Many thanks to Jenny Koester and Horticulture magazine for adding Hayefield to their list of “Best Gardening Blogs 2011.” Here’s a rundown of the other blogs chosen to date, as far as I can tell (my apologies if I missed any):
Horticulture’s Best Gardening Blogs 2011
Pretty in Pictures – Part 2
[Part 1]
It’s surprisingly easy to find wow moments in your own garden, regardless how little or much effort you put into creating combinations, because the luck factor graces beginners and experts alike. When you’re not comparing your gardens to other people’s pretty pictures, you can be more open to the moments that come along without any intention on your part. The key here isn’t doing, it’s seeing. The more time you’re out in your garden, the greater your chances of spotting magic moments, such as the way the sun shining through a dark leaf makes it glow the same shade of red as a nearby bloom.
Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – June 2011
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).
Tried and True Perennials
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.
Pretty in Pictures
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.
