By Claire Jones
One of my favorite design jobs landed in my lap about 10 years ago. I really didn't know what to expect when I first visited the property - a modest home set on a busy road with a huge level back yard. There was a steep slope out the back door with some ancient concrete …
Continue reading "Hillside Transformation"
If you are looking for an easy care shrub, with little to no pruning, deer resistant, and fabulous fall color, look no further than the Red-Veined Enkianthus. Award of Garden Merit Plant Enkianthus campanulatus 'Showy Lanterns', the red-veined enkianthus has always captured my interest with its striking hanging bell-like flowers. In the springtime, this shrub …
Continue reading "Enkianthus-Uncommon and Beautiful"
The sheer variety of shapes and colors of Columbine flowers has always amazed me. Coming in one color or contrasting colors, there are miniature ones just a few inches high, and towering ones up to 3 feet high or more. Dangling, nodding, upright; The blossoms run the gamut of presentations. One thing they all have …
Continue reading "Columbine-Overlooked Cottage Garden Gem"
One summer day working at a client’s garden doing routine maintenance, I caught a whiff of wonderful fragrance on the breeze. After searching for the source, I came upon a mid-sized shrub full of narrow, spike-like creamy white flowers with an extremely sweet fragrance. Alive with insects darting in and out, the shrub swayed in …
Continue reading "Clethra: Deer Resistant, Fragrant, and Pollinator Catnip"
Liking to cook, garden and design, when I noticed these beautiful focaccia breads all over the internet, I had to make some. It makes sense to decorate focaccias, as they are a blank canvas waiting to be adorned with art- edible art! Focaccias have always been my favorite easy-to-make bread in my bread machine and …
Continue reading "Focaccia Garden"
For novices and more experienced beekeepers, early spring is the time to install new bee colonies for the year. Packaged Bees For the non-beekeepers out there, bee packages are the most common way to install and start beekeeping. If you order bees through the mail, they'll almost certainly come in what's called a "package", which …
Continue reading "Bee Package Time!"
Still chilly outside and you are starved for color? Plant dahlias for late season color. It is like money in the bank. You are glad you did it early on as you know good things will happen later. Gardening in all about anticipation! Ordering Dahlia tubersOrder your dahlias now. I recommend Longfield Gardens for all …
Continue reading "Plant Dahlias Now for Late Summer Color"
I love it when I see an old-fashioned shrub, one that has not been tinkered with by hydridizers, at an established property in all it's glory. These shrubs require a lot of space, at least 10' x 10' or more to grow unfettered and spread out in all their glory. The pink one below I …
Continue reading "Deutzia-Deer Resistant and Colorful"
Yes!! It is that time of year - early Honey Flow- when the bees build up quickly and silently. Before you know it you are looking at a huge moving bee swarm perched on a tree branch like the one below when you come home....and you must capture them quickly before they move on to …
Continue reading "Peak Swarm Season"
Need a pick me up? Something to celebrate spring? Try your hand at a garden wreath to brighten up your home. Wreaths for springtime don't have to be just a grapevine wreath. I am amazed at what you can do with old garden hoses! An old hose of any color coiled up into a wreath …
Continue reading "Springtime Garden Wreath"
One of the most beautiful species of spring ephemerals are Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica). Perennial Ephemerals simply mean they appear in all their glory for several weeks and then disappear from sight to go underground and reappear next spring. Virginia Bluebells are relatives of more familiar species -Lungworts, Comfrey, and Forget-Me-Nots - and are so …
Continue reading "Bluebells-My Favorite Native Wildflower"
Have you seen a little yellow flower that you think is very cute blooming on your property??? It forms a ground covering mat of glossy green heart shaped leaves punctuated by buttercup like flowers. You might have looked at it and thought it was the first sign of spring! If your answer is yes, get …
Continue reading "Buttercup Invasive- Lesser Celandine Runs Rampant"
