Posts tagged: gardens

The Pollinator Issue 3/31/25

The Pollinator Issue 3/31/25

I've learned a lot about native plants and pollinators through my 29 years in the Garden Club of Virginia and the Garden Club of America.  Perhaps most importantly, I've learned how much I don't know.  

Pollinators are essential for maintaining vibrant ecosystems, and for the health of many of our food crops.   Pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths, birds, bats and other insects visit flowers in search of food, found in nectar and pollen.  While these small creatures feed, they transfer pollen from one plant to another.  From this, *cue the fireworks*, comes fertilization, leading to the formation of fruit and seeds.   As much as three fourths of the world's flowering plants and 35 percent of our food supply depend on pollinators.  READ MORE

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My Garden Groweth 3/24/25

My Garden Groweth 3/24/25

Hang onto your spring bonnets - this one's a big one.  Welcome happy Monday morning!   I arrived home from my Florida adventure last Monday to be greeted by a sea of hellebores, daffodils, forsythia, camellia and tulip magnolia in full bloom.  Mother Nature's welcome party - WOW thank you!   I dragged my "HEAVY" bags into the front hall, and out the back door I skipped, eager to survey nature's blossoming ladies in waiting. 

Strolling through the garden, I found myself in full conversation, "Oh my how you've grown Miss Camellia, almost halfway up the fence now aren't we?"   I had worried about her and her two sisters during our unusually frigid winter here in Virginia.   READ MORE

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Labyrinth of Inspiration 6/3/24

Labyrinth of Inspiration 6/3/24
How to begin to make sense of the centuries of beauty witnessed during my recent trip to the gardens of Venice and the Veneto?  With some jet lag and a full plate of work awaiting me this weekend, it seems like a labyrinth to decipher.    So let's make sublime Italian inspiration a multi-Monday journey, and for today, we'll just start with the spectacular gardens of the Villa Barbarigo.  READ MORE

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Glories of the Garden 3/8/24

Glories of the Garden 3/8/24
Sometimes I feel as if our merry band of Love Note readers is essentially a support group for those of us who longingly await the birth of spring, and might need a little help in so doing.  I am grateful for you holding my hand, as I am clearly one of those in need, (I founded the support group, after all).  

Today,  I sit at my desk, watching a steady rain fall over my border resplendent with Angelique tulips, one of which rewarded me with a blue ribbon at this week's garden club meeting.  Behind me, a Carolina jessamine has robustly climbed up, over and around its trellis, this week reaching peak bloom.  My smile is wide, as a robin repeatedly visits the spines of our patio umbrella, in what I hope is a final housing inspection.  Please oh please build your nest right here.   READ MORE

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Summer's Symphony 6/26/23

Summer's Symphony 6/26/23
In the opening salvo of these notes, I often noodle around about where to find the seeds of inspiration.  As I can't seem to drop the subject, I think that's a pretty strong sign that I don't have the answer.    But I'm beginning to assemble a nice little kit of building blocks.   READ MORE

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