In September, I was thrilled to see thirteen leaves returning from the summer dormancy of cranefly orchids (Tipularia discolor). All but a few were purple leafed, top and bottom, with the typical foliage green with a purple underside. I see a small percentage of fully purple leaves in the wild, so this is a mutation…

What to do on a warm winter afternoon? If you’re a bee, find a hellebore. Tomorrow, you’ll be sheltered from the cold, so load up on nectar. The next mild weather could be days or weeks away. What do I do on a mild winter afternoon? I visit the hellebores in bloom and look closely…

The winter season is a time for anticipation. Today, I monitor swelling buds of Ozark witch hazels (Hamamelis vernalis, below) and a variety of hellebores that will soon open to flower continuously through the winter months. As expected, flowers of camellias are opening (below) after the latest spell of freezes in the upper teens (Fahrenheit)…

I recently dug and potted twenty hellebores for the local high school horticulture department to sell at their spring plant sale. All are two year seedlings, I think, probably another year before flowering. I could have dug dozens more, but I like to keep a few to fill in blank spots in the shaded part…

The winter garden is not completely barren with several plants flowering and many evergreens to keep my interest. Still, the dreaded day has arrived, the start of meteorological winter, and of course, overnight temperatures have declined into the upper teens (Fahrenheit) if there is any doubt. Now, I’ll begin the seemingly interminable countdown to spring…

Days after flowers of camellias and azaleas turned to brown with temperatures falling into the upper teens (Fahrenheit), flowers of fatsias (Fatsia japonica ‘Spider’s Web’, below) are declining in the cold. I’m delighted that the marginally cold hardy fatsia has survived three winters without protection, but expect pollinated flowers will never develop into fruits and…

The wind howls, but the sun shines brilliantly as temperatures slowly rise from the upper teens on this early December morning, hopefully to warm to the upper thirties by midday. No chores are planned for this chilly day, but as I stroll the garden, there will be a weed to pull so that it doesn’t…

One after the other, the Japanese maples drop their leaves. Thanksgiving Day was the day for leaves of ‘Bloodgood’ (below) to cover the front walk, a day after leaves of ‘Seriyu’ fell and just after piles of leaves from dogwood and beech had been removed to prepare for our holiday guests. The brilliantly colored leaves…

After suffering through several nights falling into the upper twenties (Fahrenheit), the reblooming Encore azaleas have recovered in milder temperatures to again flower at their peak. One azalea that had few blooms earlier now has many. This period of flowering is weeks later than the typical peak in mid-October, and blooms are more abundant than…

The last of the Japanese maples are coloring. Beautiful, but the dormancy of winter is nearer by the day. Leaves of the brilliantly colored ‘Shishigashira’ (Acer palmatum ‘Shishigashira’, below) will soon join the ankle deep piles that cover the shaded three-quarters of the garden. But, the garden will not be bare through the winter months….

After five days of touring arboreta and gardens in the Philadelphia area with the annual conference of The Maple Society, I have minor concerns. I only pretend to know better. I hope this thirty-five year old garden has been planted to flourish for many decades after I’m gone, but several aged trees in arboreta raised…

While the garden continues its fade into dormancy, splashes of color remain, with a surprise or two. After recent nighttime temperatures dipping into the upper twenties (Fahrenheit), hostas are limp and colorless. Except one. Several green leaves remain on a single hosta, but surprisingly, it also has a long overdue flower. With quirky swings in…