With trees and shrubs fully leafed and many perennials looking their best, the garden is at its best, but no doubt, short of perfection. And what fun is perfect? Things are going to go wrong. There will be weeds, sometimes it seems in the same spot I weeded yesterday. If this upsets me, I need…

Despite cypress spurge’s (Euphorbia cyparissias, below) reputation for invasiveness, it is a favorite in the garden. Perhaps you’ve heard the story from several years ago when the spurge was rescued weeks before it would have succumbed to the relentless spread of a geranium. Some tough guy, that spurge, and while it’s valued more since it…

A few weeks ago, a large branch of the tulip poplar that shaded much of the side garden was cut out. This involved a ladder and electric pole saw in a non-OSHA approved stunt, but gardeners are free to be idiots on their own time. In this case, the idiot survived to attempt even more…

While the majority of Japanese maples escaped the recent freeze with only minor damage, the bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) are a disaster. Ten days earlier, new growth indicated the point to which stems were cut back, most severely and certainly including all flower buds from last year’s growth. While older varieties will not flower after…

Recurring acts of negligence in previous months too often result in today’s disappointment. I long ago lost my excitement for blooms of the common evergreen azaleas, so I am not overly bothered by the sparcity of flowers as deer nibbled lower branch tips over the winter months. Still, a more regular spray routine with the…

Certainly, I’ve done something from the many published checklists of chores to be completed in the garden in April. The tasks are extensive, but I’ve accomplished only a few. I ignore the lists and most of the chores since the majority are necessary only in tbe tidiest gatdens. Perennials have been cut back. No doubt,…

Today, Barbara and I headed to the mountains in search of trilliums (Trillium grandiflorum, below). In fact, despite spotty recollections overall, I can pinpoint exact placement and timing of trilliums and many spring ephemerals from previous hikes. I think my attention to detail has always been very selective. The trilliums along this trail flower at…

The results are in, at least I hope that I can now confirm that no major damage was done by last week’s freeze that coincided with the most vulnerable period for emerging leaves of Japanese maples. I think that rainfall and a few days of clouds were helpful minimizing the damage, but warm and sunny…

Already, dozens of tiny Japanese maple seedlings are fully leafed while hundreds of newly germinated seedlings do not yet show the distinctive maple leaf. Most of the seedlings not weeded out a year ago will soon be pulled and discarded, though I am always on the lookout for an unusual leaf form. But, the evaluation…

With a rainy Sunday forecast (a week ago), Barbara and I decided we must stay local to make our annual bluebell hike on Saturday instead of our plan to head up into the mountains. Of course, there are a number of trails that we schedule to coincide with flowering of hepaticas, bluebells, trilliums, or orchids…

….. but I’m worried. The thirty or forty Japanese maples in the garden come into leaf over a period of weeks. Today, some are leafed fully while leaves of others are just emerging. With temperatures falling into the mid-twenties last night, I’m concerned about ones that are halfway between that are the most vulnerable. Too…

I do not claim any semblance of patience. Yes, the garden demands a measure of watch and wait, but I seek an immediate return. Fortunately, I am able to ignore these impulses to occasionally plant for the long-term and then forget until the dividends are paid years later. Why would anyone plant trilliums? They are…