Lee fights boredom: a concise orientation before we get practical.
Lee fights boredom: Quick notes
Happy Friday, GPODers!
It might officially be spring, but for some of us the season hasn’t fully arrived in our gardens yet. For frequent contributor Lee in the Mohawk Valley of New York state, the snow is finally gone, but the warmer weather needed to bring color to his garden is slow to start. Lee has already sent in so many gorgeous photos of his garden since he began contributing that I would never have guessed he had more to share (check out some of his previous submissions: Lee’s Spring Garden in the Mohawk Valley, Dreaming of Tulips in New York, There Is Always Room for More, Chasing Away the Winter Blues with Lee in New York, and many more), but this delay in garden activities has allowed him to do another dig through his archives. These photos might be “random” moments from Lee’s garden over the years, but they are little previews of the beauty that we aspire to see in the coming months.
Yup, I’m bored. The snow is gone in central New York State in the Mohawk Valley, but the temperature has been, eh. It’s going to be a while before there’s any color to speak of, but that’s March for us.
With that said, and knowing it’s going to be a while before we see the “real thing” in the form of big, colorful blooms, I’m going to break up my boredom and drop some random, older pictures to ya just because. If there was a better reason, I’d say it, but I don’t have one.
So to all of those people who are twiddling their thumbs a bit before we can really get out there and do our thing, I’ll distract from your twiddle with a few pics. Nothing special by any means—just a distraction, a diversion, if you will. We’ll show our patience in these cooler zones—we’ll get there—in fine fashion and style, as always.
Peace from the Mohawk Valley in central New York.
If you’ve seen Lee’s garden on GPOD before, you likely already know that he has an unbelievable tulip collection (Lee’s Tulips in Mohawk Valley). While there are certainly some simple, classic varieties in the mix, Lee’s array of cultivars trends toward the bold and flashy—and this fringed, double bloom is no exception.
Later in the season, more of Lee’s favorite flowers emerge: daylilies and true lilies. Also plentiful in Lee’s beds and borders (Lilies (with a Few Friends) in Lee’s Garden) are cultivars of nearly every color and color combination you can imagine. These ‘Always Afternoon’ daylilies (Hemerocallis ‘Always Afternoon’, Zones 3–9) are berry-pink perfection.
Lee has many flowers that you could describe as “glowing” in the garden. Sometimes that glow comes from vibrant hues, and other times the petals are so light and bright that they create the strongest contrast against the rich green that serves as their backdrop—like these light pink lilies, potentially the cultivar ‘Eastern Moon’ (Lilium ‘Eastern Moon’, Zones 3–8).
Lee’s garden fills up with so many sensational blooms that he can easily make marvelous bouquets all season long.
While Lee is busily tending to his plants, his cats have a lovely spot to bake in the sun! Oh, to be a lazy cat enjoying the sounds, smells, and warmth of a summer garden. . . .
Many of the flowers that get the most attention in Lee’s garden are the big, back-of-the-border blooms, but there are plenty of smaller specimens that are equally as enticing. This explosion of Siberian iris (Iris sibirica, Zones 3–9) is like a purple and green firework going off in the garden.
Did I already mention how much Lee’s garden glows? This bright pink cactus dahlia is another fabulous example; it cannot be missed, even after nightfall.
It isn’t just the flowers that are attention-grabbing in Lee’s landscape. This perfect mound of northern maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum, Zones 3–8) is a textural marvel.
We wouldn’t wish a long, dragged-out winter on our greatest enemies, but we’re grateful that lingering days of cold inspired Lee to send in so many pretty photos of his garden! In fact, he sent in so many photos of soul-warming garden scenes that we will be returning to New York on Monday to enjoy more.
In the meantime, consider going through your old garden photos to share some color and inspiration with the blog. Follow the directions below to submit your photos to Garden Photo of the Day!
We want to see YOUR garden!
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, fill out the Garden Photo of the Day Submission Form.
You can also send 5–10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
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