Last weekend we went to Duke Gardens to check out the summer flowers and to exercise my macro lens. The flowers were as impressive as ever, but the insect life was also quite interesting: notice the bees' head is not really attached... Leandra was simultaneously fascinated and grossed out. Eastern tiger swallowtail with bonus background bee pond lily bumblebee and zinnia More Duke Garden photos on Flickr. … [Read more...]
Late June garden
June 30, 2012
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This weekend North Carolina is experiencing the same heat wave as most of the US, so our plants are bit thirstier than normal. Before this we've seen great weather so our flowers have been quite happy: Portulaca - they love the sun, growing out of control this year Society garlic - a faithful plant for us in a semi-shaded border Crocosmia - this one grew from the seeds of a plant we purchased several years ago Salvia- the neighborhood hummingbirds make this is a daily … [Read more...]
Early June garden
June 9, 2012
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We've had a stretch of excellent weather in NC with cool evenings and periodic rains that have given our garden a boost of growth. In particular, our lavender has been blooming like mad and you can smell it from at least 10 feet away. the bees are in heaven Out by the road a number of summer plants are in full bloom including the Liatris And of course the daylilies Warm weather is returning, but hopefully we'll continue to get the occasional rainfall throughout the summer. … [Read more...]
a backyard landscaping weekend
May 14, 2012
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In March we had a landscaping company come out and do most of the heavy lifting to get our backyard in shape. To finish it off we needed to add new plants and more mulch. On Friday, we had 5 cubic yards(!) of both soil and mulch delivered to the house, then on Saturday morning, we went to the Raleigh Farmer's Market and picked up a bunch of new plants. We found herbs and flowers for the new planter boxes, some new perennials for our other raised beds, and hanging ferns for the front porch. After … [Read more...]
Royal Greenhouses in Laeken
May 20, 2011
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As luck would have it, our visit to Brussels coincided with one of the three weeks that the Royal Greenhouses are open in 2011. As soon as I found out I made it my one must-see site for this trip. Thankfully it did not disappoint! Really a complex of connected greenhouses, this is one the largest ornamental indoor gardens I've ever experienced, with large iron beams and acres of glass. The front entrance to the greenhouses The top of one of the greenhouses a view of just how … [Read more...]
early morning farmer’s market run
April 26, 2008
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It's spring again and that means another year of trying to score an heirloom sungold tomato plant from Craig and Susan LeHoullier. We got started too late last Saturday and by the time we arrived at 11am, they were sold out. Since I didn't feel like driving out to their house in North Raleigh during the week, I was determined to arrive early enough this morning. Now, I get up every morning around 7am to take the dog out and give her breakfast. Then she crawls back into bed with me and … [Read more...]
February showers bring March flowers
March 22, 2008
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The recent rainfall along with the warm temperature has brought most everything in our garden to life over the last few weeks, and we are fully in mid-spring in Durham. Some photos from the garden: Our daffodils started blooming in mid-February, and this is one of the last with a bloom. I'll need to deadhead them next weekend. A group of grape hyacinths in the front yard. This is the most prolific they've ever been, which is surprising considering the drought we've had. These … [Read more...]
The garden in November
November 27, 2007
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Even with the drought we still have a few plants that have provided us some color late into November. For example, we planted hardy cyclamen several years ago, and they send up flowers every fall. These are really winter plants- after they're done flowering they'll send out their leaves which will stick around until April or so. We've also got some traditional fall color, especially from my Japanese maple: Clearly happy in its container on the patio. The biggest surprise is our … [Read more...]