The garden moves quickly in April, transforming from near dormancy to full leaf a few weeks later. While several emerging mysteries have been identified, I wonder what the heck I planted along the stone path under the dwarf Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica ‘Elegans nana’). I’ll soon find out, and while I have given in to…

Thankfully, not all magnolias were damaged by recent freezes. While ‘Jane’ lost a few flowers, many more buds were closed and protected, but they have now opened into glorious bloom (below). I’ve noticed browning on the outside of buds of yellow flowered magnolias ‘Elizabeth’ and ‘Yellow Bird’, and I think several of the flowers of…

This garden is in Virginia, and with some sections of boggy ground I feel obligated to grow Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica, below). But, repeated half hearted efforts have been unsuccessful, so I must be content to visit local floodplains where these grow in much greater abundance than I could possibly grow. I’ve discovered multiple sites…

Not bad. I can’t complain much about relatively minor damage following two nights with freezes in the mid-twenties (Fahrenheit). Yes, as expected the flowers of ‘Merrill’ magnolia (before and after the freeze, below) were ruined. A shame, but the blooms were enjoyed for a week. Late opening flowers of ‘Royal Star’ were spared, and only…

The small flowers of round-lobed hepatica (Hepatica nobilis var. obtusa or Anemone americana, below) do not put on much of a show, but this local woodland native is prized in the garden along with several other early flowering perennials and ephemerals. Several sharp-lobed hepaticas (Hepatica nobilis acuta or Anemone acutiloba) planted late in autumn have…

The new gardener soon learns that there is nothing typical about the timing of spring flowering. The early flowering magnolias illustrate this perfectly. In the natural order of this garden, ‘Merrill’ (below) flowers earliest of the magnolias, in early March, occasionally in late February, and as late as the last week of March as we…

No matter that there is minor disappointment in the delayed arrival of some spring flowers, every inch of the garden must be toured daily to witness the day’s emerging blooms. At first peek, identification is often unclear with so many small groupings of varied choices, but most reveal themselves shortly. After a slow start, several…

While spring offers no guarantees, I’m feeling it’s spring. Warm days earlier in March were followed by cooler temperatures and nighttime freezes, and yes, next week will be cooler, but fifties and sixties are delightful. Soon enough I’ll be cursing the heat. It must be spring. Every evening upon returning home, I spend every minute…

Sections of a wide spreading clump of ‘Evergold’ carex that encroached into a large patch of snowdrops were carefully cut to the ground several weeks ago. This was accomplished with the loss of only two snowdrops, a surprisingly small number since the sedge and snowdrops appeared hopelessly intertwined. There are plenty of snowdrops remaining, in…

While mid winter flowers of hellebores, when little else is blooming, are most appreciated, it is in March that most reach their peak, delightful bloom. No matter that many flowers nod downward, their abundance catches the eye of neighbors in this garden that is barely seen from the street after several large magnolias come into…

A wide spreading mass of yellow flowered winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum, below) tumbles over boulders at the koi pond’s edge. The cheerful blooms often brighten gray winter days, but a chilly late winter has delayed flowering into March when there are many superior blooms. There is no question that the jasmine can be an unruly…

Three large evergreens, an English yew and an Alaskan cedar at the shaded rear corner of the house, and a Blue Atlas cedar halfway down the rear garden beside the koi pond, have required removal in the past year. A ‘Silver Cloud’ rebud that leaned at a severe angle was removed after long debate. All…