tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-121570912012-01-27T12:51:21.084-08:00EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.comBlogger4991100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-66261550465558425262011-11-01T19:15:00.000-07:002011-11-01T19:18:00.103-07:00

There are 920 in the house and 150 on the way. It’s kind of crazy, but many will not be going on the ground—they’ll be in big pots to be set out in spring and in smaller pots for forcing in the root cellar. Here’s what I’ve got: Temple of Beauty (top) will fill the two raised beds in front. Prinses Irene, Passionale, Orange Princess, Black Hero, Sensual Touch will be in big pots everywhere.

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-54270107526189311432011-10-22T21:09:00.000-07:002011-10-22T21:24:02.110-07:00

Many gardeners say fall and spring are their favorite seasons. Not so with me. I like summer, the hotter the better, with the cicadas buzzing and the lilies filling the air with fragrance. Spring has its compensations (a huge box of which are sitting in my hallway waiting to be planted). So too, does fall, though it can be a somewhat melancholy season, especially when—as I discussed in the

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-23280321910632475362011-09-27T13:00:00.000-07:002011-09-28T17:43:11.260-07:00

A good thing we visited the fabulous Pumpkinville (above) last week, because these pumpkins are providing the blast of brilliant autumnal hues we usually expect from our trees—a blast that will be somewhat dimmed this year.Not all the maple trees in Western New York have the dreaded tar spot, or the Rhytisma acerinum fungus, but enough do that leaf peepers will notice a considerable amount of

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-33900391090403846622011-09-19T20:09:00.000-07:002011-09-20T13:08:55.447-07:00

I’d much rather not. It looks fine and all—in fact, there’s been a decent amount of late season activity, thanks to tireless annuals, oblivious tropicals and a few warhorse perennials (rudbeckia, buddleia, etc., etc.). Things are winding down now; it’s almost time to bring the houseplants in and bury the bulbs.To a certain degree, this has been a summer of looking at other people’s gardens. In

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-47745965395353025612011-08-27T19:07:00.001-07:002011-08-27T19:10:10.041-07:00

Lame as it is, the new Woodbine bulb campaign I mocked so heartily over at Garden Rant has gotten me thinking about my fall bulb order. Not that it takes much to make that happen. Bulb planning is what enlivens the dog days of the declining late summer/early autumn garden. I think about bulbs I want to force, bulbs I want to plant en masse outside, and bulbs I want for container planting (not

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-33784272191075226182011-07-14T10:59:00.000-07:002011-07-15T10:03:22.936-07:00

It’s a good thing that the previous owners left good, well-delineated planting areas in my urban front beds, side beds, and courtyard area, because I’m not that skilled at overall garden planning and design. I just love gardens and plants. I guess I’m like those people who say they don’t know much about art but they know what they like.This is what I like: full, colorful beds with mostly tall

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-12876688418778813512011-07-08T10:09:00.000-07:002011-07-08T10:17:22.750-07:00

I am Blog of the Week currently over at the Birds & Blooms website. Birds & Blooms is a gardening magazine that focuses on bringing wildlife to our backyards through gardening—they cover a lot of general interest gardening stuff as well. The print magazine has a 2.5 million circulation, and the website is organized by gardening region. Editor Stacy Tornio came up with some really fun questions

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-75209381404270745262011-07-07T10:19:00.000-07:002011-07-07T10:24:27.268-07:00

For me, it's worth it, but for many other gardeners, it is not. And I understand why. Those of us who like the full, old-fashioned blooms of English or neoEnglish roses generally have to put up with lanky shrubs and intermittent bloom cycles (or even once only). On the other hand, if you'll accept a kind of boring, semi-double bloom and standard colors, you can have nice, compact ever-blooming

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-55334499008749496962011-06-21T12:21:00.000-07:002011-06-21T12:24:50.070-07:00

In addition to the native ferns, eupatorium, mayapple, and other woodland plants at Beaver Meadow Nature Preserve, the white blossoms of rosa multiflora are everywhere, at least in June. It may have been planted in the early years of the establishment of the preserve in order to provide cover and prevent erosion; the tall, abundantly flowered bushes provide a picturesque bower along the trails.

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-43214124816937501102011-05-14T20:36:00.000-07:002011-05-14T20:42:26.286-07:00

There is an Audubon preserve a bit south of us that is carpeted with ramps, fiddleheads, and erythronium Americanum (trout lily) at this time of year. Oddly, the erythronium in my garden are not this native Northeastern variety; I do best with the “Pagoda” cultivar. I also have the revolutum and the tuolemnense (above). I had the European dens-canis at first, but this faltered and disappeared

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-72067724898481653932011-04-20T18:34:00.000-07:002011-04-21T09:58:59.759-07:00

So. After a few seasons of poring over catalogs, ordering them online, and viewing and buying them in person, I now have a nice bunch of hellebores. Two I have had for some years, purchased from Wayside back in the day. These have now formed nice clumps in the back garden. The others are newer double and single varieties purchased from Plant Delights and local nurseries. It’s a bit embarrassing,

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-5217845508558577192011-03-19T13:02:00.000-07:002011-03-19T13:09:58.223-07:00

Well, here’s a strange selection of forced tulips. I have to wonder what I was thinking when I chose this bunch. These pink ones? Really? Or was the package mismarked? This year I ended up using most of my mail-ordered bulbs for outdoors ad big containers, so for indoor forcing I grabbed some at the big box. There are a bunch of pink Darwins (I think), some parrots, these orange streaked ones (

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-11231434771437575692011-02-27T11:59:00.000-08:002011-02-27T12:31:36.993-08:00

A perfect storm of bad weather, depressing national and international news, and mid-winter doldrums has made it difficult to get excited about plants the past few weeks.But then I started thinking about the few things that do cheer me up during this dreary time. The plants I grow and force during winter are near the top of that list. In the larger scheme of things, a few hyacinths and tazettas,

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-31507243182021181262011-02-04T13:05:00.000-08:002011-02-04T13:33:04.721-08:00

It’s common for botanical gardens to have outdoor light displays during the holidays, but a light show during the gloomy days of February? What a great idea! Night Lights, the current show at the Buffalo Botanical Gardens was inspired by The Heron, a park used for a variety of purposes in nearby Chautauqua County, which does an outdoor light show and uses the same company, Volt Vision. Somewhat

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-4372305640100784422011-01-30T17:11:00.000-08:002011-01-30T17:14:37.998-08:00

This has been sitting in a box in an upstairs room for about a year and a half. You know how that happens. I finally took the PlantCam out and set it up (very easy). As some of you know, this device takes pictures at set intervals for as long as an entire growing season. It then stitches them together to create a timelapse video. You put in the batteries, set the clock, set the intervals, and

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-4251959581952980892011-01-15T09:28:00.001-08:002011-01-15T09:39:01.655-08:00

Actually I gave a lot of them away. The 56 hyacinths and 5 pots of narcissus (5 others are elsewhere in the house) you see here represent a mere fraction of my 2010 bulb purchases. These will sit here for a while until I move some into my office and scatter others elsewhere in the house. This room used to be one of the darkest rooms in the house, but a couple months back we added 2 windows. It

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-76987387991773004652011-01-03T08:01:00.001-08:002011-01-03T08:02:12.627-08:00

It seems impossible that Christmas is past—yet the seed catalogs are pouring in, and the bulbs are emerging from the root cellar. It’s become the time of year when planning and anticipation of gardens to come slowly overtakes the winter doldrums.I have no resolutions to offer. Basically, all the things I have been trying (and failing) to accomplish will received renewed efforts. Like:-the

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-45599873521738714052010-12-15T19:42:00.000-08:002010-12-15T19:51:00.218-08:00

Winter gardening is about forcing bulbs, but much more. This is the time when flowers inside the house are essential. This is the time when it’s hardest to keep living plants alive.But it’s also fun. I love bringing big evergreen branches in for the mantelpieces. I love planting hundreds of hyacinths for forcing. And I love getting marvelous gifts like the one you see here—a tree made out of

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-21372126399950904452010-11-28T17:50:00.000-08:002010-11-30T21:28:47.918-08:00

The insanity continues. As if there wasn’t enough excess happening downstairs in the root cellar, where about 200 bulbs are chilling in their pots and vases, I’ve also been adding to the plant room upstairs.While shopping for evergreen branches the other day, I noticed that the nursery had added—probably just to torment me—a table of citrus trees to their selection of gift plants. Right in there

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-64558918718504531172010-11-24T17:59:00.000-08:002010-11-24T19:03:32.712-08:00

It’s like I’ve said all along. Politicians have an inbred aversion to such things as flowers, paintings, dancers, actors, plays, and literature. Oh, right, and library access. See, when you run government like a rich businessman, you can’t really understand why other people would need any of the things you’ve taken for granted (though clearly ignored) for your entire life.I wonder how many

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-28056358841821136972010-11-15T18:16:00.001-08:002010-11-15T18:20:31.413-08:00

It fell. Usually I look forward to Thanksgiving weekend as a good time to at least pretend to rake some leaves before I give the job to a neighborhood wino, but this time next week, I don’t think there will be any leaves left.Not that I’m complaining. The early chill and leaf fall, followed by milder temps, encouraged me to get all my bulbs in before it got too cold. The outside ones, that is. I

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-45477490705637994602010-10-24T17:56:00.001-07:002010-10-24T18:00:53.298-07:00

See, it’s like this. We in the Western New York area love our seasons; we really do. But in order to give up on the flowers of summer and the growing season in general, we need some kind of substitute.Or, I should say, I do. Part of it is celebrating the symbols of the harvest in a little display like this—including pumpkins, hay, dried flowers, and whatever else seems to work. For me another

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-57145461743865389682010-10-15T18:03:00.001-07:002010-10-15T19:11:46.327-07:00

As Kathy/Cold Climate Gardening is fond of saying, I live by the shores of an inland sea. To be honest, I’d rather live by the shores of a real sea; I love the ocean. But Lake Erie and Lake Ontario are very beautiful bodies of water. They have gorgeous beaches, and the sight of sailboats on Lake Erie is something that never tires. The proximity to the lakes softens the winter temps even as it

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-74914113904843167972010-10-08T16:21:00.000-07:002010-10-08T16:29:47.076-07:00

Oh sure, I did my best with my weird pickled hibiscus buds and my vintage hyacinth vases, but that background clucking and Ladybird's guest appearance was just too cute. Here's episode 2 of the Garden Rant Cocktail Hour. Stay tuned because we're bringing on some other bloggers who long to tell their tales and drink their drinks for you.

