Dear Friends,

 

After a long break from blogging to write my book, The Contemporary Cottage Gardener, I'm thrilled to announce my new blog. Actually, it is a free newsletter called, "Pam's English Garden in PA." It is hosted HERE.  

 

I'm so excited to share the latest content with you, and you will receive a new edition on the 15th of every month! Click the link and head over.

 

 

I'm eagerly looking forward to your return and our continued journey together!

 

Pam x

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, April '23

"The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also." --Harriet Ann Jacobs

My soul is revived on this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Many plants are blooming early this year, but looking back my pictures look remarkably similar to previous years. Comparing years is what is special about this meme. Thank you, Carol. Take a walk with me and see the miracle that is spring again in my cottage garden.

The cherry tree is in full bloom today. Snow Fountain Weeping Cherry Prunus x 'Snofozam'

We opened the pond. Robert is making some repairs, and it is looking great. I love miniature trees; I have four varieties around the pond. They look gorgeous in spring. The cherry tree is the first to bloom; next will be the weeping redbud.

Dwarf weeping redbud Cercis canadensis 'Lavender Twist'

I'm spending a lot of time cleaning up, pruning, and planting as I want my garden to look its best for the photographs for my book. I tire more quickly, and the hot weather (90 degrees F yesterday) makes it more challenging. I am happy more seasonal temperatures are returning this week. I am so grateful for Duane's help with the heavier work.
 

Arctic fire™ red twig dogwood Cornus stolonifera 'Farrow'

There are loads of daffodils still. Bottom right is my favorite 'Tahiti"

Primrose Primula vulgaris

April 19, is Primrose Day. It is said that the primrose was the favorite flower of Benjamin Disraeli, twice prime minister of England -- Disraeli died on this day in 1881 and Primrose Day was born. I have several of these lovely plants in my English cottage garden. They are just beginning to bloom.

Dianthus is new to my garden. My daughter gave me this beauty for Easter.

Fritillary Fritillaria meleagris,

Marsh marigold Caltha palustris

Marsh marigold is the first plant to bloom in the rain garden.

Here is the first tulip to bloom each season, Planted by my husband's mother more than 50 years ago.

Forsythia Forsythia x intermedia behind the fences in the Serenity Garden

I am so sorry to say goodbye to bloodroot Sanguinaria canadensis.

Bloodroot is one of my favorite spring blooming native plants.

Brunera 'Jack Frost' has its first forget-me-not type flowers

 Helleborus and Pulmonaria

Japanese andromeda Pieris japonica 'Mountain Fire' in the Woodland Walk

 I sprayed the hosta buds with deer deterent and I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Now I'm going over to Carol's blog to see what is happening around the world on this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. Won't you join me?

Love,

Pamela x

 

Creeping Phlox, Phlox subulata

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The First Full Day of Spring

It's the first full day of spring, and I started 400 zinnia seeds under lights in my dining room today. I took a quick stroll around my gardens. Compared with gardeners south of here, I have few blooms. I appreciate the infrequent ones I find: crocus, hellebore, and (today) Pulmonaria's pretty pink and blue flowers. I have considerably more snowdrops this year -- thanks to Frank of Sorta Like Suburbia. Daffodil tips are appearing everywhere, and even a few tulips. Spring will be fabulous when it ultimately arrives at Astolat.

Garden planning is well underway for the new gardening year. I began, as always, with an assessment of last year's gardens for what worked and what didn't.

Four gardens that worked well in 2022. Clockwise from top left - Serenity Garden, Rain Garden, the all-white Stone Garden, and the bountiful Kitchen Garden

Although the Serenity Garden is working well, I plan a few changes: Adding more foxgloves and some lavender and replacing the lamium. The lamium ground cover is pretty in spring when blooming, but the leaves turn black when the temperature soars in July. I ordered some hardy plumbago (Ceratostigma) to begin the replacement process.

I planted more annuals in the Cottage Garden last year and the zinnias were lovely. This year I want to remove some of the aggressive gooseneck loosestrife and add the native Babtisia 'Twilight Prairieblues.' Of course, I ordered delphinium, a cottage garden must have, that behaves like an annual in my garden. In addition, I am increasing the hollihocks plants. There were few blooming last year.

