So we are back from our trip, and I find that Summer in our garden is coming to an end. Some of the summer flowers are in slow decline. Others, like the Monardas and Silphiums, are done for the year. Now the birds come to feast on their seeds, a sight that inspires great pleasure …
Originally posted on gardeninacity:
I had a very nice Father’s Day. In the morning, Judy and I went to the Skokie Farmer’s Market for the first time this year. When we returned, we found our oldest son Daniel at our doorstep, bearing bagels. We sat on the porch through the late morning and into the afternoon,…
Wild Ones is an organization that advocates for inclusion of native plants in American landscapes. It is not to be confused with the 1953 movie, The Wild One, starring Marlon Brando. Though few people know that Brando was an avid native plant gardener. UPDATE: Just kidding about that, I need to be more obvious when …
The genus Allium includes onions, garlic, leeks, scallions, and several dozen ornamental species. All Alliums are alliaceous, which is an excellent word you can hold onto for occasions when you want to impress others with your botanical knowledge. It means they smell like onions. In our garden we have two ornamental Alliums that bloom in …
In Chicago and other Northern lands, people tend to think of tulips as flowers of May. However, there are quite a few tulips that bloom in April. In my garden, the three earliest tulips are ‘Early Harvest’, T. praestans, and T. turkestanica. Of these, only T. turkestanica is still in flower. However two new tulips …
Joseph Tychonievich has an excellent article on fragrant plants for the garden in the most recent issue of Fine Gardening. (A brief digression: the most recent issue of Fine Gardening is the June issue. The June issue arrived at my house on March 27th. I don’t mean to be picky, but this makes me feel …
Oh, did I mention that when I got up Monday morning, there were several inches of snow on the ground? And that snow was still falling thick and fast? I guess that’s because I went into a period of deep denial. The denial was helped by the fact that I had to drive to Springfield, …
Judy and I have been to England just once. We saw some of London, and some of the great gardens nearby: Sissinghurst, Great Dixter, etc. Sadly, we didn’t get to the Cotswolds. home to some of the country’s most beautiful gardens and countryside. Recently, however, I read Victoria Summerly’s Secret Gardens of the Cotswolds. This …
This was a better butterfly year than last year, but there still seem to be far fewer butterflies than just a few years ago. We had some dramatic visits from Giant Swallowtails. I don’t think Giant Swallowtails are very common in the Midwest, most of their hosts are various kinds of citrus. Rue herb (Ruta …
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