The Wild Currant (Ribes americanum) begins to bloom just as Clove Currant (Ribes odoratum) is finishing up. Right now the Wild Currants are just loaded with dangling yellow flowers – more of a soft greenish yellow, as opposed to the bright yellow of Clove Currant. As with the Clove Currant, our Wild Currant plants seem …
Remember back in April, how the white flowers of our Serviceberries (Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance”) mingled with pink flowers of the neighbors’ Crabapple?
The sweet smell of Lilacs (Syringa vulgaris) is one of the great pleasures of spring. There’s a Lilac planted right outside our window so we could enjoy the scent when it bloomed. Which was a great plan, except that I had forgotten this particular window had been painted shut. So for us to enjoy the …
I hold fragrant plants in very high esteem, especially those that share their scent soon after winter comes to a close. For shrubs in this category, I think my favorite is Clove Currant (Ribes odoratum), a native of the Great Plains.
When it comes to small flowering trees, is there anything better than the Crabapple (Malus sp.)? Of course not – I’m glad you agree. And my ‘Donald Wyman’ flowering crab is especially lovable this year. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this tree so full of blooms.
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin) and Forsythia, two shrubs that burst into yellow flowers in early spring. They seem to exemplify two different styles in the garden.
For me, blooms make the garden. This attitude is considered unsophisticated by some, who say we must pay greater attention to more enduring plant features: foliage, texture, structure, yada yada. Grudgingly, I admit that there is something to what these people say, which is why on the 22nd of most months I participate in Ignore …
Don’t you think Fruit’n’Foliage would make a good name for a breakfast cereal? It could be made with kale flakes and blueberries. Or not blueberries – too common. Kale flakes and açai berries! You heard it here first. But enough of that. Today I want to look at interesting things in the garden that aren’t …
Right now is the showiest time of the year for two very worthy but perhaps unspectacular shrubs: Gray Dogwood (Cornus racemosa) and Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa).
Aside from ‘Sally Holmes’ (already written about here), there are at this moment two flowering plants in the back garden that are likely to grab your attention.
gardeninacity 