I am determined to pot up more of the garden’s seedlings next year to give away, in particular Japanese maples, hellebores, and toad lilies (Tricyrtis) that some gardener might find valuable. While these have become overly common in this garden, I do not forget that many were once obtained at a considerable expense. Certainly, all…
Category: hosta
The buffet line is open
Imprints from deer hooves are four inches deep in the swampy rear garden. The muck seems not to deter their visits, and as the garden enters winter dormancy, deer are invited to dine at their leisure. The repellent was last sprayed in early September, I think, though perhaps it was August. Now, several hostas and…
A forgotten treasure
Yesterday, ten substantial divisions were taken from a clump of Japanese Sacred lily (Rohdea japonica, below). Ten more could be taken without noticing that the original clump is diminished. Sections of the dense clump were undercut, but the inch and a half thick rhizome could not be pulled loose by hand. Admittedly, I am often…
An August wildlife update
If Tiger swallowtails are a bit scarce in this year’s garden, hummingbirds are not, though typically only one is seen at a time, so taking a count is difficult. A tropical Firecracker plant (Cuphea) in a pot on the deck just outside the kitchen window is a hummingbird magnet, but I often see hummingbirds on…
Berries?
The ‘Sparkelberry’ hollies are flowering, which is not a showy event, but a necessity if there are to be bunches of red berries in autumn. A dozen paces down the hill a newly planted male counterpart ‘Apollo’ is also in bloom. For several years, sparse berries have made the absence of a male pollinator obvious….
Perfect for shade
For better or worse, this has become a shade garden, at least parts that border a strip of forest along the southern edge of the property, in front, and along the northern border where dozens of trees I’ve planted over three decades have grown in. This leaves only an area in the center of the…
The best of the garden
Too many parts of the garden disappoint when photographed. The gardener’s eye compresses the view, while the camera minimizes plants, making only the most congested scenes appear worthy. Yes, there are sheds to crop out of the photograph, along with weeds, broken pots, piles of branches, and shovels left to be picked up another day….
The best day
My best recollection is that late May into the first week of June is the peak period for this garden, not for blooms alone, for there is no better period than when redbuds and dogwoods (below) flower in mid April, but there is a day when the gardener looks at his creation and considers that…
A perfect day for planting
This Sunday was perfectly timed, a cool afternoon following a rainy Saturday, with more rain moving in this evening that is expected to linger for a few days. This was a perfect day for planting, cool enough that the afternoon sun barely raised a sweat, and with rain on the way to get new plantings…
Three decades in the garden
For one reason or the other, few gardeners will be around a single garden for three decades. Staying put for so long is no accomplishment, but there is a benefit in witnessing Japanese maples grow into middle age, to budget a modest expenditure each year that grows to fill a property so that no part…
A chilly week in March
Following a chilly week in March when temperatures regularly dropped into the teens, damage to flowers and emerging leaves was expected. The gardener’s question was, how much damage, and would injury to new leaves do harm as a late freeze stunted mophead hydrangea growth a year ago? The answer remains unclear as temperatures begin to…
March weather is variable, for better and worse
Though the gardener barks at the chilly breezes, he is aware that weather is variable, particularly in March when there might be temperatures in the seventies and teens, sometimes within the same week. Still, he has been spoiled by the mild temperatures of late winter, and now he pouts over a period of cold. Flowers…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 