Yesterday I went to the Berkshire Botanical Garden in Stockbridge Massachucetts to hear a lecture on Epimediums. I was glad to see  the talk attracted a good crowd.  The presenter was Karen Perkins of Garden Vision Epimediiums a nursery specializing in these wonderful plants.  The program was both informative and inspiring.  Not only did the talk cover many species and hybrids but also Darrell Probst 's (founder of Garden Vision) trips to China to study and collect new species.  Unfortunately, epimediums are used for medicinal purposes in China and are harvested in large quantities.  One of the goals at Garden Vision Epimediums is to act as a repository for these plants in case they are wiped out in the wild.

  I fell in love with epimediums a long time ago but only began to seriously collect them in the past five years. Once established they are one of the easiest plants to grow and combine beautifully with hellebores and spring bulbs. The best place to find epimediums are mail order nurseries such as Garden Vision , Plant Delight Nursery, and Asiatica.

January Ramblings

Compared to most of the country our winter in upstate New York has not been too bad.  The garden has enough snow cover for protection and the coldest temperature has been 8 below zero.  One can't help but feel bad for gardeners down South.  The catalogs have been arriving by mail or internet and I have started my Spring orders. I am  ordering mostly shade plants from Asiatica, Plants Delight, and Seneca Hill Perennials.  It is hard not to get carried away especially when ordering online.

Almost Christmas

It has been cold here this past week: 2 degrees below 0 this morning.  The snowstorm hitting the East coast is going to miss us. There is enough snow cover to protect most of the garden.   A few seed catalogs have arrived but I won't get serious about them till after Christmas.  Happy Holidays to everyone.

First Snow

The first snow of the season came yesterday.  The extended forecast calls for more snow and cold weather later in the week.  The garden is in good shape going into winter so my attention will need to turn to work indoors. 

November Ramblings

So far this November has been warm  and some what dry.  I enjoy looking at the garden this time of year stripped down to its bones. The lushness of summer hides many flaws. The oakleaf hydrangea is one of the last shrubs to change color and the leaves were especially beautiful encased in an early morning frost.  This time of year the less glamorous, but still important work takes place in the garden such as putting pots away, screening compost, pruning trees etc.   I will be cleaning leaves out of the beds until snow falls, but overall the garden is in good shape going into winter.

My wife and I took advantage of a beautiful day to work on garden cleanup.  The wind and rain yesterday brought down a lot of the leaves which will end up in the compost pile. While cleaning up the garden my thoughts turn to spring and changes that will be made.  Many of the beds are over due for a makeover.  One of my favorite plants is our native witchhazel (Hamaelis viginiana) which is blooming now. All the other species of witchhazel bloom from late winter to early spring. The plant in my garden has larger and fuller flowers than the ones I see growing in nearby woods.   Fothergilla gardenii or dwarf fothergilla is another native shrub that lights up the fall landscape with its yellow to orange leaves which change color after most plants have already drop their leaves . Both the witchhazel and fothergilla (which are members of the same family) bring color into the garden late in the season.

We had close to three inches of rain on Saturday! The bulbs that I planted should be well watered. Years ago I planted a threeflowered maple (Acer triflorum) in the back corner of the garden. During the summer it blends in with the rest of the greenery but once fall arrives this maple lights up the lower garden with its brilliant orange leaves. The threeflowered maple also has exfoliating bark which gives it winter interest. A Japanese maple next to my formal water feature is also putting on a quite a show this year. I bought this thread leaf variety many years ago from a box store and it has developed into a beautiful specimen in its sheltered location.