My autumn crocus (Colchicum) is blooming at the foot of my wisteria. I cleared away the lemon balm that had totally overrun that area. Autumn crocus, sometimes called Naked Ladies, send up their blossoms in the fall with no stem or foliage, hence their naughty common name. The leaves come up in the spring; the bulbs can be transplanted in late summer when the foliage starts to fade.I intended to move the bulbs where they could be more…
There was a serious frost warning last night but the temperature was 36 degrees when we woke. Not even the basil was nipped.However, it seems that it is only prudent to give the houseplants that have been vacationing on the piazza an insnpection for disease or pests, a watering and a good shower. This task done they are certified safe and I bring them back into the house.The census this year is a giant jade plant, a jasmine,…
It's Dahlia Season! So far, only three of my dahlias are blooming (I got 2 of the tubers in very very late) but they suggest to me that what I am developing is a garden that is full of bloom in June with our 'famous' Rose Walk and rose collection, the peony border and a few other spring perennials, and then not too much bloom until the fall. This is a concept I will try and build on.…
Planting a new bed is exciting, but also has elements of discomfort. Its kind of like letting your hair grow out - there is that wretched in between stage, neither long nor short. But there is always the vision of what it will be. After I had a strong young man remove the sod from the end of one of our Lawn Beds, the soil was revealed as dry and not promising. Still I finally had a space…
My Black Beauty lilies are planted in the herb bed along the piazza in front of the house. Here their tall turk's cap blossoms are high in the sun, but their roots are well shaded by the tarragon, garlic chives and bee balm.They have lived up to their publicity. They are trouble free vigorous growers and are considered one of the best lilies of the 20th century. I have had no trouble with disease or pests since I…
Earlier this summer I bought this sourwood tree at the New England Wildflower Society's (NEWFS) nursery at Nasami Farm. It was an impulse purchase, but I was sure we would find a place for it. No brilliant ideas until a couple of weeks ago when we decided that our ornamental plum is diseased and needs to be taken out. The sourwood would be a perfect replacement, but it meant breaking sod and enlarging the Lawn Bed to give…
The raspberries are coming in. I wish I had put up a better trellis. Picking the berries requires some maneuvering. I have learned my lesson. Next year I will have a better trellis and I will have the berries thinned out, for their benefit and mine. I don't have to wait for next year to have delicious berries. You can see that I'm in the process of making jam, but really, one of the benefits is that I…
Years ago, when visiting a friend in Tacoma, we toured the Lakewold gardens. Near the back door was a trellis screen covered with a vine such as I had never seen before. The leaves were not only variegated, they were variegated in pink and white. I said I had to have this vine which turned out to be a hardy kiwi, Actinidia kolomkita.The fact to remember about all Actinidias is that they require cross pollination by a male…
In 1990 I bought a wisteria from Wayside Gardens. I had visions of it sheltering and shading the 'piazza' on an arbor right in front of our house. Unfortunately the arbor wasn't yet built.I kept watering the potted wisteria and kept hoping that my husband and son would get together to build the arbor some weekend. This didn't happen until my birthday in August. I happily put the little wisteria in the ground next to one of the…
After learning about Guan Yin (Kwan Yin, Kannon), the bodhisattva of compassion while we were living in Beijing, and became familiar with the beautiful tree peonies at the Forbidden City, the Imperial Palace, I knew that I had to have this gorgeous tree peony named for the bodhisattva.A bodhisattva is one who is so compassionate she refuses nirvana in order to help those who are still suffering. Guan Yin is often depicted with her magic tools, a pill…