The shrub stands tall above the snow with yellow blooms that herald spring’s arrival. No, not forsythia, but witch hazel ‘Arnold’s Promise’ (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Arnold’s Promise’, below), with fragrant, ribbon-like flowers unfurling in late February’s frigid temperatures. I have a poor nose for such things, but walking through the garden on a late winter’s…
Bulbs are blooming in March
To the gardener winter is long, dull, and gray, a time for planning, ordering seeds, and dreaming of gardens bursting with blooms. The past winter was an exception, it wasn’t gray, but white, dreary, and seemingly endless. Thankfully it’s over, by the calendar and weather! The spring blooming bulbs have survived their extended period hidden…
Always late
No more than a mile from my home two star magnolias against a brick wall in full sun are in full bloom. In my garden Royal Star magnolia (Magnolia stellata ‘Royal Star’) remains in bud, though I can feel the tightness of the bud expanding, and if temperatures remain so warm as today’s seventy degrees…
March madness
There’s so much to do, and so little time. The winter’s heavy snow is a memory (even the parking lot mountains have melted), but left behind are broken and bent branches, uprooted evergreens, and snapped trunks as reminders. Now that temperatures have warmed the time is upon us to begin the clean up, in addition…
Split and splayed
Undeniably, spring has arrived! Helleborus and snowdrops (below) have emerged from their snowy blanket to burst into bloom, yet much damage from the winter storms remains (though considerably less than many gardeners feared). In the past weeks we’ve addressed how to prune the broken and split branches, what to to do with the large evergreens that are leaning, or…
What’s wrong with “The Outdoor Room”
Finally, HGTV is bringing a bit of the G (garden) back into its prime time with “The Outdoor Room” starring the charismatic Jamie Durie. I’ve been involved with HGTV’s home makeover show “Curb Appeal” and have witnessed the made-for-TV dramatic embelishments involved, but I have reservations about this new show from a landscape design and business…
Signs of life
Finally, signs that this long winter is fading. Today there was barely a chill in the air, and warmer temperatures are forecast for the next week. The snow on my neighbors’ lawns has melted, and parts of my garden are reappearing, though the sliver of mature maples and poplars that lines the southern edge of…
Pity our poor evergreens
Our gardens are in tatters, trees bent and shattered, branches broken in every corner. Where to start? What can be saved? A few days past I wrote on pruning, and for the minor breaks and splits in trees and shrubs I hope that this should prove to be a valuable resource. Today there are larger…
Do-it-yourself pruning guide for snow damage
The lawns in the neighborhood are reappearing, though my shady garden remains snow covered but for small areas exposed to the winter sun and beneath a few evergreens. On this sunny, nearly warm afternoon I toured the garden to take a closer look at the damage from the early February storm, the first I have…
The Spring Garden Show
Late winter garden shows are an interesting experience, particularly when you’re the one building the garden. We begin with an empty concrete floor Monday afternoon, and by Wednesday a garden appears that looks as if it’s been there for years. The photos below show the progression building Meadows Farms’ garden at the Capital Home and Garden Show in Chantilly,…
Only a few weeks away
Finally, I took a walk through the garden today, but it might be awhile until I try again. I’ve seen some grass through the melting snow on sunny properties, but mine is shaded from the afternoon winter sun, and the snow remains knee deep. I was exhausted from the effort of walking twenty steps. I…
Planning a garden pond
Every garden should have a pond! I have five, six if the wet weather, dirt bottom pond is included, and nothing in the garden, not the hellebores or irises, the mahonias or Japanese maples, provides greater enjoyment. Of course I started with one (as you most likely will), then on a whim added a second pond…
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 