Dandelions (Taraxacum) are the bane of the neat gardener. In the spring they grow fast using the energy stored in their tap-roots. Before you know it they will be cheerfully flowering and then quickly producing many wind blown parachute-like seeds. After the snow melt and spring rains the soil is …
‘Snow Bunting’ Crocus
This dear little white crocus called 'Snow Bunting'. It is the only crocus bred by E.A. Bowles that is commercially available. Check out the web site for his former garden in England. These corms were planted in a terracotta pot sunk into the ground to try and stop the voles and mice from eating …
The Spring Garden at Northview
This is the Spring Garden at Northview on the first day of Spring 2014 (Compare to previous post). The snowdrops are out - Galanthus nivalis - single, double - Flore Pleno and Viridapice with green on the outer segments. Look out for future post about the different types of snowdrops. …
Two years ago on this date – it looked like spring
Today is technically the first day of spring, but it is not very spring-like. Despite the heavy rain yesterday we still have a few little patches of snow left. The cold air, frozen soil, and the fact that we only have snowdrops and winter aconites out, make the garden feel more like winter than …
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Hello Garden! – On re-acquaintance of garden and gardener after a snowy winter
After a long period of hibernation, the slumbering, catalog-crazed gardener emerges from the nook by the fireside. Stepping gingerly outside the back door, it is time to reconnect with the still frozen wasteland that used to be called your garden. What a hard winter! Frozen rain and strong winds …
Tommie crocus shocked by a St Patrick’s Day snow
Even though Spring is only a few days, away an early morning snow shower surprised the Tommie crocus (See yesterday's post). Luckily the early spring blooming flowers are adapted to changing environmental conditions as the mostly come from mountains where the weather changes rapidly. The flower is …
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Crocus tommasinianus (Tommies)
At only two and a half inches tall, this fragile ephemeral beauty is commonly known as a "Tommie" crocus (Crocus tommasinianus). The great English horticulturist, E. A. Bowles, called these crocuses "Tom" for short, but I am more inclined to call them the more feminine "Tomasina." Bowles described …
It will be spring in a week!
Happy Spring! The Winter Aconites (Eranthis hyemalis) are out at long last. The bees are collecting the pollen in the pollen baskets on their legs. What a sunny color. (Plus one random crocus top right). I hope that the rest of the snow will melt soon. …
“In February if…
In February if thou hearest thunder, thou wilt see a summer's wonder. Entry in My Kalendar of Country Delights by Helen Rose Anne Milman Crofton in 1903. We had thunder yesterday that blew out windows in Roxborough. Here's hoping for a 'summer's wonder'. …
Maple trees glistening with ice – beautiful to look at but a hazard to power lines.
Power just restored after 10" of snow and an ice storm. The weight of snow and ice on trees and shrubs has broken tree limbs and brought down trees on power lines. The trees get blamed but shouldn't we put our power lines underground? Here at Northview gardens we will not know what needs …