Vines have become more important to me over time. Vines have become more important to me over time. When we built a south facing patio in front of our Heath house in 1990 we also planned a kind of loggia structure that would hold a wisteria vine to shade and cool the patio. to shade and cool the patio. That shade would also alter the quality of light in our living room and even keep that space a…
Garden Blogger's Bloom Day arrives this October after two hard freezes. The trees are richly adorned adding most of the garden color at this time of the year. The roses are very nearly done, but Thomas Affleck, right near the door, has nearly a dozen blossoms left. In the rest of the garden there are a few scattered rugosa blossoms, and The Fairy is still making a bit of magic. This is the second year for Sedum 'Neon."…
Dioecious Plants: Dioecious species have the male and female reproductive structures on separate plants. The Annual Rose Viewing was a success, but it was the hardy kiwi vine on our shed that also got a lot of attention. Of course, it is the unusual green, white and pink foliage that makes the hardy kiwi so notable. I first saw this vine at the LakewoldGarden in Washington state many years ago. It was growing on a long trellis, so I…
Lilacs seem to know nothing of winterkill. This long harsh winter was as nothing to these ancient lilacs. The same cannot be said for the wisteria. Winterkill in its most serious form has hit here. There is always a little winterkill, but there should be some sign of life by this time in the spring. No such luck. This might very well be the end of the wisteria as the provider of shade on the piazza. The Thomas…
Wisteria is a mysterious plant. I am not good about taking Before and After photographs, but above you can see my wisteria in early May last year. This is my wisteria yesterday. My husband and son cut out the main trunk which was dead, leaving us with a young, lively trunk. There is another shoot coming up from the root that we will allow to join this trunk. I am glad it is not totally dead, and hope…
The hardy kiwi vine (Actinidia) is possibly the only plant I ever wanted specifically for its foliage. I first saw it at Lakewold Gardens, a historic estate and gardens near Tacoma, Washington. In that beautiful garden it was growing neatly on a trellis and I was fascinated by the pink, white and green leaves. It grows exuberantly on our shed next to the hen house and is in need of a serious pruning that will require a good…
We are enjoying the best wisteria season ever. I don't know why one year is better than another. I have chronicalled the history of my wisteria here. And added a warning here. For more Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.
Even after Irene and the following storm that jointly dropped at least 14 inches of rain inside one week the garden is looking pretty good. This yarrow is still putting out blooms even through the foliage of the yellow loosestrife and a huge squash plant in the Front Garden. These buttery yellow nasturtiums I planted kept washing away in the heavy spring rains but you'd never know how few plants came through. They are making the barrier-transition area…
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This is a close up of the old white lilacs that were on our property when we moved here in 1979. They are the earliest of all the lilacs we have and I can usually count on having them in full bloom by the 15th of May. Not this year. You can see not all the buds are open. But I only know that because keep this blog means I have pretty good records for the past three…