SUSAN’S GARDEN

28th August SUSAN’S GARDEN--- I've begun cutting down many of the larger perennials. Despite the heavier moisture, I can't say monarda was any better this year. Last year it had buds coming up all along the stems, but this year, one heavy bloom and it stopped. So I've cut it back to the ground and pulled up any new stems that our crowding out other plants. Some daylilies leaves are browning up so instead of pulling each out, I've cut those right back also. Re-bloomers are the exception—I'll pick individual leaves off. Scabiosa is trimmed back hard—sometimes its hard to tell new buds from old but cut off the hairy looking ones. Astrantias flowers are turning brown, so those have been cut back and some heuchera need another trimming with the bottom leaves as they've become spotted and ragged from slugs. The hellenium if finished and already has a nice clump of basal foliage so cut off those stems right to the base. All the moisture is doing a number on the drought-loving blue fescue grass—much of its turning brown. Just pull the blades gently around the base, and the dead stuff will pull right out.

My Indian grass has collapsed for the last time. My carefully thought out arrangement of the red-tipped grass with wispy mauve florescens, ‘Rosy Glow’ barberry and ‘Crimson Frost birch, has been a disappointment since the grass always collapses right before or during peak bloom time. The root system was impressive and this is the least pleasant weather to be digging up a tenacious grass. It’s too late to transplant pennisetums so a miniature miscanthus will be the replacement. And the grass? Into the burn pile—I'm not even going to waste the time looking for a spot it might prefer more.

I started some morning glories from seed this year and others re seeded from plants started three years ago. These bloom much later but it’s a nice surprise in the middle of the summer. I have ‘Heavenly Blue’ in my planters and around my trellises and every day I am just amazed at the color. If I've ever sold you a plant, you know how particular I am in describing the color it really is as opposed to the color on the plant label. In comparison to this morning glory, everything in my garden is purple or pinkish purple. Even ‘Rosanne’ looks pink to me this year. But this blue is so blue it really doesn't match anything—well, anything except the sky—thank goodness it’s a vine and its up there anyway. Echinacea and the ‘Knockout’ rose looks garish---purples are harsh and have too much red,bright yellows are gaudy, though, I have to say, soft yellow looks very nice but only if I pick off a flower and hold it next to the yellow spirea or ‘Crème Brulee’ coreopsis. The thing is, they're so blue, they look fake—like the set of Desperate Housewives with their rose covered trellises and masses or wisteria and blue hydrangeas. Or am I the only one who notices these things?

21st August SUSAN’S GARDEN---That last storm was very damaging to my home and garden. Between water in the basement and a waterfall down the front of the yard, I had my work cut out with raking up debris—last falls leaves and twigs, and raking gravel back into the paths and driveway. My mind is working overtime trying to come up with a solution that will keep the water from the road emptying in my gardens. Large boulders arranged in a pleasing line might work but would keep the water in the road. I consider this a good thing but is it allowed? A bank of plants with good roots—perhaps itea, or at this point a nice board held in with rebar—this will create a lovely river until it reaches the end of my property and will gracefully flow over. I'm going to mention it at the next township meeting. A piece of advice—don't ever, ever, ever buy a home at the bottom of a hill or for that matter next to any stream or river. It may be pretty, but water always goes down steam and if you're in the way—well you know what I'm saying.

12th August SUSAN’S GARDEN---In a front island bed that has two curves of ‘Grey Owl’ juniper on either end, I've begun cutting back an edging of alchemilla. Its almost a joke calling it an edger since it is currently growing higher than the ‘Grey Owl’ juniper it borders. The leaves are looking a bit faded and spotted, so I cut them back to the ground, being careful not to cut into the tiny curled leaves at the base. These will unfurls quickly and the whole plant will fill in. I've taken the opportunity to pull up some of the extra plants , since the area is becoming too congested. The woody tuber-like roots come up easily when the plants are young but have to be dug up as they mature. This makes a great hillside plant as its spreads quickly, fills in densely, has pretty, frothy chartreuse flowers that look great with everything—even as a cut flower, and is pest free. It needs to be trimmed back twice a year, but other than that, its very low-maintenance.

The nepeta was looking so good that I've I let it go too long again. Its supposed to be in full bloom along with ‘Rosanne’ and white ‘Casablanca’ lilies, but now (I'm sorry, it looks like I cut Susan short)

