A year ago, the small area of lawn in the lower, rear garden was a mess, just as it had been for the past decade. Twenty years ago, before the kids moved on this lawn was our ballfield, then our badminton court. The grass was well worn from use, but then the property developer dug…

Garden design suggests curved paths and other techniques for slowing movement through the garden to enhance its enjoyment. While I make no claim that any part of this garden is well designed, I have accidently discovered another method of slowing the pace. Narrow or curving paths, or irregularly spaced pavers are no match for low…

The early autumn garden will never match its abundant color in spring and summer, but in the weeks before frost and freeze the flowers are quite satisfying. With the first hard frost much of this will shrink overnight, but then red berries and autumn flowering camellias and witch hazels will maintain at least a few…

In mid September, hundreds of blackberry lily (Iris domestica, formerly known as Belamcanda chinensis, below) seeds have recently been harvested from lilies grown from seed, starting with only a few plants several years ago. I’ll set these in seed trays in late winter, but unlike other years when most seedlings were planted in the garden…

I presumed these were aphids covering a branch of a native beech alongside a mountain trail, but I’ve never seen anything like it. Quick research tells that they are beech blight aphids, known commonly as the boogie woogie aphid. They are typically still while feeding, but they sway frantically when approached. I am easily entertained,…

I’ve been nursing a purple leafed smoketree (Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’, below) for a few years, and finally it appears that this is the end. I suspect Verticillium wilt is the problem, and while I’ve pruned limbs as they turn brown, the tree’s demise was inevitable. Though the diagnosis was not tested and confirmed, I…

So, you expect my garden is better than yours? It must be perfect, you think. Bigger, perhaps, but less weedy, disease free, not a chance. Here, are prime examples of everything that can go wrong in a garden, though to me none are so horrible and while a spotted dogwood or hydrangea stands out when…

Despite a brief period of abundant rainfall, the garden’s dryness combines with shortened daylight hours to accelerate its seasonal fade. There will be scattered flowers everyday through late autumn and winter, but the current abundance in the weeks before the first frosts must be fully enjoyed. As I continue to fiddle, adding transplants and rooted…

A few years ago, a clump of winterberry hollies (Ilex verticillata) in the shaded, side garden had no berries. I supposed there were two issues explaining this lacking. First, the closest male holly for pollination was on the far side of the garden, and while I figure that bees are fully capable of traveling across…

If our three week period with little rainfall in August could be called a drought, there’s no doubt it has ended. A storm several days ago, and a monster that’s just passed through have dumped a month’s rain. Today, the rain came by the bucket load, probably a few inches in an hour and anything…

I don’t mind summer’s heat too much, but relish the start of September with the promise of cooler temperatures, though frosts and freezes are not far off. Then, of course, there’s the long wait until spring, but there’s much to treasure in the early autumn garden, so I’ll try not to think about what comes…

In case my impatience with the garden might be forgotten, I remind that new plantings in this garden must be crammed too tightly for the long term to satisfy my eye, or temporary placeholders must fill spaces. While many gardeners choose zinnias or dahlias, my choice to fill a void is often a canna with…