Stories from An Iowa Garden
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A Good End
An Iowa Garden &bull Jun 6, 2009
Every story has a beginning; in the case of this modest garden blog it was in February of 2005, with the bloom of the first snowdrop of the new garden year. Every story must also have an ending, and for… Full Story »
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You Could Do Worse...
An Iowa Garden &bull Jun 1, 2009
I always wonder about gardeners who completely devote their garden to one type of plant; they have one great fanfare of flowering, then a long, quiet summer; I've always thought that wouldn't be for me, but today I started thinking… Full Story »
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Just Puttying Around
An Iowa Garden &bull May 29, 2009
When the puttyroot orchids bloom in the woods, I know it is time to watch for new fawns, and this year has not been a disappointment. A few days ago I was just walking along the garden pathway near the… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Orchids
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Pinellias I Have Loved And Grown
An Iowa Garden &bull May 25, 2009
Pinellias, somewhat horticulturally reclusive cousins to jack in the pulpits, are among my favorites in our garden. This is Pinellia 'Polly Spout'. It is a chance hybrid between P. tripartita Atropurprea (a fairly aggressive seeder) and P. pedatisecta (a truly… Full Story »
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Two Good Things
An Iowa Garden &bull May 24, 2009
Every garden is a bit hit or miss; two things that have recently worked out well here are, at top, sinking a plastic tub in the ground to grow primula japonica in, and at bottom, a large oval raised, shaded… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Primula
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It's Your Call...
An Iowa Garden &bull May 23, 2009
This is a plant you may want to go right out and obtain for your shade garden; or not it's your call. It's Syneilesis aconitifolia, sometimes called "raggedy umbrella". It arises from the ground quite fuzzy white, then loses the… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Shade
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In Praise Of Hybrids
An Iowa Garden &bull May 22, 2009
There is a widespread bias amongst experienced gardeners favoring plant species over hybrids. I confess to being an inconstant member of this club. However, when it comes to ladyslipper orchids, there is a powerful argument for growing hybrids; one can… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Shade
- Orchids
- Cypripedium
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Rusty Jack
An Iowa Garden &bull May 18, 2009
It has been an unusually cool and damp spring here in Iowa, which may be the cause of the rusty jacks. I had never heard of arisaema rust, but today I noticed a large clump of native, black hooded jack… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Arisaema
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Very Interesting...
An Iowa Garden &bull May 13, 2009
There are certain plants that when they are shown to garden visitors, they never quite know what to say about it; I imagine parents with homely babies get somewhat the same reaction. Arisaema tashiroi is one of those plants in… Full Story »
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Topics:
- Arisaema
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Winnowing The Primulas
An Iowa Garden &bull May 12, 2009
Perhaps there is no other genus of plants that I have tried to grow here that I've managed to kill off quite as prolifically as primulas; it's like a roll call of the war dead, remembering the lovely alpine species that took one look… Full Story »