24th July SUSAN’S GARDEN---This year started out so promising if not contradictory. Regular, if not overly abundant rain meant great conditions for dividing or moving plants and amazing plant growth. It also meant fungal diseases, floppy plant stems, muddy soil. The Japanese beetles were late arriving, at least in my garden, and the gypsy moth caterpillars were mild to say the least. But a variety of other caterpillars and beetles have ravaged nearly every plant along with the flowers. The snails are everywhere and the damage is immense. They spray for other pests—I wish they would do something for the snails. A quick run-down of preferred foods include tradescantia, daylilies, coreopsis, pansies, hosta, ligularia, and salvia. These plants get hit the worst, but the list is growing--this year, I’m having to put bait at the base of the morning glories and clematis and spraying them with Sevin, because both beetles and snails have damaged nearly every leaf. There is a brilliant metallic-green beetle that will completely strip every leaf of my Virginia creeper and then the sweet autumn clematis I had misfortune of planting nearby. Some things you don’t catch until it’s too late. When I walk my dog in the morning, particularly after a rain storm, the road is covered with snails and slugs. And this is on a strip of road—imagine what’s in the grass, woods and lawns beyond that. I hate to think about it. You would think crows, the garbage cans of the bird world, at least around here, would be stuffing themselves silly with such easy pickings, but I never see them doing it—even they’re not interested. You escargot lovers may want to think about that one for a second. And even though garlic and butter can improve almost anything, I just remember what comes out of that snail when I snip them with my pruners, so I’m with the crows on this one. And by the way, its not recommended you put snails in your compost pile, because they break down like spoiled meat.

Other than walking around my garden and cursing, as I snip and crush, I can’t help but notice how beautiful the astilbe is this year. So far they are one of the few plants remaining untouched, but are full of flower spikes and covered with bees—a very good thing. If yours don’t look great, move them to a moister spot. Otherwise, just be really good with watering. I never thought much of these plants until I grew them properly and now I’m a huge fan. I find they like full sun but the soil has to be moist. The yellow-leaved varieties need some afternoon sun or they will bleach out, but the dark-leaved ones have better color with more sun. There are different bloom times so you can really extend the season.

I’ve also cut the penstemon flower stems back to the base—the smaller varieties keep blooming. Anthemis should be dead-headed regularly, but I’ve cut my mine to the base. With coreopsis, I’ve been cutting off the old flowers just above the new buds. Veronica can also be cut back—there should be new growth at the base.

13 July

SUSAN’S GARDEN---

Every day I inspect the progress of my tadpoles. They have been developing tiny little legs and their tails are slowly shrinking. This weekend, the toads have left the pond and the ground is covered with them. They are no bigger than the top of a pen cap and they crawl more than jump, like miniature monkeys—I assume it takes a while for muscle strength to develop. I had to take the long way around the garden to avoid stepping on them since there are so many and are difficult to see.

I’ve had to stake many of my Echinacea—all the rain has caused them to split open and if you don’t catch them soon enough, the flowers start bending towards the light at an awkward angle, and won’t look natural until I cut them off. The new colored coneflowers are among my favorite plants and I’ve used them as crucial plants in many of my beds. The orange-pink varieties like ‘Sunset’ and ‘Twilight’ look great with a pillar barberry, smokebush ‘Grace’, deep purple sedum and a yellow corydalis. The soft orange-yellow variety is planted with one of my favorite daylilies, ‘Custard Candy’ and northern sea oats. There is a dwarf white variety that I have next to a green and yellow upright sedum, a lime-green heuchera, and a golden Oriental spruce—this is my new color palette obsession—soft yellows and greens and white to mimic the soft colors of spring throughout the summer. These are great plants because they are so easy to grow, look great, fill in quickly but are easily removed, and bloom for a long time. They also look great with any other plant—sedums, grasses, roses, and shrubs.

I’ve been trimming the old flower stems off the dianthus—these may flower again. I’m also deadheading the daylilies—I hate to see new flowers with the nasty old ones. Many people don’t like hostas because they hate the flowers—so cut them off. Follow the stem down and cut it as low as you can.

4th July

SUSAN’S GARDEN---_*What a storm we had the other day! Instead of
> getting the gardens ready for the upcoming holiday, I spent three
> hours picking up leaves, branches, and debris and that was just in the
> driveway! I was fortunate in actual damage though—just some large
> branches from the cursed ash trees. Many were in the ground like
> javelins. If I were home I probably would have continued working
> outside as I've been known to do, continuing to garden through storms
> and enjoy the cooling breeze of the incoming hurricane, but I may
> rethink that idea. I've had to trim many of my taller plants that
> have split open—penstemons, coreopsis, corydalis, and tradescantia.
> I'm losing some flowers but they're so water-logged, its not worth
> saving them. Some of the earlier-blooming daylies are developing bud
> rot and I'm picking these off whenever I see it. Lambs ears lower
> leaves are beginning to turn brown so just pull these off. Be wary
> though, there’s a spider that likes to lurk among this plants leaves
> and he’s big enough to elicit a blood-curdling scream. They also like
> the echinops and guard their fuzzy nest of hundreds of tiny
> spiderlings or is it spiderlets? In either case, beware.
>

27th June SUSAN’S GARDEN---I had to make a very difficult decision to remove a 20 year old crabapple from my front garden. The rust that has been attacking it the past two seasons has made me think long and hard, but the messy leaf drop, early fruit drop, caterpillar and Japanese damage every year, have all helped me make the decision. I thought about replacing it with another, better crab—one of the named varieties, which seems to be infected with less disease and also less insect damage. Out of the three crabs in my front garden, this tree is the only one bothered with insects. The down side is the loss of its beautiful shape and size. The bed its in was created for this plant and the underplantings rely on the shade it casts. Once I weighed the pros and cons, I grabbed my loppers and pruners and began cutting off the smaller branches. Sometimes when you take something out, the open space suggests different design options. In this case, I want a new tree as soon as possible—it needs the spreading canopy of a small tree. I have a few choices in mind, so I'll be perusing the tree line.

