Tag: Gardens
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Icehouse Landscaping Update, End of May
Sooo much progress as we hustle the icehouse rehab toward its conclusion in these final days of May…
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Rhododendron Haiku
Another serenade to seasonality this Saturday in late May. I offer you a rhododendron haiku to honor this temperate turn from spring to a precocious preview of summery days ahead. Rhodos invite optimism. An audacious pinkish-purply-red extravaganza floating above a sea of green. A swell of polished rhododendron leaves creating a sea of Lily-of-the-Valley leaves.…
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Asparagus Officinalis
Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is an early season perennial vegetable that pops out of Rosslyn’s still chilly soil sometime in May. Each year it is a harbinger of spring, arriving at just the right time to reassure us that the long Adirondack winter is retreating; that mud season is mostly past tense; and a happy, holistic gardening season is underway. Rosslyn’s asparagus bed was one of the very…
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Imperfection
Today I offer you a scrapbook meditation on imperfection not only as inevitable but also as appealing and valuable. And for habitués, you won’t be surprised by my mind meandering into the humbling wonders of wabi-sabi. The imperfect moments shape us as much as the sunny ones. (Source: Frosty Ferrying into Rosslyn) With May showers flirting,…
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First Poppies of Summer
Yesterday’s nod to Hemerocallis Fulva, notwithstanding, my floral fondness for Papavers is an open secret. Who am I kidding? It’s no secret at all! So I brimmed with jubilation when Pam surprised me today, with our first poppies of summer. I was euphoric! And so a spontaneous haiku was born… Summer’s First Poppies Summer’s first…
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Hemerocallis Fulva
Hallelujah! The daylilies (Hemerocallis fulva) are blooming. That, THAT is the color and exuberance of early summer. Sometimes known as Fourth of July Daylilies because their bloom time (in the northeast) roughly corresponds to Independence Day, Hemerocallis fulva have begun to erupt into spectacular fireworks-esque blossoms about a week ahead of schedule. Must be the…
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High Tunnel Tomato Plants, Take Two
Sometimes, when I’m trying to explain the many merits of gardening, I describe the cultivation of plants as a quasi-religious force in my life. Sincerely. Hyperbole? Perhaps, but there’s much in the practice of planting and sowing, cultivating and composting, even weeding and pruning and grafting that underpins my worldview, informs my optimism, and provides…
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Giebel Garden Flashback
I apologize in advance for bypassing several timely updates on the icehouse rehabilitation progress. Sorry. I promise that they are coming soon. But there’s something about springtime, about gardening, about the promise of colorful blooms and produce that I’m finding too tempting to resist. And so I share with you what I’ll call a “Giebel…
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Tulip Time 2023
Springtime is tulip time, a dramatic chapter in gardners’ succession blooming cycles. With snow drops, hyacinth, and daffodils fading, colorful tulip blooms take center stage. And this year’s tulip time does not disappoint. Signs of springtime are abundant lately. It’s asparagus time. Also ramps, apple blossoms, dandelions, fiddleheads, tulips, nettles,… And lily of the valley…
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Lily of the Valley Unfurling
Signs of springtime are abundant lately. It’s asparagus time. Also ramps, apple blossoms, dandelions, fiddleheads, tulips, nettles,… And lily of the valley unfurling dramatically. An entire army of terpsichorean twirlers synchronized, slowly unfurling, mesmerizing. Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis)… is a woodland flowering plant with sweetly scented, pendent, bell-shaped white flowers borne in sprays…
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Green Zebras 1st in High Tunnel
Green Zebra Tomatoes are first transplants of the season. Others to follow soon!
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Crocus & Dwarf Iris
It must be spring! Sometimes affectionately cooed (by nobody ever) and sometimes disparagingly grumbled (almost always), “mud season” has rounded the proverbial corner. Dun and drab are giving way to brilliant white and violet and — as soon as the daffodils and dandelions bloom — vibrant yellow. ¡Hasta la vista, winter! Spring has sprung. Crocus…