There’s lots going on here at the moment, even though it’s been disappointingly dry since the last Bloom Day. Without further chatter, let’s start with some herbs. Above, what was supposed to be ‘Provence White’ lavender but is clearly not, so I guess it’s just ‘Provence’ (Lavandula x intermedia), with pony tail grass (Stipa tenuissima).
Last winter, I set aside some time to work on a bunch of blog posts, so I’d have some extras on hand to put up during busy times this spring and summer. I started out writing about some of my favorite plants, and pretty soon, I realized that I had enough posts to put together a book. I’m pleased to announce that Tried and True Perennials is now available in print and digital versions. You can find more details on this page: Tried and True Perennials.
What can you learn from this picture? That ironweeds (Vernonia), golden lace (Patrinia scabiosifolia), ‘Fireworks’ goldenrod (Solidago rugosa), and Joe-Pye weed (Eutrochium/Eupatoriadelphus/Eupatorium maculatum) can all thrive in the same site. And that purple, pink, and yellow can look as good together in fall as they do in spring. But you can’t tell that the Joe-Pye and the ironweed in the background are in completely separate beds, about 8 and 15 feet away, respectively. Or, that I cut back the Joe-Pye in early summer, so it’s about 2 feet shorter than it would usually be, and it’s just coming into bloom now instead of finishing up. So, if you liked this picture and wanted to try the same combination in your own garden, you might be happy with the results, or you might not.
I’ve enjoyed gardening for many different reasons – the thrill of tracking down unusual plants, the fun of harvesting homegrown edibles, the delight of sniffing great fragrances, the excitement of growing new plants from seed, and so on – but for the past few years, my main interest has been in creating and capturing what I think of as “wow moments”: in other words, pretty pictures. It’s no surprise that this interest coincides with the amount of time I’ve been blogging, because this is such a perfect place to share the results.
Finally, I get to rejoin the celebration of Bloom Day! It’s been a long time since November, but now, there’s plenty going on and more than enough for a post. I can’t resist taking a quick trip back to the beginning of the month, to revisit some of the beauties that have come and gone since early May, starting with fox’s grape (Fritillaria uva-vulpis):
I’m honored and delighted to be taking part in April’s Garden Designers Roundtable as a guest blogger. I’d feel out of place contributing on a design-specific subject in the company of all these professional designers, but I never run out of things to say about my favorite plants, so I jumped at the chance to join in on this topic. The hard part was deciding which plants would make the cut. Going with the “landscape” aspect, and attempting to keep this post a semi-reasonable length, I settled on three of my favorite woody plants.
