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THIS GARDEN’S NOT FINISHED, IT’S JUST GETTING STARTED … AGAIN
I’ve mentioned before that the idea that a garden is ever “finished” is a fallacy. Because it is constantly growing and changing, gardens are in a state of evolution at all times. It’s not like redoing a room in your house where you paint the walls, get new furniture and then stage it perfectly to take a bunch of photos ...
FRIDAY FINDS
Well I made it through the first post-Labor Day week. This summer has been so incredible (I know, I won’t shut up about it, sorry) that I was truly melancholy Monday just thinking of it ending. Despite my best efforts, my thoughts have turned to gardening tasks that need to be attended to before frost and suddenly I’m feeling concerned ...
CALL IN THE PLANT CORONER: WHEN DISEASE WINS
I would be crazy to complain about anything that happened in the garden this summer. The weather has been lovely, possibly even perfect. For the most part we had warm temperatures with plenty of rain mixed in. Sure, there were a few dry weeks, but I only had to do supplemental watering a handful of times. And yet, there is ...
DAHLIAS: DARLINGS OF THE GARDEN
It’s been a great year for dahlias here. Who am I kidding? It’s been a great year for everything in the garden, but the dahlias are appreciating our lovely summer as much as anything. A few have been unfairly (in my estimation, at least) targeted by slugs, but for the most part they continue to bloom their little heads off. ...
FRIDAY FINDS
How did it get to be Friday again? Specifically a Friday late in August? Sometimes it feels like the world is spinning a bit too fast. Loi Thai photo Have you seen Loi’s fabulous Limelight hedge? I can’t believe it’s only three years old. (Stephen, if you’re reading this I’m sure you knew I’d put this in today! 🙂 ) This lesson ...
MY FAVORITE NEW PLANT OF THE SUMMER
I first saw Eupatorium capillifolium ‘Elegant Feather’ late last summer at a baby shower. I spotted it from inside the house and ran out at my first opportunity to give it a closer look. It looked to me like a soft, feathery evergreen and I had to seek out the landscaper who planted to gardens to find out what it ...
FRIDAY FINDS: OLYMPICS EDITION
I’ve got Olympic fever. For the past two weeks, if the television was on in our house, it was tuned to the Olympics, although I enjoyed watching some of the less popular events on the channels high on the dial (that reference will make no sense to people much younger than me) even more than the main broadcast. So I’m ...
IT’S FRESH VEGGIE TIME!
The poor vegetable garden has gone mostly unnoticed on the blog this summer. That’s a shame because at this time of year it really does provide an incredible abundance for us. Part of my lack of excitement about is that I’ve been stewing over a plan to redo the entire vegetable garden area for a couple years now and that’s ...
FRIDAY FINDS: CELEBRITY GARDENS EDITION
I don’t want to talk about how it’s almost the middle of August, or how the back-to-school ads are incredibly annoying to me (not because I have any stake in anyone going to back to school, but such ads signal a certain time of year). Instead I’d rather revel in the fact that last night for dinner I ate a ...
AN UNWELCOME VISITOR
For years I’ve read horror story about Japanese beetles invading gardens. I’d even talked to local gardeners who have been plagued by the irridescent buggers. But until this year I’d never even laid eyes on one. I read an article that suggested that our springs are too cold here (and particularly at my house near Lake Michigan) for them to ...
THIS VINE IS NO THUG (NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY)
Vines can be misunderstood members of the plant world. We want them to grow quickly but not too quickly. We want them to grow in places where nothing else will grow, except there’s usually a really good reason nothing else will grow there. We want them to boldy grow up structures but to respect those structures. In other words, gardeners ...
FRIDAY FINDS
Even if I don’t always get to them, I still love a good Friday Finds post. First though, you will look at the very arty photo I took on a walk the other day. I believe I took this approximately five minutes before the dog got giant hogweed sap on his back which has led to a very ugly and ...
SURPRISES IN THE GARDEN
A few years ago I gave up even pretending that I would remember where I planted something or what I planted in a specific spot if I didn’t use a plant marker. For years before that I insisted I would remember but either age or experience has taught me to give up even dreaming these things will stick in my ...
TAMING THE JUNGLE: HOW A GARDEN FARES ON ITS OWN
On Monday I shared with you a few photos of what my garden looked like before I left for 10 days. I mentioned that I did my best to cut as many flowers as I could so the plants would keep producing flowers without needing deadheading while I was gone. By and large that was a worthwhile effort. Lots of ...
GETTING THE GARDEN VACATION READY
So I’m alive. I feel like I should probably clarify that since I just totally disappeared on you. Once again I got behind on things before I headed out of town to go sailing and then the posts I had scheduled to go up didn’t and well, I figured you’d all hang in there and wait for me. I snapped ...
THE VALUE OF SEEING YOUR GARDEN THROUGH SOMEONE ELSE’S EYES
I’ve extolled the virtues of garden tours many times here. I believe there is nothing more inspiring than experiencing a garden other than your own. It’s hard for me to think of a time I’ve toured a garden and not left with a design idea I would like to incorporate into my garden or a plant I absolutely had to ...
Letters from the Garden
Letters from the Garden
