I really thought that we were going to miss out on fall color in Tennessee this year. August and September were horribly dry and the trees all looked so stressed by the beginning of October that I really thought the leaves would just drop without turning. I was wrong. The color has been short-lived, but…
Well, I’ve done it! I’ve found ANOTHER new favorite plant. Are you surprised? I didn’t think so. This time it’s a Rudbeckia. Rudbeckia is a genus that I have always been incredibly fond of. Rudbeckias get a bad rap sometimes because of the market saturation by ‘Goldsturm’ (which is an outstanding plant, by the way.)…
Being a Kansas boy by birth, it seems only natural that I would have a strong affinity for sunflowers. Kansas is, after all, the sunflower state. The wild form of Helianthus annuus grows up and down the roadsides and throughout natural areas across the state. This is not the giant garden form of sunflower that…
It’s a bittersweet day in the garden today. The last blossom of the season has opened on Hemerocallis ‘Hyperion’ and today is the last day that I will get to enjoy its joyful beauty until next summer rolls around and we get to dance our dance all over again. ‘Hyperion’ is my favorite of all…
Growing up on the Kansas prairie, butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) was a common and favorite sight along the roadsides and across the grassy plains. For those of us who were in tune with these kinds of things, the flowering of the butterfly weed was the official harbinger of summer. It’s brilliant orange flowers were impossible…
As you’ve likely figured out by now, I haven’t met too many plants I don’t like. For the few plants that do fall into the “don’t like” category, I “don’t like” them just as passionately as I “do like” the ones that I do–which is most of them. Are you thoroughly confused by that? Just…
I love yuccas! If you’ve been reading along, you’ve probably figured out by now that there aren’t too many plants I don’t love, but I really, REALLY love yuccas! They’re the agaves of cold-climate gardens. They give us that (mostly) stiff, upright, sword-like texture that is so important in the garden. I mean, really, what’s…
(Originally Posted October 16, 2007 on MySpace)Hello everyone! We’ve returned from our brief weekend in Branson, MO with my family and had a wonderful time. We were able to see a couple of good shows, spent a day at Silver Dollar City (which was made all the more fun by having my 10-year-old cousin with…
(Originally Posted November 16, 2007 on MySpace)It’s just about that time of year when one of my favorite garden plants begins popping up around the garden. Cyclamen coum inhabits the shady corners and crannies, seeding itself hither and yon, but always in a welcomed way. I never tire of it and if, perhaps, it lands…