July – hot, humid, and daylilies galore. They are spectacular this year – very tall and huge bud count. They don’t seem to mind the heat and humidity but I do. I think i have almost a hundred different varieties. Maybe I will have to count them and find out.

There are some other plants blooming this time of year, too.

More coming in another post………

The Japanese (Ensata) Iris are quite lovely this year. They liked all the rain we got.

These all came to me from a good Garden Club friend – Thanks Cindy SW

Her name is Frances aka “Franny”. She came to us 3 weeks ago when her owner became ill, and Franny needed a new home. She is nine years old and needs to trim down but is adjusting beautifully. She is very well behaved, stays out of the garden and lounges quietly nearby while I weed or dig or water. Many of you will recall that our previous Labrador, Esther, passed away 4 years ago – it is wonderful to have a dog in the house again.

Spring has been beautiful and the plants have done well. I am hoping for a summer that is neither drought nor constant rain for a change. Everything seems really big this year. The daylilies are going to be amazing!

The crevice garden I started last spring is coming along nicely. The troughs and rock gardens are sporting some lovely blossoms too.

As usual there is a lot going on in the garden this time of year. In fact there is so much going on, I have had hardly had time to take photos and post them. There will be two posts – one on the main gardens and one on the crevice and rock gardens.

Violets and Anemone nemerosa

Spring has sprung. We returned from a southern hiatus and of course a couple days later snow was forecast. Red sky at morning…..and yes it was a warning. I hurried out and covered the budding daffodils and crocus and a few other things. We got 5 inches of heavy wet stuff, but everything survived .

We have had lots and lots of rain so things are pretty soggy. A sunny stretch is forecast though, so perhaps I can back into the garden, do some clean-up, move some things around and generally lose myself for hours. It is the best.

Update on the crevice garden: it seemed to survive the winter quite well. Photos to come once things start blooming

It is the end of January. Freeze, thaw, cold, snow, warm, rain….. over and over. What a gloomy month.

Happy New Year. January is half over and weather wise it has been what I call “ugly bugly.” We had warm weather, then a beautiful snowstorm (16 inches at our house), then rain storms which washed it all away. Some of it washed right into my basement. Yesterday we had a snow squall and we might get more snow tomorrow, and then temperatures are supposed to plummet into the single digits for a few days. I hope we get some snow before that happens so the poor plants will have a bit of a blanket.

I started out the year just right – buying plants. A local nursery is closing, and I went to see what they had for sale. I ended up with a cart full of perennials – half off. They are heeled into the veggie garden, and I have until April to figure out where to put them. Such a dilemma.

And so the year ends. December was mild and very wet. We are having an El Nino winter which usually means the snows come in February and March. We will have to see what happens in 2024. The garden, of course, is dormant, but the wildlife still visits. 

It has been a difficult year for many. Gardening is my way of finding some solace. Happy New Year to all my gardening friends.

November is winding down. We had frost and a bit of snow. The dahlias have been lifted and are settled into their winter storage. The Brugmansia was pruned and brought into the basement so that it can go dormant until spring. I have cut back the things that get mushy like iris, daylilies, allium and hostas. The woodier perennials with seed heads will be left up until spring. Bird feeders have been put out, and we have lots of woodpeckers, bluebirds, finches, sparrows, juncos, titmice, chickadees, blue jays, and cardinals.

The garden will rest now until spring. Hopefully there will be more snow cover to insulate the plants from the cold.