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-8183691321045678092010-10-02T13:05:00.000-07:002010-10-02T13:16:25.947-07:00

A couple years back I visited this historic public garden; we found it lovely but in need of some restoration. Now it looks like it’s getting some help. I met fellow Ranter Amy Stewart here the other day; we toured the gardens and shot a couple episodes of our new Cocktail Hour video series, which will be running on Rant every Thursday—more or less.The rock garden’s water courses have been filled

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-36723780881471963522010-10-02T12:21:00.000-07:002010-10-02T12:31:47.663-07:00

Amy Stewart (in California) and I have started a project called the Garden Rant Cocktail Hour, a series of videos in which we mix drinks and chat, mainly about the drinks but about other stuff too. We’re both interested in using botanical infusions (like cucumber gins or homemade fruit vodkas) and botanical elements in drinks (like flower garnishes). Here's our pilot—still some technical issues

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-31665437272045646462010-09-27T19:23:00.000-07:002010-09-27T19:31:50.954-07:00

The garden at this time of year might be compared to this high wire artist. Things could go south any day if an early hard frost or freeze were to make an appearance. It is early, but it could happen. I usually try to keep things up—water, cut off dead blooms and pull out spent annuals—through mid-October or so. By Halloween, I’m ready to take a rest and let the garden do the same.It’s rather

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-51600815291306132132010-09-14T20:27:00.001-07:002010-09-16T19:42:15.147-07:00

Ha! Just kidding. This did not come from my garden, though I guess it has some relationship to the big Rose of Sharon shrub currently flowering behind the house. This flower is from a jar of hibiscus preserved in syrup. It’s for drinks, not Bloom Day.The fact is, I like the garden fine, but I am getting just a tiny bit bored with it, as the season winds to a close. I do have some wild orchids in

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-66018675354478229422010-09-04T11:58:00.001-07:002010-09-04T12:03:10.412-07:00

Late summer perennials are all very well, but I find that focusing on all-season foliage and sturdy annuals is what really gets me through August and September. Even so, I have been getting better at planning some late summer action in the perennial line.Here’s what I am excited about. Gentian! These are very interesting plants. I am hoping their pretty blue capsules will hang on until the nearby

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-40706353209281125662010-08-24T11:12:00.000-07:002010-08-24T11:21:03.934-07:00

All you jaded master gardeners out there probably grow this with the greatest of ease—or scorn it—but I have always wanted a moonflower (ipomoea alba). It is a scented vine, which combines my favorite plant structure with my favorite plant attribute. After a failed attempt to grow these from seeds passed along to me by my sister-in-law (chalk up yet another seed starting failure), I got a plant

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-89258057630179100982010-08-23T08:02:00.000-07:002010-08-23T12:49:42.349-07:00

Because I'm mainly an ornamental gardener, I had never really thought much about using self-watering containers. Even in a dry summer as this one has been, I can neglect my containers of annuals and tender bulbs without too many ill results. They bounce back. And I don’t find the self-watering containers too ornamental. I’m still looking for that gorgeous lightweight container that looks like an

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-20362881100381789402010-08-20T11:32:00.000-07:002010-08-20T12:04:35.477-07:00

But it won’t be an epic. Here are just a few observations.It’s a buyers’ showAlthough there are plenty of speakers, sessions, and workshops, some of the garden center reps I spoke to said they would not have too much time to attend any programming. They were there to shop (and play in Chicago). The exhibit floor is on 2 levels and has little side sections. It’s a big job to carefully assess what’

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-72754455078332640912010-08-17T11:21:00.000-07:002010-08-17T11:46:57.354-07:00

Our panel description for IGCOver the last few days, as I prepare to speak on a panel at the upcoming IGC show, I've been thinking about how professional “expertise” makes a difference. In some ways, I think the difference can be on the negative side, when it comes to a truly useful dialogue about gardening.While it’s true I do not have horticultural training—I am a writer by trade and by

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-62090458075099945622010-08-15T09:43:00.000-07:002010-08-15T09:50:49.990-07:00

While certain things about this speeded-up season have been slightly disturbing (lilies mostly over by mid-July, etc.), overall I have found it kind of fun. I have always had a mid-season-maturing garden, so with enough annuals and tropicals to back it up, I find that I’m getting more consistent fullness and color this year—earlier, and I hope just as long.Plant of the month: rudbeckia lacianata

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-7132645274349769052010-08-13T10:38:00.000-07:002010-08-13T10:46:23.980-07:00

There was considerable pressure on the GWI garden during July. Actually, it started in late June when fellow Ranter and acclaimed author Amy Stewart snuck in with a camera crew and shot a video (mainly an interview with Amy), while I was out of town. It is a major production about Buffalo gardens and our love of gardens that the local visitor’s bureau is working on. When it’s finished, I’ll

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-77846683070581960832010-08-01T20:26:00.000-07:002010-08-02T06:05:53.145-07:00

Some were seen during a walk in the wild; some were seen during a brief visit to the assiduously cultivated local botanical gardens. Seedpods are kind of sad at this time of year, when you see the end of summer coming, but you’re not ready yet. I know that seedpods can develop all season along, but most of the time I deadhead, either to promote new blooms or simply to divert energy from seed

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-79605280277495476172010-07-22T19:55:00.000-07:002010-07-22T20:00:42.460-07:00

