I tire quickly reading monthly or seasonal lists of chores that must be accomplished in the garden. Certainly, lists are appreciated by some, but I’ve no doubt that lengthy lists can be a discouragement to casual gardeners to even get started. I readily ignore admonishments and go about my business, doing just enough in early…
Category: Japanese maple
The perfect tree, probably not
Perusing a recently delivered catalog with many out of the ordinary plant offerings, I am tortured by the listing of a Dove tree with variegated foliage. Rarely do I curse my too frequent neglect and occasional loss of new acquisitions, but by sheer idiocy a young twig of a Dove tree (Davidia involucrata ‘Lady Sunshine’)…
Distractions from winter
The first small steps have begun to tidy the garden for spring. It is quite a mess, perhaps worse than usual with inordinate areas of mud and the usual piles of leaves. I have attempted, with limited success, to stay clear of well trodden paths, particularly the narrow, swampy area that leads to the lower…
Better every year?
I’m nearly certain I’ll be pleased with the progress made in the garden in the past year, though I have little recollection exactly what changes were made other than a few (or a lot of) things were added and plants are a year older. I’ll be more certain once ephemerals, bulbs, corms, and rhizomes that…
Overnight snow
I am hearing of accumulations of five to eight inches of snow in the area, which is borderline, but just enough to cause concern for branches that are arching under the weight of the wet snow. Occasionally, snowfalls are accompanied by breezes that blow snow out of trees and shrubs, but today has been relatively…
Doing nothing
I prefer doing nothing, or at least delaying doing something as long as possible, sometimes even knowing that next year’s labor will be increased considerably as a result of my sloth. Long ago, and repeatedly, I’ve learned that winter weeds must be pulled before going to seed, or the next crop (usually ten or eleven…
Planning for spring, part 30
Winter has barely started, and no matter how anxious, already I’ve blown through the spring budget allocated for the thirty year anniversary of the start of this garden. Happily I suppose, money is not the issue, but space, though my wife is likely to quibble that both are problems. A year ago, a few extra…
Potting seedlings
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…
A chill in the air
There are excellent reasons to garden in an area with distinct changes of seasons, but that doesn’t mean I must be happy that nighttime lows are now falling regularly into the twenties (Fahrenheit). I prefer the milder temperatures of October, but my vote counts for nothing on this matter, of course, and I’m uncertain if…
That’s more like it
Until a few weeks ago, days were getting shorter, but not colder, so that autumn leaf color has not been much for folks in the area to get excited about until this week. I don’t get too excited about autumn foliage. I’m not very excitable, I suppose, but it’s more or less the end of…
In my younger days
I notice that dry stacked columns constructed from blocks of limestone have gone out of plumb after too many years of freezing and thawing. A couple columns remain relatively straight, but several aren’t, and I vaguely recall seeing this some time ago. Then, as now, I hoped that evergreen foliage would disguise the crookedness so…
Big leaves
Falling leaves of the Bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) are a significant event in the garden. Immediately, a widespread area of ferns, hostas, and a young patch of Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens) are buried beneath a deep cover of the huge leaves, which will remain in place until decay begins in early spring. Other leaves are…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 