Tag: Plants
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How to Deadhead Perennials.
Ask the Green Thumb Garden Tutorial Series: Latest Short video answering a common gardening questions posted by readers in the Boston/Metro-West area. How to Deadhead Perennials? frequently asked by gardeners–especially new ones! When you remove spent blossoms your garden instantly looks better. A bonus is that many plants will bloom a second time if deadheaded. Plants…
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Rewards of Composting in a Small Space
Out the kitchen door, to the right off the landing, I’ve positioned the compost bin for easy access. I’m rewarded with views of my back garden and this one of my front. It’s a view of the front I only see from this angle so it’s a treat. Today I was rewarded by pink dianthus…
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Revisiting ‘Snow Flowers’
Sometime ago I encountered an enchanting description of a small Japanese village’s winter festival that celebrated the way plants catch snow. The novel’s author called the snow that was captured in nooks and crannies, branches and seedheads, branches and buds, ‘Snow Flowers’. Ever since I look at fresh snow differently.
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Hamamelis Keeps Its Promise…kinda
Days after the snowstorm, the witch hazel in my garden bloomed. Sparsely. I was a bit disappointed. My expectations set too high, I realized a contrasting evergreen planted behind it would set off its few flowers better. Its second spring growing here I had hoped it would be covered thickly with brilliant yellow flowers. Last year it…
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WitchHazel ‘Arnold Promise’ Still Wearing Its’ Winter Cloak
I’ve been feeling restless lately. This happens when winter merges into spring. The early March landscape in New England may be snow covered as it is as I write this or thawing to a condition we call ” mud season”. Spring thaws and freezes come and go, but mainly the gardens look a mess. The seed heads that look charming in the snow look…
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Amazing Amaryllis Enchants
Amaryllis ‘Dancing Queen’ Single Flower She’s enchanting all right. But which dance? Has she waltzed into my awareness? Or tangoed? Maybe her style is not old world, but contemporary, more like Alvin Alley than Strauss. Yes, I realize one is a choreographer and the other a composer. Imagine ‘Dancing Queen’ on a dark stage, minimal set, dark green sheer panels…
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Amazing Amaryllis Begins to Open
Wow! Its a beautiful baby. One of three! Yes, triplets! You can see the other buds behind the opening one. The photograph below shows the Amaryllis in relation to the other plants grouped together. Notice the role of foliage and form in the composition. You’ll want to know…
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Amazing Amaryllis Creates Multiple Flower Buds
Beautiful. Isn’t it. I’ve been watching the lengthening stalk for a while now with its promise of flower. A dear friend gave the bulb to me early in December. I potted it up with no idea of its color. So I wait and watch and wonder. The anticipation of its emergence is part of the…
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A Favorite Chosen as Perennial of the Year
I was delighted to read that the Perennial Plant Association (PPA) voted Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ or Golden Variegated Hakone grass as the 2009 Perennial Plant of the year. This lime-green small low growing ornamental grass lights up a shade garden and combines to create stunning plant combinations and textural compositions. I love planting it with…