Category Archives: Country Gardening

Advice, commentary and exploration

Green Flowers

Posted on September 6, 2014 by Eliza Waters

Green flowers are unusual in the garden, although breeders have added many new cultivars in the past few years. Lime green compliments any color in the garden, but my favorite pairings are with hot pink, orange or lavender purple. The above Flowering Tobacco is … Continue reading →

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Giant Swallowtail

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Eliza Waters

I had an unusual visitor to my garden the other day. While having lunch on our deck, I noticed a rather large butterfly flitting among the Coneflowers. I grabbed my camera and went down to get a closer look. I … Continue reading →

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Mother Nature Owns Your Garden

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Eliza Waters

A few years ago while reading a garden anthology that featured several authors, one article by Gene Logsdon, aka The Contrary Farmer, gave me a new perspective on gardening. Up until that point, I had always viewed my yard and garden … Continue reading →

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Poppies

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Eliza Waters

Lettuce Leaf Poppy (Papaver somniferum) Also known as Breadseed Poppy, this is one of my favorite self-sowing annuals that puts on quite a show in early summer. Only lasting a day, the delicate blossoms of papery petals are a lovely mauve color … Continue reading →

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Turk’s Cap Lilies

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Eliza Waters

Turk’s Cap Lilies (Lilium canadense) are now at peak bloom in our woodland. Easily distinguished by their vibrant orange, recurved petals that earn them their name, their annual bloom is an eagerly awaited event for us. Native to eastern U.S., … Continue reading →

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Columbine ‘Nora Barlow’

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Eliza Waters

Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata ‘Nora Barlow’ This old-fashioned double columbine, sometimes called Granny’s Bonnet, is a great self-sower and over time will create small colonies. Beautiful and graceful, I have mine with variegated hosta, barrenwort (Epimedium rubra) and lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis) in a … Continue reading →

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Locally Grown and Gorgeous

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Eliza Waters

The locally grown garden plant movement is a return to the way things used to be before big box stores started muscling in on local growers. Using economy of scale, large volume discounts, they out-priced local competition, causing many to … Continue reading →

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Heavenly Delight

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Eliza Waters

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) is one of the most heavenly of scents in the garden. For about two weeks every spring, I inundate my senses with this delicate gift of Nature. Life is good!

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Monarch Field Habitat

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Eliza Waters

Having decided I must take action locally after my previous posts about the decline of Monarch butterflies, I contacted a fellow gardener who has kids in the local elementary school.  Previously, over the twenty plus years I’ve lived here, I had volunteered to do garden … Continue reading →

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Hello There, Blue Eyes!

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Eliza Waters

This sweet little butterfly quietly posed for me on a blossom of Narcissus ‘Ice Follies’ and though I searched online to find out what kind she was, I wasn’t successful. My guess is she’s a type of Azure Butterfly. Are there any lepidopterists out … Continue reading →

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