I see no reason the gardener should desire an area of boggy ground, but here there is a rather large area that borders the garden that is constantly damp. I presume the source of the moisture is a spring that is in close proximity or perhaps beneath the garden shed. The spring dampens the forested…

Every day in the garden is splendid, though some more than others, and a few where dark clouds must be brushed aside for the barest glimpse of sunshine. I’ve been happily spoiled by mild temperatures in early March, so when a single night drops below freezing I am greatly disappointed. Much fussing ensues, but such…

I am slightly curious why there are so few bees. When flowering in early March, a large ‘Dorothy Wycoff’ Japanese andromeda (Pieris japonica ‘Dorothy Wycoff’) by the corner of the garage attracts a multitude of bees that are often quite aggressive in early spring. I usually take an alternate route to the rear garden so…

There’s no particular hurry, but I am somewhat mystified that two early flowering magnolias ‘Merrill’ and ‘Royal Star’ have not flowered yet in this very mild early March. On occasion, both have bloomed in late February when the flowers are prone to damage from frosts and freezes that are common into the early weeks of…

Spring has started, at least the laboring part of it, though the weather also is cooperating most days with mild temperatures and no extreme cold in the forecast. An odd few days of cold are common through March, and even into April, but now we’re calling a daily high of fifty-three chilly, so that’s making…

Unlike in many area gardens, no daffodils are flowering here, not even the early ‘February Gold’ that typically flowers the tenth day of March, but should be earlier in this very mild late winter. Several times in two decades it has flowered in February as its name suggests, but ‘February Gold’ is now shaded and…

I hear no objections to the mild temperatures this winter, and in fact most everyone seems quite pleased by the absence of snow and extreme cold. Equally mild winters in recent years have enjoyed a similar reception. With less chill, there have been many more flowers in the garden through February, partly due to the…

The start of the garden’s spring cleanup has been intentionally delayed, though the late winter weather has been perfectly suitable for outdoor labor. A considerable amount of fill in planting will be done early, and leaving the faded foliage is helpful so that new plantings aren’t dug into the same spot as something else. There’s…

Yes, I know. I should not celebrate this mild winter. The planet is doomed unless we change the error of our ways, but how can a gardener be blamed for enjoying the occasional winter when snow doesn’t cover the garden, and when the chill is mild enough that there are blooms everyday? And, not just…

Today is a bad day to be snooping beneath the Japanese cedars (Crytomeria japonica ‘Sekkan sugi’), looking for early signs of plume poppies (Macleaya cordata) that have nearly disappeared in the shade in recent years. It is too early for the poppies, I find, and every rub against the cedar releases a brown cloud of…

A hellebore appears to have flowers of varying colors, one nearly white. the other noticeably darker (below). Of course, this is not a single plant but two seedlings growing so close as to appear as one. Many of the most vigorous of the garden’s hellebores produce abundant seedlings. Some grow a distance away, where rainwater…

With a few cold days in the forecast, it’s comforting to know that the worst is past, at least it should be, and this winter there’s not been much to complain about. Still, have I whined? Of course, yes. Every day, I count the days (hours and minutes) until March. If it turns cold then,…