Now that the seasonal clean-up is underway, I am struck once again by the physicality of many garden chores. I am thinking of jobs like trimming the vigorous rose that clambers up our eight-foot tall arch, or pulling down the rampant ivy that threatens the mortar of our high stone foundation. Then of course there … Read more
There is something about autumn crocus that induces amnesia. I know where I planted the bulbs of the blue and white-flowered Crocus speciosus and Crocus speciosus ‘Albus’ this year, but I have completely forgotten where I installed crocuses in previous years. This only happens with the fall-blooming kind. I can tell you where all the … Read more
I have started the great cut-back. The scores of tall aster ‘Alma Potschke’ have mostly finished their dramatic run of pink and purple fireworks and now stand ready to reseed themselves everywhere. Birds will take some of that seed, but if I don’t get ‘Alma’ under control, I will have lots of grubbing out to … Read more
My garden right now is a very dramatic scene. The asters are taking a prolonged swan song before their final bow; the dusty pinks, lavenders and blues gradually giving way to brown seedheads. The Japanese anemones, however, are still singing at the top of their lungs, like the floral divas they are. Sometimes known to … Read more
Bulb planting in my garden is always a race against time. I invariably order more bulbs than I can reasonably expect to put in the ground and get hit by a spell of frantic activity about the time the bulb boxes arrive. The bulbs necessarily languish in a cool place for a few weeks, while … Read more
