Following an extended period of cold with a half foot or more of snow a week ago, and a couple days when temperatures didn’t get out of the twenties, hope that Spring is near has arrived with weather in the seventies. Many plants will be on a later schedule this year, but a stroll through…
Spring blooming trees
Flowering trees announce the beginning of Spring. No wonder that trees that bloom in March and April are the most popular in garden centers. The pictures below are from trees in my garden. They are all highly recommended. Royal Star magnolia is the first tree to bloom for me, usually in early March. The large white…
Late Winter snow
On the heels of a 70 degree day a couple weeks ago I predicted that we would see a few more days with temperatures nearing single digits before we could call an end to Winter, and sure enough, a March 1st snow is followed by two days of highs in the twenties and lows near ten. While…
Confessions of a Rockhead
I love rocks. Mostly big ones, but little ones too. I’m frequently compared to them, not necessarily as hardheaded (although certainly that is occasionally true), but as in “that boy is dumb as a box of …..”. Mostly by my wife when I’m talking about adding more rocks to the garden. I have rock walls…
Garden show setup
“The garden looks like it’s been here forever.” But it’s inside a huge warehouse-type building. And the garden is “planted” on a concrete floor, so that’s impossible. How does the setup for a garden show garden work? And, how long does it take? The garden begins long before the setup in the show hall begins….
It’s not dead, just sleeping
Brrrrrrrr! It’s cold out there. Temperatures reached zero degrees this year on January 17, the coldest in northern Virginia in more than a decade. We’ve had another couple nights in single digits, and will probably have a few more before February comes to an end. And then comes 71 degrees on February 11, and a…
Variegated leaves
Variegated leaves are splashed, striped, or spotted with white, gold, pink, and other colors. Garden designers are told to beware not to use too many or they will clash. I don’t have any secret formula, but I have dozens, maybe hundreds of variegated plants in my garden. And it looks just fine to me. This is one…
Backyard wildlife habititats – certified or not
I recently filled out a questionnaire from the National Wildlife Federation to qualify my garden as a Certified Wildlife Habitat. The answers you give are on your honor, so I think that a toxic waste dump could probably become “certified”, but the concept is honorable enough. In fact, certification or not, my garden is inhabited…
Plant collections
I just have to get one of those. And one of this-or-that. And before you know it I have a bunch of this-or-that’s and some more of those. Such is the sad fate of a plant addict. The worry is, I often buy plants before having any idea where they’re going in the garden. I don’t recommend this for others, but…
From quarry to backyard
I’m going to take off my gardening hat today and address a landscape topic. Rock walls, stepping stones, stone steps, boulders, and decorative gravels are an integral part of our business, and when I first followed the supply chain from the companies that Meadows Farms purchases stone from I was fascinated. I doubt that many people understand the path…
Encore azaleas
I have been growing Encore azaleas in my mid-Atlantic garden since they were introduced, and in my position as a buyer for Meadows Farms nurseries and landscaping I have had the opportunity to test several varieties prior to introduction. In particular, it has been important to me to evaluate plants with a claim of improvement…
Flowering trees
What better time than a snowy morning in late January to contemplate additions to the garden. The most critical decisions to make in the design of the garden are the ones that take up the most space, trees. While shade trees often occupy large expanses, flowering trees are much easier to work into the landscape….
Ramblin' through Dave's Garden 