Bulbs
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Bulbs, Cutting Garden, Fragrance
Heaven on Earth: Meet Narcissus ‘Abba’, Spicy Sweet Fragrance of Springtime
Hello, My Sweet. Narcissus ‘Abba’ It’s May again, and this year, her perfume is sweeter than ever. Springtime. Oh, she really made us wait. Somehow though, the yearning just makes everything seem richer. This morning, I flung open the studio doors and for the first time this year, I brought my coffee pot outside on the […]
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Bulb companions, Bulbs, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Conservatory, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Flower arrangements, Flower Shows, flowering shrubs, Forcing Branches in Winter, Fragrance, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Gardening Inspiration, Glamorous Gardens, Green House Gardens, House Plants, Indoor Eden, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Inspirational Gardens, Lyman Conservatory, MA, Massachusetts, Smith College Botanical Garden, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, Springtime
Narcissus, Tulipa & Fragrant Hyacinth: Smith Botanic Garden’s 2018 Bulb Show
Tulipa, Narcissus & Sweetly Fragrant Hyacinth at Lyman Conservatory It’s 3:30 p.m. and snow is falling steadily here in Southern Vermont. The forecast is calling for 5-8Â inches overnight. These late winter storms can really give a gardener the blues, but I knew this nor’easter was coming, so I prepared. Bread and milk? Oh, no, […]
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Bulb companions, Bulbs, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, Ferns
The Seasons are Changing & It’s Time to Begin Burying Our Bulb Treasures …
A Tisket, A Tasket, A Basket Full of Narcissus . . . Anticipation. True gardeners really know how to revel in the wait. We are, essentially, pleasure-delayers. Gardening differs from many modern-day activities in one significant way: it is not an instant gratification activity. Not at all. Gardeners do a lot of waiting, watching and […]
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Artful Garden Objects, Bulb companions, Bulbs, companion planting, Ferncliff, Garden Design Photos, Garden Paths, Hardy shrubs, Moss, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, New England, Perennials for Spring, Raindrops, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Garden Room, Secret Gardens, shrubs, Shrubs for early spring blossoms, Songbirds, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Ephemerals, Spring Flowering Bulbs, stonework, The Seasons, Uncategorized, Witch Alder, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
From April Showers to May Flowers…
Trout lily (Erythronium tuolumnense), Daffodils (Narcissus ‘Snipe’), Coral Bell Leaves (Heuchera americana) and Woodland Phlox (Phlox divaricata ‘Clouds of Perfume’). (Click here to read more about Erythronium) Happy May Day! Here in Vermont, we begin the new month with a day of much-needed rain. May is a busy month for gardeners. Thirty one days of […]
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Bulbs, Decorating Ideas, Early spring flowering plants, Flower arrangements, Garden projects for kids, Gifts for Gardeners, Glamorous Gardens, Indoor Eden, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements
Indoor Eden: Preparing & Chilling Bulbs For a Glorious Mid-Winter Display …
Last Winter’s Forced Narcissus by the Front Door in February My friend Eve recently said that autumn always makes her think of spring. I couldn’t agree with her more, and as I squirrel away hoards of daffodil, tulip, and hyacinth bulbs, my mind drifts to the scents, sights and sounds of late April and May. […]
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Autumn Garden Chores, Bulb companions, Bulbs, Dahlias
To Every Thing, There is a Season … Preparing Garden & Shed for Winter Part One: Bulbs & Tubers
Cleaning and Preparing Pots & Tools for Winter Storage Most years, by the time sleet and snow begin to fall, both my garden and home are well prepared for winter. By mid-November, my firewood is stacked, dahlias are boxed up, spring-blooming bulbs are planted and vegetable beds are neatly mulched with chopped leaves and clean […]
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Bulbs, Cutting Garden, Heirloom Bulbs, Old Fashioned Flowers, Plant Spotlight, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Summer Flowering Bulbs, Vases
Silvery Heirloom Treasures for the Vase: Nodding Stars-of-Bethlehem …
