Serenity in the Garden

'Blue Paradise' Little Bluestem courtesy of Proven Winners   Deep wine purple fall color. When the American Horticultural Society decided to create a large meadow at their headquarters, River Farm, in Virginia the first plant they seeded was  Little Bluestem.   ( I wrote about this earlier but have added to it. ) Photo Courtesy of Lazy S'S Farm  They applied 100 pounds of Bluestem seed. The Latin name is  Schizachyrium scoparium or  skiz-ah-KEER-ee-um sko-PAR-ee-um. Why was this the first plant they seeded? Because Little Bluestem is a NATIVE, wonderful, durable, upright,   clump forming grass that is eminently suitable for 'meadow making'. 'The Blues' courtesy of the  Battery Database Little Bluestem is native to almost all of the United States and parts of Canada. It is found in  45 of the 50 states, making it the most abundant of all native grasses. It is drought and flood-tolerant, can grow in light shade and thrives in

Check out  'Ideas for a Fall Garden'  on gardendesign.com. I share some ideas I have used in my landscape projects.  Please click on the article name above for some great end-of-the-gardening-year ideas for your garden. from gardendesign.com The Garden Design website  is a virtual compendium of ideas for your landscape.

Imagine if there were no street names, no names of places, no identification of any kind...our world would be very difficult to navigate. A name is essential - it gives form, meaning, and creates a concept or image for us to attach our thoughts to. A good place name instills good feelings, excitement or anticipation...it has the ability to change our perception immediately.  A flower patch can become 'Mom's Garden' and, in a wink of an eye, the rag tag assortment of flowers is a special place indeed. "I believe in the power and mystery of naming things.... I believe in naming what's right in front of us because that is often what is most invisible. "  Eve Ensler A name is the first step toward making the invisible, visible, toward manifesting.... If you name your idea for a screenplay, well then, there it is...you just have to write it now....or if you name your budding business it makes it much easier to create those business cards (

Do you want to be immortalized? Just have someone name a fabulous plant after you.  Honorine Jobert was a very lucky lady because this flowering Japanese hybrid anemone -  Anemone x hybrida 'Honorine Jobert' -  is a wonderful bloomer and extremely adaptable.  Lovely in a woodland setting or in rock gardens. An excellent cut flower. Naturalizes by spreading rhizomes in ideal conditions. Herbaceous perennial. Blooms from August through September, every year. Zones 4 - 8. Low maintenance and great in perennial borders, cottage gardens, and city gardens  .  Named a 'Tried and True' plant by the Missouri Botanical Garden. 

Lady's Mantle is a dew catcher This is the time of 'White Dew on the Grass' in Japan Sept 8 - 12 Microseason 43:  白露  Hakuro  (White dew)  Now is when you notice white beads of dew in early morning. They say 'on grass' but I see it on flowers and leaves too.   Dew appears between summer and fall when the temperatures drop during the night and moisture in the air solidifies. A magical time indeed. Like jewels on the flowers - dew drops glisten