When I first learned about companion planting I thought it was a bit of simple folk wisdom. Plant your peas and carrots together, but keep them away from dill. Plant marigolds near the tomatoes, and soybeans with anything. This information, which is available in lists in books and on the Internet, has been my guide every spring when I rotate the vegetables around in my garden. Of course, in my small rotating vegetable garden I am also practicing…
Tiarella is the latest plant added to my arsenal as I try to lessen, if not eliminate our lawn, otherwise known as the Flowery Mead where thrive violets, dandelions, hawkweeds and many other wildflowers. These tiarellas are planted east of the Peony Hedge, and west of what will be the Hydrangea Hedge. Tiarella, also known as foam flower, for obvious reasons, is a native flower and groundcover. It likes the shade and requires no care. In the photo…
Nancy Ondra has been gardening for over 20 years and she has ten books to show for it and Five Plant Gardens: 52 ways to Grow a Perennial Garden with Just Five Plants (Storey Publishing $18.95) is her latest. This book has something for everyone, but it takes garden design to a new level of ease and understanding for the novice gardener. Even an inexperienced flower gardener understands pretty quickly that you put tall plants in back…
Guan Yin Mian is my favorite tree peony, a native Chinese plant. Guan Yin is the bodhisattva of compassion, or in terms more familiar, the goddess of mercy. During our years in China I became familiar with Guan Yin who is much given to appearing in visions, giving women the babies they and long for, and who laughs that we can struggle so - as she helps us. She is often shown wearing a gown with a rice…
I'm just starting to read Five Plant Gardens by Nancy J. Ondra and I find it such an encouraging book. The book is divided into two sections, one section for sunny gardens and one section for shady gardens. She begins with one color gardens like the Bright White Garden for a sunny location. She suggests 'David' phlox, 'White Swan' coneflower, 'Snow Fairy' caryopteris, lambs ears, and candytuft, but gives alternatives and a planting plan. It is her planting…
One of the benefits of membership in the American Horticultural Society is the arrival of The American Gardener every other month. This month the cover photo was of an Eryngium or sea holly, and the amazing news that this is a relative of parsley. This isn't exactly one of the weird and wonderful facts I love to collect, but I certainly found it unexpected. The delightful and informative article by Barbara Perry Lawton catalogs a number of…
My Heath Calendar cannot begin with flowers. The only flowers at the End of the Road are a few Christmas cactus blooms and a wonderful pink cyclamen. February is still cold and snowy. This 'possum found shelter and a snack in the compost bin next to the hen house. March and still no blooms in Heath. Still the Talcott Greenhouse at Mt. Holyoke College and the Lyman Plant House at Smith College are full of bloom and hope…
Slow but sure is the gardener's motto when plants first go in. This is the beginning of the Daylily Bank in the Spring of 2009. We decided on this solution to a bank that was hard to mow. At my time of life five years pass in the blink of an eye. This succeeded beyond my dreams, with daylilies added row by row for four years. For more (almost) Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.
It is not too late to order the 2014 UMass Garden Calendar. This is always beautiful, and this year the monthly photographs feature a floral happy dozen from potted tulips to Linda Campbell rugosa blossoms to a glorious sunflower. But the calendar is not only beautiful it contains a wealth of gardening advice and information for those of us in the norhteast. This year there is a thorough explanation of the USDA climate zones. I always forget…
Chrysanthemums are an iconic autumn flower. Pots of blooming mums are sold at every garden center, supermarket, and roadside stand by the end of August. Their rich colors of garnet, purple, bronze and brilliant yellow or pale cream have tempted me many times. I buy them, but am mildly disappointed that even after I put them in the ground they maintain a strict military stance, never softening into a graceful slouch. Neither have I been able to overwinter…