THE FIRST URGENT QUESTION asked on our new Urgent Garden Question Forums was truly the crisis of the moment: “My daffodil leaves are lush and green this year but I have a total of three that have buds/blooms. (This is out of about 70 bulbs in a garden bed.) Could it be over the last several years of wonderful blooms they have just exhausted themselves? Could they possibly now be buried too deep? (I did add several inches of soil/compost last fall.)”—Kenn What causes sparse flowering, as in the photo above? [read more…]
when daffodils don’t flower well
April 18, 2008 at 5:18 pm
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‘urgent garden question’ forums are open!
April 17, 2008 at 7:21 pm
OH, BABY, TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE. That’s the motto here at A Way to Garden, where after less than a month in operation (meaning I still don’t know what most of the “buttons” on the control panel mean) we’re going to open our new Urgent Garden Question Forums as of right now. This is the place to ask and answer all those garden questions that are driving you mad…or to just talk gardening. Why do I call them the Urgent Garden Question Forums? The idea goes back many years, and credit belongs to my sister, Marion. Read the essay about how the phrase was coined and what was so urgent…or learn the what and why of the forums…or just proceed directly to them (up in the nav) and enjoy. [read more…]
let’s twist (ticks) again…
April 17, 2008 at 5:40 am
LET’S TWIST AGAIN, like we did last summer…twist ticks, that is, right out of and off ourselves, thank you. As the garden awakens, so do the ticks, which makes the Tick Twister, a tiny green plastic crowbar of a thing, as essential as a good pair of Felco’s and a long-handled round-point shovel. Are you ready? [read more…]
a great new amaryllis
April 15, 2008 at 7:43 pm
A CHRISTMAS PRESENT that didn’t seem to want to celebrate then or even well into late winter is now making quite a spectacle in my living room. Hippeastrum ‘Supreme Garden’ (common name: amaryllis) has been in full bloom for nearly three weeks, after looking for months like it wouldn’t even break dormancy. [read more…]
viburnums: think fall (yes, fall)
April 14, 2008 at 7:35 pm
NO, I HAVE NOT GONE MAD when I say it’s time to think fall—and winter, and summer—and most definitely not just spring. Nursery shopping is especially treacherous after a long winter’s nap; the early bloomers will seduce you, and your garden will tell the tale of your foolish seduction forever more. The antidote: learning to shop for the elements of a multi-season garden—that is, one that offers interest any day of the year, even in a cold climate like mine. This is the first in a series of posts on that topic—one of gardening’s most important lessons. [read more…]
blooming this week
April 12, 2008 at 5:40 pm
THE GARDEN HAS AWAKENED, and I thought you might want to meet the early risers. Somebody new’s showing up every day now (almost every hour). Enjoy.
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- Yellow hellebore, red throat
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- Cornus mas
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- Daphne mezereum
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- Dark Helleborus orientalis
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- First Narcissus of ’08
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- Helleborus foetidus
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- Petasites japonicus
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- Pulmonaria rubra
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- Helleborus orientalis hybrid
score: margaret 1, heap 0
April 11, 2008 at 7:31 pm
HAS YOUR COMPOST HEAP swallowed up any of your tools, jewelry, other personal possessions? A week after my “good pair” of glasses went missing, I found them in the pile the other day, miraculously, just a second before I dumped another load of compost-to-be on top. Ever lost anything in your heap, only to find it a season later (or never)? Tell us. (Well, don’t tell us if it’s your ex or something else you composted but we shouldn’t know about. Tee hee.)
hot p(l)ants: dicentra ‘gold heart’
April 11, 2008 at 6:41 am
IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE making a garden without the benefit of golden foliage, with its power to draw the eye even to shady corners. The stunning golden-leaved bleeding heart, Dicentra spectabilis ‘Gold Heart,’ is one such creature. [read more…]
visiting private gardens
April 10, 2008 at 12:29 pm
THE GARDEN CONSERVANCY’S national Open Days garden-visiting program is officially under way for 2008, with more than 300 gardens including mine open to the public on specified days. (Those are my houseplants pictured at left; they spend the summer congregating by the back door with some troughs of water I stock with aquatics.) Don’t miss out: sign up for the Open Days email alerts to get reminders about when gardeners in your region are putting out the welcome sign.
