Worlds of Rhododendrons

Our hugel was built to help us manage water, but also to provide a stage for rhododendrons. This past weekend my friendly rhododendron specialists took me shopping at the Windy Hill Nursery in Great Barrington. We bought three cultivars: Janet Blair a beautiful pale pink  with a golden flare in the center, Wojnar's Purple and Francesca, a red. The photos of Janet Blair and Wojner's purple were taken in Jerry Sternstein's rhododendron woodland which includes nearly 400 other…

Dogwoods – Trees and Shrubs

  • Post published:06/03/2017
  • Post comments:2 Comments

With its long lasting flowers the dogwood is one of the iconic trees of early spring. On my street there are two beautiful dogwoods, Cornus florida, a native species. We are fortunate to have these trees because in the past this species has battled anthracnose, the most deadly fungus that can attack dogwoods. The response to the dying off of many native dogwoods is the rise of Kousa dogwood, a Japanese species. The flower is very similar but…

Progression of Spring

  • Post published:05/30/2017
  • Post comments:5 Comments

The progression of spring is one of magisterial slowness. The April Fool snow did have the advantage of showing us where we could expect the spring flood to appear. The snow didn't last too long and it didn't even look that wet anymore in mid-April. The slow progression of spring. There were considerable rains  which started things greening up, but also brought the flood. This shows the progression of spring took a leap, but then stepped back for…

Cutting Back and Glorious Shade

  • Post published:05/27/2017
  • Post comments:3 Comments

Cutting Back, and Glorious Shade are two new books that held a particular appeal to me. For me Japanese gardens and shade gardens share an atmosphere of serenity and calm. There is no rushing, no ecstatic clamor at the brilliance of blossoms; there is a quiet peacefulness when you are strolling through a wild woodland garden or an artful Japanese garden. Both types of garden use design to emulate the beauty of nature in different ways. In Cutting…

Exotic or Immigrant – Flowers from Afar

  • Post published:05/19/2017
  • Post comments:6 Comments

I do promote the beauty and benefits that native flowers bring to our garden, but they would be less beautiful if they did not include the  flowers from afar that have come to be called ‘exotics.’ The Bridge of Flowers is one place you can see natives and exotics blooming harmoniously. Dayliles first bloomed in Asia where they were used medicinally. Four hundred years ago they arrived in Europe and hybridizing began – and continues today. We are…

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day, May 15, 2017

This is my first Bloom Day post in quite a while. Here in my corner of western Massachusetts we are having quite a wet spring. Yesterday over 2 inches of rain fell, causing about the worst flooding in the backyard that we have had  so far. Even so, blooms are surviving.  The wood poppy is growing on our hugel so it is not flooded but has plenty of water to drink. There is quite a  golden look to…

Mysteries of May in the Garden

  • Post published:05/14/2017
  • Post comments:8 Comments

With the turning of the calendar page I am out in the garden investigating the mysteries of May. Young shoots are everywhere. Surely they have names. I stand looking at the swath of a bright green, crispy ribbed ground cover that has taken its assignment to cover the ground very seriously. I have no idea what it is called. I vaguely remember looking at it last fall as I removed autumn leaves and wondered if some of the…

Shades of Green

  • Post published:05/07/2017
  • Post comments:3 Comments

Every garden, vegetable or ornamental, includes many shades of green, and yet so much of our attention is on color. We look for blooming trees and shrubs, we consider how to combine colors in the flower garden and we even welcome unusual colors in the vegetable garden – rainbow chard, purple carrots, nearly black cherry tomatoes. And yet green is the overarching color in our gardens and requires consideration in its own right. Having said I will focus…

May – A Golden Month

  • Post published:05/03/2017
  • Post comments:1 Comment

It's May and the flowers that bloom in the spring are beginning to show themselves. Lots of gold in May, not counting the dandelions. The barren strawberry plants on The Hugel are thriving and blooming. They are not really strawberry plants at all. It's just that Waldsteinia have strawberry-like foliage and flowers. Trollius laxa is a more lackadaisical form of Trollius europaeus, which is taller and even more golden. It is also called globeflower which is more prominent…

Herb Garden for Savor and Beauty

  • Post published:04/29/2017
  • Post comments:4 Comments

Why have an herb garden? Simon and Garfunkel sang about parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, increasing their fame, but this 17th century song just begins to touch on the herbs that can easily be grown by gardeners. Herb gardens are ideal for a novice gardener to tackle and a rich resource for the cook. To begin all you need is a sunny space with ordinarily fertile soil. You can plant herbs in your vegetable garden or you can…