species peonies, and lilac tricks and tips

Camassias, also known as wild hyacinth, Indian hyacnith, quamash or camas, produce tall spires of blue, white or occasionally pink star-like flowers in late April, May and early June. Grown from bulbs that are planted in autumn, they come into their own at a time of year when many spring bulbs have finished flowering and early perennials are yet to flower.

How you manage garden pests and diseases is a personal choice, and there are many management philosophies. Two of the most common methodologies are integrated pest management (IPM) and organic pest management. IPM was developed in the 1970s as a response to conventional gardening practices that relied heavily on pesticides. In contrast to those practices, IPM promoted sanitation, the use of disease- and pest-resistant plant varieties, and monitoring pest populations.

Lily themed week shows some more waterlilies and tips for a happy pond.

For something a bit different this book on botanic art covers some of the unusual colours from black flowers, plants and seaweed like strange green, blue and puce pink.

The clue is in the name Seed Tray – this note is about seeds in trays and although they can double up for seedlings  the issues are different. Seed sowing probably starts in February and is reaching its height by the middle of April.

For small seedlings that have stems too small to grab with your hand, try using a pair of channel-lock pliers. They are adjustable, so you can grab a long section of stem with the teeth. Use gentle tugs to loosen before pulling out of the soil.

“And so I said very little,” his email continued, “and hoped (as I tend to do with my more serious doodles about depression) that people such as yourself would understand the enormous thing I did not try to say. If that makes sense?“I shall get back to my slightly passive aggressive doodling now. Ha. I am currently drawing a ladies bottom. I am as yet unsure how this will eventually become a garden doodle.”Stay tuned, dear readers. Next week promises to be a doozy. (I love my Andre emails almost as much as my Andre doodles, frankly. Well, except ones like this Quantum Physics Diagram, which actually does relate to gardening…and about 500 others.)Thanks for being Andre, Andre. And yes, of course it mak

Unless they are overgrown, lilacs don’t need much pruning (except the “musts” for every woody plant we all agreed recently that we’d keep up with, removing dead, diseased and damaged woody, or any that’s just not well-placed).But by doing a little pruning (read: cutting bouquets of flowers to enjoy) you do the plant a favor, and prevent the ugly aftermath of lilac-blooming season, those dried-up trusses that persist forever, or so it seems.

I N A GOOD SPRING, BELOVED PLANTS COME BACK. Not everybody, of course; some just can’t find their way home.

He said this one was for medicinal purposes only. Hmmm….And he also said alcohol was on the list of required gear.I don’t think there’s any explaining away what happened in this one. Hiccup!Or should I just say: Cheers!Tagsandre jordan

SITTING AT A KITCHEN TABLE with like-minded neighbors in her English hometown several years ago, Pam Warhurst helped found a dynamic greening group called Incredible Edible Todmorden. No board meetings, no surveys or reports first, she says: They did it “without a flippin’ strategy document,” because they thought that creating gardens–especially food gardens–in unused spaces around town, reconnecting citizens to the source of their food as a first step toward sustainability, was very simply a good idea. “We call it propaganda gardening,” she says. Indeed.

This compact peony is sited in my garden beneath an old magnolia, with various woodlanders, and seems fairly happy, producing multiple blooms per stem over a couple of weeks. But this is hardly the equivalent of the steppes or an alpine meadow I’m offering. Read: In more sun it would be more prolific. The flowers, perhaps 2 to 3 inches across, are nodding, and though mine are magenta, the species ranges from that to paler pinks and even white.Now that I have read up on it and its origins in an old e-newsletter from the Canadian peony specialists LaPivoinerie D’Aoust, I think I am moving my plant this fall, to a slightly sunnier spot, to get more of the good stuff. Seneca Hills sells plan