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The kousa
dogwood is a great alternative to the under attack American variety.
It flowers a little later and has a very interesting fruit.
30th May 2002
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One of my favorite perennials , the
hardy geranium. It is a great ground cover and some like this one
"Max Frei", flowers all summer long. 30th
May 2002
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Our first day
lily to flower is always Dr Regal. It's in flower now and lasts for
many weeks. It's a good idea to buy early, mid and late blooming varieties.
They have more impact than the so called ever bloomers!
30th May 2002
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| You can't beat
the floral impact of the Queen of Climbers. We have clematis planted
all over the garden center. They like their roots shades and their
heads in the sun. You don't need a trellis, we climb them up all
kinds of shrubs and trees. We even use them as groundcovers. May 27th 2002
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The doublefile
viburnum "Shasta" and the purple leaf plum
"Newport". A stunning combination. The broad spreading
viburnum makes a great substitute for the American dogwood in more
exposed situations.
May 27th 2002
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| Our first rose
to flower. Some of these early rugosas are extremely fragrant and
will even grow in a little shade and drier situations.
May 27th 2002
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The lovely
blue Siberian Iris "Caesar's Brother" is so easy to grow.
The Siberian iris have finer leaves and are more trouble free than
the bearded varieties. They seed themselves all over the place.
May 27th 2002
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| We have
several stunning tree peonies in flower at the moment. They get
quite large but what a magnificent display. They are often grafted
on garden peonies so watch out for the suckers. Remove as necessary.
May 27th 2002
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Here's a magnificent pink Tree peony
growing near our garden shop.
May 27th 2002
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| It's time to
think about pests. There are several products we like to use in the
gardens. Always read the label carefully. Apply only when needed. We
like to recommend safer organic/natural products first and then move
to more potent chemicals if it's not effective.
May 27th 2002
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The gorgeous
Fothergilla gardenni. It's flowers this year are a little weak but
it will make up with one of the best foliage colors in the fall.
May 27th 2002
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| Everyone loves
the larger flowering onions . We have several planted around
our display pond.
May 27th 2002
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This is one of
the low growing "Yak" rhododendron. It took a couple of
year's to get into flowering mode at home. Now it looks fantastic.
15th May 2002
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| Azaleas give
color like nothing else. We have to choose very cold hardy varieties
and plant them on the east or north side of the house to avoid
damage by the sun and wind in the winter.
15th May 2002
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The one
American dogwood. Because of anthracnose disease it's becoming more
of a rarity in the landscape. We really spoil this one at my home in
Clarks summit. It's planted on the east side of the house in rich
organic based soil. The healthier the plant the less chance the
disease has to ruin it.
15th May 2002
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| If you can
create an area of free drainage try some of the wonderful low
growing perennials. We even have a selection you can walk on. Hence
the little man jumping!
8th May 2002
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Our yellow
garden begins to emerge next to our waterfall. The bright yellow
grass is Bowles golden carex. It's one of the many great little
grasses for your garden. The nice thing about Bowles is that it does
quite well in the shade and in poorly drained soil.
8th May 2002
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| This is the
Siberian Bugloss or brunnera. The flowers are almost identical to
the forget me not but it's foliage remains attractive all summer
long.
8th May 2002
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This is the
old fashioned Sargent crabapple. Twice as broad as it is tall. It
has a lovely berry hold in the fall and supplies the birds with lots
of food in the winter.
8th May 2002
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| We are always
looking for unique architectural artifacts. They add a certain
mystery to a landscape.
8th May 2002
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One of the
popular small leaf PJM rhododendrons. This one is called Aglo and
has clear pink flowers rather than the usual purple.
8th May 2002
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| We have been
training this quince on our lattice for a couple of years now. It's
starting to look pretty impressive. A tough plant with early
flowers.
8th May 2002
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My only
remaining wisteria flower bud. All the rest were destroyed in a
co9ld spell following our heat wave into the 90's F. We will have to
wait till next year!
8th May 2002
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| I severely
pruned our dissected leaf Japanese maple. They tend to form great
big impenetrable domes. I rune them to display their wonderful
branching and to allow a little light underneath.
8th May 2002
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One of my
favorite small crabapples. Its name is Adirondack and is a small
upright form ideally suited to a small garden or mixed border.
Lovely fruit hold into the winter.
8th May 2002
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| The wonderful
European ginger. It's a great ground cover for the shade garden.
It's slow to spread but well worth the wait. I have it growing under
some Japanese maples at our front entrance.
1st May 2002
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These are the
pretty flowers of the Honesty plant or lunaria. The seed heads
develop into those transparent seed heads( silver dollar) that are
used so frequently in holiday decorating.
1st May 2002
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| These year our
redbud "Forest Pansy is putting on a brilliant floral display.
Following the flowers are the brilliant purple leaves. Ours keeps
the great color all through the summer.
the 1st May 2002
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The Burkwood
viburnum. Wonderful flower and such brilliant fragrance. We
pride ourselves on have the best selection of viburnums for miles
25th April 02
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| Lungworts are
very popular at the moment. Notice how the flower on this variety
have different colors. They are a great flower for a shady woodland
soil.
25th April 02
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A sad day!
Brown Hill Tree company removed our biggest tree. A huge American
ash. We will probably turn the stump into a little tree house.
Time to plant another tree! We shot a
program for WNEP while the tree was coming down. Jon Brown explain a
lot about tree care and correct pruning.
18th April
2002
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| Lots of little
perennials. have arrived. Now's a great time to plant these little
gems. Prices start at 2.99 so they are great value for money. Come
and see our huge selection.
18th April
2002
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A fleeting
native. The trout lily made is short appearance this week. It's
always nice to see them
18th April
2002
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| The variegated
daylily. The emerging foliage is really something quite special.
18th April
2002
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The Snow
fountains cherry. One of the best cherries for our cold climate
18th April
2002
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April showers
bring May flowers. We already have had several thunderstorms this
month. Let's hope the trend continues.
18th April
2002
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| The plants
come in at such a rate that it's quite a job to get things in order.
We have to work pretty hard to unload , price and display our plant
material in alphabetical order.
18th April
2002
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The useful
flowering pear. The Bradford variety is not such a good tree. Named
varieties like Aristocrat and Red Spire are better landscape trees.
18th April
2002
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| The brilliant
orange red of the smaller quince "Texas Scarlet" They are
so easy to grow and quite spectacular in flower
15th April
2002
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The emerging
flowers of the Virginia Bluebells. The flowers extend upwards in the
next few days and make quite a display.
15th April
2002
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| Our woodland
walk emerging from 6 months of rest. It's amazing how quickly the
shady areas transform themselves this time of year.
15th April
2002
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The plain old
white hyacinth makes a great splash under our purple leaved red bud.15th April
2002
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| We still have
lots of brilliant winter effect plants for sale. Remember it's our
most important season. It lasts 6 months of the year. |
|
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One of the
first trees to flower are the serviceberries. Beautiful white
flowers In the then edible fruit. In the fall the have lovely
foliage colors.
9th April 2002
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| A carpet of
bluebells in our woodland walk. Each year they spread further all by
themselves.
9th April 2002
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A light blue /
white patch of scila. Same as the above but not so willing to seed
themselves.
9th April 2002
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| The emerging
foliage of Iris pallida. Blue / Purple flowers emerge later
9th April 2002
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