A late spring bulb for cutting: Nodding Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum nutans) sitting pretty in a vase by New Mexico artist Heidi Loewen They are commonly called the Nodding Star-of-Bethlehem, and I think it may be the perfect name for this beautiful, silvery flower. Five autumns ago, with my late-spring cutting garden in mind, I ordered and […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Bulbs, Butterflies and Moths, Meadow Gardens, Native North American Meadows, Native Plants, Nature
Late Afternoon Sunlight in the Meadow And a Prelude to Long, Languid Summer
Camassia quamash and Clethra alnifolia – Two of My Favorite Native Plants in the Meadow Garden One of my current landscape design projects is for a new home in the middle of a high meadow. I couldn’t be more excited. Meadow gardens are some of my favorite landscapes to design. Many things influence me when […]
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Bulbs, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs
Narcissus & Nostalgia…
Narcissus in April Snow at Ferncliff Late April snows always bring me back to my mother’s rocky, alpine garden in early spring; colorful bulbs poking up through chilly, crystalline white glazes. Here in New England, spring often arrives in fits and starts, and this year is classic. Winter-weary though we may be, there’s still something […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Bulbs, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Early spring flowering plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, flowering shrubs, Ground Covers, Insects/Entomology, Lawns, Naturalistic Garden Design, New England, Old Fashioned Flowers, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, The Seasons, Woody Plants
Hazy Color Drifts Carpet the Garden: Tiny Gifts of Early Spring…
Spring Heath (Erica carnea) Begins Blooming in Early April (click here to revisit my Erica carnea plant-profile post from last year). Here, Sprawling Across the Ledge  in the Entry Garden… The Pink, Hazy Blur of Spring Heath is Particularly Lovely Against Grey Sky and Cool Stone. On a Blustery Day, I Can’t Help but Think […]
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Celebrating The Gardener’s Eden’s Second Anniversary and Giving Thanks To All of You for Following Along…
Crocus blooming in my garden Has it really been two years? I posted my first entry on The Gardener’s Eden two years ago, April 23rd, and since that time I’ve fallen in love with the incredibly supportive and enthusiastic community of gardeners and cooks I’ve met through this journal. You are wonderful, and I am so […]
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Bulbs, Cold-Climate Vegetable Gardening, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, The Seasons
Getting Down to Earth in the Garden…
First Flowers: Glory-of-the-Snow (Chionodoxa luciliae ‘Gigantea’) What a difference a day makes! Yesterday, my hilltop was nearly invisible; blurred grey and white by snow squalls, sleet and driving rain. But today, all of the new snow has melted, the sun is shining and the sky is clear blue. Ah, New England. As they say: if […]
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Bulbs, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Conservatory, Container Gardening, Fantasy Flowers, Glamorous Gardens, Green House Gardens, Indoor Gardening, Inspirational Gardens, Lyman Conservatory, Massachusetts, New England, Old Fashioned Flowers, Plant Spotlight, Smith College Botanical Garden, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, The Seasons, Vernal Equinox
A Warm Welcome to Spring: Blossoming Beauty at the Smith College Bulb Show…
Tulipa ‘Blue Spectacle’ Narcissus, tulips, hyacinth, freesia, iris and clivia; from the brash and bold to the delicate and ethereal, all of spring’s finest ladies were on display this week at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. The Bulb Show at Smith College’s Lyman Conservatory —where thousands of bulbs are carefully arranged and artfully displayed with flowering […]
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Bulbs, Butterflies and Moths, Color in the Garden, Exotic Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Ferncliff, Flower arrangements, Fragrance, Fresh Cut Flowers, Gardening Inspiration, Gifts for Gardeners, Glamorous Gardens, Great Growers and Nurseries, Home, Indoor Table Arrangements, Perennials for summer, Plant Spotlight, Plants for sun, Summer Flowering Bulbs, Summer Flowering Combinations, Summer Flowering Perennials
A Warm Wash of Fragrance: Dreaming Of Lilies and Sultry Summer Evenings…
Dreaming of Warm Summer Nights and a Garden Filled with Softly Blushing Lilies… Asiatic, Oriental, Trumpet, Species or Hybrid: I’ve yet to meet a lily without falling in love. And while my weekend may be filled with practical matters —shoveling, clearing hoop-houses of snow, cleaning grow lights and sorting seed packets— there’s sure to be […]
