We are always trying to eliminate lawn, and the labor of mowing. Unfortunately more lawn always seems to pop up somewhere else, but this is the latest lawn elimination project.In a moment of madness I planted a lot of daffodils in the lawn - never calculating that this area of lawn, in front of the peonies and rhododendrons, could not be properly mowed before the other plants were in bloom. Daffodils in the lawn were very pretty. The…

Our first dandelions appeared on May 6th, after the violets in the lawn. This seemed early to me. After a very long winter, spring is arriving in a rush.It is the dandelion I was thinking of when I named my website and blog. Although it is the scourge of those who strive for fine turf lawns, I look at it's cheerful face and see a reflection of the warm which I have been longing for.In addition, because of…

The daffodils are in full bloom and the three and a half inches of rain we got over Monday and Tuesday have given the grass a jolt, and everything else. The forsythia is blooming which means I should be planting potatoes, but it is cold outside. It is snowing outside! Not a lot, but enough to keep me by the fireside. I should have known it wasn't spring quite yet. We don't have a single dandelion in the…

After putting up the photos of two of my rugosas, 'Apart' and 'Mrs. Doreen Pike', and after turning away from the white landscape outside my window where temperatures have been in the single digits, I found solace in Roses: A Celebration. This book. a collection of 33 eminent gardeners talking about their favorite roses, is edited by Wayne Winterrowd. Not only are the rose fanciers like Peter Beales, Jamaica Kincaid, Michael Polan, Ken Druse, Julie Moir Messervy and…

Susan Harris of Garden Rant talked about trends for the year, including a link to Slate about roses. The thrust of the article was that it doesn't necessarily take a lot to get roses to thrive. I can speak to the hardiness of old shrub roses, albas and gallicas, and rugosa roses including the newer hybrids. The trick to growing roses, as it is for any plant, is the right rose in the right place and some care…

I have two strong associations with the name Viola. First it was my mother’s name. Growing up I never met anyone else named Viola and wondered whatever had possessed my grandmother to choose such an unfashionable name.When I got to high school I was amazed to find one of Shakespeare’s brave and passionate heroines named Viola. During a shipwreck she is separated from her twin Sebastian, and unbeknownst to both they wash up on the shores of Illyria.…

My parlor maple (abutilon or flowering maple) is a delight all year long. There is rarely a time when it is not in bloom. Another of its gifts is that it is happy in a cool house. Abutilons are happy with temperatures down to 40F and some even a bit cooler, down to 35F.And for all its floriferous abandon it does not need much care. It needs full sun. Mine sits in front of an east window, but…

My ancient, I don't even remember how old, jade plant has burst into bloom. This isn't the first time I have seen such a phenomenon, but it surprised us! Why? Who knows. I can't think that we have done anything different. It sits in a west window in a bright room with big south windows, and I water it when I think of it. I do check th firmness of the leaves so they don't get too withered.…