“Why include annuals in a book on bloom times?” I used to think. “They’re only blobs to be plunked down for summer-long color, right?” Well, though it might be the goal of breeders to produce plants that churn out an unwavering supply of blossoms for three months or more in summer, many annuals do not follow this program. But that’s… Read more →
When I first decided to write a book on bloom times and told my landscaper friends about it, I got a surprising amount of resistance from some of them. “But bloom times can vary so much from year to year!” they would say. “How can you be so sure of the dates?” I doubted myself at times, but as my… Read more →
A garden journal. You know it’s a good idea. “Now when did those ‘Biokovo’ geraniums of mine bloom again?” you think. “If I had jotted it down, I would know whether or not they would flower with this Twilite Prairieblues™ baptisia I had to get.” You resolve to keep better records next year. All winter you are stuck inside, dreaming… Read more →
Spring may begin in March, around the time the daffodils bloom in the Lower Midwest, but that doesn’t mean the color calendar isn’t already underway before then. Did you know that even before the daffodils bloom, quite a few plants have already stepped into the spotlight? Here are ten of them: 1. More often than not, Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) opens its… Read more →
When it comes to the weather, we gardeners are prone to hyperbole. Every season, one would think from listening to us, is drastically colder or warmer, wetter or drier than ever before. Has one of us ever said, “Can you believe what normal weather we’re having?” or, “Average enough for ya?” Instead, we seize upon every irregularity in the weather… Read more →
