Before You Garden...

2014-05-04

Tulipa sylvestris – Wood Tulip

We usually think of tulips as a “once and done” plant, but this species tulip is often found in old gardens naturalized under deciduous trees. Here in the Mid-Atlantic, the Wood Tulip (Tulipa sylvestris) may only flower sparsely, but with many slender tulip leaves arising from underground stolons. This year at Northview we have more…

2014-05-01

A tulip for May Day (May 1st)

May Day has been associated with flowers, dancing, and celebration for centuries. Here at Northview the tulips are coming out and we are celebrating the May sunshine after nearly five inches of rain yesterday.

2014-04-20

Easter Flowers

Happy Easter from my garden to yours. Spring has sprung at Northview Gardens at last.

2014-04-11

Beautiful Bloodroot – A wild flower for a spring shade garden

The Bloodroot, (Sanguinaria canadensis) is a spring ephemeral flower native to Eastern North America. The flowers appear for only a few days and then the irregular leaves unfurl from around the stem. Bloodroot is a wild treasure that is well worth growing in a shade garden under deciduous trees like oak.

2014-04-04

Twenty Minutes in the life of Crocus tommasinianus ‘Roseus’

At last a sunny morning that feels a little more like spring. These two photos, taken twenty minutes apart, show the opening of these diminutive crocuses as the sunlight warmed them. How cool to actually stand there and watch flowers open.

2014-04-01

Digging dandelions? Salad anyone?

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 moist enough to easily…

2014-03-21

‘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 them.…

2014-03-20

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.

2014-03-20

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 spring.…

2014-03-18

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 have broken branches and knocked down…