The Gardeners' Apprentice

Edibles on the Way

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EDIBLES ON THE WAY             My goal this year is to incorporate edibles among my ornamentals and the plan is beginning to take shape.  Today I set out an entire flat of June bearing strawberry plants in two separate sunny beds.  Since strawberries and roses favor the same conditions, I put the latter near a … Read more

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