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May 31, 2008

the newest entourage

Filed Under annuals & perennials, cut flowers, hot p(l)ants, trees & shrubs | 3 Comments

BETWEEN WEEDING, WATERING, EDGING, MULCHING, I noticed there are some new things blooming…like several dozen. Here are a few of the latest faces watching me go positively mad as I try to keep up with the unfolding drama.

siberian irises
weigela 'wine and roses'
amsonia tabernaemontana

chionanthus virginicus
alliums
Rhododendron 'Swansdown'


May 12, 2008

a glossary of favorite lilacs

Filed Under cut flowers, trees & shrubs | 19 Comments

I AM HALFWAY THROUGH a long season of lilac blooms that started before the first of May this year and looks to have another 10 days to go, weather depending. Meet the gang (wish I had scratch-and-sniff technology here for you).

Syringa vulgaris 'Agincourt Beauty'
Syringa vulgaris
Syringa vulgaris 'Marie Frances'

Syringa vulgaris 'Little Boy Blue'
Syringa vulgaris 'Sensation'
Syringa vulgaris 'Wedgwood Blue'

Syringa hyacinthiflora 'Mount Baker'
Syringa hyacinthiflora 'Blanche Sweet'
Syringa vulgaris 'Avalanche'


May 9, 2008

lilac pruning (and perfuming)

Filed Under cut flowers, tools & techniques, trees & shrubs | 16 Comments

WHEN LILACS IN THE DOORYARD BLOOM…is the time to prune, and to bring bundles inside to smell up the house. Learn the simple details to make the right cuts (and for cuts that last the longest possible time in a vase, too):

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April 15, 2008

a great new amaryllis

Filed Under cut flowers, hot p(l)ants, houseplants | 3 Comments

Hippeastrum \'Garden Supreme\' 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