Voila! Hypertufa has arrived in my garden. Actually it's been hanging around for a couple weeks, but I've been busy. Last month, I got together with an old friend to experiment with hypertufa at her place. She has a spacious backyard where messes can be made unobtrusively. I brought over some cheap plastic containers to use as a planter-type mold and, as I was unable to find some cheap plastic

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-12036575664946417102010-07-15T07:27:00.001-07:002010-07-15T07:31:39.730-07:00

… are passing quickly. Almost every lily I’ve got in the garden is either out of bloom, in bloom, or starting to bloom (except the speciosum rubrum). And Garden Walk is still over a week away. There are still plenty of buds, however, and I know I’ll have Black Beauty, tigrinum “Flore Pleno,” henryi, and maybe a few oriental hybrids persisting when the walkers come. Still, I can see an emergency

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-2836043201691564222010-07-13T08:14:00.001-07:002010-07-15T07:13:36.720-07:00

Of all the cool things that happened over this past weekend—and there was nonstop fabulousness every hour of every day—I have got to say that my proudest moment was when some of my fellow bloggers went with me to both sides of Niagara Falls, and afterwards there was unanimous agreement that the American side was—yes—better. You see, for years we have been putting up with the universal wisdom (

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-70334292641066303222010-06-15T17:36:00.000-07:002010-06-15T17:44:05.856-07:00

The plants I’m featuring for GBBD this time represent a whim, a gift, a change of pace, and a continuing preoccupation. Above is the gift: Proven Winners kindly sent me 3 “Pretty Much Picasso” supertunia hybrids. These are the hot annual of the season and I really like how they’re performing so far.This is the whim; our supermarket had a group of these just outside the entrance the other day

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-39024167593394881972010-06-15T12:07:00.000-07:002010-06-15T12:10:59.083-07:00

You’ve all heard me bemoaning the shade and tree roots that make it very difficult to get any kind of color into my front yard. Even aggressive ground covers have a hard time colonizing some of this densely canopied space.Nonetheless, I’ve been reluctant to bring more containers into the area, as I’m not sure about the mixed aesthetic message that a ground cover, shrub, and perennial planting

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-76252152491110204862010-06-03T20:12:00.000-07:002010-06-04T08:23:52.319-07:00

A friend asked me about plants that people are afraid to grow. What a fascinating question! On the surface, it might seem absurd—who could possibly be afraid of a simple plant? All it can do is live or die, right? Outside of Little Shop of Horrors, et al, plants are not really a threat. There is little reason to dread them. Yet I know many people do. There are, I think, 3 main reasons for

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-67248064327629692002010-05-29T21:00:00.000-07:002010-05-29T21:05:03.573-07:00

Except that we’re still in May. I’m not sure that the reason my roses are opening a bit early (as far as I can tell from reviewing former posts) is totally due to the recent high temps—it could be that an early April dose of organic amendments did the job. In any case, here they are and here we are, thrown into that hurry up phase of late spring when everything has to happen instantly. Pots,

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-9803409309053612172010-05-27T19:13:00.000-07:002010-05-28T06:21:07.248-07:00

On Monday, I did a step-by-step prep and planting of a small semi-shade garden for a colleague of mine who has recently bought a house in a neighborhood near mine. What we did has been thoroughly documented in the form of two videos that will soon appear on the Troy-Bilt website. I’ll talk about the whole video process in another post—it really deserves its own story. In the meantime, I have

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-85527028740128916512010-05-19T20:34:00.000-07:002010-05-19T20:45:06.836-07:00

Delightful. That is the best word to describe today’s talk with Tom Ashbrook and Sydney Eddison on NPR’s On Point. I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate in their discussion of gardening and what it says about you. Eddison’s book, Gardening for a Lifetime, is a refreshing change from the usual garden porn. The book has small drawings instead of lush color plates and—from beginning

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-5953868913997921102010-05-18T18:24:00.000-07:002010-05-18T18:44:12.157-07:00

Everyone wants to be outside in this season, including these kids who are learning how to sail in the river outside the Buffalo Yacht Club. The garden centers are bustling, and it seems like the selection is getting better and better each year. Apparently, obscure native plants are the new exotics, so in my continual quest for novelty, that’s what I’m now buying. It’s not quite the same reason

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-63864579610837995112010-05-11T12:02:00.000-07:002010-05-11T12:06:34.362-07:00

It’s not that I’m trying to turn my garden back into whatever it may have looked like when all of Western New York was virgin forest. No. That would be impossible—and undesirable. But there are a few native plants particular to WNY that I’ve always really liked, and one of them is the ubiquitous podophyllum peltatum, commonly known as Mayapple. You still see this everywhere in the area, though

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-31885449896709810222010-05-02T17:02:00.001-07:002010-05-02T17:18:44.620-07:00

Don’t worry, there won’t be a part three! Though there are some species tulips yet to come, and hybrids yet to mature, I think the bulb show is at its peak. I’m realizing now just how many species tulips it takes to create a real burst of color. It’s a lot. And I still have gaps. The t. orphanidea flava (above) are new this year—from John Scheepers, they look suspiciously like those sold as t.

