Late Afternoon Light
A very good friend, Marianne Willburn, wrote an article in the latest American Gardener (Nov/Dec 2024) entitled ‘Rethinking the Winter Garden’. Reading her lovely article made me revisit what I have experienced in the winters on Ball Rd. Fortunately I have 15 years of this Posting which lets me go back and remind myself what I enjoy about winter. The snow that I pictured above is from 2010 and it rarely happens anymore. I can’t even remember when I’ve had to plow the driveway. Nonetheless winter is a different season when many of the flowers and fruits have gone away to rest or reseed.
“No matter how unprepared I am, I always imagine preparing for a winter you can’t muddle through. It’s a deep, wooded season. Time pauses and then pauses again. The sun winks over the horizon, glinting on a snow-swept lake — just enough light to wake the chickadees.” — Verlyn Klinkenborg
In going back over just the past year I saw plenty that makes me look forward to the coming months.
Camellia sasanqua red (Dec 2023)
Krarmer’s Rote Heather (Erica x darleyensis) (Dec 2023)
Japanese Quince (Dec 2023)
Daffodil ‘Rinjveldt’s Early Sensation’ (Jan 2024)
Galanthus elwesii (Jan 2024)
Camellia Sasanqua October Magic Orchid (Jan 2024)
Adonis amurensis ‘Fukujukai’ (Jan 2024)
Winter Aconite (Feb 2024)
Camellia japonica red (Feb 2024)
Helleborus x hybridus ‘Cotton Candy’ (Feb 2024)
But to be fair, Marianne’s article was not just about finding delights in the garden over the winter months but also about creating structures that give you pleasure as you watch it evolve. Among the many evergreens we’ve planted on our hillside are the Christmas trees that mark the season every year.
Backyard Christmas Trees
And without a doubt the single most enjoyable viewpoint for us has always been the hillside leading down to the pasture.
February Snow (Feb 2024)
That line of White Pines was planted in 1976 with baby trees donated by the state of Maryland and the hillside is adorned with wildflowers in other seasons. It has been a delight to watch the White Pines grown year by year…
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day October 2024
Dahlia ‘Mai Tai’
Well it’s another month of flowers and I am very reminded by GBBD that accounting for the flowers in bloom during October brings the dahlias very much front and center. Each year we think we will more carefully label and support the dahlias and each year we have them sprawled all over a row in the vegetable garden with no support at all. Nevertheless we pick and enjoy the flowers and swear will do better by them next year. They are certainly worthwhile.
Dahlia ‘Taboo’
Dahlia ‘Maui’
Dahlia ‘Excentric’
Dahlia ‘Pooh’
Dahlia ‘Picasso’
Dahlia ‘Garbrielle Marie’
You can see the use of these dahlias in the center of our new kitchen.
Dahlias in the new kitchen
Next to the Dahlias we always have a sequence of gladiolia in the garden.
Gladiolus ‘Black Cherry’
Of course there are many other flowers in the garden for fall, especially some of the annuals.
Tithonia ‘Mexican Sunflower’
Nasturtium
And some of the reliable perennials
Toadlily (Trycyrtis ‘Sinonome’)
Crocus Rose
Aconitum carmichaelii ‘Arendsii’
Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’
Crocus Fall -speciosus
But the other thing that happens in this season is that we begin to see the first of Camellias that will contribute to the yard for the next 6 months.
Camellia sasanqua ‘October Magic’
Camellia x ‘Survivor’
There are also a few greenhouse plants that worth sharing.
Nerine ‘Peppermint’
Nerine Zinkowski hybrid
Oxalis hirta ‘Gothenburg’
Plectranthus
And one last thing I wanted to mention. We planted a Heptacodium two years ago and it flowered for the first time this Fall. What was striking to me was not the flowers but the red leaf bracts which follow afterwards. I can see how this is going to be lovely small tree.
Heptacodium miconioides ‘Temple of Bloom’
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day September 2024
Colchicum on the hillside
Well for this Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day the Colchicum are the bright new stars for the month. I’ve added more this year and I can foresee adding more Colchicum every year. They have real visual impact and last even longer than I had remembered.
Colchicum bivonae
Colchicum x byzantium ‘Innocence’
Another bright spot for this time of year is the emergence of the Cyclamen hederifolium.
Cyclamen hederifolium
First the naked flowers appear and then the wonderfully interesting leaves will appear.
Cyclamen hederifolium leaf
A surprise this morning was seeing that a single red flower was emerging from the perrenial garden foliage.
Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’
Dahlias are not normally hardy over the winter for us but this is the fourth season for the Bishop to return.
Nearby is the Black and Blue Sage which was also said to marginally hardy for us and continues to regrow and spread.
Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’
Of course the Cestrum continues to flower for us.
Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’
But right next to it the Clematis virginiana is now trying overgrow the rose bush.
Crocus Rose surrounded by Clematis virginiana
We also see this Clematis abundantly spreading the woods so we will need to try to trim it back.
