I find myself dumbfounded on occasion, maybe even frequently. Last year I purchased a large witch hazel (seven feet tall and nearly as wide) that was labelled by the grower as Hamamelis virginiana, the native witch hazel of the mid Atlantic. My confusion began when the leaves dropped in early November. The leaves are not…
Native weeds … No, I mean perennials
“Weeds from the side of the road, that’s what they are”. Well, that’s partially true, but take those weeds into a cultivated garden, and many turn into valuable, sturdy, and beautiful perennials (Ironweed, Vernonia noveboracensis, above). But not all. There are thistles and brambles that we discourage from growing in our gardens, but most of…
Hellebore blooms and seedlings
In this unusually warm winter the hellebores in the garden began to flower early in January. By late in the month, and now early in February most are in full bloom. In most years hellebores flower late in February in my garden with the blooms lasting for a month or longer, fading as temperatures turn…
So disappointing
I can’t recall the last time that ‘Winter’s Interlude’ camellia flowered in my garden. It’s supposed to flower in November, or as late as December, but doesn’t, at least not regularly. I have an old photo of it flowering, but it was at least four or five years ago. Why doesn’t it bloom? I’ve no…
Native shrubs and evergreens
Along local roadsides and in open fields that are no longer maintained as farmland the Eastern Red cedar is found in abundance. In a field of hundreds of these evergreens there will be significant differences in color of needles, shape, and size, so that no two plants appear identical. This is a notable example of…
Native trees
I’ve planted nearly a dozen magnolias of varying sorts in my garden, yet none are native to northwestern Virginia. There are hybrids and cultivars from east Asia, and two that are native to the United States. The Bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla, below) is native to states just to the west of the Blue Ridge mountains,…
365 days of blooms
For the first time in my years of gardening there will be flowers in the garden every day of the year. Yes, outside in the garden, in northwestern Virginia! In most years I’ve had blooms in eleven months (though usually not every day in February), and in a few years there have been a few…
The beauty of pollination
I was reading a blog this morning with a link to a YouTube video (below) that demonstrates the essence of why I garden. No further commentary is needed, but this is all the substantiation anyone should need to include more native plants into their garden to attract specific butterflies, birds, and other beasts. To enjoy…
Native, or not
The Vernal witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis, below) is native to the United States, but not to Virginia or the mid-Atlantic region. Its native habitat is on moist, shaded banks of creeks and rivers in the southern half of the midsection of this country, though it is sturdy and dependable through most parts of the United…
Spring planning
I’m an idiot! This is not open to debate. My wife has decided and it’s final. Now, I don’t believe she thinks I’m a complete idiot, just mostly, and certainly concerning anything to do with the garden. There are way too many plants, she says. They’re too big, and she can hardly get around where plants…
The little hellebore that could
The south facing garden is sandwiched between the house and towering tulip poplars and maples so that only a bare amount of sunlight reaches the garden floor. The soil is choked with roots, and only with great effort is a hole dug to add new plants to this dry, shaded garden. A shallow, rock lined…
My garden’s winter worklist
Nothing. There’s no worklist (written or mental). No plans. I might do something in the garden this winter, I might not. It depends. Is there something else to do? Anything? My wife volunteers that she can prepare a list of indoor projects in a heartbeat, but she knows it would be a waste of her time….
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 