Even if I didn't find this lily beautiful, I would have to have it, because my husband's name is Henry. I love the reflexed petals. I bought it from Old House Gardens who said " We’re big fans of this willowy Chinese wildflower that was brought back by Irish plant collector Augustine Henry from remote limestone gorges in Hupeh. Enhanced by green nectaries and chestnut brown “whiskers,” its golden-orange petals swoop back like the wings of a falcon.…
When we think of pollinators we think of honeybees, being trucked to orchards in the spring or to pollinate vast mid-western fields in the summer. The decline of the honey bee, because of disease, mites, and the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), has been in the news for some years. The concern is that crops will be threatened by insufficient pollination and our food supply will be in danger. Knowing all this, Tom Sullivan, a former bee keeper,…
There are different types of summer blues, from the blues that hit on hot, muggy days when the thought of weeding is not to be borne, or those that follow drenching rains that have turned the raspberries to mold. Then there are the blue flowers that are much more rare than the sunny golds that predominate in the mid to late summer garden. True blue, the color of forget-me-nots, is not a common color in the summer garden,…
On this Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, July 2013, most of the roses are pretty well done. That's why we have the Annual Rose Viewing on the last Sunday of June. The Fairy was just starting to bloom two weeks ago, but now she is looking great, and will remain in bloom for a good part of the summer. The Purington rambler also starts to bloom at the very end of June, but is now cascading down the Rose…
I bought the Connecticut Yankee Delphinium because it was not as tall as the dramatic and more familiar delphiums, and knew that it did not need staking. That is the attribute that famous photographer Edward Steichen was searching for when he hybridized the Connecticut Yankee. Steichen had a passion for delphiums and grew five acres of the flowers at his Reading, Connecticut home. He was so passionate that he brought them to the Museum of Modern Art in New…
Welcome to the Greenfield Garden Club Garden Tour. Welcome seems to be the theme on the Greenfield Garden Club Tour which will be held on Saturday, July 6 from 9 am to 4 pm. This beautiful garden on a challenging slope in Gill has several garden rooms, from the small sunny garden with its fountain and pool surrounded by astilbes, ornamental grasses and bright coreopsis to the woodland garden with its gravel paths and colorful mushroom ornaments. Each garden…
A sizeable work crew showed up to help prepare for the Annual Rose Viewing, but it was impossible to get a photo of them all working together. Diane directed the weeding of the Peony Bed that was in great need. Henry took direction as well as the girls. Eveyone felt the 90 degree heat. Granddaughters Caitlin and Tricia couldn't even spare time to look up from their labors. I directed the shed clean up. Lola and Bella were ready…
Yesterday morning I watched what I later confirmed was a cowbird being fed by another bird. I just happened to look out the front window and there was this little bird (fully fledged) standing still and looking around while another bird, a different type of bird, much the same size was running around picking up insects from the lawn and bringing them over to the cowbird. Through the window I couldn't hear the cowbird squawking, or whining piteously, but I…
One 2013 resolution is to keep a good Bloom Record this year, noting bloom twice a month on the 1st and 15th of every month. After a lot of rain, about 4+ inches, and then hot! weather, things are really moving in the garden. This is high rhodie season. Rangoon is nearly done, Boule de Neige is in full flower and Goldbusch is not quite blooming. Calsap is just beginning to bloom. I transplanted it a couple of…
Right now I have two sage plants in my herb garden right in front of our house. I have a Salvia officinalis plant that has survived several winters, and a brand new meadow sage, Salvia verticillata Evelina. I have since learned that there is a showier S. verticillata named Purple Rain with deep purple flowers. Soon I will add two or three six packs of the annual Victoria Blue salvia which I use as a kind of…