Category: Perennials
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Perennial Border June 2019
I’m pleased with how the plants have been growing in my perennial border this spring. We’ve had a very wet spring making the plants green and lush. The bed you’re looking at has been weeded three times and edged twice. Plants have been added, subtracted and transplanted. Gardening takes work. I’m not trying to dissuade…
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First Shade Day – The Leaves are Out!
First Shade Day is the first day you can see shade from the trees each spring. May 5 was First Shade Day this year; though it was raining when I made the observation. First Shade Day signifies the unofficial beginning of spring. I know the cold, damp gloomy days are over. John Holden Below are…
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Cardinal Flower Habitat
A week ago I posted a picture of a Cardinal Flower and said I don’t often see it in the wild. Today I stumbled on Cardinal Flower several times. Here in Connecticut, USDA Hardiness Zone 6a, Cardinal Flower is in full bloom. You’ll spot it on the edge of streams where the soil is consistently…
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An Evening Walk – The Road not Taken
Last night I went for the best walk I’ve had in a while. We’ve had high heat, high humidity and a ton of rain the last couple weeks which hasn’t encouraged walks. I started around 5:00 PM without much of an idea where I was headed. At one corner left would take me home in…
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Early Spring Blooming Plants – Part 1
I visited the Bartlett Arboretum in mid-April and had a ball looking at early spring blooming plants. Below are some pictures from my visit. Cornell Pink Rhododendron (Rhododendron mucronulatum ‘Cornell Pink’) Winter Hazel (Corylopsis pauciflora) Lenten Rose Sp. (Helleborus sp.) Star Magnololia (Magnolia Stellata) More pictures from my visit coming soon.
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Jack Frost Exceedingly Bad Day
Yesterday we had snow, then rain, then ice and then snow again. When I woke this morning it was a frigid 26 degrees. You’d think I’d be used to spring snow. I’ve lived in southern New England all my life where the weather is anything but predictable. I’m not. Every time Jack Frost lays waste to…
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Spring Begins in Fall
This morning as I waited for the school bus I noticed my daffodils emerging. It’s been a mild fall and they’re just poking through the soil. Plants set bud in the fall so they’re ready to go when the warm weather arrives. Don’t think your plants are the only thing growing in the garden. There’s a class…
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Late Season Blooming Flowers
Last Monday, November 16th I was cutting back perennials in Trumbull, Connecticut in USDA Hardiness Zone 6b. I noticed a couple of beautiful late season blooming flowers. We’ve already had several hard frosts. Most of the leaves have fallen off the trees and been cleaned up. Late Season Blooming Flowers I first noticed a grouping of Honorine Jobert Windflower…
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Wetland Plants of CT
Every year Cub Scout Pack 170 cleans up Edmund Road in Newtown, CT. It’s our Earth Day conservation project. My son and I spent an hour one Saturday morning picking up garbage and admiring flora. Truth be told I was the only one admiring the flora. We cleaned up litter on a Saturday. I was so…