a garden maker's notes

Part of what makes this garden space and path wonderful is the lavender spikes of  mint that have been flowering abundantly all summer long.  See them at the bottom of the photo. The white flowering  oregano spills onto to fieldstone step (out of view) so that I brush past them and release their fragrance with each descent.  The [...]

Last post, I was wondering how the Ligularia d. ‘Othello” would open to full flower.  Away for a few days, camera in hand, I went to check it out. Lo and behold! An unexpected visitor!  Unexpected because it’s a new plant in my garden planted for its leaf shape, dark stems, leaf color, and shocking orange brilliance in [...]

I planted the ligularia (L. dentata ‘Othello’) because of its wonderful  heart leaf shape and purplish greenish coloration (more purple in spring–more green in summer).  It gives contrast and texture midst the hostas.  I’d seen it in flower in other gardens, but never watched the flower unfolding. 
 See the pod-like shape in the lower part of [...]

The back garden path all-but-disappears by mid-summer. This is not a mistake, but intended. By the sixth month it  becomes a  path of  lush abundance. Not unlike the journey in many Japanese gardens where you are forced because of the unevenness of the stone path to look at down your feet and thus encounter something not seen when looking [...]

The back garden’s on a lower level–great to see from my office and the shady refuge of the lower patio–but not visible directly from the first floor.  However, I’ve learned deck rail viewing. Nice mornings I enjoy coffee on the deck and view the gardens from above. I love the tapestry created by the plantings.  [...]

A warm summer twilight lured me to the lower gardens to witness astonishing shadows, highlights,and  color nuances. Watching the shifting patterns of light and dark reveling in leaves, flowers, textures, forms, and colors became a joyous Solstice eve celebration. No photos but a memory of enjoyed garden moments. Today is the summer solstice and the longest day of the [...]

Spring Anemone Steals the Show

Plant Anemone canadensis when you want to carpet a large area. Too vigorous for a small spot in a border. Here it works to echo the shape of the long narrow walk  as it directs your attention to the garden below with its beckoning color and texture.
Meanwhile, I’m challenged to dead-head [...]

Birdsong, streaming sunlight, happy plants greet me most mornings. For most of May, the white climbing clematis vine (is it alba or grandiflora?) treats me to its lovely floral display. With or without flowers, the vines connect my deck to my garden and the woodland view beyond. Below deck, it’s wonderful as well.  I enjoy it from my office and the lower patio. [...]

 Always something to delight along the path. Texture, shapes, flowers, colors all reward the garden journey.

Did the Thalia narcissus blooming with the pink hellebore enchant me more than the European ginger with the emerging fern? Or the amazing smell of  the lilac scenting the garden fully 2 -3 weeks earlier than usual?Or the textures of  allium, cerastium, granite, and geranium foliage? Or the wonder of the sun lighting the varied array of [...]