A blast of sub-freezing temperatures late last week ruined the flowers of toad lilies, Encore Fall blooming azaleas, and roses. The azaleas and roses have numerous unopened buds that were tightly wrapped, and thus insulated from the freeze. If the weather stays mild, if nighttime lows don’t drop too far into the low-thirties, then we’ll…
Category: gardens
Blooming today, mush tomorrow
At zero degrees Celsius (thirty two degrees Fahrenheit) and below, intracellular freezing causes membrane damage and leakage of cellular contents. Or something like that. My slightly less technical explanation, one day you have flowers in the garden, the next mush. On this November weekend the trees are bare in this northern Virginia garden, but a…
Autumn colors – Japanese maples
I didn’t plant Japanese maples in my garden for their Autumn foliage color, but many are notable for their brilliant and varied hues. In fact, I believe that the most spectacular leaves in the garden are from the Full Moon, or Fern Leaf maple (Acer japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’, two photos below). From every angle you walk around Fern Leaf…
The grand finale
Fall color
The garden pond in Autumn
I woke Saturday morning to driving rain, then a windy pause, followed by leaves raining from red maples in the forest at the border of the garden. I had been watching closely, I thought, for the turning of the the leaves so I could cover the ponds with netting, but I guess I wasn’t attentive enough. This is a sad day,…
That’s the way the world goes ’round
We’ve hired a fellow to rid our attic of squirrels. The pesky tree rats have chewed through wires, destroyed a heat pump something-or-other, and are generally making a nuisance of themselves. Thus far, a skunk and possum have been captured in the live traps, but no squirrels. There is plenty of space on this property for…
Flowers in late-October
Perhaps it’s too early to be late in the month, but that’s really not the point. There are flowers in the garden, lots of them, and this is Virginia in October, northern Virginia, closer to the mountains than the shelter of the city. Nighttime lows have fallen into the mid thirties, and there are not…
Ask the Garden Guru – October
It has come to the attention of the Garden Guru that some have questioned his credentials. He admits to not being a true “guru”, but has been told he has many guru-like tendencies. Most importantly, he has a garden. Beyond that, the resume is thin. Read ahead at your own risk. As always, feel free…
In spite of myself …
… I end up sitting on a rainbow. Lack of planning, reliance on hindsight rather than foresight, failure to learn from one’s mistakes. Guilty, guilty, and guilty again. Perhaps on a frosty evening in January, or with the first inkling of Spring when the snowdrops are blooming, then we’ll delve into the commission of these…
Happy ‘Discovery of the Western Hemisphere by Europeans’ Day
It’s confusing to me to celebrate a day for a guy who didn’t do what your old grade school textbooks said he did. I hope all of Columbus’ relatives don’t get in a tizzy and write, but I’m feeling cheated for lack of recognition for deeds I didn’t do. I have forbidden the C word in my office…
The stinky smell of success
I feel confident in declaring that the struggle between man and deer has been won (at least for this year, in this garden). Five months of spraying stinky, but harmless, deer repellents has resulted in a garden undamaged, though frequently visited by deer. I still see plenty of tracks on the muddy margins of the dirt bottom…
Autumn colors – day two
I barely made it home today before the sun set, just in time to take a quick stroll through the back garden. The koi in the large swimming pond were in deep water, a sign that a predator has visited recently. They will usually swarm to the rocky edge expecting their evening meal, but today…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 