Category Archives: Garden

Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons: April

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

Each month, those of us participating in this photo challenge return to our chosen location to note the passage of time through “The Changing Seasons.” I’ve chosen to document a year around my old house and gardens. Phew. April has been one labor-intensive … Continue reading →

Posted in Challenges, Garden, The Barn | Tagged #monthlyphotochallenge #thechangingseasons, april, heuchera, longwood gardens, monthlychallenge, the changing seasons, Virginia, west highland white terrier, westies | 96 Comments

The Tyranny of Speed

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

I was walking Max and Berkley on a country road in Roanoke a few years ago when I came across an abandoned cemetery in which were growing, quite abundantly, clumps of iris. BH was dispatched to dig a few rhizomes out of the concrete-hard … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden | Tagged Beverley Nichols, Garden, iris, life lessons | 141 Comments

A Morning With Jocelyn

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

My very occasional housekeeper, Margarita, appeared yesterday with her “tail.” That’s how Mexican people refer to their trailing children, she explained, and with spring break upon us, the tail meant a visit from ten-year old Jocelyn. I first got to … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden, Random Ruminations | Tagged arvorvitae, compost, Garden, homonyms, life lessons | 149 Comments

Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons: March

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

Each month, those of us participating in this photo challenge return to our chosen location to note the passage of time through “The Changing Seasons.” I’ve chosen to document a year around my old house and gardens. Extraterrestrial to human ambassador: Why does … Continue reading →

Posted in Challenges, Garden | Tagged #thechangingseasons, crocus, hellebore, March, Max, monthly challenge, the changing seasons, vines | 120 Comments

Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons: February

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

Old Man Winter had tired of toying with his usual victims. Feeling a bit of ennui after months of watching the hardy souls up north enduring his annual onslaught, he turned his beady little eye south of the Mason-Dixon line. One hopes he … Continue reading →

Posted in Challenges, Garden, The Barn | Tagged #monthlyphotochallenge, #thechangingseasons, monthly photo challenge, the changing seasons | 122 Comments

Monthly Photo Challenge: Ice in the Wheelbarrow

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

“It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity,” we like to complain during Virginia’s steamy, sultry summers. Well, it’s February and “it’s not the cold, it’s the wind.” It’s cold all right, but it’s the biting, bitter cold gales that are … Continue reading →

Posted in Challenges, Garden, The Barn | Tagged bird nest, concrete menagerie, Garden, garden ornaments, hydrangea, monthly photo challenge, oak trees, parterre, the changing seasons, Virginia, winter | 124 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: New

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

Patience is a virtue, we gardeners remind ourselves. Nothing tests that quality like the installation of a new garden: Taking on a one-hundred year old house means learning to love renovations. Or at least accept them. The challenge is not … Continue reading →

Posted in Challenges, Garden, Projects | Tagged brick, Garden, hardscape, masonry, parterre, porch, Rosedon, roses, tuteurs, Virginia, weekly challenge | 127 Comments

Holiday Wreath Challenge

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Silver in the Barn

The minimalist in me might have been perfectly satisfied with this: But she was beaten into submission by the other part of me – you know, the one who raises her hand to participate in a wreath-making challenge. The Charming Woodland … Continue reading →

Posted in Challenges, Garden, Projects | Tagged christmas, crafting, della robbia, grand illumination, holiday wreath challenge, magnolia, nandina, Richmond, Virginia, williamsburg, wreath | 107 Comments

Thank You

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Silver in the Barn

No metaphysician ever felt the deficiency of language so much as the grateful. Caleb C. Colton Many thanks to each and every one of you who has reached out to me since Berkley’s death. Please … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden, The Boys | Tagged aster, chrysanthemum, death of a pet, fall garden, Garden, mexican bush sage, pink sheffield, west highland white terrier, westies, will's wonderful | 55 Comments

Weekly Photo Challenge: Refraction

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Silver in the Barn

For this photo challenge, show us what “refraction” means to you. It could be an image taken in a reflective surface, it could be light bent from behind an object, or it could mean remedial math homework: the choice is … Continue reading →