Good news: Heronswood cultivars won eight more ribbons at the Philadelphia Flower show during the last round on Friday, March 9. Corydalis muliensis and Cannomois virgata both received a first place blue, and Tricyrtis formosana ‘Variegata’ and Viola odorata brought home the second. In third place were Carex elata ‘Aurea’, Chondropetalum tectorum, Geranium hayatanum (again), and Helleborus x hybridus ‘Kingston Cardinal’ (again). This brings our total to 6… Continue reading

I love gardens and gardening, and I have a particular fondness for gardeners. I have had ample opportunity this week to revel in the company of gardeners. Here each day at the Philadelphia Flower Show, nearly 10,000 people stroll by, usually two across, for 12 hours. And these are almost all gardeners, their eyes lit up with curiosity and passion. Braving the cold snap that descended on the mid-Atlantic this… Continue reading

Thanks for the pun to the late American poet, Ed Dorn, who lived on the Olympic Peninsula for several years and wrote a fine book of stories with the same title.Thanks for the inspiration to poet, composer and garden designer Douglas Macdonald, who can be found occasionally lecturing at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Searching the world for rare plants taxes the body, soul and pocketbook, which is why so few succeed… Continue reading