colchicum

Late last week I received a review copy of Crocuses: A Complete Guide to the Genus by Janis Ruksans. This is the kind of gardening book that makes my garden-geeky heart beat faster. It focuses on one genus, and endeavors to tell you everything you could possibly want to know: growing in an open garden, [...]

This is a recent acquisition from Odyssey Bulbs, in full, though battered, bloom on September 15th. It does not seem to be as tesselated (checkered) as Colchicum agrippinum. But since this is its first year, and since I was out of town for its peak bloom, we'll revisit that issue next year. It appears it [...]

Last week, before prices started to rise on flowering plants for Valentine's Day, I picked up a pot of florist's cyclamen to brighten up the kitchen--and to make sure I had a bloom for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. (Here's the owl's summer home.) There are hardy cyclamen that can live outdoors in the northern reaches [...]

The first half of November, when these photos were taken (November 12th, to be exact), was unusually mild. So even though I missed Garden Bloggers Bloom Day by a mile (well, okay, only 9 days), I'm going to post these photos anyway, so I can remember this mild November when next winter comes around. The [...]

Winter sowing, as far as I can tell, is identical to what, in my self-education as a gardener, I learned as cold stratification. The more traditional description of the procedure is to put the seeds in the fridge for the requisite period of time, and then sow them in pots or flats or whatever your [...]

Sunday, October 8th, was a gorgeous autumn day, sunny and warm. I decided to go up the hill for a walk in the woods, camera in hand, and you get to share the results. (Be forewarned: this is an even longer than usual post.) But first, a little bit about where we're going. Our family [...]

This is a section of the Birthday Garden, which is a somewhat raised bed sandwiched between the driveway and the house. At the base of the stone wall, looking rather pale, are some Colchicum byzantinum. Above them is an unknown chrysanthemum, which Debi Lampman of Bedlam Gardens in King Ferry, NY gave to me this [...]

As befits a good garden buddy, I gave some colchicum bulbs to my friend Bub several years ago. As a matter of fact, every time I dig up and divide a new kind, I give her some, so by now she has at least three kinds. But she's never bought any herself, so all that [...]