5/3/2013
I usually think of March as Pieris japonica month but it is one of those plants that blooms for a loooong time. Here’s some photos from May 3. From a distance it still looks in bloom, albeit in a dingy get-it-over-with kind of way. An up close look shows the reason for the dinginess. Go here to see my original post on Pieris japonica.
5/3/2013
Sometimes my brain thinks in botanical names and sometimes in common names – hence wallflower (Erysimum) with Heuchera (coral bells). Most of the colored leaf Heucheras don’t have coral bells (unlike the old-fashioned green-leaved versions you still see around here and there) so coral bells seems like a misnomer. As for the the wallflower, I find Erysimum a bit of a tongue twister, even in my head. As for the plants… Read more »
May 1, 2013
Aren’t the little pink cones adorable? Of course, they won’t stay pink, they’ll eventually turn brown but this would still be a nice plant to have in the garden. Dwarf conifers add great permanent texture; the needles act as a great foil to larger-leaved plants and contrary to popular belief, some conifers clearly display some great seasonal color. Read more »
It seems like a good idea, putting down an impermeable layer to suppress weeds and then covering it with mulch but it’s not. Really, don’t do it. I’m sure there are occasions and places where it works but more often than not, you end up with weeds anyway AND ugly bits showing through AND crappy bits of plastic/landscape fabric that you have to try and get out of the soil – so just don’t do it. Read more »
4/20/2013
Okay Puget Sounders, if you are headed to Portland between now and Mother’s Day, plan on a brief detour in Woodland to see more lilacs in one place than you ever dreamed of – the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens.
Hulda Klager, born in 1863, was a farmer’s wife and mother who fell in love with hybridizing lilacs. Around the turn of the century she ordered some nice Lemoine lilacs to work with; the cows stomped on all but 3. Read more »
Pine candles, 4/14/2013
These pine candles are about as long as they will get but still soft enough to perform candling. Check out how much they lengthened in a month. Interested in the art of pine pruning via candling? Go here for more info. Read more »
