Despite ice on the bird bath and the ongoing cold temperatures, spring is on the way. You should be receiving the spring catalogues in your mailbox soon, if you have not already, and dreams of the “perfect” garden may already have you completely forgetting about any less than bumper crops and fully floriferous flower gardens…
I left the hollies right after the dusting of snow on Saturday night. I like the hollies and all, but sometimes their personalities are a little too prickly for me. I headed over to the Rose Garden and have been enjoying the sunshine during the day and the lights during the night. In the evenings,…
As we approach the winter solstice, I decided to visit some of my winter friends. I am across the road from the children’s garden, safely hiding under the branches of a holly tree. A good prickly tree like this should discourage the gardeners from looking for me here. This is a good time of year…
This week I am hiding in the Transition Garden. Appropriate since we are finally making the seasonal change to winter – on the calendar, with the weather and with the types of plants that are now most interesting. With a few exceptions, fall foliage is almost over and the stars of winter are starting to…
Late fall and winter weather brings the end of using most gasoline powered garden equipment. Mowers, tillers and garden tractors should have their engines winterized if you plan to store them unused until next spring. Winterizing is a fairly straightforward process. First, run the equipment out of gas or treat the existing gas with a…
Let me just start by saying I am not a fan of pine trees right now. As many of you know (and probably experienced) we had a pretty strong nor’easter last week. The Garden, just like a lot of other places in this region, was hit pretty hard, losing over 40 large trees and quite…
Today is Veterans Day – a time to honor the many men and women who served our country in the military. I also want to take the opportunity to recognize some the great veterans of our Garden. The Garden’s oldest “veteran” would be the beautiful white oak standing guard on the north-eastern side of Cobblestone…
When people talk about fall color, they think about bright yellows, oranges and reds lighting up grand trees like maples, hickories and oaks. A visitor to our Garden will certainly see these brilliant trees and many others. This year, the autumn colors are gradually progressing through the landscape, lighting up a tree here and there. …
Halloween is less than a week away and quite a few plants are ready. Let’s go on a whirlwind tour of the Garden and finds some scary plants. First there are the plants that have creepy names – or at least evoke a creepy feeling.Spiderwort – This spring bloomer has pretty little flowers and long…
On a rainy morning like today, the temptation is to roll over, pull a leaf over your head and go back to sleep. Obviously a lot of people must be doing this, because there is hardly any one in the Garden. Just a few gardeners, the luckless “light crew” setting up for this winter’s Garden…