Spiders in Summer

In the last two weeks I have gotten used to seeing tall garden phlox in the summer gardens in my neighborhood.  This morning I walked farther afield and saw masses of another tall, old-fashioned favorite—cleome or spider flower.  The cleome were part of a cottage garden planting scheme and when I saw it from a … Read more

Late Summer Flowers

Despite my best efforts, my garden has too few late summer flowers.  For years I have been shy about putting in enough dahlias, which will bloom their hearts out given a bit of sunny space and water.  They come in so many sizes, shapes and colors that even those, like me, who disdain the flashy … Read more

Perennial Sweet Pea

Central New York– The wildflowers in Central New York this year are more sparse than in most summers and often stunted.  Drought in late June and early July put a damper on normal development.  Even the stalwart Queen Anne’s lace is shorter and the frilly parasol-like flowerheads are smaller.  In the roadside drainage ditches there … Read more