Clematis virginiana
And when we turn to the annuals in the vegetable garden they are flowering beautifully.
Annuals in the vegetable garden
Including also the glads in neighboring rows.
Aaralyn Glad
Glad ‘Margaret Rose’
Lastly I should mention that we have had Evening Primrose growing on the hillside through most of this year.
Evening Primrose (Oenethera speciosa)
I was surprised to discover while perusing some my old orders from Park Seeds that I had actually order Oenethera seed back in 2001 and I’m now think this may be why we now have wild primrose growing in the pasture…
Garden Bloggers Bloom Day August 2024
Althea (Hibiscus syriacus)
Well, not a lot to add for this Bloom Day. It’s been hot and dry for June and July but we finally got some rain last week. I thought it was worth mentioning the Rose of Sharon above because these shrubs represent some of least difficult and always rewarding summer shrubs. That particular plant is a chance seedling from a plant that I brought up from Alexandria almost fifty years ago. It spread so rampantly that I took many of the progeny out, but I’ve saved this one in the front yard and I’m increasingly becoming a fan again.
Another worthwhile mention for summer flowering are the Crepe Myrtles. They are flowering everywhere in our area including two big ones in our yard. On the hillside last year I put in a new one that I thought we might have lost to the dryness, but, lo and behold, it is not only growing but looks to have a very dark flower which would be special.
New Crepe Myrtle
I also noticed one of my favorite glads “Margaret Rose” and it came from one of the small offsets from it’s parent bulb.
Gladiolia ‘Margaret Rose’
In the yard we have a new lily that was a mother’s day present to Beth this year. The color is beautiful but it’s very thin branched and wants to bend down. I’m hoping it’s stronger next year. This is a second planting because the deer ate off the first planting in the center bed of the front yard.
Lilium leichtlinii
In that bed in the center of the front yard there is a nice yellow daylily that is evidence the deer don’t care for daylilies.
Daylily
I should mention the front yard also has a cute little Lobelia in both blue and white versions.
Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
For the rest of the garden and yard things are pretty much as normal. Lot’s of Zinnias and other annuals. This Cestrum continues to flower and I wonder why I don’t see more of them around town.
Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’
There is in the woods a strange little Hosta that I bought by mistake this year (thinking I was picking up a Trillium). It has survived our ultra-dry weather and is now putting out very nice flowers
Hosta ‘Road Rage’
Let me close by noting that we are busy picking fruit at this time of year. Things seem to be early because of the hot weather. Usually we have the wasps eating the pears and telling us they are ripe but this year the crows got in on the act with no wasps in sight.
Pear picking
I also discovered the figs are both abundant and ripe.
Figs
It makes for wonderful lunchtime sandwiches
Figs on Sandwiches
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day July 2024
Lilium Oriental-trumpet hybrid ‘Scheherezade’
Well, it’s that time of year and even though I’m late again for GBBD I should lead off with the lilies. Many of already come and gone, but there are still some to gaze upon.
Lilium ‘Stargazer’
Lilium henryi hybrid ‘Madame Butterfly’
We still have many continuing showpieces like the Cestrum and the Hydrangeas and the Princess Flower.
Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’
Princess Flower (Tibouchina urvilleana)
But the first of Crepe Myrtles are starting to bloom as well.
Crepe Myrtle white
The annual flowers in the vegetable garden are also starting to dominate.
Annuals in the vegetable garden
Cosmos
Next to them amidst the corn are some lovely sunflowers.
Sunflowers mixed in with the corn
Sunflowers in peak form
The Alpine bed around the greenhouse is mostly done flowering but I did see some daphne still trying to bloom.
Daphne collina x cneorum flowering out of season
I was also struck by the beauty of the bark on the Chamaecyparis.
Chamaecyparis obtusa
This particular tree is forty years old now and one of the bigger trees in the back yard. It’s a beauty.
One last thing to share is a discovery at the local Costco. I’d never seen these tropical plants from the Far East before and was delighted with the form and color.
Curcuma alismatifolia ‘Siam Shadow’
They are zone 8 so they will need to go into the basement or greenhouse for the winter but I think that will be worth it…
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day June 2024
The pasture at sunset
I’m going to lead off this edition of the Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day with a picture of our pasture at sunset featuring the wildflowers that son Josh planted last year. They really exploded into flower this year with no extra labor at all.
Wildflowers in the pasture
He created this field by laying down a tarp to kill off the existing plants before seeding and it has really come into fruition (literally) this year. There has been one series of flowers after another since early spring.
Looking the other way on that same sunset evening shows the wonderful light off of our larger trees.
Pin Oak over the house at sunset
Another tree well worth sharing is the Stewartia japonica in the front yard.
Stewartia japonica
I have never seen so many flowers on this tree.
