In the cool of the early morning I wandered down The Rose Walk and found that Dart's Dash has put out its first blossom. Rugosas are the first roses to bloom in my garden, but this is especially early. I've been watering which the roses love and temperatures in the 80s and today in the 90s have persuaded the roses that summer might almost be here. Dart's Dash is a low growing rugosa, but has the rugosa's vigor…
We are practicing doing videos - and the wisteria which is glorious right now seemed like a good subject. All this bloom is just in time to shade the piazza and protect me from 90 degree sun.
The bumbleebees are buzzin' in the wisteria blossoms, and all kinds of bugs are biting me around my eyes, behind my ears and in the middle of my back where I can swat or scratch. It got so bad that in the heat of the day yesterday, I retired to the house for iced tea and a dip into Insectopedia by Hugh Raffles (Knopf $29.95). I was entranced the first time I picked up this book and began…
And buy! Gardeners are allowed to browse the hundreds of perennials laid out at the Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale - but no touching! Not until the starting bell rings out. This year the young woman in charge of the Annuals from LaSalle's in Whately said for the first time she had two women poised over a single flat of gorgeous rich purple geraniums. They did not come to blows; they shared, half and half. The sale runs…
A little Madness in the Spring Is wholesome even for the King, But God be with the Clown-- Who ponders this tremendous scene-- This whole Experiment in Green-- As if it were his own! Emily Dickinson Spring madness was in the air when I trekked to the New York Botanical Garden for the special exhibit Emily Dickinson’s Garden: Poetry in Flowers. Two rooms of the stunning Enid E. Haupt Conservatory were given over to interpretations of the gardens…
The harvest has begun, but with the help of Mother Nature. Last night we had our first garden fresh salad, mostly with these self-seeded lettuces in the vegetable garden. The spinach in the Herb Bed needs thinning (and weeding) and I added the thinnings to the salad. The Red Sails lettuce directly seeded in the new Front Garden is also ready to be thinned. All of a sudden it is really taking off. I love being able to…
This is the day I wait for every year - the first tree peony blossoms. I bought this one because of the name which translates as Guan Yin's face. Guan Yin is the goddess of compassion and I am sure her face is as beautiful as this blossom. Tree peony flowers look fragile, but the plants are extremely hardy. I vaguely remember buying a bag of pink tulip bulbs last fall, and then sticking them in any old…
In the olden days planting wisdom said you needed a $5 hole for a fifty cent plant. Inflation is everywhere. Now when I guy my $35 Proven Winners Pinky Winky hydrangea I know I need at least a $50 hole. This was a lesson I gave my daughter last weekend when I learned she was much given to taking out a shovelful of soil, sticking a plant in and considering the job done. My $50 hole is 24…
When we were at Betsy's house yesterday we looked at some shrubs that we all thought were dead. The leaves were twisted, curled and brown. We were having trouble identifying what the shrubs were until we found one that had a few undamaged leaves. Oh yes, Betsy said. Magnolias. Well, the shrubs aren't dead, they were hit with frost, and with luck they will recover. At our house we realized that the kiwi on the shed was also…
If there is anything more enjoyable than an afternoon working in one's own garden, it is spending an afternoon working with a daughter in her garden. Yesterday we visited Betsy for a garden consultation, nursery shopping and planting day. Betsy has done some landscaping around her house which is built on sand that hides many many stones. In fact the house is directly across the road from a granite quarry whose boulders form a major element of the…