When I was a child, yellow was my favorite color. As an adult, it has to be green. Four rooms in my home are green, and my porch. I’ve come to think of green as a neutral, since it plays so well with every color. Nature provides every shade imaginable and in every shape and size. After a drab, brown, and dreary winter, colors are … Continue reading the many and lovely shades of green
The lilacs are glorious this year. My row of lilacs were about 4-foot tall plants when I put them in three years ago, and since that time, some of them have reached 8-9 feet tall with the largest blooms I’ve ever seen. I planted 11 lilac bushes and there were 2 older bushes in this row along the side of my back yard. This was supposed … Continue reading this week’s bouquet
This year, I have but a few tulips. Most have been eaten by the deer, and only a handful survived to bloom. I’m getting very frustrated with the deer. Last night, I accidentally left the front gate open, and they came in and ate the grape hyacinth on the table of my deck, and they thoughtfully pinched back my pots of beautiful pink petunias for … Continue reading a few tulips
This week’s bouquet is quite simple. All but the pure white daffodils remain, and they are fragile from a full day of beating rain. The tulips have all but a few, been eaten by the deer. So that left only the Virginia Bluebells for picking. I’ve never used them in a bouquet before, but since they flourished so abundantly this year, I could bare to … Continue reading this week’s bouquet
I must admit, I have always been greatly influenced by English gardens and gardeners. My lifelong goal has been for my gardens to have the “cottage” style look, and I’ve always felt I was born on the wrong side of the pond. One thing I have noticed in the last few years is how many plants the English grow in pots. That is not to … Continue reading a trio of pots
I think Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginicia) are my favorite of the shade/wild flowers. One of America’s native plants, Virginia Bluebells are part of the Borage family. They have nodding clusters of pink buds that open into a lovely blue trumpet-shaped flower. I’ve had a few plants for years, but they have never done well, and often seemed to struggle just to survive. But, for some … Continue reading virginia bluebells
First bouquet of the year from the garden, and of course, it is daffodils and forsythia, with a few stems of epimedium thrown in. Such a cold, rainy morning required a quick run through the rain in an attempt to bring some sunshine into the house. The daffodils are at their peak, and all too soon will be going over. It was now or never … Continue reading this week’s bouquet
Epimedium is a low-growing perennial that is native to China, Japan, and Korea. It’s common name is bishop’s hat, because of it’s resemblance to a clergyman’s biretta. I have grown this perennial for years and barely noticed it in my garden, since the flowers are very small and usually hiding under the leaves. But this year, in late winter, I cut all the old leaves … Continue reading epimedium
I think the coming of spring is an exercise in patience. Winter drags along, reluctant to leave. It seems the most early signs of spring are so very small, one has to get down on their knees to view them. And the effort is always worth it. Sweet scilla follow the snowdrops and crocus . . . and gives hope, there is more to come. … Continue reading sweet scilla
Half way through March and still not much going on outside. If spring is at a stand still outside due to cold weather, then I’ll give it a jump start inside with annual flower seeds. I am more than a little late getting my seeds planted. But it has been so cold and gray outside, and we are still 6 weeks away from the last … Continue reading seedy beginnings
