Last fall I did a makeover of the raised bed on the west side of our parkway. The bed was full of larger perennials and was a bit too big and wild-looking for something between the sidewalk and the street. My goal was to have something relatively low-growing and tidy but colorful and full. It …
We are at the mid-point of August. Mid-summer flowers are fading, late summer bloomers are peaking, and the very first flowers of autumn begin to open, like scouts checking out a new territory. I am very impressed with Yellow Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata). The flowers are very long-lasting, and the bright clear yellow wears well through …
It’s August, a good time to evaluate my plant choices for containers in sun, particularly those I am trying for the first time. There are some definite stars, and one surprising disappointment. Firecracker Plant (Cuphea ignea). This guy is also known as Cigar Plant, but Firecracker Plant is both more descriptive and lacks the negative …
Helen at The Patient Gardener’s Weblog hosts End of Month View, which is an opportunity to focus on long views of our beds, borders, and gardens. A very useful idea, I must say. And I must also say that the views in the garden are pretty good right now. Here’s a view of the front …
If you go to Chicago, you can visit the Art Institute, or attend one of the music festivals in Grant Park. However, this will introduce you only to the Chicago of the beautiful downtown lakefront. That’s fine, as far as it goes. But to really know the city, you have to get away from downtown …
Our one garden Open Garden Day will happen next Sunday, July 28th, from 2-5 pm (we’ve adjusted the time slightly). Friends, neighbors, and anyone interested in gardening is invited to stop by. It’s always hard to pick the right day for this sort of thing, and you’re always fretting about which flowers are not blooming …
I wasn’t going to be discouraged by the prospect of doing without impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) due to the devastating blight that has swept the country. Impatiens are a staple for shade containers and beds for myself and many other gardeners. However, I was eager to try out some new plants I had just learned about …
Is it already the middle of July? Hard to believe, and yet it must be, because the mid-summer flowers are blooming their hearts out. I’m actually pretty happy with how the garden looks right now. Let’s cover the highlights, starting at the sidewalk border. The Monarda didyma ‘Raspberry Wine’ is at its peak, and I’d …
What’s your reaction when you see fake plantation-style columns in front of a fairly modest home, or a circular driveway in front of a house on a quarter acre lot? Do a bit of eye-rolling, perhaps? Then I must tell you that when I saw the grand sweep of Salvia (known as the River of …
So here’s another garden we saw in the Bay Area during the Fling. This one belonged to garden designer Rebecca Sweet of the blog Gossip In The Garden. This was a garden that conveyed comfort and a green coziness, especially compared to some of the starker California gardens. First, the front yard. I loved this …
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