was asked to identify a few plants yesterday, and unfortunately the garden does not provide labels, so I’ll identify those that I can, and the others will remain anonymous. First, a photo of…
Shelter from the storm
I’ve been on the road for a week, visiting nurseries in the southeast. Today our journey led us to Mobile, Alabama, home of the Encore azalea and other fine plants. Thus far in our journey temperatures have not been nearly as miserable as back home in Virginia, and today has been no exception, though eighty-nine…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 