Stewartia japonica in full bud stage
The buds from the top of the tree are covering the lawn below
Stewartia japonica blossoms in the grass
Another plant worthy of particular attention is the Princess Flower which spent the winter in the greenhouse.
Princess Flower (Tibouchina urvilleana)
It is becoming big enough that we will have to think about the best plans for it over this next winter.
Full size picture of the Princess Flower
Zooming in on Princess Flower
The porch gets a few tropicals in this season
Brugmansia (Angel’s Trumpet)
The other item worth mentioning at this season is the beginning of the lilies.
Trumpet Lily
Red Asiatic Hybrid Lily
Yellow Asiatic Lily in the Herb bed
Lily ‘Pink Perfection’ in the grapes
Lily ‘Pink Perfection’
There are many other flowers happening now but here are a few that I should single out.
Gentiana septemfida (Summer Gentian)
Cestrum ‘Orange Peel’
Alstroemeria ‘Sweet Laura’
Arisaema candidissimum
And let me end with our contribution to the food supply for Monarch Butterflies.
Orange Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day May 2024
Stewartia malacodendron
Well I’m later than ever this month because we were on travel again for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day. But I will try to quickly share some of the most interesting of the many flowers on display this month. First and foremost is the Stewartia shown above. It is also known as Silky Camellia because it’s part of that family and it is also a native tree (the Carolinas) though the chances that you have ever seen one are probably not very high. It’s basically an understory tree that doesn’t stand out unless you are looking for it. But oh my the flowers are wonderful. This year is the first time we have ever had so many flowers on this very small tree (maybe 8 feet tall at the moment).
Stewartia malacodendron with many flowers
Another tree that is very nice right now is the Chinese Dogwood
Chinese Dogwood (Cornus kousa)
I really have to look at this from the second floor of the house to get full appreciation of it’s upward facing flowers.
And as long as we are talking about trees I should mention the Golden Full Moon Maple with it’s delightful lime green leaves.
Golden Full Moon Maple (Acer Shirasawanum)
Nearby is one of our oldest Rhododendrens
Rhododendron ‘Chionoides’
The flowers cut from this shrub are incredibly long-lasting in the house.
The first of the lillies is adding to our garden pleasure.
Enchantment Lily
While the roses, peonies, and Iris continue to provide flower after flower
Tess d’Uberville rose
Crocus Rose
Light Pink Tree Peony
Iris gracillipes
Beth has been bringing in many of the garden flowers for the kitchen counter.
Garden Harvest
Another nice item is the Chinese Ground Orchid and I like the purple one the best.
Bletilla striata (Chinese Ground Orchid)
In the Alpine bed we have a very nice Rock Rose that is flowering up a storm.
Rock Rose (Cistus albanicus)
Cistus albanicus outgrowing its location in the alpine bed
And nearby a trough has a dianthus overflowing the container.
Dianthus overwhelming a trough
And I should mention the Clematis which is always very striking.
Clematis ‘Crystal Fountain’
There is also a flower on the giant Podophyllum in the side yard
Podophyllum delavayi
Podophyllum delavayi flower
Finally let me mention the Evening Primrose which has decided to make a home in the pasture on Sunset Hill.
Oenothera speciosa in pasture
Pink Eveing Primrose (Oenothera speciosa)
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day April 2024
Well, I am spectacularly late for Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day this month. My excuse is that we went to England in April and had a chance to visit some of the world’s most delightful gardens. We spent one day at Kew and and another day at Wisley and soaked up tons of inspiration for the future.
Kew Garden
Wisley Garden
Arriving back home we found many things in bloom and some past bloom (as expected). But I will share some aspects of the yard just to provide an insight as to what is going on here. The redbuds, dogwoods, and wisteria are fully out now and the apples are the last of the fruit trees to be flowering but they have a very strong bloom this year.
Pink Dogwood in the front yard
Fragrant Cloud Dogwood
Kwanzan Cherry is finished
Apple Orchard getting organic spray with radish flowers in abundance
The peonies have both finished blooming for some (P. caucasica) and just now blooming for others (P. mariei for example).
Paonia mairei
Early Tree Peony
We were delighted to see the Loropetalum get a full bloom this year. It’s marginal in our climate but the winter was very mild this year.
Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum ‘Zhuzhou Fuschia’
There are many flowers happening at the moment ranging from very tiny iris to greenhouse delights and onto spectacular wisteria and trillium springing forth.
Iris henryi
Watsonia from the Greenhouse
Viburnum carcephalum
Trillium grandiflorum
In the alpine bed we have pulsatillas, poppies and delosperma.
Pulsatilla albana v. flavescens
Morrocan Poppy (Papaver atlanticum)
Delosperma basuticum
And out in the woods we find numerous surprises.
Narcissus ‘Badgeworth’
Camassia in the woods
Shooting Stars (Dodacatheon meadia) in the woods
Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in-the-Pulpit) in the woods
Viburnum prunifolium (Blackhaw)
Altogether there are wonderful things happening everyday. And now more to plant…