Skip to main content

Featured

10 June Favorites

Magnolia 'Kay Parris' With so much going on in the garden in June, it is hard to choose only ten favorites. I challenged myself and have done just that. These are plants that look good around the midway point in June, specifically from June 15-20.  I begin with Magnolia 'Kay Parris'. Believe it or not, having spent the majority of my life in the South, I never grew a magnolia. They are emblematic of the South, where magnificent specimens grace old plantation homes and stately homes in older neighborhoods. I always thought of magnolias as huge trees, not suited to a small garden, but things have changed, and more varieties are now available that are not supposed to grow as large.  We now have two magnolias in our garden, both of which were added recently. When one of the old photinias that line our back property line died, it left a gaping hole. I had been looking at magnolias at the nursery and decided a smaller one might make a good backdrop and create a good privacy s...
6 comments
Read more

January Blooms and a birdhouse abuser

 


We are having a string of warmer and dry days this week. Just in time for a new deck (more on that later). I did a walk-about yesterday and noticed several blooms -

Arctostaphylos 'Sunset' (Manzanita)

Galanthus nivalis (Snowdrops)

 
Hellebore 'Merlin'

And something not so pleasing - I discovered a birdhouse that was just put up last fall now looks like this! -

This has happened before so I wasn't completely surprised. I posted this photo to a local birding group and got a multitude of answers but most of them stated that it is likely a squirrel. That makes sense as we have a lot of them. Flickers and woodpeckers was also a common answer. That would be a possibility but I only see flickers and woodpeckers at our feeders periodically so I don't know. I was advised to attach a metal ring around the hole.

 

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Email Post

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts