There's nothing extraordinary about buying a houseplant, except I just got done whining about how I'm sick of caring for houseplants. Go ahead, call me a hypocrite; I'll wait. Now that we've got that over with, let me tell you about this holiday plant. 'HGC Jacob' hellebore is a perennial. This is not really a [...]
hellebores
8 Plants That Look Good After Bitter Cold: Garden Bloggers Bloom Day November 2013
November 15, 2013 – Posted in: What's up/bloomingAfter a mild start to November, we have recently had snow and bitter cold*--down to 15F(-9C) one night and in the low 20s for several others. You would think there would not be any plant worth looking at after that, and you would be mostly right. However, if one looks carefully, there are still some [...]
The Cabin Fever Bed: Part 2
November 2, 2013 – Posted in: Cabin Fever Bed, Mud Season, New House, New GardensIn my previous post, I described my idea of a cabin fever bed as a way to enjoy at least a part of the garden from indoors, when the weather is too miserable to be outside. One of the goals of such a bed is to grow plants that provide interest as far into winter [...]
The Cabin Fever Bed: Part 1
October 29, 2013 – Posted in: Cabin Fever Bed, New House, New GardensCabin fever is a colloquial expression that means different things to different people. Wikipedia defines it as a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a person or group is isolated and/or shut in a small space, with nothing to do for an extended period. Cabin fever describes the extreme irritability and restlessness a person may [...]
How to Rescue a Plant with Yellow Leaves
July 11, 2013 – Posted in: How-to, Pests, Plagues, and VarmintsBecause my 'Josef Lemper' hellebore was turning yellow, I decided to contact my source for advice. This plant was sent to me to try out in my garden compliments of Skagit Gardens, so I contacted Rhonda Jennings, who sent me the sample, to see what she thought. The best thing to do, if you haven’t [...]
Yellow Leaves: Why?
July 4, 2013 – Posted in: Pests, Plagues, and VarmintsA lot of my plants have yellow leaves that aren't supposed to. It's been raining frequently--often heavy downpours--and when it hasn't been raining it's been quite humid. So both the air and the soil are saturated--a recipe for plant disease if the plants aren't adapted to those conditions. Here's what I've been seeing: Why is [...]
Next Spring’s Foundation: Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day April 2013
April 15, 2013 – Posted in: What's up/bloomingThis is the second spring in our new garden. It takes time for plants to build up strength and multiply and consequently early spring/late mud season bloom here looks sparse. But each leaf is soaking up sunshine and storing food that will make next year's bloom, and the slow-to-warm spring that we have been enduring [...]
April Featured Photos on Cold Climate Gardening
April 3, 2013 – Posted in: What's up/bloomingI enjoy displaying seasonal photos in the sidebar on my website and have been doing so for a couple of years now. It frustrated me that I couldn't easily caption them or credit the photographer. I finally decided I would do a post every month highlighting these photos. So, here we go:These daffodils are descendants [...]
Fall-blooming Crocus Continue for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day December 2012
December 15, 2012 – Posted in: What's up/bloomingYes, it's true. The fall-blooming crocus I wrote about for last month's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day are still blooming. Some of the pale ones came up and are trying to bloom, thanks to a series of unseasonably warm days. The leaves of the pale ones emerge simultaneously with the flowers, so all the grass-like crocus [...]
April in Two Gardens: Garden Bloggers Bloom Day April 2012
April 16, 2012 – Posted in: What's up/bloomingThis spring has alternated between unseasonably warm and fairly seasonable. The warmth brought the forsythias and daffodils into early bloom, and the returning cool weather kept them looking good for far longer than we had a right to expect. The old garden has cultivated flowers blooming; the new garden has some native plants blooming. I [...]
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