Text and photos ©Nancy J. Ondra
Ah, so many neat plants, so little time. I’ve been saving up a few of my current favorites to share with you, starting with the two above: variegated sweet iris (Iris pallida ‘Variegata’; also sold as ‘Aureovariegata’) on the left and ‘Axminster Gold’ comfrey (Symphytum x uplandicum) on the right. (Yes, yes, I know the rules say that you shouldn’t plant variegated plants right next to each other, but I do think these two work.) (more…)
Text and photos ©Nancy J. Ondra
Late spring is prime time for picking great salad fixings from the garden. We generally refer to them as “greens,” but there are many intriguing options to choose from that are anything but plain old green. One of my new favorites is a mustard variety called ‘Ruby Streaks’; it’s the jagged purple foliage shown above. The other variety shown is ‘Golden Streaks’. It’s even more frilly, and it makes a great contrast to ‘Ruby Streaks’, but it doesn’t appear nearly as golden next to other greens. (more…)
Text and photos ©Nancy J. Ondra
Well, a little late this month, but I finally got my Bloom Day post put together. Lots of pictures, so here we go!
Above is Chocolate Chip ajuga (Ajuga ‘Valfredda’) with golden barberry (Berberis thunbergii ‘Aurea’ – I know, I know, boo hiss for barberry…). (more…)
Text and photos ©Nancy J. Ondra
Have you ever noticed that other gardeners always have more difficulties than you do? You mention that you have deer/rabbits/voles/Japanese beetles/shade/whatever, and then you hear how the other person has the same problem but much, much worse than you could ever imagine. I’ve noticed that it’s the same with rocks: You grumble about hitting a few rocks when digging a fencepost or trying to plant, and invariably, someone else has more/bigger/harder rocks in their garden. Well, whenever I hear someone complain about rocks in the garden, I have to think that they don’t realize how bad it could be! (more…)
I’ve been trying to think of a topic that would give me a good reason to talk about some of my favorite plants from time to time. A few plants that have recently caught my eye don’t have much in common, however, besides being perennials and having interesting foliage. “Three Neat Plants” is the best theme I can come up with, for the moment anyway. Fortunately, the plants are far more exciting than the title. (more…)
