Seed selecting
Just when all the gardens have been put to bed, it is time to order seeds for the coming year. I get most of mine from Fedco Seeds, which has a great selection of heirlooms as well as good prices. Before I order, I go through the seeds I still have from the prior year […]
Late to plant
Juana reminds me that we could use a line of bulbs along the fence that was extended late Summer. Outside the fence is now inside. All of the local stores are out of daffodils filling their spaces with Christmas effluvia, but great deals can be had from mail order companies. I am able to get […]
Final flowers
We have had more Indian Summer days this season than for the last 10. A fleeting freeze followed up by days of balmy weather confuses not only people but the plants surrounding us. The first seasonal misfit I find is a lone buttercup emerging from the bed of wild strawberry leaves surrounding it. Its tiny […]
A different Halloween witch
Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) are one of the few trees still holding onto their leaves resisting the urge to abandon their perches. But beyond the maples, there are a still a few colorful trees out there with one of my favorite being witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana). Unlike most understory trees, witch hazel blooms in the […]
Rare flowers
In the dark days of Winter many of us keep an eye peeled for signs of Spring. A lone crocus, snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) or grape hyacinth (Muscari) is hoped for. This time of year I look for some of the final Fall flowers. One of my favorites is saffron (Crocus sativus). Leaves of saffron appear […]
Seasonal wreath
We took down all of the sunflowers as many were nearly denuded of seeds leaving empty, broken brown stalks. Juana and I are able to save a few for next year’s plantings and some she fashions with other dried vegetation into a wreath. She starts by taking invasive porcelain berry vines and wrapping them into […]
Late season daisies
Montauk daisies (Nipponanthemum nipponicum) are one of my favorite Autumn flowers. It is neither a daisy nor a chrysanthemum and has gorgeous blooms until the first hard frost. I first encountered it decades ago along the beaches of Long Island where I grew up. Once I found it, I had to have at least a […]
Fall flowers
In a few days, Autumn will arrive but new and familiar flowers continue to surprise. The latest additions are autumn crocuses that emerged over the weekend next to the lupines I seeded a year ago. Their unusually large form, emerging from the ground with a white stem transforming into light, blue petals seems so ephemeral. […]
Nature’s spitball
Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) is one of my favorite wild plants this time of year as it has three big things going for it. First, even before it starts flowering, it is wonderful as an antipruritic for poison ivy as well as insect bites. We found an immediate use for it years ago when we were […]
Joe pye weed
The volunteer Joe Pye weeds (Eutochium purpureum) that are popping up in the herbaceous borders at Ann’s Place are one of my favorite squatters in these gardens. I’m not sure where they came from but a single volunteer a few years ago located next to a bench has now a large family surrounding it. It […]