Author Archives: talesofanashvillegardener

Four O’Clocks open in the afternoon and close in midmorning. Hence their common name. This plant was raised from seed. In my southern garden it was hardy, but here it dies with the frost unless I overwinter it as a dried tuber. This flower is my favorite shade of pastel orange and is in theContinue reading ““Salmon Sunset” Four O’clock”

/ Conoclinium coelestinum, or the Blue Mistflower, comes into bloom as the sun rises later and the mornings grow cooler. It is not native to New England, but it thrives in my garden and makes a sizable colony in only a few seasons. It does have Imperial ambitions, and left unchecked will spread and spread.Continue reading “Harbinger of Autumn”

All the zinnias in the photos were raised from seed. Their stems may be more angular than that of dahlias. Their leaves may be less lush, but they are not as needy or fussy. Their stems are not hollow, and when cut for the vase do not look maimed. The color range is similar andContinue reading “Gallery of Zinnias Blooming Today”

I just bought several pots of white flowered garlic chives from a seller on Etsy. One of the gardens I worked in in Nashville had them as a border edger, and they were so handsome that I decided to find some and put them into the garden at the museum. Here are several photos ofContinue reading “Ornamental Garden Chives”

Garden ornaments such as wishing wells and gnomes are loved by some and sniffed at by others. All I will say about this one is that I am relieved the top half was never attached. Since it is stuck in the ground, and we at the Historical Society are stuck with it, some function hadContinue reading “What To Do With Half a Wishing Well”

Here, on the southernmost of the Uncanoonuc hills that rise south of Goffstown, is the Shirley Hill Farm and the Benedikt Dairy. I saw this farm yesterday for the first time. I thought the Uncanooncucs were just hills no different than any other hills. Wooded, unremarkable. Just hills. Somewhere to be crossed to get toContinue reading “Shirley Hill Farm, Goffstown”

This is “Peach Butterflies”, a hybrid canna from Alice Harris at Karchesky Cannas. And this is zinnia “Senora”, which I raised from seed.

Warm weather is bringing out the first zinnias and cosmos. Every one in the Society garden was raised from seed, and if they are seeded in in mid-June, they are ready to bring new color and bloom starting in August, when so many perennials are finished. Here is Zinnia “Profusion Bi-color, which I saw forContinue reading “Blooming Today- Some Fine Annuals”

This lovely shrub is Hypericum “Blues Festival”. Its blooms are not long lasting, but if this plant never bloomed it would still be striking because of its blue, shapely leaves and its superb form. I put this in the Goffstown Historical Society garden last fall. It was very small, but has tripled in size. IContinue reading “Good Form and Structure are Priceless”

Canna Ehemanii, an heirloom from the 1800’s, put up its first spike a few days ago, and today it bloomed. Usually its flowers dangle from 6 to 8 feet up, but this spike was smaller. It is rare, and available in limited numbers in the US. Our plant came from Old House Gardens in AnnContinue reading “Blooming Today at the Goffstown Historical Society- A Canna Like No Other.”