 

'

 My most successful garden in 2022 was the new meadow:

I will reseed the meadow with annuals and hope some perennials make an appearance this summer.

This year, I gave seed purchases, plant purchases, and my garden design more thought than usual, as my garden must be at its best for the photo shoots for my book. I sometimes tell clients, 'Do as I say, not as I do,' but now I'm trying to match what I do with what I write in the book. For example, I include companion planting in a chapter on vegetables. Although I always rotate my crops, I am generally haphazard with what I produce and how I mix plants. This gardening season, I will grow nasturtiums in the zucchini bed because I'm writing that nasturtiums reduce the squash bug population. 

I made my kitchen garden plan. I organized seed packets according to planting dates.

My plan shows where I am companion planting, interplanting, relay planting and succession planting.

I haven't started the spring garden chores because it has been too cold to venture out. As I age, I can no longer tolerate cold and dampness. I have plant stalks to cut down in flowerbeds and the meadow, shrubs and trees to prune, and weeding to do. I plan to start this week as temperatures rise.  Have you made a start yet?

Wishing you a Happy Spring and the BEST gardening year!

Love,

Pamela x

 

 

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A Longwood Christmas 2022

 

They still need to dismantle the Christmas Tree in the Rockefeller Center, New York, so there must be time for one more Christmas post. It's become a tradition for Duane and me to go to Longwood Gardens for their Christmas event. This season we went just a few days before the display ended; Jonathan accompanied us. It was spectacular. As always, my iPhone photographs don't do justice. The article, The Art Behind the Lights, is on Longwood Garden's blog for great pictures and an exciting read. You can see the Rose Arbor lantern there. How could I stand and admire it and not take out my iPhone? 

 

When we first arrived, it was still light outside, so we strolled up the hill to the Conservatory, planning to enjoy the lights outdoors after dark. The 4.5-acre greenhouse contained stunning plants and displays, as always. The main exhibition hall was a delight of golds and reds reflected in the pool.

Exhibition Hall

My favorite plants were the lilies and orchids. I am not fond of the smell of lilies, but I must say the white ones were gorgeous. Walking down to the orchid house, we passed under living chandeliers that were another favorite, with their white orchids. I know I have a thing for white blooms.

 

My favorite display of all, however, was the floral shop. The designers of the clothes on the mannequins outdid themselves. And what about that armchair and cushion? Amazing!

The Floral Shop

As darkness fell, we went outdoors. With more than 50,000 lights, they had created a winter wonderland.

The fire pits throughout the gardens were welcoming on the cold night.

It was fun to walk through the tunnel in the meadow garden as the lights constantly changed color.

 

I was interested in the meadow at night. Small lights highlighted the plants, and the large tree in the distance was spectacular. I felt vindicated in leaving my meadow uncut when the plants died back. At Longwood, they use burning to clear the meadow in spring. I can't do that as my meadow is surrounded by wooden buildings. I will cut it down instead.

 

The Meadow

The Italian Garden

Walking back to the visitor's center.

 

We stayed at a nearby hotel overnight before driving Jon home. He returned to college at Pitt the next day, saying our little trip was a fantastic ending to his Christmas vacation. Happy New Year to all my gardening friends!

Love,

Pamela x

This morning, I found a snowdrop pushing its way up in the Serenity Garden! Only a gardener would show a poor picture like this, but you understand. I'm so excited about the new gardening season!

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Gifts for Gardeners: Beautiful Books

If, like me, you still need to finish your holiday shopping, gardening books are always a good idea for your green-thumb friends or family members. Author friends of mine wrote the four you can see under my tree above. I have attended some of Mary-Kate Mackey's writing workshops. She is very kind and offered to help me with my writing efforts, for which I am grateful. Shelley Cramm chairs a power circle (a committee) to which I belong for GardenComm -- An international organization for garden communicators. All these authors are members. Shelley is a great inspiration to me. Jenny Rose Carey is a fellow Brit and a good friend. I am sure you have heard me talk about her in this blog. I met Raffaele Di Lallo via Zoom at a conference. He also offered to help me. Here are brief reviews of their beautiful and informative books. Click on a title for purchasing information.

