spring

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

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

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

Spring Breezes

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SPRING BREEZES             We have had so much wind this year that spring didn’t just arrive; it blew in with a vengeance.  Of course all those blustery gusts might also have been winter blowing its way out–only a meteorologist would know for sure.  One thing does seem certain–if the gales keep up, the robins and … Read more

Coneflower Crazy

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CONEFLOWER CRAZY             I am having a crisis.  The plant breeders and nurserymen of this world are conspiring to drive me crazy and they have just about succeeded.  Unlike all those medical and psychological conditions that you hear about on television–RLS, GERD, SAD–there is no pharmaceutical remedy for my problem.  It doesn’t even have initials … Read more