Dirt Therapy

'Eden' and 'Phyllis Bide' on the moon arch Technically, the roses began much earlier than June, around the middle of May. Some of the early bloomers, like 'Lady of Shallot' and 'Mutabalis' that I showed in a previous post, have finished up already and have now been cut back. Others that began in mid-late May have persisted with blooms and the wonderful cool weather we have been having has helped them linger for a long time. 'Eden' The moon arch in the top photo divides the lower terraces from the courtyard area. The archway is adorned with two roses - 'Eden' and 'Phyllis Bide'. I am not sure why I chose 'Eden' - maybe it was because it seems to be a very popular rose. So far, I am unimpressed. The flowers are nice after they fully open and display more of their soft pink color but before that, they are plump buds of a sickly ivory color. The fact that the rose has many blackspot covered leaves does not help i...

We have been trying to catch an open garden or two every Sunday and it has been lots of fun. A few weeks ago, Alan Bertin's garden was open and what a treat it is. Alan began his garden in Portland the same year we did (4 years ago) and he his sunny hillside garden is filled with over 600 unique plants. Alan is a New Orleans native and he has a blog appropriately titled "The Mardi Gras Gardener" . A major portion of Alan's garden is the huge 15 x 50 ft. hellstrip that is packed with an array of blooms from perennials, shrubs and trees and stunning grasses. Alan even gardens on an adjoining slope of an apartment building next door. Now that is my kind of gardener! Alan's back garden is a tranquil retreat with lush borders surrounding a grassy circle. We were there at the worst time of time to get good photos and most of mine did not turn out well which is a bummer. Alan's garden will be open again on July 7th and August 4th. It is well worth a...

Grow in the Dark: How to Choose and Care for Low-Light Houseplants by Lisa Eldred Steinkopf Cool Springs Press, 2019.  For someone who loves plants as much as I do, you would think that I would be just as enthusiastic about houseplants. However, that is not the case although I do love indoor plants and find any setting, whether it be someone's home or a restaurant, greatly enhanced by the presence of plants. We have one houseplant, a variegated Spider Plant (Chlorophytum comosum) that I tend to in my study. It is now residing on the deck during the summer months. Part of the reason for this absence is my other half, who doesn't want to clean around them, and my own self-professed lack of knowledge on how to care for them. But, as this book shows, houseplants are not as problematic as you might think. Profiling 50 common (and a few I've never heard of) houseplants, focusing on those that flourish under low-light situations. Each profile gives their preferred lighti...

June is the month for roses and clematis, one of my favorite times of the year. June is like May in Alabama and it has taken me a while to get used to it but I do love the long Spring! The weather has been more like it should be here although we did get a brief hot spell (99 and 100!) for two days but then it went back to normal. Normally, even after a very hot day, it quickly cools down after the sun sets, so much that you need warmer clothing. On the hot days, however, it stayed pretty warm late into the night. We were afraid our air conditioning unit was going to die from overkill since we haven't used it this year.  Clematis 'Jackmanii Superba' adorns one side of the front gate, intermingling with the climbing rose 'Dublin Bay' at the bottom. You can barely see Clematis 'Madame Julia Correvon' on the opposite side but it is blooming nicely this year. This is one of those so-called "red" clematis that, I'm sorry to say, isn't red but...