I’ve come to love using trees as anchoring points for developing new garden areas; a starting point to build from that a messy brain can latch on to and think, ‘Yes! A starting point.’ Planting under established trees is challenging. It’s far easier to buy a young tree, plant it, […]
When we moved here in 2012 I was oddly drawn to a granite outcropping in the featureless center of the backyard. There is something deeply appealing about massive, half-buried rock lying around like a geological shipwreck, and I wanted to “do something with it”. Inauspicious beginnings: (L-R above): November […]
Should probably think about starting seeds I guess.
Most of my phalenopsis orchids have bloomed reliably after summering outdoors for the past three years. They hang in shady areas–either in the grove, under a tree, or nestled in with some rhododendrons. Houseplants, including the orchids, go outside around May 15th or a bit earlier. The orchids aren’t that […]
I love the living room so much. There is snow on the ground outside, lots of it, and we have fires in the fireplace most nights and it’s such a cool combination of tropical rainforest/cabin in the woods/post apocalyptic garden/home of feral nerds. And all those plants do a […]
Last week we hit whatever cold-weather threshold we needed to hit to call for Potato and Leek soup and I went into the garden to dig up the leeks, which are among my favorite vegetables to grow. When I started the messy business of cleaning them up things got…gross…small […]
Asters are no longer asters, they are in the genus Symphotrichtum, unless they are Eurybia, and there are dozens of species. They are all harassed-looking daisy-types with 1/4″ or 1 1/2″ flowers, heart shaped leaves or lance-like leaves, in varying shades of murky blues and purples and whites and pinks. […]
A few favorites. I may add more to the post later in the season, when January and the desire to do literally anything with gardening becomes unmanageable. These are a mix of natives and non-natives. (I’m writing up some thoughts on the native/non-native plant discourse; I’ll update with a link […]