Have you talked with gardeners lately? Not obsessive gardeners, but people who simply enjoy the activity we call gardening. Real people who enjoy receiving real catalogues and actually read them; people who buy gardening books, or even go online every now and then. I love talking to these gardeners, especially those who are just beginning to dip their big toe in the … [Read more...] about Relax! It’s only a garden
August in the Garden
Hummingbirds love the nectar from turtlehead
I have a small patch of pink turtlehead (Chelone obliqua, Zone 4), sometimes called twisted shell flower, a perennial that blooms in late summer through early fall. They send up 30-inch (75-cm) spikes of hooded pink-purple blooms, similar to the violet-blue helmet flowers of ‘Bressingham Spire’ monkshood (Aconitum carmichaelii, Zone 3). The monkshood begins blooming a little … [Read more...] about Hummingbirds love the nectar from turtlehead
The scents of it all
No one has found a way to make the Internet scratch and sniff. This is a great pity, because if I could, I’d share the fragrance in my garden with everyone. Every morning I go out to walk about and breathe in the scents of the garden, and on calm evenings I do the same. You’d have to join me to appreciate the layers of fragrance, from the petite sprigs of lavender to the huge … [Read more...] about The scents of it all
Planting fall lettuces
If you have lettuce seed packets hanging around from spring, now would be a good time to plant lettuces to be harvested this fall. Using a readymade mesclun mix is a quick way to get something good in your salad bowl. The seed is scattered, and individual baby leaves are cut (using scissors, never ripped by hand) from small plants, allowing the developing central crowns to … [Read more...] about Planting fall lettuces
Dwarf ‘Beni-hime’ Japanese maple perfect for container
This spring, I chanced upon some dwarf Japanese maples, and Acer palmatum ‘Beni-hime’ found its way into my nursery cart. ‘Beni-hime’ grows painstakingly slow, no more than two inches (5 cm) a year, eventually forming a dense, spreading mound about 40 x 40 inches (1 x 1 m) in size. However, when planted in a container, it doesn’t reach its potential size, and stays at 24 x 24 … [Read more...] about Dwarf ‘Beni-hime’ Japanese maple perfect for container
