It’s the middle of October and the garden is getting drowsy, sliding into its annual decline. In fact I was thinking of calling this post Decline and Fall (get it – fall?), but Judy says I use too many puns. Although, some of the roses are having a late season spurt of energy, particularly our …
What would autumn be without goldenrods? In my garden, certainly, it would be a lot less colorful. Even in a shady corner, Zigzag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis) adds luminosity to the scene. A good plant for spots that are difficult or on the wild side – aggressive but useful in the right place and beautiful in …
Our little fountain birdbath, with fading ferns and Crooked Stem Aster (Symphyotrichum prenanthoides).
Aster means “star”, and certainly Asters are stars of the autumn garden. But stars need supporting actors, or the show can be pretty boring. For example, those one person shows where the star spends two hours impersonating, say, Teddy Roosevelt. Be honest, would you pay good money to see that? I didn’t think so. Which …
Happy Bloom Day! On the 15th of every month Carol from May Dreams Gardens hosts Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, enabling gardeners to share and compare what’s in flower in their little patch of earth. In our garden the most bountiful blooms at the moment are provided by Brown-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia triloba). This Rudbeckia makes me …
The wildflowers aren’t whining, I am. For starters, why can’t the Yellow Coneflowers (Ratibida pinnata) stand up STRAIGHT! I could put up with some nonchalant leaning, but these guys want to just flop over like, I don’t know, like something that is very floppy. For the past six weeks I have been in a quiet …
Here’s something new for your shady garden: American Spikenard (Aralia racemosa). This is a big woodland perennial native to a large swath of Eastern and Central North America, from Quebec to Manitoba and from Georgia to Texas. American Spikenard has been growing in my garden for two summers and so far I am pleased with …
The front garden is the one thing that really brings out my exhibitionist tendencies. I want it to grab the attention of people walking or driving by. Late summer is one of the times when the front garden has its greatest visual impact. Some of the blooms of mid-summer become even showier and more prolific. …
I was surprised to learn that ther are over 30 species of wild North American Larkspurs. However, the only one I know of that is considered a good garden plant for the Midwest is Delphinium exaltatum, Tall Blue Larkspur. Here is one of the Tall Blue Larkspurs I planted last fall in our back garden. …
The north side Chicago chapter of Wild Ones, an organization of native plant enthusiasts, came to our garden today. They were on their triennial garden tour. As I wrote in my last post, I was working hard to prepare for this visit, partly by spiffing up the garden and partly by obsessing over all its …
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