The first frost of autumn is forecast for next week. This is not early or late, and certainly not surprising for the middle of October. I can recall frosts arriving before the end of September, though I can’t place the year, and there’s no doubt this is a little out of the ordinary. There might…
Category: gardens
The last hurrah
The Tatarian daisies (Aster tataricus ‘Jindai’, below) at the back of the koi pond are blooming, but for a period in mid summer there was a question if they would. The daisies were in danger of being overwhelmed by exuberant hydrangeas and a paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha) that continues to spread far beyond the boundaries that…
Autumn leaves
I’m content to leave as much garden clean up as possible to the devices of nature. I’ve often been successful in delaying a project until decay has eliminated the need to undertake any labor at all, but in a garden that is situated at the edge of a forest of towering maples, oaks, and tulip…
This bud’s for you
In early October, the flower buds of paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha, below) are evident at the tips of branches that are cloaked by thick, blue-green foliage. The leaves will persist long into autumn, then will turn yellow and drop abruptly. Many plants protect buds from winter’s chill so that they are not so obvious, but on…
Berries in early autumn
Through spring and summer the foliage and flowers of beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma ‘Issai’, below) are unremarkable. The dull green leaves are carried on arching stems that are hardly graceful, and even when fully in flower the ornamental value of beautyberry is forgettable. But, in late summer the tiny blooms fade and small berries appear, which progressively…
The early autumn garden
As autumn begins and cooler temperatures arrive there are fewer blooms, and foliage shows signs of the imminent change to dormancy. With a relatively cool and wet summer, fewer plants have been stressed by heat, but several shrubs and trees have reacted to damper than usual conditions by dropping foliage early so that the garden’s…
Little harm is done
Scattered leaves and branches of two ‘Silver Cloud’ redbuds (Cercis canadensis ‘Silver Cloud’) and a blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica, below) are covered by the finely spun webs of fall webworms. Every day the webs grow, and the tiny worms devour leaves as they progress through the tree. Commonly available insecticides provide immediate control of the worms,…
Ignoring the obvious
I’ve been warned. Never, ever plant mint in your garden. Never. It’s too aggressive, I’m told, and once it’s planted it’s impossible to keep in bounds. Planting mint is an invitation to disaster. I have little doubt that this is sound advice, but either I’m a skeptic or not a good listener (or a slow…
Fewer bees and butterflies? Not here
The Seven Son tree (Heptacodium miconioides, below) was a favorite of pollinators (mostly bumblebees and wasps), and it is unfortunate that it was destroyed in a storm a year ago. I’m mostly satisfied with the red horsechestnut (Aesculus x carnea) planted in its place, but it is not a suitable replacement as far as the…
Forest grass
A friend tells me she has had a horrible time getting Japanese Forest grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’, below) to live in her garden, and she wonders how it is possible that mine flourishes. I’m reluctant to tell her that I’ve done nothing special to encourage it. It just grows, though it takes a few years…
The overflowing garden
Understandably, many gardeners prefer a large measure of order and tidiness in their gardens, even if their shrubs are not pruned into a variety of geometric shapes. Not that I refer to my wife as a gardener, but that’s her preference. She will mostly tolerate wide spreading shrubs and perennials that flop over one another,…
Subtle charms
There is a place in the garden for extravagant masses of blooms that can be appreciated by neighbors zooming past in their cars, though to my thinking these displays are best suited to commercial properties and entrances to communities. Many homeowners take pride in planting masses of petunias and impatiens that flower without interruption for…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 