Spring in Arizona
In most years, March in Cleveland is still winter so we try to go somewhere warm for a week or so. This year, we only went away for a long weekend to Tucson which is in the middle of the…
A Harbinger of Spring – Celandine Poppy
One of the harbingers of Spring is Stylophorum diphyllum, the Celandine Poppy. Its slightly felted, pinnate, very lobed, light green leaves usually foliate in April but this year it was in early March. Then, normally in May, small green balls…
Xeriscapes
[caption id="attachment_905" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Front yard before"][/caption] I am proud to say that a few weeks ago, I won an award from the Ohio Landscapers Assocation for my design of a xeriscape in Cleveland Heights. I also won an award…
Oh, Those Deer!
[caption id="attachment_921" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Deer in grass"][/caption] Deer may be beautiful but, to gardeners, they are voracious chompers of beloved plants. The deer even have the nerve to come onto our patios where we try planting annuals in containers. Fortunately,…
Clematis
[caption id="attachment_932" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Clematis 'Comtesse de Bouchard' with climbing rose and Geranium psilostemon in July"][/caption] By now, Clematis are in full leaf. If you are puzzled about how or whether to prune, relax. These vines will show you if…
The Secret Garden
I hadn’t read The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett, since I was a kid but a friend gave me a copy for my birthday in November and I’ve finally gotten around to rereading it. What a joy! This book…
The High Line
Yesterday, I saw an amazing site/sight. I was in New York for the weekend and went to see the High Line, an abandoned elevated railway that has been repurposed as a public park. The city had planned to tear it…