Before You Garden...

2014-05-19

RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2014

At the RHS Chelsea Flower Show – a ‘selfie’ taken as a reflection in the in the polished steel garden arches of the “Positively Stoke-on-Trent” exhibit. To the right is a Moorcroft Pottery sphere featuring images of plants in the show garden. Great exhibit!

2014-05-18

So excited for the Chelsea Flower Show this week

Here I am at last year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show – caught unawares with both my camera and a glass of Pimm’s (is that allowed?) – examining the details of a green wall. Expect some in depth posts this week as I stalk around the Chelsea Flower Show to bring you my favorite designs, designers…

2014-05-15

Open Gardens at Northview

We hold open garden afternoons. Dates and times will be posted on this website. Subscribe to this blog and you will get notifications of the garden days. Please email us for further information – BeforeYouGarden(at)gmail(dot)com

2014-05-11

Spring Flowers

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…