…. ready or not. ‘Ivory Silk’, the tree lilac (Syringa reticulata ‘Ivory Silk, below), is past its peak with white blooms littering the ground beneath like snowflakes, though they quickly spoil and turn a muddy brown. The stone path that winds under the tree, then descends to the lower patio, is treacherous with a slippery…

The goldenrain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata, below) is beginning to bloom, a sure sign that summer is imminent. The tree in my garden is twenty feet off the far side of the driveway, wedged between large hornbeams (the columnar sort that become oval shaped with age) and a wide spreading Jane magnolia. Driving through town one…

… so, get over it. The classic double white peony ‘Duchess de Nemours’ decided not to bloom this year, and I haven’t a clue why. Her close neighbor, the red  ‘Karl Rosenfield’ (below) bloomed wonderfully, though he has faded by now. Both peonies have similar sun and soil, and both are occasionally flooded when the…

In my garden there are collections of dozens of trees, shrubs, perennials, bulbs, and tropicals, though most fewer than ten cultivars each, plenty enough that the garden is nearly beyond my control. Japanese maples, magnolias,  redbuds, and dogwoods consume the largest share of space, but hostas are most numerous. A decade ago there were more…

I’m not suggesting that flowers be banned, or that fewer be planted, only that there should be more to gardens than impatiens and petunias. There are trees and shrubs that have delightful foliage that’s colorful even when not a flower’s in sight. And don’t forget perennials, for hostas are greatly prized for their colorful and…

Broken, bent, and battered, the garden in early March was a depressing shambles. There seemed no end to the damage, shrubs crushed under the weight of the heavy snow, and large evergreens with branches broken or bent to severe angles, or completely uprooted. Many deciduous trees were spared the worst, but densely branched Japanese maples…

Flowers and more flowers, nothing but flowers every week. Of course, I treasure the blooms in my gardens, but flowers are here today and gone next week, or with some long blooming perennials and annuals, the flowers get tiresome, more of the same day after day. As a practical matter this journal is most often dedicated…

The Chinese dogwoods (Cornus kousa, below) are glorious this mid May. The fast growing, but often sporadic blooming ‘Galilean’ and variegated leaf ‘Wolf Eyes’ are flowering more heavily than I can recall. The pink ‘Satomi’ is a dependable bloomer, but it’s flowers have only the faintest hint of pink this year, not uncommon for Satomi…

Only a few days ago I whined that the golden chain tree (Laburnum) does not perform well in my Virginia garden despite a favored position to protect it from the late afternoon sun. The sparse foliage and meager blooms  in a photograph substantiated my claim that this European native is poorly adapted to the heat…