Hello. I’d like you to meet Shooting Star, aka Dodecatheon hendersonii. This sweet little thing is one of the native wildflowers blooming in my backyard “woodland bed” right now. Like many of the spring ephemerals (so called because of their fleeting nature), it’s not exactly a show-stopper (but just look at how it wows en […]
Archives for April 2010
VanDusen plant sale this weekend
Yesterday, I joined the hoards of women fighting for the perfect pair of kicky heels at the infamous Army and Navy shoe sale (I restrained myself to three pairs). This is a legendary event, in which women (and a few really brave men) line up for hours to score discount shoes. When the doors open, […]
A truly portable garden
Found growing in the bed of our much-maligned but never-fail ’89 Nissan pick-up: one seedling of unknown creed, enjoying the leaf mulch being created as last fall’s leaves break down. Nature makes neglect a beautiful thing, no? If we didn’t use the truck for hauling manure and moving friends’ boxes, I might consider helping nature […]
Kale blossoms are just about the greatest thing
Kale makes a great crop for overwintering in the veggie garden. But if you’re hoping to harvest an early spring crop of your overwintered kale greens, be warned: it may just bolt (flower and set seed) as soon as the weather starts to warm in late winter or spring. Kale flowers taste like a cross […]
Garden Tour: Syd’s powerful plant palette
The basics Name of gardener: Syd Carpenter Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Hardiness zone: 6 Size: Small city garden; 100 ft. long by 25 ft. wide; three garden rooms Orientation: South facing front garden Years gardened: 15 years Heavy Petal says: Quite simply, wow. Syd has done an amazing job of creating a garden using a […]