“The garden just grew,” Bruce Aune said with a slight shrug as we sat in his living room and looked out across a still green lawn to a neat curving border. All the perennials had been cut back, but shrubs, evergreen and deciduous, and small trees remained, providing the bones and structure of this garden. While it is true that the garden had changed over time as Bruce and his wife Anne moved into retirement, it had not…
I went to the NYBGfor the roses but I got chrysanthemums, kiku, too. This is the third and final year for this extraordinary exhibit of Japanese chrysanthemum art forms set up at the Enid Haupt Conservatory courtyards. I was familiar with this form, Kengai, because similar cascades are created for our local Smith College Chrysanthemum show. All season long a single chrysanthemum plant is trained through wire mesh, pinched and artfully pinched again to create this waterfall of bloom.…
Happy Halloween! One way to strike terror into this night of goblins and ghosts is to think of the fears that plants have generated over the centuries. Deadly nightshade was rightly understood to be a poison, but other members of the family, tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and peppers were less deadly and more delicious. The large pale flower of datura, another member of the family, is beautiful but equally deadly. Not all peas (Lathyrus sativus) are benign, or all members…
When I called Old House Gardens to order some bulbs last week I feared I might have missed their shipping season, but they reassured me and on this perfect morning I found my order in the mailbox. It took only a few minutes before I was out in the garden. I knew just where to plant the ivory Beersheba daffodils - right under the Miss Willmott, a white flowered lilac Jerry Sternstein gave me last year. To say under…
The Monday Record was intended to show what I had accomplished in the preceeding week, possibly including Monday itself. However, this week I spent a lot of time looking out the window at rain, and wind, and even snow muttering that if I were a Real Gardener I wouldn't let poor weather stop me from attending to all the chores that needed attending to! After five days of below freezing tempeatures, the low temperature today was 27 degrees. After the…
The pace is slightly more relaxed, but the fall season can be just as busy for gardeners as the spring season. Many of the same tasks are required, clean up, soil building, compost building, and planting. In the autumn, all gardeners, both novice and experienced, have another chance to launch the next attempt to improve their gardens. For flower gardeners this means a comprehensive new guide to perennial care might be in order. With The Perennial…
I almost forgot it was Garden Blogger's Bloom Day! I made a mad dash out into the garden with my camera, stopping briefly on the piazza where the Wave petunias, geraniums, Million Bells and verbena are still going strong. I don't have as many asters as Mr. McGregor's Daughter, but I do love them. These are nameless. Once heard who can forget Alma Potschke's name? She might be the brightest pink in the garden, but I always seem…
Katarina at Roses and Stuff invites us all to share what is in bloom on Blooming Fridays. How many more will there be before the cold shuts down the outdoor show? I'm sure I have the name of this dahlia somewhere. The cosmos are from Renee's Garden seeds. Foxy Lady has already made her way into bouquets. Patty Cake has just begun blooming. This nameless hydrangea has been blooming for over a month. I love Red! Especially scarlet…
I never think I have much of a flower garden, but in August . . . The Black Dragon lilies are blooming in front of the house along with a crimson bee balm. The Stargazer lilies were a gift. Only one is blooming so far, but there are two or three more. I am always so relieved when I don't kill plants I get as a gift. My Casa Blanca lilies are not planted to best advantage, but…
First I have to say the very most important event of the past week was the wedding of my cousin Jay and his beloved Juliet in a beautiful garden in Manchester by the Sea. It was a glorious day and celebration was in the air. Our hotel was hosting three wedding receptions and packed to the rafters with SEVEN groups of wedding guests. Juliet is a Nanny in the classic mode. The wedding guest list was filled with her…