Along the southern border of the garden is a two hundred foot wide swath of forest bisected by a small creek. The mature poplars and maples are remnants of forest left to stand at the edge of farmland that has been converted into housing lots of an acre or more. In the past twenty years…
What to do with fallen leaves?
My garden is surrounded by trees, a mature forest of poplars and maples along one border, and on the opposite side (and scattered throughout) are an assortment of beech, katsura, hornbeams, black gum, cherries, dogwoods, and redbuds that drop an abundance of leaves each autumn. The dense plantings along the property lines capture leaves so…
Autumn colors – Japanese maples and more
In mid-November temperatures are regularly dipping below freezing, and late summer bloomers have faded. The late blooming camellias and ‘Winter Sun’ mahonia have only recently begun to bloom, and both will flower into December. The reblooming Encore azaleas melted with the first freeze with the exception of ‘Autumn Amethyst’ (below), which has weathered the cold…
Observations in mid-November
The maples and poplars in the forest that borders the garden are nearly bare, and with overnight temperatures below freezing the remaining vestiges of late summer blooms have faded. Leaves of smaller trees, Japanese maples, Franklinia, and Stewartia have not dropped yet, and though the colors in the forest trees have been muted the small…
Garden disappointments
Disappointments in the garden are considerable, numerous and frequent, and the gardener should not be at all surprised when a favored plant does not bloom as expected, expires suddenly, or suffers a slow, agonizing demise. Too much water or too little, too much shade or not enough, or a cow from the farm three miles…
Preparing the garden for winter
There are, at minimum, dozens of tasks that should be, or could be completed to prepare the garden for winter. I will perhaps get around to a few, possibly not even those that should be considered the most critical, but those are the ones that will be accomplished, like it or not. First and foremost…
Buds and blooms in early November
Today the golden yellow leaves of the ginkgo fell. I don’t know the precise hour, but when I saw the tree a day earlier not one leaf had fallen. This afternoon, it is bare. While most trees drop their leaves quite leisurely over days or weeks, ginkgo is in a hurry once the decision is made….
Autumn foliage color – not just trees
The maples and poplars are nearly bare, and crimson dogwood leaves blanket the front walk. The colorful foliage of Japanese maples, Chinese dogwoods, Franklinia, and Stewartia will not fall for another week or two, and the glowing yellow ginkgo can be seen from one end of the garden to the other. There is sufficient space in…
The autumn leaves drift by my window
Better late than never. Until the past few days the autumn foliage colors have been muted, but with a bit of cold weather and more regular rainfall in the past month there are now some brilliant reds and glowing yellows along the roadsides and in my garden. The extreme heat and late summer drought pushed…
This garden’s for the birds
The garden did not begin twenty years ago with the intention that it become a wildlife refuge, but intended or not, rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks are sighted daily, signs of deer are seen everyday, with groups of five or more often seen at dusk. Raccoons, groundhogs, skunks, foxes, and possums are witnessed on occasion, along…
Planting spring bulbs
I have plans for the weekend, but not indoors. The list of chores awaiting my attention is long, but there are bulbs to plant, so the leaky bathroom will have to wait, and there is no need to replace the weatherstripping until it gets cold, really cold. For each of the twenty years that I’ve gardened…
Late October in the garden
The autumn foliage colors of the swamp red maples, beech, and poplars have been disappointing, a result of the late summer heat and drought, but the dogwoods have colored to deep crimson as is usual. The Japanese maples, Franklinia, Stewartia, and Gingko in the garden are beginning to change, perhaps a little late, but I…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 