Hellebores may be my all-time favorite winter-blooming plant.Their flowers persist for months, sometimes beginning as early as December, and frost barely bothers them.While a winter storm created icy conditions and dumped snow onto a good portion of the South the past few days, we were enjoying cold rain—until yesterday. I woke up to temperatures 16 degrees below freezing and giant, fluffy snowflakes falling from the sky. Helena, Alabama's winter has been relatively mild this year, and gnats and other bugs have been hanging around. So I was grateful for the freezing temps that will help kill t ..read more

December 2020, images taken in Deb's Garden2021 has come, and the COVID pandemic rages. My family, so far, has remained well. Although I know people who have had the disease, I don't personally know anyone who has died. Some of my friends cannot say the same. Alabama has not shut down as much as some other states—businesses and schools remain open at present—but most people are cautious. Social distancing and masks are standard everywhere. In October, I toured Gibbs Gardens in northern Georgia with a friend who lives near there and then traveled on to Tennessee to visit another friend. Other t ..read more

It has been a strange spring, with the world set on pause, waiting for the coronavirus to run its course. I am fortunate that I am safely tucked into my garden with plenty of space to wander and putter, and I am grateful for technology that keeps me up to date and connected to my friends and to my three sons, two of whom are sheltering in far away corners of the planet.Daffodils have almost finished blooming in the garden now. But from February through March they were gorgeous. My life style has slid into decadence. With no appointments to keep I can read late into the night and then sleep lat ..read more

I have been publishing this blog for over ten years, and sometimes I think I am running out of things to say. I wonder if people are tired of seeing pictures of the same scenes, after all these years.Here is the February 2020 edition of my woodland garden moss path. It is lush after all the winter rain we have had. Last year I added the blue bottle tree.Then I wander out into the garden and feel the pulse of the turning seasons. Every year I am thrilled at subtle changes, with the same familiar plants doing well or new ones settling in. I never grow tired of my garden. I always find some littl ..read more

2020 is here! It is a fun year to say and write, and surely it is full of potential. But first, one look back to 2019. About this time each year I select photos from each month that for various reasons did not make it onto my blog, but may deserve a chance to get out of the leftover pile. So - drumroll - here they are: 2019 Best of the Rest! January: Lancinato kale is also known as Dinosaur Kale. I love to include it with my winter vegetables. It is tasty and grows huge, making quite a statement in the winter vegetable patch. It produces striking yellow blooms later in the year when it goes to ..read more

I am happy to report that I have completed my final garden project of 2019. It was a lot of heavy work, and nothing brings satisfaction like being able to say "Done!" This project came to my mind in late October when I looked at a picture of the garden space I had begun in August, 2018.  Here is the photo that started it all: It was at the end of a very hot, prolonged summer drought. Few plants are blooming. What plant wants to bloom in triple digit heat? Some of them are dead! However, the majority did survive the drought, but most in this year-old garden space are still small and have ..read more

It is true that this year's autumn colors were affected by late summer drought and high heat. However, even as many leaves are crispy and brown, others now are brandishing their colors in final, glorious defiance of winter, which is coming rapidly. Rain and wind have been bringing these leaves down in great showers. When the weather cleared yesterday, I hurried ouside to take some photos of the display before it is gone. The landscape literally was glittering in the sunlight. In general, the following trees and shrubs in my garden produce the following colors:  Hickory trees (Carya), Redb ..read more

We gardeners are so tuned to the weather; it seems I begin every post with a weather report! But I have to say: After summer gripped us with its infernal fingers through September and into October, autumn hardly had a chance to flaunt its colors before frigid winter grabbed hold. Poor autumn. Shaken and frozen, its withered leaves are fluttering to the ground.  But we have had some glorious days. Recently I took photos as afternoon sun glimmered through the golden leaves of Hickory and Redbud (Cercis) trees and ignited Japanese maples and other plants with fiery sparks of red and orange ..read more

Crocus pulchellus, the hairy crocus, is a fall blooming crocus. Plant fall-blooming crocuses for delightful drifts of color when little else is blooming. The fall-blooming crocuses belong to the iris family and are not to be confused with autumn crocus, a misleading common name often used for Colchicum, an unrelated plant that is a member of the lily family. Depending on variety, these plants will bloom for weeks from September into November, and even into December in milder climates. After blooming, allow the plants to die back naturally so they will replenish the bulbs for next year's b ..read more

Fall has come, at last! Temps have dropped about thirty degrees, and some life-sustaining rain is making me and my plants happy. Overnight, plants perked up, and a few leaves are beginning to show fall colors. Last week I watched as autumn's mellow sunshine filtered through the woodlands, layering buttery tints amidst the leaves. I inhaled lungfuls of cool air, so refreshing after September's long breath of hell.  Here are some of my trees. Early fall is still green, but these trees know summer is over! Fallen leaves are beginning to cover our moss paths. We go from watering daily to dail ..read more