Barking Dog Gardens

06/12/2026

Drought in New England Gardens in 2026

The Greater Boston area and southern New Hampshire are in the Severe Drought designation, according to the US Drought Monitor, and all of Coastal New England is in some form of drought. This time last Spring, almost all of New England was out of drought conditions. We had a wet Spring(25) and previous Fall(24). However, as we got into last August, we started another period of drought, on top of several in previous years....

The Greater Boston area and southern New Hampshire are in the Severe Drought designation, according to the US Drought Monitor, and all of Coastal New England is in some form of drought. T…

06/12/2026

A favorite flower with blush outer sepals and yellow inner sepals, reminiscent of the Camellia. No fragrance, unlike its American counterpart. A large layered shrub for part shade.

Chinese Sweetshrub (Calycanthus chinensis)

Friday, June 12th, 2026

06/03/2026

Beautiful clusters of bell-shaped flowers with red-veins in late-Spring. Lovely vertical shrub with red leaf color in fall. Great and naturally, well-structured shrub for the garden.

Red-Vein Enkianthus (Enkianthus campanulatus)

Saturday, May 30th, 2026

05/12/2026

Garden Mulch: Friend or Foe

Mulch is my favorite topic to discuss each Spring, because it can be one of the most beneficial things you do to your garden or one of the most damaging. This link goes to a comprehensive post from the past on mulch. Following on the topic of my previous post, I would like to get you to see mulch as valuable organic matter that needs to be added to your garden....

Mulch is my favorite topic to discuss each Spring, because it can be one of the most beneficial things you do to your garden or one of the most damaging. This link goes to a comprehensive post…

05/09/2026

New American Garden Maintenance

There is a movement underfoot, and it has to do with how we take care of our gardens. It is rooted in a design aesthetic called the New American Garden that is exemplified in the work of Piet Oudolf and the landscape architecture firm of Oehme van Sweden, among others. This style is naturalistic, self-sustaining, and largely native. Now, almost all of us don't have the money or the property to create these amazing masterpieces, but the idea when applied to maintenance is simple, less work and far more healthy for the plants, insects, birds, and everything else that inhabits our ecosystem....

There is a movement underfoot, and it has to do with how we take care of our gardens. It is rooted in a design aesthetic called the New American Garden that is exemplified in the work of&…

05/08/2026

Complex flower of the Euphorbia with male and female parts, fused bracts, and with hundreds of flowers they combine to form a stunning inflorescence in early Spring. Careful… it’s poisonous!

Mediterranean Spurge (Euphorbia caracias ssp. Wulfenii

Wednesday, May 6th, 2026
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05/06/2026

Soft, cat’s paw flowers of Pussytoes, a beautiful mat forming, native groundcover with stalks of flowers above the foliage in early Spring. Loves dry sun.

Field Pussytoes - (Antennaria neglecta)

Tuesday, May 5th, 2026

04/12/2026

Stunning double flowers on a Star Magnolia. Weather looks great for the Stars that tend to get hit by early season frosts.

Royal Star Magnolia - (Magnolia stellata‘Royal Star’)

Saturday, April 11th, 2026

04/06/2026

Catch a whiff of my heavenly scent! One of the earliest shrubs to flower before it leafs out.

White Forsythia - (Abeliophyllum distictum)

Sunday, April 5th, 2026