15 Jun
You have no idea how much time I spent trying to come up with excuses for a rather paltry offering for this month’s Bloom Day post. After all, this time of year isn’t the best for the gardens here. It was just a few days ago that I finished planting out the last of the annuals, and they look very silly compared to the established perennials.
1 Jun
The weather is still rather erratic here, bouncing from days in the 50s to a spell in the 90s in one week. It looks like the nights are staying at least above freezing from now on, though, so I can finally get busy planting out the annuals and tender things. I follow pretty much the same routine each year: first the best reds, oranges, and yellows for the main front path; purples and the rest of the reds, oranges, and yellows for the middle front path; the rest of the purples and yellow and some pinks in the far front path; pinks and blues starting around the side; and finally, whatever whites I’ve ended up with. From its rank in my planting priorities, you might guess that white isn’t a color I’m particularly drawn to, and you’d be right.
15 May
No complaints about the very springy spring we’ve been enjoying here in southeastern Pennsylvania. For the most part, the temperatures and rainfall have been almost exactly average; we even got what I hope is our last frost two nights ago: right around the time of our last frost date. As of this morning, all of the plants that have packed my office, kitchen, and unheated greenhouse for the last few days and nights are finally moving outside for good.
1 May
Finally, the last part of the Annual Events series – good news for those of you who like annuals and even better new for those of you who are getting tired of them by now. This one focuses on annuals and tender perennials with outstanding foliage paired with other terrific foliage or flowering plants.
15 Apr
The only thing predictable about spring weather here is that it’s completely unpredictable. Within the last month, we’ve had some days that we were lucky to get above freezing and other days in the record-breaking mid-80s. Back on March 25, we had snow…
1 Apr
In Annual Events – Part 1, I showed some of my favorite annual-based groupings for summer interest. While I’m waiting for spring to decide it’s really here, I’m thinking even further ahead and reviewing some color-rich combinations for fall. The shot above, of the middle path in the front garden, contains several of my must-have annuals and tender perennials, including ‘Profusion Orange’ zinnias and several selections of sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas): ‘Sweet Caroline Light Green’, ‘Sweet Caroline Bronze’, and ‘Sweet Caroline Purple’.
15 Mar
For the most part, March isn’t an exciting time for Hayefield and its environs – color-wise, at least. The first subtle signs of spring in the neighborhood usually appear the the nearby woods.
