A few pictures before I go on a short July Fourth hiatus. My overgrown pond area. I let feverfew bloom unhindered and the iris made it through the winter and bloomed beautifully- it surprised me. The waterlilies need division, you can’t really see the water. These pictures show my present attraction to purple cream and […]
Good garden design ideas
Garden Photos
Here are some pictures from the garden lately. A clematis which is supposed to be on a lattice, but I didn’t get to painting it yet… it clambers among the mugho pine. Dortmund rose is finally settling in and blooms with deep cherry single flowers. Peony, Dames Rocket, and Hansa rose blooming together in neglected […]
Purple Leaf Sand Cherry: Short-lived Shrub
I was warned. When in the midst of life (my late twenties, early thirties) and in full thrall of new garden planting, I had read that purple sand cherries were short lived shrubs. I planted a beautiful purple leaved sand cherry, anyway. For years it grew and flourished. I even planned a color scheme around […]
The Busy Season
That is how I think of this time of year: busy. The rare spring moments of enjoying tender sunny weather, with soft fragrant breezes and the shifting clouds pierced by shafts of light, while bearing the showers that keep ground moist and sprouts growing, is crowded by my race with the earth to gain mastery […]
Making Moss
mossgraffiti: “Moss Graffiti” is something I’ve tried before, but not with such an easy recipe. Time to try again. there are times you want to dress down your pond area and things like that…. gardeners like things like moss and lichens:) moss art The basic recipe is as follows, with more detailed instructions here: 1 […]
Spring Blooming
So much is blooming it is hard to keep up making notes on it all. The cherry trees, pear, and peach are all in bloom-probably the apples, too, but I didn’t walk out that far to check. The crabapples are breaking into bud, the ‘Snowdrift’ variety has been blooming for most of this week already. […]


