I have seen them in glossy magazines, and they’re quite remarkable, immaculate gardens, perfect in architecture and horticultural marvels, clipped hedges and colorful carpets of annual flowers. No doubt the landscape architect who creates such wonders would scoff at my poor ramshackle patch with one of this and a few of that, with a different…
Big is beautiful
No, not me, I’m big, but more bulldozer than beautiful, useful for digging holes and moving boulders. In my garden I’m a fool for any plant with large leaves, trees, shrubs, perennials, or tropicals, the bigger the better, I’ve got to have them. In garden design big leaves contrast nicely with just about any foliage in…
What’s bugging you?
I’ve talked recently to a number of gardeners who refuse to go outdoors unless the temperatures are below ninety degrees, and, of course there have been few of those over the summer months. I’m afraid that I can’t recommend a remedy for the summer heat, though dangling your toes in a cool garden pond generally…
What’s blooming in early August
I am not disappointed when the garden looks worn and haggard in early August, and with the number of scorching hot days this summer it is a wonder there are any blooms at all. My garden is not irrigated, and I have watered only once, during the dry spell with ghastly heat several weeks back. Surprisingly,…
Plants in the water gardens
The topic today is plants in the pond, not around the pond, but growing in the water. But first, I must address briefly the plants that surround the pond. Through the years I have seen many ponds that are intended to mimic a natural water feature, but are left naked, ringed by stones, stark in…
A bullfrog’s domain
In the heat of summer there is no place so pleasant as sitting on a bench as the sun sets, watching goldfish and koi swim lazily in the garden pond. In my garden there are five ponds, and along side each there is a bench, or a seat, or just a boulder, so that one…
Home, sweet home
Finally, I’m back home from two weeks on the road visiting nurseries in the southeast. That’s three thousand miles of interstates, dusty back roads, and bumping around through tree nurseries. More hollies and junipers than I can count, and roses, hydrangeas, and azaleas that will appear in our garden centers in the spring. There are…
Bellingrath Gardens
There were too many photos to fit into yesterday’s entry about my visit to Bellingrath Gardens, so I’ll finish up today. I was asked to identify a few plants yesterday, and unfortunately the garden does not provide labels, so I’ll identify those that I can, and the others will remain anonymous. First, a photo of…
Shelter from the storm
I’ve been on the road for a week, visiting nurseries in the southeast. Today our journey led us to Mobile, Alabama, home of the Encore azalea and other fine plants. Thus far in our journey temperatures have not been nearly as miserable as back home in Virginia, and today has been no exception, though eighty-nine…
On the road, again
I returned a few weeks ago from a short trip to the delightfully cool weather of Oregon, and at the start of the week I’m off again, this time for a couple weeks touring nurseries in the southeastern states. I’ve no doubt that the temperatures will be a few degrees warmer than Portland. I’ll leave…
Bloom and gloom
Since the beginning of June there have been an inordinate number of days above ninety degrees, and perhaps a day or two over one hundred, horrid conditions for the garden and gardener alike. Today there is an occasional puff of a breeze, so it is arguably more comfortable (less uncomfortable?) than yesterday, but not nearly…
Let it rain
Ugh! One hundred degrees for the next couple days, and no rain in the forecast. Perhaps by the end of the week this short, overheated dry spell will end in thunderstorms, but for now the garden is parched. There is nothing unusual about the occasional drought in the summer, and it’s too soon for gardeners to…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 