All Entries in the "Henry Homeyer’s Notes from the Garden" Category
Henry Homeyer: Beware the purple invader
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC This is the time of year when swampy areas often are ablaze with gorgeous pink-purple flowers that dominate the wetland. These are the flowers of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an invasive plant that you should not encourage – but that you probably can’t get rid of once established. […]
Henry Homeyer: identifying 8 common ferns
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Ferns are under-rated and largely ignored by gardeners, but shouldn’t be as they can add much to a garden. I recently went to Walpole, N.H., where I met with Michael Nerrie of Distant Hill Gardens and Nature Trail. He introduced me to many ferns and also sold me […]
Henry Homeyer: How to plant a tree
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC I recently planted a couple of blue spruce trees on a nice cloudy day, and want to share with you what I did. First, and most important, I checked the position of the trunk of the tree in the pot. In the wild you will notice that trees […]
Henry Homeyer: some of my favorite picks for pots
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Each summer I fill a big window box with annual flowers and vines to welcome all who approach the house. Some years it is bodacious, other years it verges on ho-hum. This year it is a delight: in the center is a black-leafed sweet potato vine that is […]
Henry Homeyer: July beauties in bloom
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Every day in the warm months I take time to wander through my garden, often with camera in hand. I am always greeted by flowers in bloom that make my heart sing. Here are some blooming for me now, including a few you might not grow – or […]
Henry Homeyer: Weeds – one farmer’s perspective
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Irecently went to Cochranville, Pa., to visit relatives, and they brought me to visit a successful farm-to-table farmer. I learned some new and interesting ways of looking at gardening, and I think they are worth sharing with you. For the past 40 years or so Glenn Brendle has […]
Henry Homeyer: garden thugs to love or hate
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC I’ve never subscribed to the old saying that “Children should be seen and not heard.” So it shouldn’t surprise you that I don’t insist that all the flowers in my garden stay in place each year, and that those that do wander are not necessarily disciplined with a […]
Henry Homeyer: Sweet smells by the dozen
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Lilac season is about over. For the lasts two weeks I have been enjoying the amazing fragrance of ‘Miss Kim,’ a species of lilac (Syringa patula) with light purple blossoms. It was sold to me some 25 years ago as a dwarf lilac, however it’s just slow-growing. Mine […]
Henry Homeyer: Flowers in bloom that make me swoon
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC My earliest memory of a flower dates back to spring, 1948, when I was just 2 years old and living in Hingham, Massachusetts (we moved away that fall, so I know the year). My mother, sister and I were walking through a pine woods when we encountered a […]
Henry Homeyer: 7 ways to improve your garden & you
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC If you’re like me, by now you have your garden planted, both vegetables and flowers. It seems like a good time to take a deep breath, pour a cold glass of your favorite beverage and watch the flowers perform. I have set up chairs by my Japanese primroses […]
Henry Homeyer: What to do when you’re in the weeds
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC There are weeds to worry about. There is even one that I fear. But most weeds are just a nuisance and can be managed relatively easily. Dandelions, for example, are bright and cheerful. If they were named daffodil instead of dandelion, we would pay good money to have […]
Henry Homeyer: Tips for building raised beds for your garden
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC As an avid gardener I am always looking for new places to plant. I own a couple of acres of land, but over the past 49 years I’ve filled virtually every square inch of useable space with something – vegetables, flowers, trees and a little lawn. Recently I […]
Henry Homeyer: What happened to ‘rhodies?’
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Rhododendrons throughout New England are looking awful! It is common for “rhodies” to get shriveled leaves during the winter, but they normally recover in spring. Those shriveled leaves occur when warm winter days allow moisture to be given off when the ground is frozen solid – and thus […]
Henry Homeyer: 7 tips for veggie success
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Depending where you live – a cold hollow, a hilltop, or near a large body of water, you may be ready to start planting the vegetable garden – or not. In any case, there is much to do before your plants go in the ground. Here are some […]
Henry Homeyer: growing your own wildflowers
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Oecently I was asked about plants for shady places. Wildflowers, I said, are wonderful in the woods or at the edge of the woods. Most show up early, before the leaves are on the trees. They are the perfect antidote to a long winter and rainy spring. They […]
Henry Homeyer: Magnolias for New England
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC One of my yearly high points occurs when my Merrill magnolia blooms. This year, and most years, mine blooms on my birthday, April 23. This year it opened that afternoon; some years it starts a week earlier and is fully in blossom; once or twice it has held […]
Henry Homeyer: It takes more than plants to make a garden
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC If you’ve visited any great gardens, you know that they consist of more than just flowers. They have fine trees and shrubs, pathways, stonework or pottery, maybe a bit of whimsy, and great views. Now, before your trees are fully leafed out and the perennials have begun to […]
Henry Homeyer: Understanding flowers from petal to stem
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC At a recent used book sale I purchased a copy of a lovely book called One Hundred Flowers by Harold Feinstein (Bullfinch Press, 2000). This large-format book includes not only 100 amazing, huge close-up photos of flowers against black backgrounds, it has a lovely introductory essay by Sydney […]
Henry Homeyer: Spring planning brings fall planting
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC Now is the time to decide where you should plant bulbs next fall. Here’s what I do: I wander around my property each year in the spring to see what spots are bare of bulb flowers. I bring along those white plastic markers used for labeling, and write […]
Henry Homeyer: getting a head start on spring cleaning
By Henry Homeyer ©2019 Telegraph Publishing LLC With sunny warm days upon us, we all want to start gardening. However beware: if you leave footprints in the soil, or feel it go squish, it’s not time to be doing anything. Plants get their oxygen from their roots, not their leaves. If you compact the soil, […]
