Category Archives: Native Plants

Tatters of Winter, Songs of Spring

Posted on February 12, 2018 by aheronsgarden

Sunny Days Slip in Between the Raindrops! Winter took a long time coming this year. In fact, I was so lulled by spectacular fall colors and balmy temperatures that I quite forgot to put the garden to sleep. Then I … Continue reading →

Posted in garden maintenance, Native Plants, snow storm, spring bloom, Uncategorized, wildflowers, Winter | Tagged seeds, Wildlife, winter | 8 Comments

A Gardener’s Weather

Posted on April 26, 2017 by aheronsgarden

It’s the middle of March and they are bickering in the heavens again. Move out, you Old Goat, you’re done, finished. Old goat, eh! I’ll show you. Want a blast of wind chill? And some crusty barbs of ice? You—you—you … Continue reading →

Posted in Native Plants, spring, spring bloom, Spring shrubs, Uncategorized | Tagged spring flowers, spring shrubs | Leave a comment

October On My Mind. . .Still

Posted on December 12, 2016 by aheronsgarden

Faded now, but traceries in the garden awaken memories. October is that cusp of December reluctant to take leave of August. October is enjoying, and waiting, and leftovers, and firsts and lasts, and looking back, and looking ahead, and knowing … Continue reading →

Posted in fall bloom, garden maintenance, Native Plants | Tagged autumn garden | 2 Comments

Missing Summer — Already?

Posted on November 11, 2015 by aheronsgarden

I can’t believe I spent most of the summer fretting about too much heat too much humidity too much sun and not enough rain, and now that cool weather is here, I am already wishing I could have another go … Continue reading →

Posted in fall bloom, Native Plants, wildflowers | Tagged beautyberry, Blue Mist, boltonia, Devil's Walking Stick, Japanese anemone, joepye weed, Magic Lily, Naked Ladies, native swamp hibiscus, obedient plant, Rain lilies, rhexia, Rose of Sharon, sneezeweed, Swamp Sunflower, Turks cap, woolly summersweet | 1 Comment

The Lost Month

Posted on February 13, 2015 by aheronsgarden

January. Disappeared. Wiped away. That’s why this is being written in February. That’s not to say calendar days didn’t march by, one by one, as prescribed by the physics of the solar system. I’m talking here about garden days. Let … Continue reading →

Posted in Native Plants, Winter Gardens | Tagged Berenice Boddy camellia, Christmas Jewel holly, Daffodils, hellebores, kerria, LA Iris, ogon spirea, Quince 'Jet Trail', Sparkleberry, spicebush, white throated sparrow | Leave a comment

Serendipity Twice Around

Posted on October 22, 2014 by aheronsgarden

Fifteen years ago I did a piece for a garden column about three native fall-bloomers that I discovered in the rich remains of a defunct compost pile. The trio tickled me each time I passed them. They seemed to hum … Continue reading →

Posted in Native Plants, summer bloom, wildflowers | Tagged aster divaricatus, chelone glabra, chelone lyonii, great blue lobelia, lobelia syphilicita, pink turtlehead, white turtlehead, white wood aster | Leave a comment

A Pollinator’s Heaven

Posted on September 7, 2014 by aheronsgarden

I wish we could say we were brilliant and actually planned this little bit of heaven. Like everything else in our garden, it simply evolved. It happened this way. Several trees, their structure internally damaged by Hurricane Isabel, had to … Continue reading →

Posted in Creating a Garden, fall bloom, Native Plants, Native pollinators, summer bloom, Uncategorized, wildflowers | Tagged boltonia, Cutleaf Coneflower, Daylily, fall bloomers, Hidcote st johnswort, joepye weed, native plants, native pollinators, perilla, salvia guaranitica, shrubby st johnswort, skullcap (scuttelaria), summer bloomers, Swamp Sunflower, Tatarian aster, Turks cap, wildflowers, woodland sunflower | Leave a comment

Sunbeams in my Garden

Posted on June 26, 2013 by aheronsgarden

Overheard in the garden after a long rainy spell. . . You’re looking lovely as ever, dear Mrs. Cottontail. Tell me, can you help me find the sun today? No, I’ve not seen the sun, Wolf. And don’t sweet-talk me … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, fall bloom, Native Plants, Seeds for birds, spring bloom, Summer, summer bloom, wildflowers, yellow flowers | Tagged Boston Ivy, Columbine, coreopsis, Cutleaf Coneflower, Daffodil Tahiti, Daylily, fall bloomers, Golden Ragwort, Goldenrod, goldfinches, Missouri Sundrops, native plants, Rudbeckia Irish Eyes, Southern Indian azaleas, spring bloomers, St. Johnswort, summer bloomers, Swamp Sunflower, Yellow Flag Iris | Leave a comment

More Meatballs and Lollipops, Please

Posted on August 4, 2012 by aheronsgarden

Years ago, a certain company offered two types of fantastic seed tapes. Each one was guaranteed to produce instant results for cottage gardeners and formal gardeners alike. In case you want to follow up on this terrific offer, the order … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Creating a Garden, Hosta, Hydrangeas, Native Plants, Summer, Uncategorized, wildflowers, Wildlife | Tagged agastache, cardinal flower, crepe myrtle, deer, elderberries, fennel, Garden Paths, hummingbirds, New York ironweed, spider web, trumpet creeper vine, wildflowers, Wildlife | Leave a comment

Plants for Pennies

Posted on June 7, 2012 by aheronsgarden

It began in earnest many years ago with a Master Gardener class on how to propagate plants by taking stem cuttings. I must have been having a relapse of Empty Nest syndrome then. Oh, the possibilities! Bob the Builder was … Continue reading →

Posted in Creating a Garden, Hydrangeas, Native Plants, propagation, Spring shrubs | Tagged cranberry viburnum, New Castle red hydrangea, spirea double reeves, spirea shibori | 2 Comments