Pass by the garden in midsummer and you notice a five foot high wall of green topped by deep purple flowers— “black and blue salvia.” I chose this plant because it is known to attract pollinators. What an understatement! From early morning until dusk, a cloud of beesContinue Reading
Mid-April seems to be the best time to plant–earlier, and frost is still possible, much later, and there is a chance the rains will stop. It could easily be 95 or hotter by the first weekend in May, which would fry tender, young plants. Some plants are real troopers. AngeloniasContinue Reading
Violets and creeping Jenny do not understand the concept of boundaries. Unfortunately, they both have beautiful colors and decorative leaves. As best I can tell, the violets that plague me came from next door 10 years ago or further back. They used to grow in my neighbor’s yard in patchesContinue Reading
It has taken three years—THREE YEARS! After waiting, not so patiently, for three years, I finally managed to get a shot of a goldfinch munching away on coneflowers seeds. Goldfinches are tiny birds, maybe three inches from beak to tail. They are also very skittish. Sometimes they come inContinue Reading
I’ve written before about the relentless march of the ferns that led me to relegate some of them to the backyard. I had to banish most of them because they nearly wiped out the Halcyon and Fire Island hostas. With its deep blue-green foliage, the Halcyon was reduced toContinue Reading
Up Close is an ongoing series relating my attempts at macro photography. I have always been fascinated by the larger-than-life appearance of macro photos. I doubt there will be any insects, but obviously, flowers will have a good representation in what I shoot. From a technical standpoint, macro work isContinue Reading
One ostrich fern–one. When my hosta garden still seemed a little bare, I decided ferns would be a good addition. My wife, who loves ferns, thought it was a wonderful idea. I really should have read a book. Wandering through Grower’s Outlet, looking for Prairie Bella day lilies (they neverContinue Reading
This is now my ninth garden season, which is hard to believe. It has been the most challenging thus far because of the health woes mentioned in an earlier post. In early April, I spent a lot of money on plants, mulch, and manure, and I found myself unable toContinue Reading
This tasty weed started as a tiny mint plant bought in a grocery store. It sat in our front room next to the fireplace where it was noticeably restless. By restless, I mean it sent out long tendrils that snaked across the floor to the love seat, the corner ofContinue Reading
Gardening makes one pay close attention to the weather. I keep a rain gauge and check the levels after each rain, then average those values over the week to determine whether I need to water. I never imagined caring that much about rainfall. Weather changes receive the same attention. IContinue Reading
