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,…

From this garden’s beginnings, I’ve planted for winter blooms, though at little sacrifice to the other seasons, I think. The winter months stretch forever, it seems, and even with mild temperatures we’ve experienced this year, the scattered flowers are required to pacify the restless soul. While winter flowering snowdrops (above) and witch hazels are treasured,…

I fear that the end is near for the variegated Winter daphne (Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’, below). Leaves wilt, then this moves to the next branch and the next, and though I prune each as soon as wilting is seen, it seems that the problem has probably started in the roots. And, it’s one I can’t…

When I scroll through photos from the previous year, I can’t wait for winter to end. Below, you’ll see a few spring photos that test my patience waiting for winter to end.

No doubt, through the year the gardener is swayed in picking favorites by what’s blooming at the moment, and how could he be blamed for ignoring this beauty? But, in the gray bleakness of January, his mind wanders to plants that are most favored, regardless of the season. Choosing favorites is a matter for consideration…

Most years, there is no question that leaves of hellebores, damaged and browned after typical January temperatures that occasionally drop to near zero (Fahrenheit), must be removed to be rid of the weathered leaves and so that flowers are more visible. Even in a mild winter, the foliage of several vigorous hellebores obscures flowers that…

With repeated failures, I’ve given up trying to grow butterfly bushes (Buddleia, below), despite concern at one time that these might be overly vigorous. There is also a problem with invasiveness of seedlings that I’ve witnessed, though not in this garden where a once very healthy shrub perished quickly when the surrounding soil turned damp…

Not unusually, I am conflicted by the relative lacking of witch hazels in the garden. Always, there is something that must be had such as the sturdy and beautiful witch hazels, but with little open space available for shrubs, and less in sunny spots, decisions to purchase must be delayed until the off seasons. To…

Somehow, and I cannot explain why, after nearly thirty one years in this garden, I am unable to locate micro climates that might support plants that are only marginally cold hardy (I hear you, I’m not too bright). Yes, I’ve tried, and failed, with no discernible patterns. At least, indiscernible to me. One year, maybe…