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-66543636324444003552010-04-28T20:13:00.000-07:002010-04-28T20:16:57.631-07:00

For the next three weeks my front yard will look as good as it will ever look for the rest of the growing season—though, to be sure, it does look rather nice covered with fallen leaves or snow. The point I’m making is that early spring sun makes it possible for me to have a great bulb show; once the maple trees leaf out, that’s it. Then we’re down to shade perennials (which flower in spring),

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-65722008828373443802010-04-20T08:33:00.001-07:002010-04-20T08:35:21.279-07:00

This week on Garden Rant, I have asked readers to send in their plant problems so that the writers of What’s Wrong With My Plant can diagnose them. Check it out.And I thought I’d start it off with (one of) my own problems—some weird growths/discolorations I’ve noticed on my wisteria.Not a biggie; I mean, how do you kill a wisteria. But still, it is funny-looking

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-77046603186411736302010-04-15T19:23:00.001-07:002010-04-15T19:48:27.654-07:00

Maybe 10 years from now I’ll finally be satisfied that I’ve planted enough species tulips to make a decent show, but they’re getting there. It does take a lot of these dainty flowers to create any kind of presence. It’s all very well to take macro shots of them, but I’d like them to have more drama to the naked eye. Not to complain: like almost everyone else that is posting today for GBBD, I have

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-74653966762736687242010-04-10T19:09:00.000-07:002010-04-10T19:16:07.983-07:00

When I first started ordering spring bulbs about nine years ago, I was all about the tulips, the bigger, the better. Then I discovered species tulips, miniature daffodils, erythronium, and other smaller bulbs, plants that are not only charming but are more likely to come back year after year. Now I have a yard full of all kinds of tiny bulbs—as well as a growing collection of hellebores (top)—and

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-47251083362034999452010-04-02T20:00:00.000-07:002010-05-27T20:07:06.887-07:00

I have gotten a few requests for pictures of my garden in its entirety. It would be impossible to show such a thing in one image, or even two, as the garden stretches around the house, including completely separate areas that cannot even be seen from other parts of the garden.However, I’m doing my best in this post. Here, you see some views from a second-floor window as well as individual shots

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-81174616242819249062010-04-02T17:25:00.000-07:002010-04-02T17:43:15.858-07:00

Life is good. I, like most easterners, am reveling in an extraordinary spell of warm weather this week. I am also congratulating myself on planting iris reticulata and eranthis in the fall; their bright blue and yellow relieves the otherwise rather dull look of the early spring garden.It’s the power of suggestion—Anna Pavord inspired me to take another look at reticulata (they are her new

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-89190260673910446302010-03-31T18:30:00.001-07:002010-03-31T18:36:44.968-07:00

But when all’s said and done, I like this clear, deep red. I have had this one, in the same heavy stone pot, for at least 8 years (I think it’s more). It blooms very late in the season (now), probably because I never give it a dormancy period, just letting it go its merry way as a houseplant. In a few months, I’ll bring it outside for the summer.This was the year I decided to break away from the

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-66418218578120240422010-03-25T17:53:00.000-07:002010-03-25T17:56:03.090-07:00

Sadly, I did not get a shot of the armchairs made out of stone pavers, but you can likely imagine them. And I did not have the patience to document the dozen or so outdoor fireplaces. But all was not lost at the local garden show, Plantasia. The cliché that these shows are meant to give gardeners ideas is not entirely specious. I saw some things that I loved but can never have, like a gorgeous

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-28347812454499166332010-03-21T17:47:00.001-07:002010-03-21T17:57:45.067-07:00

Thanks to such fellow bloggers and gardeners as Mr. McGregor's Daughter and Cold Climate Gardening, I have started to reconsider the spring ephemerals. You all may think of me as a bulb fanatic, but in fact I have been ignoring an entire group of early-spring-flowering plants.But then I started looking at the images on other people's blogs. People who have a lot more going on that I do in March

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-38256342530861837622010-03-14T18:58:00.000-07:002010-03-15T11:57:39.996-07:00

After seeing fields of flowers in Carlsbad, California (above), the bright bougainvillea of Old Town and the wildflowers of Torrey Pines, it might seem like a letdown to come home to snowdrops and the last of the indoor bulbs. But I’ve never suffered too much from zone envy. As it happens, there was one day during our vacation when the temperature of San Diego and the temperature of Buffalo

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-80598476652103533592010-03-05T18:21:00.000-08:002010-03-05T18:22:53.077-08:00

From last year.Forcing branches is one of the most time-honored ways to create blooms inside during winter. I think many more gardeners are familiar with this type of forcing than they are with, say, using hyacinth glasses.For one thing, it’s easier. There’s no chilling period; one need only cut the branches when the buds are properly matured—say a couple months before they would ordinarily

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-31903204350536947282010-02-16T18:36:00.000-08:002010-02-16T18:43:27.740-08:00

This is likely the longest I’ve gone between posts for some time. As the saying goes, life gets in the way. But flowers continue and so does Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. I’ve had an abundance of flowers for the last month, considering it’s been the dead of winter. A lot of them have appeared here, but here are some that haven’t yet. And there are many to come—my amaryllis this year are being

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-85606998731809331462010-02-02T17:16:00.000-08:002010-02-02T17:24:44.006-08:00

Much of December through mid-March is spent wrangling bulbs and flowering houseplants: that is their big season. This is the first time I’ve attempted a count— I'm doing it because a count has been requested by Mr. McGregor’s Daughter. She has more than she thought, and wants to know if that's true for a lot of gardeners who don't think they have many houseplants.I won’t leave anyone in

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-36814009121231157192010-01-29T19:27:00.001-08:002010-01-29T19:45:51.515-08:00

