The Gardeners' Apprentice

Dogwoods

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DOGWOODS             A friend of mine just got married.  He is a relative newcomer to this immediate area and loves our spring-flowering trees, especially the dogwoods.  A few weeks ago he called me to ask whether I thought the dogwoods would be in bloom for his rehearsal dinner on May first.  Like all good gardeners … Read more

Take It Easy

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TAKE IT EASY             I was out in the garden today–planting, weeding, trimming and rearranging things.  Just as I was about to divide a large clump of grape hyacinths, I became aware of the unmistakable sound of the Eagles singing the refrain of one of their best-known songs: “Take it easy, take it easy. Don’t … Read more

Lungwort

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LUNGWORT               Pulmonaria always takes me by surprise.   Sure, the soft, silver-splashed leaves cling to the ground on the edges of my shady beds, and I see them every time I pass by.  In fact, I see them so often that I take them for granted.  Then, every year in the early spring, a … Read more

Eastern Europe

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TREASURES OF EASTERN EUROPE             A couple of years ago I was looking for a large-flowered clematis for my garden.  Paging through various catalogs, I noticed a lot of clematis named after famous Poles.  One of the most notable was ‘Cardinal Wyszynski’, a large, red-flowered variety, named after Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski, former Roman Catholic Primate … Read more

Brenthurst

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BRENTHURST               Last summer, for the first time in years, I had the pleasure of regular hummingbird visits.  A single tiny bird came by every afternoon to sip nectar from the butterfly bush and other plants in my upper back garden.  Its route always seemed to be the same, and it never strayed into … Read more