Port Potager

We’ve been socked with three nor'easters in two weeks, all of which resulted in snow that canceled school. We also lost power for a couple days, which is not at all fun  in the middle of winter.  So I was very happy to ditch the crummy weather and head south to North Carolina for the weekend. They’re a good six to eight weeks ahead of us when it comes to the ground warming, so my trip to Reynolda Gardens in Winston-Salem was a hint of what is eventually to come this spring. Enjoy! It was nice to be reminded of green grass, pansies and daffodils, but I did have to return to an additional 18 inches of snow at the end of my trip. Sigh.  Did I mention there’s a possibility of another  nor’easter next week? March is the new February, it seems.

The little garden I planted outside of my tiny office is filling nicely. For example, the small nicotiana I transplanted has blossomed: I like the handling flowers, and it smells nice, too. The container planting has also filled in over the past month or so: Since this container gets a fair amount of shade, the pansies are still going strong. The whole thing has filled in with all the rains we’ve had: This garden connects to a tiny strip of land bordering the garage. I filled that in with daylilies that I moved from the perennial border a couple weeks ago. These are a very vibrant red, but that color no longer works with the white-orange-blue color scheme that I’ve switched to : So now these are hanging out in the back, and once we paint the garage yellow like the office, they should really pop: The daylilies should also look a little fuller in seasons to come. These are divisions that I transplanted fairly late into the season, so they’re a li...

Last fall I moved into my tiny office in the back yard, and this spring Kirk put up one small finishing touch: the lattice around the foundation. That means I could plant a little garden by the stairs: This is a tough spot, because it is shaded for most of the day by the maple tree in the compost yard. Some areas get strong afternoon sun, but I would call the exposure partial shade to full shade in spots. One full shade area is along the side, where I planted hosta and snakeroot: The snakeroot has very dark leaves, which is hard to see against the compost. Here’s a better look: Both of these shade-loving plants should eventually fill in. They’ll also have fragrant flowers in the summer (hosta) and fall (snakeroot), so I’m hoping the fragrance blows right in the windows of my office. The hosta variety is "Guacamole," which is supposed to have a nice scent. This whole garden is about smelling good! Around the front (which gets a little more sun...

I definitely didn't plan this. You may remember that in the perennial border I have a strict white and red color scheme, and in the cutting garden I planted mostly sunset shades. Despite those plans, it was hard to miss the pink and purple fiesta that burst into bloom mid-June: In the foreground is one of our rosa mundi bushes, looking a little bedraggled but still pretty after being picked over to make rosewater . In the background is a container full of bright purple pansies, which finally filled in after a very dry spring.   Here's the reverse view, with purple pansies in the front and roses in the back. Just one bloom of pink and white lupine this year — these are short-lived plants, but still worth having in the cutting garden for their strong stems and tough petals. In the background you can see purple salvia. Here's a better look at that saliva, with some dusty rose-colored yarrow to the left, and the roses and pansies farther in the...

We've been on a springtime weather roller coaster here the past several days, bouncing from balmy to brisk and back again. It was another big weekend in the garden, with lots of bed prep and planting (leeks, onions, carrots, parsnips, radishes, Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard, and potatoes). My hamstrings and hands are still sore, but we got a lot done. It would be a shame, though, to focus only on the to-do list without enjoying all the little changes that spring brings to the garden. Here's what's blooming: Bulbs are up in the perennial border, and these blue glory-of-the-snow get better each year. We inherited them and they have naturalized nicely. There are also some darker blue Siberian squill, which are just starting to come up. We removed the spills from the sugar maple now that sugaring season is done. The wound should heal over by autumn. More blue! These sky blue muscari bulbs are in the cutting bed, but I never actually cut them down.  ...