I know that it is just as hot or hotter in other areas of the country and around the world as it is in Alabama. But successive days with the heat index, sometimes even the air temperature, hitting 100 degrees Fahrenheit is just plan oppressive. It certainly limits one's time in the garden. One of …
On a recent trip to the UK and a walking-hiking get away weekend in the Peak District, more specifically the Derbyshire Dales, I experienced an unexpected "lab" exercise in natural landscape and landscape gardens. I say unexpected, but certainly not unappreciated or unwanted. Since my retirement from teaching medieval literature, I've turned my research energies …
A few photos and an update for this week. It has been a week---in fact two weeks---of storms interspersed with hot, humid, sunny periods. The combination of rain and sun has set the stage for some good flowering. A few of the most striking appear below. 1. The gerbera daisy in the featured image is …
1. One of the brightest plants blooming in the garden right now is the prickly pear cactus (Opuntia). This plant, or its ancestors, traveled according to family legend to Baltimore from Texas when my father was in mobilization training there during WWII. I don't know how true that story is, but I do know that …
This week's six are blooms at the close and opening of their seasons and one major pruning job. But before I begin, I want to note the hub of our Saturday sharing, Jim Stephens’ site at Garden Ruminations. You'll find a link there for guidelines for joining in and links for posts from gardens around the …
