The emerging foliage of spring has been witnessed over three decades in this garden, but it remains a delight with daily surprises. The same old garden is ever changing, a result of new additions, but also its continued growth. A viburnum fades as it recedes into deeper shade, but a redbud becomes more prominent. I…

Sure enough, the first of the redbuds is flowering as scheduled at the start of April. Set over thirty-six years in this garden, the timetable is that redbuds (Cercis canadensis) flower April first and dogwoods (Cornus florida) the tenth. Yes, there are variations by days and occasionally weeks, usually earlier after very mild late winters….

In the depth of winter, this is the day the gardener dreams about. Certainly, there are abundant blooms, but the background of green is beginning to fill. Many of the emerging leaves are marvelous. Japanese maples are favorites in every season, even the naked silhouettes in winter. Leaves unfurl gracefully, many alongside glorious blooms. With…

Though halfway down the slope of the rear garden, and with the view broken by Japanese maples, Kousa dogwood, and serviceberry (all budding but bare of leaves, of course), the tall ‘Merrill’ magnolia (Magnolia  x loebneri ‘Merrill’, below) flowers splendidly in March for whatever brief period until blooms are ruined by freezing temperatures. Days after…

After thirty-six years in this garden, I long ago ceased being surprised when a plant declines and eventually must be replaced. Here, the reason for decline is most often due to increasing shade as the many Japanese maples, dogwoods, and redbuds (and others) increase in size. In rare cases, I’ll prune tree branches to allow…

If no harm is imminent, I will often delay a task that must be done, but maybe it can wait until tomorrow (or a year from tomorrow). And so, pruning of the paperbush (Edgeworthia chrysantha) in the lower rear garden was not accomplished a year ago, and here it is, now bumping against the stone…

I have mistreated the variegated Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas ‘Variegata’) too often to expect its forgiveness, but after multiple transplants, the small tree appears to be recovering despite my efforts. The dogwood (commonly called a cherry due to its red fruit) was once in ground far too damp, then too shaded before landing in a…

Today’s hike is the annual physical challenge for Barbara and me. Each year, we must prove to ourselves that we are still able to scamper up through the boulder lined gorge of Keyser Run on the appropriately named Little Devil’s Stairs trail. But, the trail is not only a fitness test as we age. The…

I congratulate myself for refusing to whine excessively through this overly long and chilly winter. While not cold to an extreme, a month of snow cover is reason enough for sorrowful moans and groans, and yet somehow I survived in good spirits to experience this glorious week when spring has undeniably arrived. With spring bulbs…

The planting of sweetbox (Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis) between a stone path and stream was a disappointment at the start. Small plants grow slowly, but today, the creeping stems have filled the area, long ago crowding out a daphne and a large portion of what was once a vigorous clump of Japanese Forest grass (Hakonechloa…

While handfuls of the garden’s hellebores flowered quickly after the snow melted in early February, most were weeks later. In this second week of March, peak bloom is near. While I would have enjoyed more flowers in late winter, this is among the many delights that I have no control over. Over the few decades…

The upcoming week will be busy, perhaps the busiest of the year. With temperatures in the sixties and seventies, I’ll be indoors only to eat and sleep (and maybe to rest up a few minutes). This is the long-awaited cleanup week, but I’ll also make the season’s first trip to the garden center. After pulling…