A noun. A verb. A blog.
This pretty double soapwort (Saponaria officinalis) has been sharing my Microgarden for more than 22 years. I say “sharing” because soapworts have this wacky idea that the garden belongs to them. They have, after all, lived here longer than me. We tussle over ownership for a while, but they usually give in without much of […]
I’ll own to being lazy. It’s mostly on account of my curmudgeonly front yard. I say “English cottage garden” and it snarls back with sieve-like feet upon feet of inert yellow sand. (Thank you, Lake Iroquois.) I think “peonies” – it hands me a thirsty webwork of impenetrable Norway maple roots. And shade. Lots of […]
To all our neighbours south of the longest friendly border in the world, I wish you a happy Independence Day. Here to celebrate with me is Rosa ‘Fourth of July’, complete with broad stripes and bright stars. All you need to complete the picture is a blue sky. And, as it’s a climber, that might not […]
Have you heard of the Spuria beardless iris, a cousin of the Siberian iris? I hadn’t. And I certainly hadn’t been prepared for the Wow-ow -ow! factor of seeing one of these five-foot-plus-tall giants in a garden. It happened yesterday, when Sarah and I took an interesting detour. While looking at a new community garden […]
If I had actually wanted the Clematis ‘Summer Snow’ to clamber along my north wall to mingle amongst the columbines, of course, it would have never happened. What a lucky accident that it never occurred to me to try. That way, there it is, looking bright and sparkly, like a well composed garden picture. And […]
If you have been religious about deadheading your columbines (Aquilegia), you might still be enjoying the benefits of these generous producers. If not, and they’ve gone to seed, be sure to let them ripen and to sprinkle them where the tiny seeds will be exposed to light for germination. Or, better yet, shop around for […]
The deep red poppies belonging to my neighbour M. are making their brief but miraculous appearance in his garden. Therefore, I must bow down and worship, oh ye amazing Papaver orientalis ‘Beauty of Livermere’. It’s hard to decide which way to photograph them: as here, backdropped by the purple smokebush (Cotinus coggyria ‘Royal Purple’), or […]
Full disclosure: On this Blooms Day in the Microgarden, it’s mostly green. However, you can see my opening statement of columbines; some blue Aquilegia alpina and an unnamed pink of the granny’s bonnet form. Both prefer the cracks in my paving stones, where their feet stay cool and moist. All efforts to get the alpinas […]
Like this Hosta ‘Halcyon’, many of the prettiest hostas have what’s called a glaucous leaf – with a waxy coating that gives it a whitish frosting or bloom. The glaucous texture intensifies the blue of blue-leaf hostas and gives yellow or white markings a powdery glow. Unfortunately, this coating easily rubs off if the leaves […]
Lemon lilies (Hemerocallis flava) are planted in my garden anywhere I can sniff their heavenly fragrance. Some are on either side of our front steps. Some are tucked by our porch, where they soon will mingle with the scents of the old mock orange (Philadelphus) and climbing Hall’s honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica ‘Halliana’). As an aside, […]
[Edited update: Mystery solved. According to someone who grows this, accosted as I passed their garden while I was out on a walk, this is ‘Rare Edition.’ Thanks to everyone who contributed their guess. Helen] For the iris experts out there: What is the name of this lovely little plicata iris growing on a neighbour’s […]
For down-to-earth, spring flowering rock garden basics, you don’t have to go much further than the letter A. Rock garden plants are often called by their own A name: alpines, because of their origins on mountainsides, thriving with sharp drainage and full sun. A well-drained, full-sun position is still is their favourite venue. This is […]