Some of you may be familiar with the Blizzard of ’77; it buried Buffalo and most of Western New York under drifts 30’ and better of snow. The interesting fact about this storm is that only about a foot of snow actually fell. The blowing and drifting are what wreaked all the havoc. This event is what has largely branded Buffalo as a snow capitol, about thirty-three years ago.Whatever. The way I

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-49551308256997855382010-01-22T15:50:00.001-08:002010-01-22T15:59:54.277-08:00

At first I thought it would be easy to discuss cyclamen success. After all, I’ve kept one alive and flowering for 10 years. But I’ve also killed one or two, and when I looked up advice on this plant (from books and university horticulture sites, not “about” or Suite 101) I found some disturbing conflicts.So I’ll just describe what I do, and then we’ll get into the other advice. My cyclamen is

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-89793427152957887952010-01-15T07:13:00.001-08:002010-01-15T10:43:09.558-08:00

Normally, at this time of year, I would be posting about houseplants and tazettas, and I am. But rarely would I expect to have hyacinths starting to bloom indoors. Yet, that is exactly what’s happening.These (top and above, left) are the Prince of Love hyacinths from Brent & Becky’s. (I always include vendors because different vendors often have different names for the various cultivars.) I have

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-81774301390324879222010-01-10T18:26:00.000-08:002010-01-10T18:52:10.845-08:00

This picture of the rapids in winter is from last year; it's pretty much the same now.But I feel sorriest for those in the south who are experiencing single digit temps with no snow cover to protect plants that are normally hardy for higher zones. And, unlike me, they’re not used to this. I can only imagine their horror. Cheer up, guys, your cold and snow will be all gone in a couple weeks! Mine,

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-81491459950566815202010-01-03T15:49:00.000-08:002010-01-03T15:56:21.164-08:00

As far as I can tell, it is brutal outside, though I’ve barely glanced out the window today. January is traditionally a time to look inward: to make resolutions, to clean out cupboards that have been ignored for months, and—for me—to focus on the indoor plant environment. Early Pearl and Golden Rain tazettas are making their appearance (top), with Erlicheer soon to follow. Unlike their common

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-72552163225746253712009-12-20T13:32:00.000-08:002009-12-20T16:40:19.400-08:00

Part of my strategy for maintaining some semblance of gardening activity during the frigid months revolves around bulb forcing, which I’ve discussed here many times. But it’s always a new adventure, because I deliberately choose the stranger varieties of hyacinths: this year I have Raphael and Prince of Love, as well as the standbys Crystal Palace and City of Haarlem. City of Haarlem is probably

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-64507541399252993832009-12-09T20:38:00.001-08:002009-12-09T20:50:17.320-08:00

There is no way to recreate the idea of a garden inside a zone 5 house. And I think that’s why many gardeners in my situation just give up on houseplants altogether, unless they have attached greenhouses or Florida rooms. It’s just not the same, by any means. But I still find indoor gardening rewarding and fun. Inspired by local avid growers of these plants, I have begun to take up the amaryllis

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-39701126012782663862009-11-21T19:38:00.000-08:002009-11-21T19:53:39.822-08:00

The indoor jungle Today I took a good look at my upstairs plant room and I didn’t like what I saw. The thing is, I’m a bit nearsighted and hadn’t noticed the little bugs on the abutilon. But I already knew that this was a common problem with these plants. Rather than fool around trying to combat the problem, I promptly ditched the plant.Shocking? Maybe, but I feel that indoor plants require

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-39404993949874273322009-11-19T17:02:00.000-08:002009-11-19T17:04:05.921-08:00

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-82552176330814294542009-11-15T07:34:00.000-08:002009-11-15T05:42:51.931-08:00

They are not required on the GWI property. I’m now realizing that gorgeous weather is way more important than any flower when it comes to Bloom Day in November. Gorgeous weather is what we’ve been having, so I’ve been able to hang around in the garden and enjoy the colors of fall. What could be better than yellow, red, and orange ivy against red brick walls, or deep red Japanese maples, or dusky

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-2951558750812721512009-11-11T19:02:00.000-08:002009-11-11T19:14:59.649-08:00

Not my bulbs, it seems. I am finding holes dug by the furry rodents all over the place but none of them are really deep enough to displace a bulb, and I am not seeing bulb remnants anywhere. Snarky Vegan tweeted that they need to bury food everywhere because they can’t smell it. I believe her.But still, it’s annoying. I need the bulbs to remain adequately covered by soil. This is surely the year

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-25670357826481278642009-11-07T19:18:00.000-08:002009-11-07T19:33:11.611-08:00

Hmm, a week after I have my “This is the end, my friends” post, Gardening Gone Wild announced an “End of the Line” photo contest. Coincidental, I am sure!It was fun to look around the garden for my favorite end-of-the-season vignettes, particularly because the weekend has been gloriously balmy. We planted 17 trees around the neighborhood this morning: part of the Re-Tree WNY effort. It was up

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-25201452134215778252009-11-07T17:12:00.000-08:002009-11-07T17:21:04.752-08:00

Well, not really. But I’ve decided to closely document, just for fun, the progress of this particular type of tazetta. I loved them last year; each stem produces a tight bouquet of white blossoms (as you see below). And as I posted last year: they produce one of the most upright and bountiful floral displays I've seen. I’ve bought a lot of them (from Old House Gardens), and I hope to keep

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-11108377145120336242009-10-31T18:27:00.000-07:002009-10-31T18:30:31.510-07:00

