I like digging into the topics that Dee Nash and I discuss on our weekly podcast episodes of The Gardenangelists. Last week, we decided our flower would be Solomon's Seal. Great! A native wildflower! Perfect! Well, not so fast. I did a little checking and found that indeed, there is a native Solomon's Seal, Polygonatum biflorum, which is usually found in wooded areas in the Eastern United States. I bet I saw it once or twice when I was a kid and we'd go to a woods to hunt … [Read more...] about Solomon’s Seal for Wildflower Wednesday
wildflowers
In Search of Violets
There, my friends, are the first violets blooming at May Dreams Gardens this season. They are growing approximately six inches from the foundation on the west side of the house, a spot I assume warms up a tiny bit sooner than other spots in the garden. I am not sure about the variety, but I think these are what is left of some remnants of Viola mandshurica 'Fuji Dawn' which I grew from seeds 20 plus years ago. Normally, 'Fuji Dawn' has variegated leaves, but as we all know, sometimes the … [Read more...] about In Search of Violets
Amsonia: Gird your loins
There are some garden tasks that require you to prepare yourself physically and mentally, to gird your loins. One of those tasks in my garden is cutting back Amsonia tabernaemontana, Bluestar, after it has flowered and formed seed pods. Those seed pods! They must be removed at any cost or my entire garden would be Amsonia. I do not want those seeds to ripen, fall to the ground, and germinate. The Amsonia seedlings, which don't look all that big, have roots that rival those of nearly any other … [Read more...] about Amsonia: Gird your loins
Mayapples
I have a little puddle of mayapples, Podophyllum peltatum, growing in my garden. It's the plant with the umbrella shaped leave in the picture. The other plant, with the red bloom, is a Trillium. Both plants were rescued from a wooded area that was going to be dammed up to form a lake. Otherwise, I would have never dug them up and brought them to my garden. I wanted the mayapples, especially, because they remind me of going mushroom hunting with my siblings and my dad when we were … [Read more...] about Mayapples
