Spring is still 36 days away, but my head is already in the garden. On Monday, I turned in an article on witch hazel, one of my favorite plants, which was also the subject of last week’s blog post. Mine is close to blooming (the buds have a distinct yellow color), but it’s not quite … Continue reading Winter Fix-It-Ups in the Garden
gardening
Bewitched by Witch Hazel
Spring blooming witch hazel in the garden Maybe it’s because the flowers of my witch hazel (Hamamelis) tree are the first flowers I see in spring. Maybe it’s because witch hazel doesn’t care if there’s snow on the ground when it blooms. Maybe it’s because witch hazel has flowers that are different from any other … Continue reading Bewitched by Witch Hazel
An Alternate View of Snow
This weekend Mother Nature gifted us with snow. Not just a dusting or a few flurries, a storm that started in the afternoon and continued on through the night blanketing everything in about eight inches of white. Happily for me (though I hesitate to use that word where winter weather of any kind is concerned), … Continue reading An Alternate View of Snow
Pretty Pictures
I love photographing my garden, but I’m also a procrastinator. When I replaced my old, sickly laptop, I transferred files I was currently working on but put off dealing with thousands of photos and files that needed to be culled and transferred. I paid the price for putting off that task today when I was … Continue reading Pretty Pictures
My Winter Garden
Winter is always a challenge for me: the shorter daylight hours, the cold (often frigid) temperatures, blizzards, mountains of snow to be shoveled, wind, freezing rain, and ice. I often joked that if I could, I’d hibernate in a cave for the winter—or maybe just snuggle on the sofa at home with a good book … Continue reading My Winter Garden
Got Mulch?
Today I’m sharing a few words about one of my favorite garden helpers: mulch. You’ve planted your garden, watered the plants well, and stood back and admired your hard work. But is something missing? It is if you haven’t added a layer of mulch on top of the soil.You’ve seen it in bags at the … Continue reading Got Mulch?
Timing Is Everything
Did you ever notice how timing is one thing to always consider in the garden and in life? When you plant out those seedlings in the spring. When the rain comes (or doesn’t). When the last—sometimes very late—frost hits. The surprise of record high or low temperatures. And through it all Murphy’s Law plays its … Continue reading Timing Is Everything
May Day
The first of May has finally come and the garden has awakened. Daffodils are in bloom everywhere in the yard, a succession of early, mid, and late season bloomers. Tulips in brilliant orange and yellow accompany them, along with the last of the early flowering hyacinth. The peach tree by the woods is covered in … Continue reading May Day
What’s a Gardener to Do?
It’s January and winter has only just begun. Outside my window snow squalls are, well, squalling. True, here in the Berkshires the weather has been unseasonably kind so far, so I can’t complain about snow accumulating in the middle of January. We’ve had relatively mild temperatures, and the landscape has been decidedly brown—up until this … Continue reading What’s a Gardener to Do?
No Time for Resolutions
In January, the garden’s color palette is decidedly brown. Buds formed late last summer and fall on the lilac and other spring-blooming shrubs are far too small for their greenness to be easily seen. And while the grass in neighbors’ yards is still remarkably colorful this year, I’ve eliminated my lawn, replacing it with mulched … Continue reading No Time for Resolutions
Pen, Paper, Plant 