For the next few months, I can ignore the weather. Which is a relief in many ways. There may be snow, there may be sleet, there may be ice—or it might just be dreary and gray, but I don’t really have to think much about it, other than dress and travel appropriately. I don’t have to focus on how weather effects or does not affect what I’m doing in the garden, because I won’t be doing much out

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-89943983112538427992009-10-26T12:31:00.001-07:002009-10-26T12:37:06.649-07:00

At least in Buffalo they do. Whenever I see this friend, who is also an orchid grower and member of the Niagara Frontier Orchid Society, I always whine a bit about my orchids. I guess he'd had enough when he finally said, "Why don't I come by one morning and look at them?"Sure! So he did, and I videotaped some of it, using my iPhone. That's why the sound and image quality are not the finest. Also

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-91685760207959154222009-10-21T17:33:00.000-07:002009-10-21T17:38:18.028-07:00

(All is well in the plant room.)If it’s not warm enough to sit in the garden, I am unlikely to want to work in it. I’m not one of those dedicated gardeners who loves to get out in the brisk chilly air and make a day of it—but I can stand an hour or two. Hence, there is still much to be done, and a bit that has been done.The bulb project continues. Species tulips dasytemon, oculata, kolpkowskiana,

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-26602600025251561192009-10-16T06:20:00.001-07:002009-10-16T06:54:07.223-07:00

Or is it simply angst that autumn seems to have passed us by? We went right from high summer in September to early winter in October this year. Oh well, my weather app tells me that some balmier temps are on the way.But even with a warm spell to come, undeniably the end of the growing season has arrived, and thus it becomes more difficult to feign enthusiasm about any flowering plants that might

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-13634332632205517392009-10-11T19:49:00.001-07:002009-10-11T19:49:58.300-07:00

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-74170598804242142852009-10-08T10:15:00.001-07:002009-10-08T10:22:53.307-07:00

This post might be titled “Don't let this happen to you,” but, as crazy as it looks, I actually enjoy tending to my growing collection of overwintering tropicals and tender perennials. It started over five years ago, when I bought a gardenia and a jasmine and kept them in this upstairs room over the winter; both bloom from May through August outside (the jasmine starts flowering inside in April).

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-43770282824813213092009-10-04T17:24:00.000-07:002009-10-04T20:20:04.448-07:00

Yesterday, I planted 150 bulbs around the front and sides of the GWI property, much to the amazement of my social networks. But it’s really not that many. Indeed, I expect to get 150 more into the ground before I’m done (and another 150 into containers and forcing pots). Over the years, I’ve realized that even on a small property, a few bulbs scattered here and there look sparse and rather

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-30800723720255378592009-09-27T17:43:00.000-07:002009-09-27T17:46:42.201-07:00

In better days, the tomato leaves were somewhat attractive.At first I was excited when a small heirloom tomato plant purchased on a whim began to bear small yellow tomatoes a couple months back. Then I was impressed when the thing grew to about 9 feet and produced several ponderous branches, all loaded with fruit. Then I became annoyed when it dominated most of the bed it was in, hiding a rose

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-61856997534097414752009-09-18T21:31:00.001-07:002009-09-18T21:43:45.771-07:00

In many ways, a pond, no matter how small, escapes the peaks and valleys of the usual WNY garden season. It always looks pretty fresh, providing you can keep the leaves out of it. The plants thrive throughout the summer, especially my favorite, papyrus, which is still sending out new stalks. This year I’m trying pickerel for the first time, and really liking it, while, as I’ve posted, my water

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-72633763742425022752009-09-15T20:04:00.000-07:002009-09-15T20:09:34.276-07:00

Ask not for whom the bell tolls; I can assure you it tolls for 3 rhododendrons, installed at considerable expense as part of a front garden redo about 5 years ago. Try as I may, these shrubs simply will not thrive. They’re not terrible; they’re just not great. The picture above shows them in flower; you can see the discolored leaves and the fact that the branches are not as fleshed out with

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-16275174097722802362009-09-11T06:45:00.001-07:002009-09-12T20:28:28.213-07:00

It does look a bit ratty in places, but overall, I’m … satisfied with the mid-September garden. But this isn’t the time to be satisfied. Like my friend Sally says, this is the time to give your garden a cold hard look, to figure out what’s really needed, now that the excitement of the floral fireworks has dissipated in large part.Though we’re always giving our gardens a cold hard look. We’re

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-63724200849231584082009-09-02T18:51:00.001-07:002009-09-03T19:29:50.539-07:00

In my small patio garden, I need things to be either literally big or big in terms of impact. I have seen small dainty gardens with neat little mounds of foliage and flowers (strangely, these gardens often include a tiny patch of turf) and I have not been impressed. Not for me. No. Tall is good, wide is good, and spectacular is preferred. Of course, I don’t have success with as much giant-sized

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-74700273639972494902009-08-29T21:47:00.000-07:002009-08-29T22:09:54.303-07:00

Or almost all, because the real horror is that I still plan to order from Old House Gardens and —maybe—The Lily Garden. Every year, I go crazy with bulbs and it seems to grow worse with time. Nearly half of them are for forcing and others are treated as annuals; hence, the reason I need so many each year. So far, I have ordered 455 bulbs. Over the last two weeks. TulipsThere is still work to be

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-60005419944869517432009-08-28T11:16:00.000-07:002009-08-28T11:30:34.274-07:00

