July is daylily time, with slender flower buds bursting open joyfully just as the last of the petals have fallen from the roses and the oak leaf hydrangeas have reached their peak. Though each bloom lasts only one day, the plants are among the toughest around, as well as the most popular. The common, tawny … Read more
Last year we had no blue hydrangea flowers. A late spring frost decimated the buds of all old-fashioned Hydrangea macrophylla bushes and for most hydrangea lovers in my corner of the northeast, the blooms never came. Eventually the shrubs bore fresh green leaves in abundance, but hydrangea aficionados were forced to say “next year” in … Read more
One of the sad realities of my suburban life is that lawn grass grows best in a single segment of my property—the garden beds. The green blades struggle in the backyard, perpetual losers in the never-ending competition with ajuga, clover, wild violets and broadleaf weeds. The grass issue in back is exacerbated by the fact … Read more
My daughter, Kate, and I were cruising the aisles of a large, well-stocked garden center last week when we noticed rapid movement in a display of bee balm or monarda. The garden center was full of butterflies and small birds swooped in and out of the covered plant areas, but it was clear the movement … Read more
The English are masters of gardening and garden writing, but they tend towards dramatic understatement. The Royal Horticultural Society, for example, described perennial polemonium as a plant that “often seeds itself around rather freely.” Generally a statement like that means that the plant is prolific to the point of invasiveness and is best planted by … Read more
