Two clematis wind their way through the nandina (Nandina dometica) so that in May the tall heavenly bamboo is shrouded in white from ‘Henryi’ and later by the purple ‘Jackmanii’. When the flowers fade the only evidence of the two vines is the clematis’ sparse foliage, and the nandina suffers no injury at all. I’ve…
Category: landscaping
Big and beautiful
I’ve promised my wife for several years that I’ll prune the Chinese snowball (Viburnum macrocephalum, below) that towers over the windows of our small library, but …. I can’t offer any excuses, I just haven’t done it (along with many other things I haven’t followed through on). The proper time to prune it is immediately…
Columbines and other goodies
Soon after the gardener is seduced by dazzling blooms to plant columbines (Aquilegia canadensis, below) a few dozen seedlings arrive, followed next year by several dozen. The seedlings are not bothersome, and if there are too many (or they are unwanted in a more orderly garden), the tiny seedlings are easily brushed away. If too…
A minor malfunction is no bother
I’m readily smitten by trees and shrubs, and though there’s barely enough room to walk through the garden, I find a way to plant more. Perennials and tropicals are an entirely different matter. There’s always room to jam another little plant into the garden so long as I’m willing to ignore the fact that they’re…
Anything but plain old azaleas
It seems only a few years ago evergreen azaleas were the plant of choice in American gardens, but today they’ve been pushed aside to make room for compact growing shrubs with colorful foliage, long blooming roses, and perennials. I once had dozens of azaleas in my garden, but poorly drained clay soil and lacebug infestations…
Don’t sit!
My wife says the chairs are fine, but I wouldn’t dare sit on them (I suspect she’s after the life insurance. I wore out my welcome years ago). They’ve been in the garden for twenty years or more. They’re not teak, but some other type of exotic, rot-resistant wood that was going around at the…
The other dogwoods
The dogwood that is native to the eastern United States (Cornus florida, in bloom below) is a wonderful tree with beautiful large white flowers in early spring (actually white bracts that surround the small, undistinguished flowers), excellent autumn foliage color, and clusters of red berries that persist into early winter when birds pick them clean….
Japanese maples in bloom
There are dozens of flowering plants in the garden today, but I couldn’t let this week pass without showing off the emerging foliage and flowers of some of the garden’s Japanese maples. Most people don’t think of Japanese maples as flowering, but in fact most trees have flowers of some sort, it’s just that many…
Black locust in bloom
Bordering my garden is a thicket predominated by black locusts (Robinia pseudoacacia, flowering below), willow seedlings, mulberry, and pernicious vines. Long ago I aspired to keep this area cleaned up to claim as part of the garden, though it’s outside my property. I’ve been mostly successful managing the long stretch of forest that borders the…
Too much moisture, too little, and just right
The dwarf crested iris (Iris cristata ‘Tennessee White’, below) is a vigorously spreading native to woodlands and along streams in the eastern and southeastern United States, so the gardener would suspect that it grows best with abundant moisture, and perhaps some shade. But, the iris grows best in nearly full sun, and I’m afraid that I’ve…
Sweetshrub and other April flowering shrubs
Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus, below) is native to much of the eastern United States. It’s not commonly found in gardens due to its unremarkable form and foliage, but I’m certain that it deserves greater consideration for shrub borders, and particularly for plantings at the partially shaded edge of wooded spaces. Sweetshrub’s April flowers are distinctive, though…
Here comes trouble
My wife took a break from her studies yesterday to take a stroll through the garden. Since she has gone back to school for a mid-life career change she doesn’t spend much time outdoors, which is fine with me since she usually has a few “suggestions” for me. She instructs me to prune this or…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 