This is really the beginning of the long, slow decline in the garden, which ends at the end of October. After that, though you can rake leaves and plant bulbs until Thanksgiving, there is not much reason to linger. And it’s kind of cold anyway.But through September, the garden still looks pretty good, with lots of color and lush foliage—often in the form of annuals and tropicals. The last of the

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-74715652271064779862009-08-25T19:36:00.000-07:002009-08-27T10:29:58.887-07:00

If Iron Chef was run by Alice Waters, I think it might go like this. Sunday I was a judge for Buffalo’s new chef competition, Nickel City Chef. It involves 4 Buffalo “top chefs” and 4 challengers. For each match-up there is a different secret ingredient and the two chefs make 3 dishes each, using it.But here’s the twist. The secret ingredient and many of the other pantry items are locally grown

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-54225863694880976772009-08-22T20:44:00.001-07:002009-08-22T20:47:04.586-07:00

We hear a lot about rain gardens—which are all well and good—but not having a rain garden, I currently limit myself to rain gardening.The performance of various gardening tasks under light and pleasant precipitation works very well for me. In fact, given the difficult dry shade conditions I have throughout much of the GWI property, it makes things a lot easier. Today I planted some shade

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-4372965216416932892009-08-16T18:20:00.000-07:002009-08-16T18:29:28.618-07:00

This is for Mary Ann/Idaho Gardener, who did one of these.

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-23164770045863742852009-08-15T20:41:00.000-07:002009-08-15T20:56:05.587-07:00

Finally. The true summer weather is here, and none too soon for many of my hot weather annuals, such as colocasia, which just refused to perform in the rainy, cool weather of June and (for the most part) July.I don’t complain about weather though, and I’ve actually been enjoying all this rain. No watering! The other benefit is that many plants have delayed their blooms a bit, so I have rudbeckia,

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-2751142114638010052009-08-02T17:31:00.001-07:002009-08-02T21:04:04.112-07:00

These never should have been placed where they are: at the front of the sunny “corral” bed, obscuring other shorter plants that have managed to survive and blocking sun from anything I plant that might otherwise grow as tall. They’re interesting though, starting out as fat green buds, then upward-facing yellow daisy-like flowers, then petals drooping down as the seedheads begin to form. Bees find

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-35564659417338874362009-07-28T19:12:00.001-07:002009-07-28T19:23:44.278-07:00

There are actually many lilies still in bud on the gwi property, but plenty are blooming now. I’m happy because I am deliberately not looking up all I ordered in the fall and spring to figure out what never came up and why. I secretly suspect a LOT of them did not come up. But like I said, I’m not going to look closely into that. And I’m not going to think about the two monster stalks whose buds

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-19723010570995397842009-07-23T18:56:00.000-07:002009-07-23T18:59:02.417-07:00

Yes, this is the yearly panic attack about how unprepared my garden is for Garden Walk. Except that this time, I am SO behind that I can’t even get too excited about it. However, we do, as always, have exhibit A, at top: plants bought at the last minute in the fond hope that they will provide some kind of color boost, negating the myriad flaws to be seen everywhere.And then we have the unmulched,

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-23647174360485541902009-07-21T18:04:00.000-07:002009-07-21T20:04:07.586-07:00

Actually Mr. McGregor Daughter’s meme asks which annuals have failed and which have succeeded so far this summer, but I’ll cheat a bit. I very rarely have failure with annuals, because I grow them in containers for the most part, and have learned to avoid any that I know won’t succeed (for example, I only tried zinnias once). Also, the summer in Buffalo has been rather rainy and dank, and

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-29079109663362747332009-07-15T05:00:00.000-07:002009-07-15T07:41:16.073-07:00

Last year at this time, I see that I posted about Golden Splendor trumpet lilies (above) and various annuals performing equally splendidly in their chosen positions. However, I am a stickler about these GBBD posts (somewhat) and I do feel that the images should be of flowers blooming where one can see them on that date. So, though I am positive they are blooming, I cannot see my Golden Splendors.

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-71460415077281476212009-07-13T20:52:00.000-07:002009-07-13T21:02:52.379-07:00

It’s hard to leave the garden in summer. It really is, and I know a lot of Northern and Midwestern gardeners who take their vacations at other times because they just can’t do it. But I love the beach and the salt water and the waves and the margaritas and the company. Some things—dare it be said—are just as important if not more than gardening. When one travels, however, it is possible to make

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-78802372079905428392009-07-03T22:51:00.001-07:002009-07-03T22:54:33.409-07:00

Should look like this as far as I’m concerned. Or this. Or any other configuration that ‘s interesting and abundant rather than pinched and pedicured. That’s what I’m celebrating on this glorious 4th of July weekend.I am thankful that I did not inherit a front lawn from the former owners of our property. Or a back lawn. Or, indeed, a pitiful little strip of side lawn. What I got wasn’t perfect,

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12157091.post-74553515377912619572009-06-30T16:26:00.000-07:002009-06-30T16:35:01.753-07:00

Now is the time when the early summer garden starts to harden into the midsummer garden. Fewer if any new plants are emerging and the fresh lush look of the garden begins to dissipate just a bit. Sure, there is plenty to look forward to in the way of flowers, but for the most part all the plants are out. I no longer have to worry about squashing a baby coreopsis or vebena bonariensis as I thread

EALhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03339266900036592543noreply@blogger.com12