When is this going to end? April has been a rollercoaster, with more chills than thrills. Not so far from typical weather as one expects, but enough that the itch to plant is turning ugly. Thank goodness for the blossoms that are hanging around from March because of the coolness, and April’s bloomers that are only a bit late….

May through September, if you visit our house along with your kids you’re probably going to leave with a seedling of a Japanese maple. At any time there are dozens growing here and there, maybe hundreds could be found if you crawled around under the viburnums and moved aside the hostas. Without stopping to count…

Less than a week since Part 1, and there’s so much beginning to bloom that I don’t know if it will all fit in today. I was walking through the garden yesterday and a few were popping out, but a day later, WOW! I’ve been closely monitoring Redbuds (left) for the past several weeks, and…

I love having wildlife in my garden. No lions or tigers, and no bears that I’ve seen, but just about everything else has visited or has a home there. But deer are beginning to annoy me, and my anti-gun wife is ready to open fire. It’s early April and deer have worn paths through the grass…

April doesn’t fool around when it comes to flowers. Everything seems to be in bloom! Though the weather outside has been frightful for much of March, a bit of warmth turns the season delightful. Early in the month Redbuds remain in bud, likely to be a week or more behind schedule. But the Callery pears…

Over and over I read garden writers and landscape trade magazines that say native plants require less water because they are adapted to local conditions. What a bunch of hooey! Not to argue against native plants, but a native that is suited to wet areas will not survive in dry areas, nor dry in wet. Natives that prefer sun won’t thrive in…

Temperatures have remained chilly through last week, but a few more daffodils are opening and the magnolias have given up waiting for warm days and decided to bloom regardless. On average Redbuds should begin to flower this week, but I doubt that will happen for another week (the picture below shows the swollen redbud flower…

Blooming plants are a bit late this season, though they are not bound by time schedules as most of us. Many early bloomers will range a couple weeks earlier or later through the years, and the cool, cloudy weather has pushed them later this year. If it warms up over the next week we’ll see some the…

Yikes! There are thugs out there. Plants that want to rob you of your garden. This is not a debate about using native plants rather than foreign invaders. There are many fine native plants, but there are so many wonderful non-natives that it would be shameful to exclude them. I’ll try just about anything that…

These are some of my favorites in the garden, both trees, shrubs, perennials, and tropicals. ‘Ivory Silk’ tree lilac is a delightful tree with long lasting fragrant blooms and a full rounded leaf canopy. It grows a bit too large for small gardens. In contrast to other lilacs it seems quite happy to grow as a…