We can consider winter as the ‘weekend’ of the gardening year, both the last month and the first months of the year when we can enjoy a much-needed rest from the regular routine. A period of rest and renewal restores energy to both the garden and the gardener. It allows us time for reflection on the successes and challenges of seasons past and an opportunity to plan and prepare for the seasons to come. If winter is the weekend,...
The first Camellia shrub usually chooses a stretch of damp, cool October days to burst into bloom. I am always taken by surprise when its luminous white, spring-like blossoms unfold, because they look rather out of place beside the colorful leaves falling from nearby trees. Bright flowers in shades of white, pink, and red open on our evergreen Camellia shrubs each October and November while the rest of the garden fades, and as we begin preparing for winter’s...
When you’re planning a new garden, do you look for a sunny spot or for a bit of shade? That used to be an easy decision. We all know that plants need good light to grow well. Gardening books used to advise anyone planting a small vegetable garden or flower bed to watch how the sun moves across the sky and how the shadows fall across their yard to select a good sunny spot to break ground. Traditional gardeners...
I love finding mountain laurel growing in large, lovely masses in the wild. Its creamy pink flowers glow softly in the forest. Wild mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia, sometimes grows along the undeveloped banks of creeks and rivers in Eastern Virginia. It grows as an understory shrub in our oak, beach and pine forests. These evergreen shrubs, almost small trees, simply blend into the fabric of the woods through much of the year before bursting into bloom, suddenly elegant and...
Q. My Zephirine Drouhin climbing rose looks odd. There are “frilly” growths, and the buds are very small. Should I be worried? A. The Heirloom Roses website description of Rosa ‘Zephirine Drouhin’ states that it “may be the most consistently blooming, large, flowered climbing rose, with the added benefit that it is thorn-less.” The variety is thought to have originated in France in 1868. Your rose appears to be infected with rose rosette virus (RRV). This is a virus spread...
Cardinals nest in a large evergreen shrub beside my kitchen window. Though the shrub, Ligustrum, is frowned upon by many contemporary gardeners as invasive, the birds don’t know that. They delight in its abundant berries and the insects that visit year-round. We delight in watching the birds come and go, even as they peer in the windows at us. We amuse one another. Cardinals, titmice and other birds also perch in the crape myrtle tree a little further out...
What do you consider when choosing plants for your home and yard? We all have a checklist of criteria in the back of our minds. Our criteria are very personal to our own needs and situation. You may not purchase and plant as many plants as I do each year, but I’m sure that you enjoy the choosing and the planting just as much. We gardeners have been encouraged to plant more native plants for quite a...
Have you ever watched a bumblebee explore a Hibiscus flower? Each flower is large enough for the bee to crawl around the depths of its funnel shaped petals to collect as much pollen as possible. Short, powdery stamens grow like bristles on a bottle brush from a long, tubular pistil. The bee emerges white with pollen and satisfied by the flower’s nectar. Hibiscus shrubs, commonly known as Rose of Sharon, bloom from June through November in our area. Each...
Did Santa bring you a potted plant for Christmas? Or maybe a neighbor dropped by with a beautiful potted something to spread a bit of good cheer your way? Or do you always linger at the rack of holiday plants and wonder which ones you might be able to keep alive for a few weeks this winter? December and January are a great time to shop for plants. And this week, especially, after Christmas, you’ll find some good values...
You may be ahead of me on this one, but the picture that came to mind when I first saw the term ‘Carbon Garden’ in the January 2021 issue of Horticulture Magazine wasn’t very pretty. In practice, a carbon garden is not only beautiful, but this garden style proves easier to maintain than many others. A Quick Summary of the Science Like other elements, carbon is an atom that can manifest as a solid, in a liquid, or...