Gardening and Gardens

I love seeing the little blue flowers that appear in the spring. They often appear naturalized in the lawn or showing up in the garden bed among the daffodils and hyacinths. But which are they -  Scilla  or  Chionodoxa ? The main difference is the direction the flower head faces. Scilla   siberica,  or Siberian squill, have electric blue flowers that are bell-like, drooping downward.  It's six blue petals surround stamens that have thread-like filaments and are not clustered together.  Scilla  can grow 3-6 inches high and each bulb produces 3-4 stems with medium, strap-like leaves. It's very tough and cold hardy that easily naturalizes by bulb offshoots and self-seeding.   Chionodoxa  is commonly called Glory-of-the-Snow because it is among the first bulbs to bloom in the spring. Each bulb produces six petaled, soft blue flowers with white centers that face upward and are surrounded by narrow, basal leaves. If y...

Dogwood trees and azalea bushes are in full bloom. Tulips are saying goodbye as iris are saying hello. Hostas, ferns and solomon's seal are speading their leaves and making themselves comfortable in the shade. Here are a few other things blooming in my Long Island, zone 7b garden this month. The allium are just about to pop open in front of a stunningly gorgeous azalea.  Clematis Claire de Lune just opened yesterday. It's peeking out above a nearby hosta which will contine to keep it's roots cool during the hot summer months.   These Anenome Madonna are enjoying their first year in my garden. I love the delicate wispy stems on these flowers and look forward to watching them continue to grow.  A lovely pink columbine is blooming happily next to the ferns and hostas. Under a blanket of pink petals from the fading Kwanzan cherry tree, the shade garden is coming to life. Taking center stage right now are the 2 magnificent bleeding hearts....

Things here have been, well, hectic, to say the least. I took these photos of the garden in mid June and today I see it is July 1! Nevertheless, I want to put these up anyway, because June is my favorite month in the garden. All the pinks, blues, purples and yellows making their way into view. The air smells delicious, the birds are chirping continuously throughout the day and the trees are still a lovely shade of bright green. Here's what my garden in June looks like this year: The pink astilbe look fabulous against the wall and their sweet, subtle fragrance is a treat if you catch a whiff of it. Along the edges, I'm so happy to see the "Pretty Polly" Heuchera (coral bells) starting to fill in and produce their delicate wispy blooms. Many varieties of hydrangea won't bloom this summer because of the brutal winter we had, which killed off all the over-wintering buds. But these Endless Summer varieties are just beginning to bloom and I'm so happy to s...

Everywhere I look, the rhododendron shrubs are in full, glorious bloom. At one time, I was not such an fan of rhodys. I am more of a delicate type of person and everything about the rhododendron is BIG. The leaves are big, the flowers are showy and the shrub itself can get very big if not pruned.  But then I started to look at them differently and noticed the beauty in each unique flower, the deep green of its evergreen leaves and the rounded shape of its form. It's truly a beauty in bloom and a welcome sight in the spring. Take a look at some of these, which I happened upon last week: (Rhododendron cv Ken Janeck) (Rhododendron 'Gigi') (Rhododendron cv. ) Next time you pass by one, be sure to give it a second, closer look at its beauty. You'll be glad you did. 

The tulips are in full bloom all over my town. I think the best looking tulips are ones planted in clusters rather than a single line of them. In landscape design, you often read about the rule of sticking to one color or color family when planting in groups. But I think this unofficial rule can be broken when it comes to tulips. Look at this grouping I found along a local parking lot the other day.  The mass of colors from tulips of the same form are simply show stopping.  I wish I had this much space to plant this many all together!

All around me, the trees are in full bloom. Shades of pink and white are lining my street and filling the air with a sweet scent. And while trees are beautiful to admire from across the street, my favorite vantage point is right next to the trunk, looking straight up.  The Bradford Pear tree has clusters of small white flowers and a lovely sweet scent.  I just love the pink flowers against the burgundy leaves of the Plum trees.  The Saucer Magnolia tree usually blooms before the others, but this year, everything is a little off because of the long cold winter we had. Truly a magestic tree in full bloom.  I was lucky enough to have inherited this tree when we bought our house. I'm not sure how old this Weeping Cherry tree is, but it's no youngling. Filled with small, dainty flowers on long, cascading branches, it sways quietly in the breeze and is simply gorgeous.  So next time you see a tree in bloom, get right up under its canopy and look up. It's a view that w...

The birds have been chirping, the sun is brighter and now we have an extra hour of daylight in the evening. Even though I still have snow on the ground, I did manage to see a few other signs of spring in the neighborhood yesterday. The first was a beautiful yellow-bloomed witch hazel tree (Hamamelis). It's one of the earliest to bloom in late winter/early spring.  The flowers have these squiggly little petals and gives off a sweet, delicate scent.  Here is a close up, from Wikipedia: Another early bloomer is the lovely and delicate Snowdrops (Galanthus). These are just about to open: The name Galanthus means "milk flower" in Greek. The petals, when open, face downward and when in a mass, looks like a light covering of snow.  Where the snow has melted, I see a few shoots of crocus and daffodils. Soon my landscape will be a riot of color. Soon!

Spring is here. Time for rebirth, new growth and the start of a new cycle of life. I've been on a bit of a hiatus these past few months and for that I apologize. But it's been a busy winter here. In December, we moved to a new house. Then in January, I gave birth to twins. And now it's May and I'm finally starting to settle into the rhythm of life with four kids and a new house.  Having moved from a rental house where I only had containers and a small deck, I am fascinated to see what is popping up at this new house. From what I gathered from the neighbors, horticulturalists used to live here and as a result, there are some really nice plantings on the property already. However, the people that we bought the house from had let these plantings take over. As a result, there are a lot of overgrown shrubs, a bizillion hostas and lots places of neglect. In addition, the back part of the property is very wooded and on a slope. There is one level spot where I assume held a s...

100,000 bulbs, over 500 varieties in bloom. With beautifully landscaped grounds and so many things blooming, this garden reminded me of Keukenhof in Lisse, Holland. But it was actually the private home of my friend Deb Van Bourgondien on Long Island. Debbie is the executive vice president of Van Bourgondien and Sons, which sells bulbs via its Van Bourgondien catalog and website dutchbulbs.com . Every fall she plants more and more bulbs on her property - a task I'm sure her neighbors thank her for every spring. Pulling into the driveway I was met with a sea of yellow daffodils, beds of tulips and two enormous cedar trees. The side bed was anchored by two gorgeous Saucer Magnolia trees ( Magnolia x Soulangiana ) in full bloom. Because of all the different varieties, the bloom times were different. Each bed had some tulips or daffodils that were blooming, some that were still in bud and others that had just finished. Everywhere I walked, some...