As we contemplate the coming gardening season (and our annual plant sale), one aspect of modern gardening is hard to miss. Plastic is ubiquitous: bags of every kind of garden amendment, landscape fabric (ugh), tools, edgings, and of course pots. For the plant sale, we collect hundreds of pots, pretty much all reused (yay!), but … Continue reading One word: plastics
As I contemplate the wonderful/frightening chaos of my August to September garden, I have been thinking about “garden worthiness,” particularly regarding native plants. The excellent people at Mt. Cuba Center do trials of many species looking into this very thing, and the criteria they use for evaluation include habit, vigor, and floral display, as well … Continue reading Garden worthy
Has anyone else been blown away by the bulb display this late winter and spring? I have been struck by the lushness of this year’s flowers. Whether it’s more to do with last spring’s providing the right conditions for creating this year’s flowers, or this spring’s odd mixture of mild and chilly weather, it seems … Continue reading Spring Bulbs Sproinging
Here’s an environmental concern that is concerning in the “worrisome” sense: the invasive spotted lanternfly, which was first detected in the US in 2014 and in Maryland in 2018. In March 2023, the Maryland Department of Agriculture expanded its spotted lanternfly quarantine to include most of the state, including Montgomery County. To contain the pest’s … Continue reading Yikes! Spotted?
My late friend, Fanny Phillips (1928–2004), was an enthusiast for many things. She wasn’t so much a gardener as a passionate collector and student of mostly exotic plants. She gave me my Bowiea volubilis (below right), as well as several flats of snowdrops from her compost piles, where they had naturalized. But she was especially … Continue reading Slow mulch and hedge fun
Way back in March 2018, I wrote about Pycnanthemum, the mountain mints (there are several). These rewarding plants are powerhouse attractors of pollinators and provide winter interest with their interesting dried flowerheads. Back then, I had two: Pycnanthemum muticum (the most common species that you’re likely to find on sale) and P. tenuifolium (narrow-leaf mountain … Continue reading More about Mountain Mints
In the meantime, we’ve had a remarkable beginning of November, haven’t we? The nice weather is great for admiring the glorious fall foliage (see my lovely fothergilla!) and for doing things in the garden before winter sets in. This season of changes brings revelations and opportunities. For instance, when their leaves change color, scores of … Continue reading Winter is coming
Fall cleanup ain’t what it used to be—like a lot of traditional gardening activities, it has changed with the times and with new information from horticultural and environmental sciences. Rather than cleaning up every bit of debris and dead plant material, the new emphasis is on leaving things to carry on as nature intended: leaves … Continue reading Fall Tasks
Gardeners have many motivations for trying to grow more native plants: supporting insects, birds, and other creatures for their own sake; attracting beneficial insects to attack pests on our plants; choosing plants that are well-adapted to our region’s soils and climate; and simply enjoying the many and varied native plants that are becoming more available … Continue reading The Nativity Scene
Last month I mentioned detecting the mottled green leaves of Phacelia bipinnatifida, a biennial that is quietly waiting for spring (aren’t we all?) to begin producing its attractive purple flowers. This is one of those plants that can self-seed prolifically in the right conditions, which turns out to be leaf litter under deciduous trees. (Another … Continue reading Desperately Seeking Phacelia