AN UNPRUNED CLEMATIS looks like a disemboweled mattress—a painful sight.’—the late Christopher Lloyd of Great Dixter, garden writer, nurseryman, gardening genius.
Related posts:
well said: clematis
March 21, 2008
- horticultural how-to and woo-woo
- the source for garden information and inspiration
- margaret roach, head gardener
Topics
Birding Resources
Blogroll
- Bob Hyland/Andrew Beckman
- Cold Climate Gardening
- Dan Hinkley
- frogboys.com
- Garden Rant
- Homegrown radio blog
- Jane Perrone
- Jessica Damiano of Newsday
- Ken Druse
- Leslie Land
- margaretroach.com
- May Dreams Gardens
- Rural Intelligence
- The Sister Project
- Vincent Simeone
- Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen’s Bliss
- You Grow Girl
- Zanthan Gardens
Questions?
Reference
Sources
- A.M. Leonard Company
- B&D Lilies
- Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
- Bountiful Gardens
- Brent and Becky’s Bulbs
- Broken Arrow Nursery
- Brushwood Nursery (gardenvines.com)
- Digging Dog Nursery
- Fairweather Gardens
- Fancy Fronds’ Fern Database
- Fedco Seeds
- Forestfarm
- Garden Web
- Gardens Alive!
- Gossler Farms
- Greenlee Nursery
- High Country Gardens
- John Scheepers Bulbs Inc.
- Johnny’s Selected Seeds
- Joy Creek Nursery
- Kitazawa Seed Company
- Klehm’s Song Sparrow Farm
- Lazy S's Farm
- Logee’s Tropical Plants
- Loomis Creek Nursery
- Nichols Garden Nursery
- Plant Delights
- Rare Find Nursery
- Ronniger’s Potato Farm
- Sand Hill Preservation Center
- Seed Savers Exchange
- Select Seeds/Antique Flowers
- Seneca Hill Perennials
- Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
- Territorial Seed Company
- Texas Tomato Cages
- Tomato Growers Supply
- Totally Tomato
- Waterford Gardens
Useful Stuff
The Confessional
Some stuff really gets A Way to Garden-ers going. Weigh in, or just lurk while everyone else shares about these hot buttons:
- Your First Time (Plant Lust)
- Why Do You Garden?
- Garden No-No’s (Complaint Dep’t.)
- Do You Like to Mow?
Compost, Compost, Compost
I am as proud of
my compost heap
as I am of any part of my garden. It is the archaeological record of my garden past; it is the stuff from which future gardens will arise. I read a lot about, from sources like these:
Garden Organic,
a 50-year-old British charity;
Journey to Forever
(don’t worry, not some into-the-bunker survivalist cult); and the vast
Cornell Composting archive. Dig in.
Archives
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
Juicy Bits
375 VISITORS, 1 BIG RHODIE: spring garden open day, in a virtual visit. How it looked, and also what they all asked about
keeping deer out DEER FENCE: I tried every potion and anti-deer trick till I finally got real and fenced. Strategies for every garden situation.
secrets to great tomatoes TOMATO TIPS, seed to harvest: Dozens of tricks for a better crop.
yes, even in dry shade MY 4 TOUGHEST GROUNDCOVERS perform even in the worst spots, like dry shade. Maybe these tough perennials will serve you as well?
5 great small trees GARDEN-SIZED TREES can’t just be the right scale; they need to have multi-season interest, too, to earn a spot here. Maybe you have room for one of my 5 favorites?
10 underplanting do’s and don’ts MAKING MOSAICS—that’s what I call good underplanting of trees and shrubs with a tapestry of plants for many months of enjoyment. Here’s how I do it.
a ribbeting bullfrog whodunit LET BULLFROGS BE BYGONES? No way. Where have all my biggest frogboys gone? The latest frog mystery explained.
stars of the spring shrubbery BEYOND LILACS (and forget forsythia!), a slideshow of some of the finest spring shrubs you may not grow (yet).
speeding up the compost DRIVE BY, HIT-AND-RUN composting is my latest craze, and speeds up the decomposition process while making good mulch quickly. Here’s how.
making a 365-day garden THINK FALL (YES, FALL): Don’t get sucked in by spring-bloomers only when nursery shopping. A great garden happens 365 days a year: Shop smart to make it so.
the facts about bulbs SOMETHING UP with a flower bulb? Paltry bloom, or wondering when to feed or cut off the foliage? It’s all here.
must-read garden poem MY FAVORITE GARDEN POEM celebrates loss, one of gardening (and life’s) realities. It does it with humor: "Why Did My Plant Die?” is a must-read.