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Bulbs, Container Gardening, Decorating Ideas, Flower arrangements, Fragrance, Garden projects for kids, Gifts for Gardeners, Great Growers and Nurseries, Home, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Pots, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, Winter, Winter Garden
A Warm, Sweet Welcome for February: Forcing Narcissus Indoors…
Hello February – Golden Greetings in the Entryway {Forced Narcissus} A Bit of Golden Color to Brighten Stormy, Grey Days… Welcome February… It’s the first day of February, and outside my front door, snow is falling steadily and the sky is a gloomy, powder grey. Overnight, a winter storm swirled in, and the forecast warns […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Chores, Bulbs, Children - gardening with, Children and Gardening, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Fragrance, Fresh Cut Flowers
November Garden: Late Autumn’s Sunny-Day Chores & Pleasures…
Glowing Tufts of Ornamental Grass (Miscanthus sinensis) My Trusty Old Garden Cart ( from Gardener’s Supply Company ) Panicum virgatum ‘Heavy Metal’ (Switch Grass) – Golden Color Illuminated by November Sunlight Days of beautifully warm, sunny weather, a free weekend, and a list of end-of-season garden chores = Michaela in Bliss. I’ve had a really […]
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Books, Bulbs, Ferncliff, Ferns, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Paths
Buried Treasures: From Ruby Tulips & Golden Narcissus, to Sapphire Bluebells, Some of Springtime’s Loveliest Jewels are Planted in the Cool, Autumn Earth…
A tisket, a tasket, a basket full of Narcissus. These bulbs were planted last autumn in my garden… Anticipation. True gardeners really know how to revel in the wait. We are, essentially, pleasure-delayers. Gardening differs from many modern-day activities in one significant way: it is not an instant gratification activity. Not at all. Gardeners do […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Bulbs, Butterflies and Moths, Cutting Garden, Ferncliff, Fresh Cut Flowers, Honeybee Friendly Gardening, Hummingbird/Butterfly, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for summer, Plant Spotlight, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, Summer Flowering Bulbs, The Seasons
A Tall, Cool Drink for the Eyes: Quiet, Calm Camassia – Wild American Beauty of the Marshland and Meadow…
Camassia quamash, North American native Camas Lily, © 2010 Michaela at TGE A few years ago, at the low edge of my garden where open meadow meets slow transition to cultivated borders, I planted a handful of native camas lily bulbs, (Camassia quamash). The first spring after planting, an orphaned fawn wandered into my life, […]
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Annual Flowers, annuals, Bulbs, companion planting, Cutting Garden, Dahlias, Dark flowers, Dried Flowers, Fresh Cut Flowers
A Garden for Cutting – Part One: Planning for Fresh Cut Flowers in the Kitchen Garden…
Zinnia and Dahlia © 2009 Tim Geiss Some of my gardening friends never cut flowers. I have one friend who grows very few blooming plants, and she prefers to keep her limited flowers on display in the landscape. Other friends have told me that the constant snipping of stems and changing of water becomes a […]
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Bulbs, Celebrations, Cocktails, Cooking, Ferncliff, flowering shrubs, Garden Paths, Gardening Inspiration, Gifts for Gardeners, Home, Recipes, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, The Seasons, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Mimosa Pour Moi? Oui, Oui, Oui. Sunday Afternoon Delights in the Early Spring Garden…
La Mimosa de Minneola de Michaela Could there possibly be a more lovely weekend for Easter Egg hunts, Sunday brunches, garden strolls and chilled mimosas? I think not. Here in New England the weather is simply spectacular, and swollen flower buds are bursting open to greet the glorious day. The pink bodnant viburnum ‘Dawn’ at […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Bulbs, Celebrations, Ferncliff, Frogs and Toads, Nature, Reflections, Spring Blooming Bulbs, Spring Flowering Bulbs, The Seasons, Water Features
A Year in the Life of a Gardener: Celebrating Our First Anniversary and Giving Thanks to All of You…
Snowdrop I © 2010 Michaela at TGE – all rights reserved One year ago this month, I started keeping an online journal -somewhat sporadically at first- and I named it The Gardener’s Eden. What began as a labor of love, and a way to share information with my gardening friends and clients, has quickly blossomed […]
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