The Gardeners' Apprentice The past couple of weeks have seen an explosion of the opulent flowers of late spring—gorgeous, multi-petaled roses, big fluffy peonies, and the complicated, twining blooms of double clematis. The abundance is magnificent, but almost overwhelming. Now that a couple of downpours have put paid to all those petals, I am refreshed by the simpler … Read more
I have always wanted an arboretum. The world is full of beautiful trees and woody plants and if someone were to hand me a few extra acres—say 50 or so—I would grow more of them. Right now, as the great spring flowering continues to unfold; I feel the lack of an arboretum most keenly. I … Read more
My front garden has a bad case of hybrid Hulthemia. This Hulthemia phenomenon is manifesting itself on a new rose bush, ‘In Your Eyes’, causing it to erupt in blooms that open yellow, with a pronounced maroon “eye zone” in the middle of each flower. The petals gradually age to cream, while the “eye zones” … Read more
Last year at about this time, my daughter and I sought out some COVID lockdown relief in a park that boasts the highest elevation in our state. As we indulged in that relief, we spotted a number of interesting wild plants, including the star of the wildflower show, pink lady’s slipper orchid or Cypripedium acaule. … Read more
The blooming lilacs in my garden are a joyful celebration of spring, but also remind me of “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d,” Walt Whitman’s beautiful 1865 elegy to Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated on April 14 of that year. The first stanza says it all: When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d, And … Read more
