Given the number of, and space in the garden allotted to ponds, there are disproportionate mentions of plants on these pages and few comments relating to water features. Except for discussion of snakes, that is, and after a summer of harassment from my wife, the one remaining Northern Brown is keeping a low profile. Probably,…
Category: Uncategorized
A purple coneflower
There are no purple flowered coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) in the garden. Or not. Correctly, I’ve not planted any, but there it is, a tall seedling with a large purple bloom (below) standing tall above a compact clump of white flowered coneflowers (‘Powwow White’). Nearby, flowers of a second seedling appear more pink. It is clear…
A difficult late summer
September was difficult, not unusually so, but relatively hot and dry after a mild and wet earlier summer. Leaves of neighborhood sycamores are withered and brown, and though stress is less evident on other trees, continued dry weather could result in poor coloring of foliage in weeks to come. Perhaps cooler temperatures will ease effects…
Beijing Beauty
I’ve been unable to determine the parentage of the narrow leafed mahonia, ‘Beijing Beauty’ (below), but suspect its heritage is similar to ‘Soft Caress’ and ‘Narihira’, which are partially or fully bred from Mahonia eurybracteata, that has proved not to be sufficiently cold hardy in this garden despite my best efforts. Possibly, these would survive…
A few stray seedlings
I’m uncertain if Colchicum, sometimes called autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale), spreads readily from seed, but that would explain a small clump several feet downhill from ones that I most definitely planted. It’s possible that I planted the scattered few. I cannot be expected to remember everything I’ve planted, but if I did, the skimpy result…
Weekend planting
Several hours of this past weekend were occupied by planting. Also removing, which is often more work and not so pleasurable, but large parts of a variegated hydrangea had reverted to green. This hydrangea often was damaged by freezes, and thus rarely flowered, so chopping it out was a year or two overdue. As with…
Early September flowers
The first flower of a seedling of ‘Miyazaki’ toad lily (Tricyrtis hirta ‘Miyazaki’, below) is larger and earlier than ones expected soon on the nearby parent. ‘Miyazaki’ seems particularly fertile, with numerous seedlings in recent years, though curiously, none this year. Seedlings appear identical to the parent plants, but I am interested to follow this…
A late summer update
Typically, spent flowers of Oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia) can be seen for months, but in this oddly damp and mild summer, growth has nearly covered all blooms. This is, of course, of little consequence since flowers have faded past the somewhat attractive pink that persists for weeks. This has been a remarkable year for growth…
The perplexing yellow toad lily
While toad lilies (Tricyrtis) grow like weeds in this garden, with numerous seedlings and some requiring transplanting to avoid overcrowding, I am continually disappointed that yellow flowered cultivars have not survived more than a year, and occasionally weakly into a second. Certainly, this is not for lack of trying. While yellow flowered toad lilies are…
Thankful for diversions from real life
There are, of course, goings on of much greater consequence than reporting on the status of toad lilies, or to update that mild August temperatures have encouraged more and earlier blooms on Encore azaleas. I view these matters with great concern, but also must escape for hours to the garden where invading nutgrass is the…
The promise of spring
Despite bouts with ice, snow, and several nights when temperatures dipped far into the teens, ‘Winter Sun’ mahonia (Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’, above) continues to flower into late December. In recent years the blooms have persisted into January, and there’s no reason to expect anything different this year. On close inspection a hint of…
Spiders in the basement …
… and frogs in the kitchen. The agaves, elephant ears, and assorted tropicals were brought inside over the weekend just prior to the first frost, and already there is trouble. For the record (and previous years tell me that it’s important to establish the facts before I’m blamed for every calamity), there were already spiders…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 