Plants I Dig
My Holy Grail: Paeonia Mlokosewitschii, Molly the Witch Peony
I often wonder if I’m the only gardener who has a ‘holy grail’ plant. That one plant that is always eluding you, hard to find, hard to grow, and hard to get a grower to part with. Mine became an obsession over 20 years ago while working at Harlow Carr Botanical Garden...
Snowdrops: Yes Spring Is Coming
Finally we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, or should I say light in the sky for longer periods of time. Many gardeners say that winter is the best season. I tend to agree but this year, I’m so done with it. Left over plants from the garden show...
Plants I Dig: Pumpkin Season!
My yearly pumpkin experiments have developed as my garden develops. In previous gardens the pumpkins did not do that well. I was lucky to get one or two medium sized pumpkins. My current garden has much more space and a good place for the vines to rambling. ...
Plants I Dig: Autumn Color
I’m again being drug into fall kicking and screaming. Slowly the soft colors start to beguile me and convince me that its just another lovely color change. But, I know in my head that winter isn’t far behind with color gone except for gray and green outside the...
Agapanthus (another lily by another name)
I’m not quite done with my lily theme. Enter Agapanthus… Lily of the Nile, Agapanthus, is another wonderful summer plant. Many new cultivars are proving more and more hardy which is good for us who live in zone 7 on the edge of zone 8. Nothing says summer quite...
A Lily By Any Other Name…
Maybe because Susan actually means ‘Lily’ do I feel a connection with lilies. They are usually bold in colors and fragrance, tough and durable in the garden. Humm… Many types of plants are called lily, from Agapanthus to Voodoo lily. Here are a few of my favorites...
Plants I Dig: Summer Hydrangea Madness
The beginning of Summer marks the beginning of hydrangea season. Still in my minds eye is a picture of the long hydrangea border at Martha Stewart’s house. I have long loved Hydrangeas and each year there are new ones introduced. Several in the past couple of years...
Plants I Dig: Rare Plant Trials
Most of you know I like a challenge. Whether it is growing something that many people can’t, killing something many people don’t, or knowing a plant that someone sends me a photo of. Rare plants can be a challenge. While I love the happy prolific plants in my garden I...
Plants I Dig: April
This time of year there are so many plants that are at their peak that it is hard to choose a favorite. One that always makes the cut is the yellow Camilla ‘Jury’s Yellow’. I didn’t know that there were yellow Camilla’s until a few years ago. I had a client that...
Snow Drop Fever: Beguiling Galanthus
I remember seeing my first snowdrop as a child in my Grandmothers garden. She didn’t have much else going on in the garden but the old established clump of snowdrops came up every year. I’ve always planted snowdrops in whichever garden I’ve established. This year...