tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47346031245286188862011-07-07T19:36:20.151-04:00Beautiful and tough plants, great gardens, working with nature, diverse low maintenance landscape design, garden coaching, friends, and an occasional rant.A Fascinated Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16838511736920485255noreply@blogger.comBlogger81100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4734603124528618886.post-31449632602692317542010-09-21T18:01:00.000-04:002010-09-21T18:01:38.417-04:00

The Christian Science Monitor Diggin' It blog has started up again so I will be part of a larger group and able to keep up better.  Once the season is over, I may have more time to blog, but for now, I will be letting this go. Thanks for sticking around. Donna

A Fascinated Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16838511736920485255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4734603124528618886.post-77992400344793886282010-09-07T11:21:00.001-04:002010-09-07T15:22:02.538-04:00

After a difficult summer of heat, humidity, and drought, September has come in with cooler and drier weather, but sadly, no rain. Even so, September and October in Virginia are my favorite months. You can usually count on some restorative rains, perhaps even a gentle swipe from a gentle tropical low. The trees could really use the moisture. If we had not had 400 feet of snow last winter, things

A Fascinated Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16838511736920485255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4734603124528618886.post-3941455973011401052010-06-10T18:08:00.004-04:002010-06-10T19:06:32.295-04:00

EchinaceasRecently I attended a native plant conference at Millersville, Pennsylvania. It was well organized and we heard some wonderful speakers. Had a whole session on goldenrods - fascinating! If native plants are on your radar screen, it's a great place to learn more.One session was about echinaceas. My distillation of the commentary is included here. I have been reluctant to buy echinaceas

A Fascinated Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16838511736920485255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4734603124528618886.post-69701852487309922732010-05-30T20:06:00.004-04:002010-05-30T20:27:58.762-04:00

An enchantmentOn the way to a client’s home, I pass by hundreds of lawns. Not a believer in lawns, it seems they are perfectly designed for sheep to graze and poop on, month after month.But more than that, I have come to see lawns as sterile. People pour lime and fertilizer and herbicides and fungicides and are looking for something approximating an English landscape. Except this is not England.

A Fascinated Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16838511736920485255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4734603124528618886.post-74243087926488582082010-05-14T07:47:00.007-04:002010-05-14T08:40:46.747-04:00

Rose - ageddonIt may be the combination of the snowy winter and the wacky spring, but this year the roses are spectacular. A little bit of rain brought them all out and it is a treat to go from one to the other, drinking in the wonderful fragrance, enjoying the color and marveling at the abundance.Most of my roses arrive via mail order. I am very fond of the Buck roses and am building a good

A Fascinated Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16838511736920485255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4734603124528618886.post-34049882764059806972010-05-07T07:34:00.011-04:002010-05-07T08:30:46.945-04:00

Iris Joy!The irises are blooming in the Shenandoah Valley and they almost glow. While they can often have problems with iris borers, I cannot resist the bearded iris varieties. The ones I have chosen for my garden are tall and bright, showy across the lawn, and fragrant with a strong grape aroma. Here are a couple of beauties: The best way to control the iris borer is to remove all of last year's

A Fascinated Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16838511736920485255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4734603124528618886.post-91781749870211359992010-04-28T23:00:00.000-04:002010-04-29T07:03:37.371-04:00

The Cornelian cherry is really not a cherry at all but a wonderful dogwood, appropriate for any home landscape. The common name comes from the cherry-like fruit of the tree, native of southern Europe. Cornus mas is a tree worthy of your consideration.There are several wonderful features of this small tree. It gets about 20 feet high and 15 feet wide at maturity so the size is perfect for most

A Fascinated Gardenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16838511736920485255noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4734603124528618886.post-74728882793635304862010-04-22T11:06:00.000-04:002010-04-22T12:14:08.752-04:00

Like any industry, there is a mountain of misinformation in the land about everything from cutting iris foliage into neat triangles after flowering to leaving burlap and wire cages on newly planted young trees. Several years ago I learned about the work of Linda Chalker-Scott. A professor at Washington State University and extension agent in Puyallup, Washington, Linda enjoys finding out the

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