In The Garden
12 months in a urban village garden
Click on any photo to see it at a larger size and to start a slideshow of the full series.
Over the years, this garden has benefited from the knowledge of several great collaborators, including Wendy Simpson, Peter Dunn, Joseph Ingoldsby, Karen & Chuck Sherzi, Catherine Hanss and the Landscape Collaborative team.
Photographs ©EmilyHiestand, all rights reserved. | Photography homepage
January - Gardens are under deep snow!
January - Inkberry bush, wrapped against the cold and snow
January - Dried plants from previous growing season, on the mantle
January - Curly Willow from previous season on the mantle
February - First daffodils in our village flower shop
March - Snowdrops are in bloom across the garden
April - Siberian Scilla in bloom in the grass
Late April - Tulips Angelique (resembling peonies!)
Late April - Narcissus and Tulips
May - Species Tulip Saxatilis
May - Ferns unfolding with Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)
May - Windflowers and Solomon Seals
May - Lenten Rose (Helleborus)
May - Tulips and Bleeding Hearts
May - Wild Geraniums (Roxanne variety)
May - Columbine (Aquilegia) Double Pleat Flower
May - Pink Lantern Columbines and white Windflowers
May - Redbud Crabapple, red buds
May - Redbud Crabapple, pink blooms
May - Redbud Crab, mature white blooms
May - A stand of Solomon's Seal in bloom
May - Royal Ferns unfolding
May - Detail, Solomon's Seal flowers and leaves
May - Detail, Solomon's Seal flowers and leaves
May - Pink Bleeding Hearts with Tulip Angelique
May - White Bleeding Heart
May + November - Iris "Immortality," a re-bloomer
May - Windflowers, Sweet Woodruff, Camassia
June - Peony "Festiva Maxima"
June - Detail, Peony "Festiva Maximus"
June - Peonies and Lady's Mantle
Early June - Allium Bulgarica (Sicilian Lily)
June - Peony bouquet with ferns
June - Peonies and Lady's Mantle
June - Peonies with Audubon Book
June - Sassafras leaves
June - Ferns
June - Peony "Bowl of Beauty"
June - Allium Bulgaricum, Peonies, Camassia
June - Japanese Bell on Entrance Arch
June - Zepherine Drouhin, a rose that tolerates a bit of shade!
June - Climbing Hydrangea with Peonies
June - Ornamental oregano in a terracotta pot
June - Eden Rose (first bloom!)
June- visit from a very polite Wild Turkey hen with her chicks
June - Clematis "Bijou"
July - Sweetbay Magnolia in bloom
July - Sweetbay Magnolia blooms after a rain
July - first brisket of the summer season
July - Actaea Racemosa (known as Fairy Wands or Bugbane)
July - Actaea Racemosa (aka Fairy Wands)
July - Cimicifuga "Pink Spike," with bee
July - Ladies Mantle, Wild Geraniums
July - another visit from the Wild Turkey hen who walks so delicately among the plants
July - Pink Guara, Ferns, Daisies, Hydrangea
July - Birdbath surrounded by Lavender and Lamium
July - Greens: Bleeding Heart, Mayapple, Lady Fern
July - At work in the outdoor office
July - Daylilies: Wayside King and Prairie Moonlight
July - Taking care of a traveling friend's begonia plant
July - After an evening gathering
July - Whirls from spent clematis blooms
Late July - Detail, Calla Lily and Leaf
Late July - Calla Lily and Leaf
July - Casablanca Lilies in bloom
July - Casablanca lilies with a glass pumpkin (pumpkin by Peter Houk, MIT Glass Lab)
July - 4th of July Display with Zepherin Drouhin Climbing Rose
July - Garden Visits: Kate's Tea Cakes
July - Glass-top tea table with maple tree and sky reflected
July - Lobelias in bloom
August - Garden Picnics
August - Picnic in the garden
August - Anemonopsis, a Japanese forest plant
August - A stand of airy Anemonopsis
August - Anemonopsis in bloom among Sweetbay Magnolia leaves
August - Limelight Hydrangea blossom
August - Late Summer Evening
August - Silver Falls vine, with Impatiens
August - Monarch visiting Swamp Milkweed
August - Limelight hydrangea
August - Verbena bonariensis, hose, and soccer ball
August - Limelight hydrangea
August - Annuals in late summer
August - Annuals in late summer
September - Joe Pye Weed with Birch Tree
September - Tall Phlox
September - Silver Falls and Lotus Vine on the fieldstone wall
September - Lotus Vine on the fieldstone wall
September - Dahlia "Bristol"
September - Dahlia "Swan"
September - Swamp Milkweed seeds taking flight
September - Swamp Milkweed Seeds launching
September - Swamp Milkweed Seeds
September - Swamp Milkweed seeds taking flight
September - Amalanchier (Shadbush) leaves
September - Amalanchier in full autumn color
September - The rare Lounging-Pete; reading "Oscar and Lucinda"
September - Hibiscus bloom (a surprise!)
September - Friends toasting late summer, by the Autumn Clematis
September - Autumn Clematis on the fence
September - Tall, long-blooming Verbena bonariensis
September - Barbara considering the Autumn Clematis
Early October - Limelight hydrangea turning colors
Late October - Redbud Crabapple pommes
Late October - Hosta leaf at Halloween
Late October - Fall Leaves, Amalanchier Bush
Late October - Dividing Amaryllis bulbs for winter rest
November - Re-blooming Iris "Immortality"
November - Redbud Crabapple pommes
November - Red Berries
November - Maple leaves in peak color
November - Spent grasses
November - leaves in ice, on the fieldstone wall
November - leaves in ice, on the fieldstone wall
December - Family Reindeer, made by Dad, circa 1990; fresh antlers and bow 2013
December - Front garden in snow at l'heure bleue
“I hold the most archaic values on earth. They go back to the upper Paleolithic: the fertility of the soil, the magic of animals, the power-vision in solitude…the common work of the tribe. I try to hold both history and wilderness in mind.”
— Gary Snyder