Right now in my garden, the peonies are finishing their annual run. Known botanically as Paeonia lactiflora, they are universally beloved for their lush, unabashedly sumptuous flowers and gorgeous colors. A single bloom in a tall bottle constitutes an elegant arrangement. Snip a handful of stems and you can create an over-the-top floral extravaganza. With … Read more
The daffodil or narcissus season has well and truly started in my garden with the arrival of the single-flowered early bloomers. I always plant odd numbers of bulbs in large holes so the blooms emerge bouquet-fashion into the early spring sunshine. I have seen miniature daffodils pop out as early as the end of February … Read more
Scent is important to me. I have been known to stop in my tracts to insert my nose into a particularly alluring rose or inhale the intoxicating fragrance of a blooming linden tree. I didn’t expect much when I got up close and personal with an echinops or globe thistle, but to my surprise, the … Read more
It is rare that I see red about something green, but I am having an angry moment about yucca. Not all yucca, mind you—there are 40 or 50 species of yucca in the larger agave family—but Yucca filamentosa. I suppose that Yucca filamentosa, sometimes called “Adam’s Needle”, is loved in some places and tolerated in … Read more
Seeing the first small snow crocuses each year is akin to discovering that someone scattered jewels over your garden at night. My first tiny, goblet-shaped flowers usually peek out from under the privet hedge on the north side of the house. Later, a few appear in the front strip, generally alongside the somewhat showier snowdrops. … Read more
