Author Archives: talesofanashvillegardener

This garden was spared by the frost that blighted my garden in mid-September. It is at a high elevation, and cold air sinks right down into the Merrimack Valley. My garden, in New Boston is on a small river, and is in a frost pocket. The asters in the photo are self seeders and canContinue reading “October Garden”

The marsh flooded behind us on this day. All you see here- became a lake in under 20 minutes. We walked out on a trail that had water almost to our knees. These photos were taken at Sandy Neck, Cape Cod. The four photos above were taken in Orleans,Cape Cod. A view toward Nauset Marsh.Continue reading “Sea Deserts and Marsh Prairies”

Above: In the dry garden. The blue Mistflower, the only blue eupatorium. Not native to New Hampshire, but hardy and a late summer fall bloomer. Photos never give its color true justice! It likes good, well watered soil. Salvia “Amistad”, Salvia “Ember’s Wishes”, Euphorbia “Diamond Frost”.

It is everywhere. Along the roads. In waste places. In an Audubon preserve in Concord. The Japanese Knotweed. Sometime in the past someone introduced it, thinking it was an ornamental, and in small clumps, it might be. If my eye was unbiased, I would find it attractive. But I know better, having seen it smotherContinue reading “New Hampshire’s Kudzu”

The first photo above is of the Late Aster-Aster patens. Though this 4 ft aster is at the rear of my dry garden, it was a volunteer and in our current severe drought, it has had only the rain the sky gave it. The second photo is of the Rough Leaved goldenrod in the moistContinue reading “The Blue and the Gold”

My computer with all my pictures died yesterday ,and I am now working on a Chromebook that filed my pictures somewhere in outer space. Until I can get a new hp with Microsoft I will not be able to display images, and will not be posting. Meanwhile I will keep hunting to see where myContinue reading “Stuck”

The Washington Post writes that this summer is the hottest in New Hampshire history, and I believe it, since two summers here have proved that this is not the New Hampshire of my youth . As I write this- it is over 90, and tomorrow will be 95. I have no air conditioning, and myContinue reading “Re-Thinking Southern New Hampshire Summers”

A friend of my sister is from the Netherlands. She and her husband have a small country homestead, and presuming she would say “yes”, I asked her if she had a vegetable garden. She shook her head and grimaced. “Ah, no,” she said, “The animals”. In the following photo, if you look closely at theContinue reading “The Cost of a Tomato is Eternal Vigilance”

This is another of the survivor phloxes growing in the dooryard. It has some leaf yellowing, but no mildew. This photo was taken this evening, and it shows how eye catching white flowers can be In the distance, the gray plants light the garden.

Sonnet and Rocket Snapdragon, Angelonias, Heliopsis, Castor Beans, Salvia “Black and Blue”, old fashioned Balsams, Nicotiana mutabilis. This is Cottage style planting with an intermingling of colors. Plants are not massed in blocks. I prefer a pointillist effect. Salvia Mystic Spires, Balsams, petunias Sonnet Pink Snapdragons, “Dondo” ageratum not yet blooming. Closeups of Balsams. TheseContinue reading “A Three Month Old Garden in New Boston”