One look and there’s no doubt, I’m a steak guy. I’ve earned my two-fifty plus. And hard times or not, I haven’t been tempted to grow my own. The challenges of an ornamental garden are difficult enough for me without growing edibles. With my dogwoods, Japanese maples, hydrangeas, viburnums, mahonias, and perennials I can manage the creatures without spraying poisons…
Category: gardening
Floating is better than weeding
When I built the swimming pond I anticipated spending lazy hours floating that could have been wasted on more productive pursuits. Today was such a day. I’m certain there were worthwhile tasks desperately needing attention, but none came to mind. (An excellent reason for avoiding written to-do lists. Then, I would have to misplace the…
Rule number one is ….
… do as I say, not as I do. I wouldn’t dream that you should follow me through my day in the garden in Summer. I control the photos that go into this journal, so I can tell you that the garden is completely weed-free, lush and green. I’ve been working my skinny little butt…
Foliage and flowers in mid-Summer
Today, the garden is dominated by the huge flowering pannicles of crapemyrtles and hydrangeas. The large growing white crapemyrtle, Natchez , bloomed first, followed by Sioux, Burgundy Cotton, Pink Velour, Centennial Spirit, and Arapaho. The dwarf Cherry Dazzle has begun to show a bit of color, and is covered with buds, assuring a delightful display…
Ben Franklin’s tree
Most plants in the garden are of humble origin, with no remarkable tale to tell. Not so Mr. Franklin’s tree, Franklinia alatamaha. The curious large shrubs on the banks of the Altamaha River in Georgia were observed by noted botanists John and William Bartram in 1765. William Bartram collected seeds on a subsequent visit, which…
A perfect magazine garden?
Not mine, not a chance. Where do the gardens in magazines come from? Perfect plants with spotless leaves with amazing plant combinations spaced just right. If I photograph anything more than a closeup of a flower there are leaves torn to shreds, holes from black spot or slugs, yellowing, brown, and broken. Plants are crammed into impossibly small…
The dog days of July
The new hound in the neighborhood came to visit Sunday, foraging through the garage for tasty treasures, skittering away when I opened the door on my way to the garden. His small, fur ball companion lingered to yap a bit, then scurried back to the calls of the neighbor. Down the path to the rear…
Beat the heat
I’ve returned from two weeks on the road for business. The garden seems to have survived, though barely a drop of rain has fallen in the three weeks of July. While other parts of the country swelter in extreme heat, thus far my northern Virginia garden has experienced moderate temperatures and low humidity (at least…
Screening plants – holly
Leyland cypress and Green Giant arborvitae are the standards when many people consider plants for screening. Both are attractive and very fast growing, but their mature size may overwhelm many properties. Often, a slower growing evergreen that grows to nearly twenty feet tall is more appropriate. Upright hollies are wonderful plants for this situation. Their…
How does my garden grow?
Disorder abounds! If an area of the garden should seem too mannerly, too structured, there must be room for a dozen more plants. Or more. In my garden, not yours. Certainly you have more sense than to plant so that one neighbor tumbles over the other, that perennials requiring sun are shaded because some ignoramus…
Way down South
For the next two weeks I’ll be touring tree and shrub growing nurseries throughout the Southeast, an annual pilgrimage for thirty years. I’ll be driving, almost three thousand miles over twelve days, and a different town each night, except for two nights in Mobile, Alabama over the weekend. My traveling partner and I will be…
Summertime, and the living is easy
Thank goodness, most garden chores are done. Now’s the time to sit back and relax. This has been a wonderful Spring for the garden with an abundance of rain and cloudy, cool weather. Oh, we’ll complain that we haven’t seen the sun in weeks, or that it was too muddy for this and that, but plants are…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 