In May, I was worried. The dogwood (Cornus florida) along the front walk was struggling. It was one of the early plants in this thirty-six year old garden, and while it has long suffered from the black spotting, powdery mildew, and galls common to the native dogwood, this was a turn for the worse. Every…

Many thirsty leaves have fallen after a dry late summer, but aside from drought-stressed yellows it’s a few weeks early for autumn foliage colors. But, there’s plenty of color in the garden, from late-blooming perennials, purple and white beautyberries, and red berries of dogwoods, hollies, and spicebushes. Fewer pollinating insects are seen, but there are…

Recent plantings have filled a gap in the side garden and added moisture-tolerant perennials to weed-prone low spots in the lower rear garden. I have not planted, or even looked for, longtime favorite toad lilies (Tricyrtis). Yes, toad lilies are still favorites of the early autumn, but as I purchased one variety after another, I…

Berries of the native beautyberry (Callicarpa americana, below) have tardily turned to purple with more colorful berries still to come. I’ve struggled with the native while Asian beautyberries have thrived (I expect due to questionable placement), but after suffering in a difficult spot beside the driveway the American beautyberry has made a comeback. I’m quite…

There is no rhyme and little reason why I am attracted to certain plants. Yes, I am slightly obsessed by Japanese maples, dogwoods, and redbuds, but what caught my eye to obtain the Glossy False Sinningia (Hemiboea subcapitata, below) flowering today in the garden? I’d never heard of it or seen this Gesneriad (African violet…

Happily, recent rainfall has quenched wilting shrubs on the brink, but in mid-September, sure signs remain of our late summer lack of rainfall and the change to autumn. Piles of leaves of the European beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’) litter the front stone path and Sensitive ferns (Onoclea sensibilis, below) are turning to brown. I can…

I’ve been over-inspired, it’s clear. There is always something that must be updated in this thirty-six year old garden, but after the bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla) was felled in a late June storm my creative thinking has gotten a bit out of hand. I suppose the day could come when the gardener just sits back…

No, not me. I don’t dance, or at least rarely. I wobbled back and forth long in the past to satisfy my future wife a time or two, and I suppose there were brief parents of the groom dances at our sons’ weddings. But, rather than discussing my lack of social skills, today’s dance topic…

The yellow-leafed fleece vine (Fallopia baldschuanica ‘Lemony Lace’, below) is less vigorous in growth this year for reasons not obvious to me. In recent years the vine has spanned the length of two sides of the summerhouse roof but this year it’s only halfway across. (I must note that the summerhouse is not extravagant. It…

The logistics to remove jewelweeds (Impatiens capensis) that grow up through the wide spreading paperbush on the back slope of the koi pond are difficult. Jewelweed is easily pulled, but you must be able to reach it. This paperbush is one of several that have spread to twenty feet or more, and while jewelweeds closer…

The bigleaf magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla, below) refuses to die, though it toppled over roots and all in a late June storm. I’ve removed the bulk of the large tree, but the roots and a section of the lower trunk remain as a feature of the garden since too much work would be required to dispose…