Winterberry, Ilex verticillata, is clearly not a wildflower. It is a native plant that is known as a swamp plant which means it is very happy in our garden. It does not need full sun which is another blessing. The thing to remember is  that winterberries are dioecious (separate male and female plants). Only fertilized female flowers will produce the attractive red berries that are the signature of the species. The white spring blossoms are very  tiny and…

On this Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, a number of flowers like the Alma Potchke aster are beaten down by 24 hours of rain, often heavy rains. Even so we are enjoying Alma Potchke and other flowers and celebrating that much needed rain. I love the winterberries because they provide so much lasting color as other plants fade away and prepare  for their winter sleep. The other two hydrangeas, Lime Light and Angel's Blush are also blooming - and…

Louise Glück (pronounced Glick) who taught poetry for twenty years at Williams College in Williamstown Massachusetts was just awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.  As it happens, my husband went to work at Williams in 1990 in the computer systems part of the Development Office, and not long  after, I became the Librarian at the 1914 Library. That was a very special library filled with textbooks that financial aid students could use for their courses. Working in a…

The view from the window is my way of keeping track of  the garden growth and changes, as well as the changes in  the weather from year to year. Rain yesterday knocked  down  some of the flowers making the three paths look narrower than they are. In our garden all paths lead to the garden shed, the gravel sitting  area with a patio table, umbrella and chairs. This is a sociable area. I love the umbrella. Our 'patio'…