Siberian iris are among the hardiest perennials I can think of. There were clumps of white iris, and deep purple iris around the house when we moved here 30 years ago. I've moved clumps of these around the garden, I've given them away to friends, donated them to plant sales, and I've even tossed divisions into the field and over to the edge of the road - see above. I don't want you to think I planted them…
The term rain gardens sounds kind of romantic. I imagine something vaguely tropical with exotic blossoms amid rain drenched foliage viewed from a wicker chair on a veranda. In reality a rain garden can have colorful blossoms, not necessarily exotic, but when the foliage is rain drenched the rain garden is doing its work of infiltration. Infiltration is not a romantic term. I have heard the term rain garden and seen Master Gardener work sheets on building a…
I just came back from checking the Larch seedling I was given ten days ago. I watered it the first couple of days, but the recent weather has been perfect for transplanting - overcast, cool (but not freezing) and showery. The tree seems to have settled in well. So far. Larch trees, tamarack, hackmatack, or more properly Larix laricinia, are that mysterious thing, a deciduous pine tree. This is a native tree that can reach 75 feet tall. It does…
For years I complained about witch grass – until I bought Weeds of the Northeast by Richard Uva, Joseph Neal and Joseph DiTomaso - and found out I should have been complaining about quackgrass. Witch grass (Panicum capillare L.) is a summer annual that reproduces by seed that germinates in late spring and midsummer. It is found everywhere, in gardens, farm fields, in poor dry soil and wet fertile soil. Quackgrass (Elytrigia repens) also known as couch grass,…
A wet snow was falling on Friday morning. It did not last long on the ground, but the day continued wet and chill and not suitable for gardening. I was happy that I had spent most of Thursday cleaning out, weeding and putting some semblance of an edge on the Herb Bed in front of the house. Since we added the Entry Walk to the Piazza and Welcome Platform, the Herb Bed has expanded to approximately 33 feet…
The weather is wretched here today. No need to pretend, and I go window shopping with Le Flaneur. Pretend the weather is impossible and while away some time perusing these sites – no need to buy a thing, but it’s always beneficial to have a notion of just where you might find something when the need arises: Seibert-Rice offers a vast and expensive array of pots. What appeals is the robustness and visual strength of their designs. Pot rims…
This ornamental plum, planted around 25 years ago, struggled for many years, but it is finally a real tree. Today in stands in for all the trees that are leafing out at a gratifying rate. I love weeping birch and planting a tiny seedling a number of years ago. It was hardly more than 6 inches tall and was already trying to weep. I kept trying to get it to grow up a bit first but the result…
A walk through the blooming garden does not take very long this month. I do love the scillas reflecting the blue of this morning's sky. They have increased and increased and even seeded themselves in unlikely places. Last fall's moderate temperatures lasted so long, that we gave up mowing the lawn before the lawn had stopped growing. Glory-of-the-snow (Chionodoxa) shares this area at the end of the Rose Walk with the scillas. I planted them at the same…
The Flaneur du Pays continues his disquision on Containers. Materials Pots and containers are available in all the materials that a sculptor might employ: woods, metals (zinc seems to be the current favorite), clay, and recently fiberglass and synthetic resins. The natural materials remain the most aesthetically pleasing, but utility, lightness of weight and weather-durability all have their virtues as well and this is why the newer materials must be considered. These materials have, like the plants they’ll…
My friend, the Flaneur du Pays, is an architect and claims to be more of a vicarious gardener than a knees in the dirt type, but he has a lot to say about cachepots, jardinaires, urns and plain old pots. He will be guest posting from his cottage moderne set amid a grove of trees, in sight of a salt marsh and Long Island Sound, for a couple of days while I put my knees in the dirt.…