12 steps to sanity? HELP FOR GARDENERS: Hi, my name is Margaret, and yes, we operate a 12-Step program here. Welcome.
orchid rebloom made easy I REBLOOMED MY FIRST ORCHID last year (finally!) and it turns out to be pretty easy going. Here’s how.
my seed-starting 101 WHAT ABOUT SEED-STARTING in general? The A Way to Garden method.
crispy refrigerator pickles WHAT IS IT ABOUT refrigerator pickles that makes everybody so happy? Get those cukes growing now. And then some.
hail the stewartia I LIKE PLANTS THAT EARN THEIR KEEP. By that I mean they do more than a week or two of showing off; they look good in more than a single moment, or season. The small-ish to medium trees in the genus Stewartia are a good bet if that’s the kind of multi-season interest you are looking for. Sound good?
can-do pruning REPEAT AFTER ME: I can prune. I can prune. If you follow this simple method for starters, your woody plants will thank you.
the ‘other’ peonies JUNE IS PEONY TIME, the big raucous kind of peony time, but just before that another kind of peony you might want to consider adopting does its subtler, wonderful thing.
which lilac to plant? SO MANY LILACS, so little space. Browse a glossary of some of my favorites before you shop—maybe you’ll like them, too.
keeping deer out DEER FENCE: I tried every potion and anti-deer trick till I finally got real and fenced. Strategies for every garden situation.
secrets to great tomatoes TOMATO TIPS, seed to harvest: Dozens of tricks for a better crop.
yes, even in dry shade MY 4 TOUGHEST GROUNDCOVERS perform even in the worst spots, like dry shade. Maybe these tough perennials will serve you as well?
5 great small trees GARDEN-SIZED TREES can’t just be the right scale; they need to have multi-season interest, too, to earn a spot here. Maybe you have room for one of my 5 favorites?
10 underplanting do’s and don’ts MAKING MOSAICS—that’s what I call good underplanting of trees and shrubs with a tapestry of plants for many months of enjoyment. Here’s how I do it.
a ribbeting bullfrog whodunit LET BULLFROGS BE BYGONES? No way. Where have all my biggest frogboys gone? The latest frog mystery explained.
stars of the spring shrubbery BEYOND LILACS (and forget forsythia!), a slideshow of some of the finest spring shrubs you may not grow (yet).
speeding up the compost DRIVE BY, HIT-AND-RUN composting is my latest craze, and speeds up the decomposition process while making good mulch quickly. Here’s how.
making a 365-day garden THINK FALL (YES, FALL): Don’t get sucked in by spring-bloomers only when nursery shopping. A great garden happens 365 days a year: Shop smart to make it so.
the facts about bulbs SOMETHING UP with a flower bulb? Paltry bloom, or wondering when to feed or cut off the foliage? It’s all here.
must-read garden poem MY FAVORITE GARDEN POEM celebrates loss, one of gardening (and life’s) realities. It does it with humor: "Why Did My Plant Die?” is a must-read.
12 steps to sanity? HELP FOR GARDENERS: Hi, my name is Margaret, and yes, we operate a 12-Step program here. Welcome.
orchid rebloom made easy I REBLOOMED MY FIRST ORCHID last year (finally!) and it turns out to be pretty easy going. Here’s how.
my seed-starting 101 WHAT ABOUT SEED-STARTING in general? The A Way to Garden method.
crispy refrigerator pickles WHAT IS IT ABOUT refrigerator pickles that makes everybody so happy? Get those cukes growing now. And then some.
hail the stewartia I LIKE PLANTS THAT EARN THEIR KEEP. By that I mean they do more than a week or two of showing off; they look good in more than a single moment, or season. The small-ish to medium trees in the genus Stewartia are a good bet if that’s the kind of multi-season interest you are looking for. Sound good?
can-do pruning REPEAT AFTER ME: I can prune. I can prune. If you follow this simple method for starters, your woody plants will thank you.
the ‘other’ peonies JUNE IS PEONY TIME, the big raucous kind of peony time, but just before that another kind of peony you might want to consider adopting does its subtler, wonderful thing.
which lilac to plant? SO MANY LILACS, so little space. Browse a glossary of some of my favorites before you shop—maybe you’ll like them, too.
latest tweets
never stop wanting more plants, my garden mentor instilled in me 20-plus
years ago, regularly reminding me of another gardener, past 90, who still lusts
for every new thing he can get a cutting of. I promise not to, until I myself
am back in the soil.
2008-2010 Copyright © Margaret Roach Inc. - Powered by WordPress MU and WDS - site design kbs
I love this quote! It’s bad enough when folks only think of clematis as “mailbox vine”. Then they go and leave them at the entrance to their homes looking like the son they sent off to college 6 years ago and came back without ever getting a haircut and rarely seeing a comb!
Welcome, Dan. Well, aren’t WE quick to respond to a cold call? Thanks. Yes, Christo was the best, and especially on the topic of Clematis. Such a character, such a gardener. Love your catalog as I said and want to connect to do something together, and have a Clematis post planned this week. Plus there’s this clematis I cannot ID for the life of me…might need a consult!