Not only have I not been blogging about the garden for the past year (or a little more), I've also not been doing much gardening. I've been doing something different. *** Sure I've been doing the gardening basics: tending the bamboo, pruning, weeding, planting tropicals, tending bamboo, watering, tending bamboo, tending bamboo, and tending bamboo, but there's really not been much to say about any of that which I haven't said here before. Plus posts take time, and I just don't have too much of that these days. As you can see from the imagery here, my creative outlet has changed from p ..read more

Since we're squarely in Winter's grasp now, it seems a great time to look back four to six weeks to appreciate the end of summer 2019. Ah, those were lovely days, warm and sunny and dry. The perfect time to... *** ...hang out on the deck and soak up the last of the summer sun. Beautiful greenery behind, dark purple castor beans reaching above the deck railing as usual (what an amazing annual!) to add more color to the scene. Plenty to look at too (a helicopter flew over as I took this!) The tropicals area was particularly nice this year... ...possibly because of the removal of th ..read more

A few years ago I grew Pennisetum Vertigo (cultivar name 'Tift 8'), a large, purple grass with wide leaves. I loved this grass, but alas, I did not overwinter it successfully one year -- I think it dried out too much in the garage. So I wasn't able to grow it last year, and I missed it! The nurseries around me all seem to carry only Pennisetum Princess now (shown above), which is labeled as smaller than Vertigo, but supposedly similar in color. I finally gave in this year and bought a couple, thinking they'd be a replacement for Vertigo -- not exactly the same maybe, but better than nothing ..read more

I thought that it would be a good time to show you the front garden -- the view that my neighbors get, and what I see when I pull up to the house each day. You'll notice a lot of bamboo. It's been over 10 years since I got the bamboo collection bug, and this plant still delights me! There are seven or eight different types in the front here. *** Here's a wider shot -- I didn't want to use this one as the banner image for this post because it's too wide, but it gives you the big picture: Click to see it larger (right-click and "open in new window" might be the best way to see it ..read more

This was a good year for the pond. It had a few rough years recently, but I put a little effort into it this year and I think it shows. This shot was taken in early September, and you can see that I've added lots of sedges around the edges -- that really helps to soften up the rocks and make this a more inviting space. *** That's one of the big changes this year -- the perimeter planting. The second biggest change was the reintroduction of the frogbit... ...those lilypads in miniature make the water more inviting both to the eye and also wildlife -- this was a banner year for frog ..read more

For a couple of years now I've contemplated a fairly drastic change in the garden, but I could just never bring myself to make it happen. Until this past July that is, when one day I decided enough was enough and I got to work. What am I talking about exactly? It's this Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Filicoides' which is taking up too much space and looking so ratty most of the year. If you're not sure which plant I'm talking about, you'll soon see. *** I discussed my dilemma here back in 2018. Here's a look at it from another angle now: And one more from up on the deck stairs: After taking ..read more

Back in early August I got a text from my neighbor, asking if I knew what this thing was on her tree: She had sent a blurry phone camera image, but I knew exactly what it was. As I hurried over with my camera, I texted back: "Luna Moth!" *** Actias luna, the "Luna Moth", with a wingspan typically about 4.5" (115 mm), is one of the largest moths in North America. It's certainly one of the biggest we'll see around here, and I don't remember if I've ever seen one before. Once when I was a child I saw a huge moth flying around the street light one night at my cousin's somewhat rural ho ..read more

It's been a few years since I've bothered to grow any edibles, even though in my opinion one of the best things about summer gardening is a homegrown tomato. The deer and woodchucks and inconvenience of the fenced veggie garden being so far away from the kitchen door just made it too much of a hassle though, so I gave up on it. Until this year that is, when I decided that the deck would be a great place to grow tomatoes! I planted up six large pots, each holding a different variety. I was quite pleased with the results. *** Tomato plants are not the most attractive of ornamentals, but w ..read more

It's been a while since I've posted, but I've missed sharing some of my garden happenings this past summer. So I'm doing a series of catch-up posts to show you the highlights... ...starting with my main Japanese Maple. It's so good early in the growing season, where its red really shines, and it can strongly complement the bamboos. *** So vibrant, especially against the fresh green of big bamboo leaves: I transplanted some bamboo into the planter box next to this tree, hoping for this exact situation. Success! As long as you only look at it from this one angle that is. As you can ..read more

I usually avoid putting spoilers into my post titles, but since I post so infrequently these days I thought I'd get right to the point. A couple of weeks ago I was doing some winter damage assessment on the bamboos, and was taking a close look at this completely fried Phyllostachys dulcis: Not a pretty sight with all of that brown, but I wanted to know if any of those culms were going to leaf out again. *** So I was taking a close look... Yes, new growth! ...when I turned my head and got a little shock -- why was a dead mouse stuck in that branch?! After another few seconds I realized this ..read more