Havenwood Comes Alive in May

European Hornbeam, Carpinus betulus fastigiata, leafing out in the Rose Garden.

May is here! I think it is my favorite month, because it is in May that spring truly arrives in my zone 5 garden. We have had many beautiful days of sun, many quiet days of rain, and the last of the frosty mornings. Blooms are popping out daily and are deeply appreciated after our long winter. 

Spring Flowers for April ~ GBBD April 2016

Welcome to Havenwood!

It has been such a roller coaster spring, as I am sure you know or have heard from many other eastern US gardeners. We had more buds in January than ever before, as our true cold did not arrive until February. Then a especially mild March, with more snow and cold in the first two weeks of April. And now it is 70 degrees again today.  This is not totally abnormal for our zone 5 garden, but the high temps have been much higher than usual. This has brought the garden further along than it normally is at this time of year.

Many flowers that were doing so well, so soon... too soon... did meet a cruel end with the frost.

The star magnolia blooms were blackened after one day of blooming all around our town. The taller daffodils did not stand up as well to the snow that covered them soon after they were full out, but the shorter ones have stood the test. The pretty star of Bethlehem, that I recently posted, were soon snuffed out with cold. But still, the garden and the gardener marches on...

There are still a few pretties to see today for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day in our western PA garden.

A Few White Spring Flowers...

Lenten rose, Helleborus orientalis, comes in a plethora of beautiful colors and patterns.

We have had some beautiful spring weather! And also some more snow. That is spring here in Pennsylvania, with its immoderate temperature swings and hour by hour changes. But then much of the interior US is like that. Only the coastal areas benefit from the moderating effect of the ocean.

And yet, we can still have beautiful flowers that hold up to these extremes and come out on the mild days. Here are a few beauties I can recommend!

Fall Is for Planting Perennials

The first snow fell last night so it is high time to get these lovely shade garden plants in the ground!

The days are getting shorter and cooler and the blessed rains of autumn are breaking through the dry days of summer. It is finally fall planting season! Part of me goes into grieving every year at this time, as I hate to see the growing season end. But hope says to look forward to what is to come and so I like to channel my disappointment in to garden tasks that will bear fruit in the coming year. 

I came home last week from a perennial plant sale with golden sedge, purple Heucheras, pastel Astilbe, Autumn ferns and some new varieties of golden Hosta will fill everything out in the Beech tree bed nicely. 

The Woodland in August

Blue and purple hydrangeas in my Hydrangea bed. Only ericaceous mulches for these lovelies! (pine needles... oak leaves... no mushroom compost.)

Shade Garden Treasures for Spring

Yellow Rhododendron 'Capistrano' with Japanese Forest grass (Hakonechloa macra aureola) in the Woodland at Havenwood.

One of the first things I often hear from people who love gardens, is that they cannot have flowers as they "have shade." But there are so many wonderful plants for the shade! Plants for dry shade and for damp shade. Here are just a few that have been blooming in our shade gardens in Pennsylvania...

Tricyrtis formosana "Gilt Edge"

Woodland at Havenwood

The end of summer is upon us here at Havenwood!
I tucked this toad lily near the stone wall garden in the woodland just last week and it is blooming pretty with the woodland asters that we inherited with the property. 

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ July 2014 GBBD

A bee sampling the nectar in the last foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, of the season in the Shade Path garden.

Welcome to Gilmore Gardens in July!

Work is in full swing still over at our new garden, Havenwood, as I try to prepare new beds to hold our flowers at Gilmore in the fall. There are a lot blooming over there, so here are just a few glimpses this month!

Gilmore Gardens ~ GBBD June 2014

Catmint, Nepeta 'Walker's Low', and Geranium 'Orion' beside the road in the Curb strip this month.

Welcome to my little garden in Pennsylvania!

June is here, and we are enjoying it both at our new garden, Havenwood, and at our old garden, Gilmore Gardens. Here are some pretty shots from Gilmore just after the rain last evening...

Trillium grandiflorum

Native Trillium grandiflorum in our Woodland at Havenwood this week.

 I shared a few of these beauties for our first GBBD at our new garden. Here are some views of the larger patch that are in full glory this week... and also a mystery plant!

Gardening at Havenwood ~ GBBD May 2014

Wood anemone, Anemone quinquefolia

After lamenting the lack of flowers around the woodland at Havenwood just a few weeks ago, we have been over run by woodland treasures in the past two weeks. These beauties are a testament that some plants were just made to endure, even in the midst of decades of neglect.

So... Welcome to a surprise Garden Blogger's Bloom Day at Havenwood Gardens!  May it be the first of many.

Helleborus for the Spring Shade Garden

A pink Lenten Rose, Helleborus orientalis, at Gilmore Gardens this beautiful May week.

We stopped by Gilmore Gardens the other day to take a look around to see these shade garden beauties...

We have Moved!

Our new house & garden

After years of waiting & wondering about where our garden (and home) would be for the next few decades, we have finally moved! It is an older house, not too far from our previous residence, that is in need of some love, but brimming with potential.

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ October 2013 GBBD

The Hill Garden with Canna 'King Humbert', Echinacea purpurea, Berberis purpurea, and glorious yellow maples (Acer) leaves for autumn.

Welcome to my small town Pennsylvania garden in October!

I would be delighted to show you around our corner here in US zone 5. The foliage colors are intensifying this month, though they have not yet reached their climax. Our first frost is still on its way this year. Hurray for a few more weeks with tender plants in the garden! The begonias, cannas, dahlias and annuals are still adding their pretty bit to the mix. Come talk a walk around...

Shade Path Garden in September

Begonias, northern sea oats, Japanese forest grass and Sedum 'Frosty Morn' front our Shade Path this week... and native flat-topped asters are a white haze down its length.

See more of our Shade Path garden on our map.
Have a great weekend!
~Julie

Fall is here, but all is still green...

Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) in the Shade Path.

Rain and the golden hour do beautiful things for the garden...

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ September 2013 GBBD

Blooms and foliage in my zone 5 garden for September.

Welcome to Pennsylvania in September!

We have had quite a variety of weather in the past weeks. One day it is unbearably hot and dry with the temperature over 86 degrees F (30 C). The next day we are all in winter coats at the damp morning soccer game in 40 degrees F (4 C). Despite all of that drama, the garden is still blooming on...

How to Train a Clematis on a Tree Trunk

Clematis 'Perle d'Azur' on our maple tree in the Shade Path garden.

A few years ago, I planted Clematis 'Perle d'Azur' at the base of an old maple tree. It has become one of the most original elements in our gardens.

Here are some tips to get a Clematis started up your own tree!

Color for the Weekend

Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) in our Shade Path Garden this week.

The summer flowers are really coming out this week in our garden: asiatic lilies, daylilies (Hemerocallis) and now the oakleaf hydrangeas. This one is planted by some white streaked hosta, which work as supporting cast for the hydrangea blooms. We have several other white-variegated plants in this garden (see a few here).

Gardening in Pennsylvania ~ GBBD June 2013

Our Shade Path Garden full of yellow perennial foxgloves, Digitalis grandiflora.

Welcome to Pennsylvania for Garden Blogger Bloom Day!
There are lots of flowers to see this weekend around our small, town garden. Come take a walk around...