Last year the sporadically fertile soil of my garden gave birth to a giant foxglove. Bearing extremely large rose-purple flowers, it soared to six feet tall. I looked up at it with awe and wonder, since I neither planted nor tended it during its formative months. Foxgloves, or digitalis species, are so easy to grow … Read more
Tall iris time is here—with a vengeance. Last month, the gardens in my neighborhood sparkled with species like Iris cristata and Iris reticulata, dainty varieties that ornament the earth in early spring. Now the statuesque show horses of the Iridaceaee or iris world are enjoying their moment in the sun. In my garden, something unusual … Read more
About 1,000 years ago, or in 1967, to be specific, the Fifth Dimension, a pop group, recorded “Up, Up, and Away,” a song about bout love and ballooning. The refrain goes, “Up, up and away–My beautiful, my beautiful balloon.” It was a huge hit, combining the ideas of love, hot air, and rising above earthly … Read more
Bleeding heart—Lamprocapnos spectabilis–has shed seeds, if not blood, all over my garden. Years ago, when the species was known as “Diecntra spectablilis”, I probably planted the first one, though I have no memory of doing so. Now, they are everywhere. Normally those words would constitute the start of a rant about garden thuggery, invasive tendencies, … Read more
If I were to create an alphabetical summary of my garden’s current status, I would say, “L is for leggy lilacs looking lovely.” The “lovely’ part is the abundant, perfumed blooms. I grow three lilacs, all Syringa vulgaris, the most common type. Two have pale purple flowers and one, which is the newest, features deep … Read more