*Oh, and I want to share some good news at the end of this posting.*

Brenzel, Kathleen N., and Mackey, Mary-Kate, The Healthy Garden: Simple Steps for a Greener World. Abrams, 2021

The authors arranged the book into three sections: Healthy Garden, Healthy You, and Healthy Planet. In the first section, Healthy Garden, they cover design, planting, and maintenance. They describe the health benefits of gardening under the heading, Healthy You. In the last part, the authors discuss the contributions gardeners make toward the health of our world. The book includes 19 interviews with expert gardeners, plus numerous quotations from experts worldwide.

The Healthy Garden presents a delightful cornucopia of tips and insights for gardeners of all levels of expertise. Beautiful illustrations show gardens in all US growing zones. This book is an excellent addition to any gardener's library.

Carey, Jenny Rose, The Ultimate Flower Gardener's Guide: How to Combine Shape, Color, and Texture to Create the Garden of Your Dreams. Timber Press, 2022

Jenny Rose (right) brought me a copy of her book. We spent a wonderful day talking about all things gardening and garden writing.

 

 

 

The Ultimate Flower Gardener's Guide is Jenny Rose's sunny companion to her first book, Glorious Shade, which I reviewed HERE.

It has five sections: In the first section, Jenny Rose helps us look at individual flowers and truly see them, not just their color but the many shapes and their role in the garden. In the second chapter, Jenny Rose gives the stars of each season that she defines as early to mid-spring, late spring to early summer, high summer, late summer into autumn, and winter. She suggests tasks and activities for each. The following section comprises numerous plant pictures and detailed profiles, including the shape and the plant's role in the garden. This section enables the gardener to make informed choices. The final two chapters describe types of flowerbeds, hardscaping, and various kinds of gardens.

 

 I am thrilled that the author featured my garden in the section on looking for inspiration.

My Cottage Garden

Beautifully written, and the photographs in the book are gorgeous - the author took most of them. Jenny Rose's title for this book is very appropriate. It is truly the ultimate guide for any gardener to begin a new garden or improve an existing one.

Cramm, Shelley S., My Father is the Gardener: Devotions in Botany and Gardening of the Bible. BRIT Press, 2022

 

In this devotional, Shelley conveys gardening as a spiritual practice. She takes the title from John 15, where Jesus says,  "I am the true vine, my father is the Gardener." She dedicates one or two chapters to each gardening job, from preparing the soil and planting to propagating and composting, linking tasks to plants of the Bible. Highlighted plants include olive, oak, crown anemone, hyssop, cucumber, and more.

 

Lovely Illustrations

Shelley has deep knowledge of the Bible and a great deal of botanical learning. Linking these attributes with the beautiful illustrations by Layla Luna, this book is superb. I love it!

 

Di Lallo, Raffaele, Houseplant Warrior: Seven Keys to Unlocking the Mysteries of Houseplant Care. The Countryman Press, 2022

Raffaele's readers know him from his Instagram page, Ohio Tropics, which has, impressively, over 138,000 followers. The book was a natural step for him to take with its synthesis of Raffaele's knowledge about houseplants. Raffaele answers four basic questions: Which plant is suitable for your environment? How should you take care of them? How do you deal with problems? And how to propagate? 

The book has an easy-to-follow format in which Raffaele unlocks his seven keys to houseplant care. It concludes with a comprehension list of houseplants that includes each plant's description, family, light requirements, appropriate potting mix, watering, propagation, and additional tips. Raffaele illustrates the book with photographs from his extensive plant collection.

Houseplant care is not my forte, so I welcomed this informative book. I have seen an improvement in my small collection since implementing some of Raffaele's advice.

Any or all of these four titles would be great as a gift or for yourself.

*And now for my good news (that you will know if you follow me on FB.)  Timber Press Publishers gave me a book deal for my cottage garden book. I am so excited. You will see my title on future gift lists.*

Wishing you a blessed Christmas, dear gardening friends.

Love,

Pamela x

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