Thinking Ahead to Spring and Weeding

It all started when I was taking out the compostables Saturday. The ground had finally frozen solid! I dumped the compostables into the bin and took a brief prowl around the yard to check on the rabbits’ depredations. They mostly come out at night, so sometimes I see them sitting under the willow-leaved Amsonia or eating safflower seed that has been flung about by the finches when they careen into the feeder when I am cleaning up after dinner. Yes, rabbits eat safflower seed, on top of everything else.
So far this winter, they have eaten the parsley and nibbled on the garlic. They have mowed the blue-eyed grass and tried the Iris cristata, which they have never bothered before.

The Iris cristata looked enticing enough to the rabbits for some cautious nibbling. This appears to be the only damage. Photographed on January 15, 2023.

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Texture in the Summer Garden

A relaxing garden has both restful places for your eyes and focal points to enjoy. Green is restful, but it can get monotonous if it’s all identical, as in a yard with a well-kept lawn, but nothing else. Texture is a good way to add interest without losing the restfulness of green. Massing, an application of the design principles of repetition and proximity, is a great way to develop texture that is sufficiently interesting to lead your eyes to an interesting larger plant or something in bloom. Continue reading “Texture in the Summer Garden”

Hosta Bloom Period Starts With Diamonds

Diamond Tiaras, that is. I bought this hosta for the foliage, but I find myself beguiled by its flowers. The curly pistals add a certain something. These are not fragrant flowers, unlike the only other hosta variety I have, which blooms later in the summer.

The hosta Diamond Tiara in bloom. Photographed on July 22, 2019.

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Evolution of a Flower Bed

The space under the witch hazel was rendered very sparse by the Scilla bifolia purge last year. The Diamond Tiara hostas survived being lifted, put aside, and put back. The hyacinths that have been there for decades survived being rearranged. The Scilla bifolia seedlings that had the temerity to sprout have been removed.

Time to look at the rest of this rather bare flowerbed and scout for new residents.

The hostas, Diamond Tiara, are filling out nicely. Photographed on May 27, 2019.

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Editing the Hosta Border—Deadheading and Tidying

The bluebells were the splashy stars of April, but by mid-May, they are winding down.

The mature bluebells have no pink left. The two thin white lines are all that remains of two fertilized flowers—these are the pistals. Photographed on May 14, 2019.

They go fast at this point. Continue reading “Editing the Hosta Border—Deadheading and Tidying”