Today I am a happy man, for the tulip season has begun in earnest in our garden. What, you say, tulip season in the middle of April? Yes, indeed. First, Tulipa kaufmanniana ‘Early Harvest’ has come into its own, blooming in both beds and containers. The no neck phase was just a period of awkward …
One of the things I did this weekend was underplant my container Tulips with Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima). Sweet Alyssum is a fairly common annual – but it should be even more common, because it is a plant with an amazing capacity to make people happy. It is easy to grow and just a few …
Late last week I made my first visit of the year to Anton’s, one of my favorite local nurseries. To say that they know me there is an understatement. In fact, in spring and summer I make so many appearances that the staff often remind me to punch in my time card. What Anton’s …
Beth over at Plant Postings hosts a meme called Lessons Learned, which is about pretty much what it sounds like. This is a good thing, as it’s extremely useful to compare notes with fellow gardeners. So I’m taking this opportunity to write about a couple of lessons I learned over the summer. Lesson Number …
If you’ve been reading this blog, you know I’m in love with Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia), with its intense orange flowers that draw butterflies like a magnet. However, we cannot be blind to the flaws of those whom we love. This past week I learned about such a flaw. Namely, in rich soil Tithonia will …
Once again it is time for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day (GBBD), hosted by May Dreams Gardens. GBBD provides a mid-month opportunity to count up our flowering plants like a latter day pirate counting his treasures. So put on your eyepatch, and let’s go. The Driveway Border is the most colorful of all the front garden …
Recently there have been two excellent posts on the nature of gardeners’ personal plant likes and dislikes, one in The Blooming Garden and the second in Angie’s Garden Diaries. These thought-provoking posts reminded me of a very disappointing experience I had involving impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) and The Wall Street Journal. In March, 2013, I wrote …
I’m not real thrilled with my containers in sun this year. Each of the individual plants is nice, but they don’t collectively have the impact you would wish for. Back in the spring my containers were filled with tulips or pansies with a bit of stock (Mattheola incana). They had real visual punch. Now my …
New Guinea impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri) are the workhorses of my shade containers. Their virtues include a full, mounded habit; larger velvety flowers, and shiny foliage. Plus, they are resistant to impatiens downy mildew, which has devastated annual impatiens plantings around the country. Their biggest defect is that they are much more expensive as plants than …
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