If there are any alarming news bulletins on the rising obesity of our native birds, I'm afraid I may have contributed. The birds in my garden are going through a suet cake every two days. I usually stop putting it out once it starts getting warmer and the birds find food elsewhere, but the birds continue to flock to it, and many are bringing their babies and are feeding them clumps of the stuff. Are they getting hooked on the equivalent of human potato chips? I certainly hope not, and the mornings are still chilly, so I think they deserve a little extra fat in their diets.

The lychnis has completely flopped with all the rain, and I've cut it right back to the ground. Oenthera pumilla is a miniature snowdrop that has just finished blooming, so it gets the same treatment. Many perennial geraniums are looking a bit ratty, so I'll either cut back the flowering stems or just cut the whole plant completely. I like to give a good shot of fertilizer at this time to give them a boost and promote more leaves and maybe a second flowering with certain varieties.

June 13th SUSAN’S GARDEN---I've already seen some snail damage to my hosta, ligularia, and violets, so I had to put down slug bait. I use the varieties that are safe for pets and I clip them with my pruners whenever I see them. These rainy conditions are ideal for them to flourish. The caterpillars weren't nearly as bad as other years, and I noticed a lot of them were just shriveled up as if some marauding spider had got to them. Either way, it’s a relief.

My pond is filled literally with millions of tiny black tadpoles. They seem to like to float in the thin layer of water on some of the lily pads, until the water dries up and they become stranded in a tiny puddle. I did catch a quick glimpse of one of my goldfish the other day, and I do mean a glimpse. It darted back under the water lilies as soon as it saw me looming over the edge, and I haven't seen any since.

I've had to dig up and pot some of my pulmonarias—they're re seeding everywhere. Tradescantia and aquilegias are two plants that pop up everywhere in colors you may have never planted. I have several large clumps of tradescantia in at least four shades of purple that keep expanding. I can't dig them out without doing serious injury to a nearby crabapple, so I’ll have to leave them . There is a white variety with a tiny blue-tipped powder-puff in the center that has popped up out of nowhere but looks great with nepeta and eryginum. The good thing with tradescantias is that they have a very long bloom time and the deer don't seem to be interested. The snails do like the yellow-leaved varieties though.

All the rain has damaged some leaves on many plants, so I'm trimming those out. I keep the older heads of the peonies cut off to avoid the messy clean-up of the fallen petals and to take some weight off and keep the rest of the stems upright. Clematis flower heads form interesting puffs so I leave those on. I keep dead-heading the pansies and Johnny-jump-ups to keep the flowers coming. If you don't have the patience to pinch the individual stems, just shear the tops back. This will keep them nice and compact as well. I like to leave the poppy heads after the petals drop, but you can follow the stems down and remove them or let them dry and use them in arrangements. Salvias center flower stems can be cut back to the next flower stalks. This will encourages more buds to form.

June 7th SUSAN’S GARDEN---Last year you may remember, I was brutally going through my garden editing and moving plants that were too large, uninspiring or not doing well. Some areas in established beds, had plants that had never lived up to my expectations as far as size and vigor. I planted other plants among them thinking they had gotten as large as they are going to get, when suddenly they put a growth spurt. Maybe it was the enriched soil around the new plants, or maybe the extra watering, but what was large holes in the garden are now quickly going to be overgrown. Many hostas too, are finally reaching their mature size but are also crowding out each other as well as other plants, I should probably take out one out of every three plants at this point, but that will mean creating a whole new bed to take the over flow. This weekend, I saw a mature clump of the hosta ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ in a friends garden and was amazed to see each leaf was the size of large serving spoon. Mine are no bigger than my thumb, and I prefer that size but a mature hosta sometimes bears very little resemblance to the small pot you bring home from the garden center. Something to keep in mind when placing them in the garden.

That freeze warning Saturday night had me scrambling. I dragged everything in a container into my garage including all my vegetables and perennials. The Earth Boxes wheels were handy but dragging it through gravel was no easy feat. I even dug up all the annuals from my window boxes and beds, and the baby zucchini that was in too large a planter for me to move. The hanging baskets were in my dining room on plastics and the kitchen counter was covered with begonias and herbs. Only one moth came in with them—its too early for the earwigs that I know would have made an appearance, so I was lucky in that event. My poor dog had to maneuver around the large wooden planters I dragged in, but she seemed to see nothing amiss in the clutter except she couldn't bump her treat ball against the cupboards—always a tragedy. Sunday morning came though, without a sparkle of frost---I was expecting Armageddon---or a least a brown-tipped shriveled sea of plants--but everything made it. My sympathy goes out to those who were hit. What a strange spring. I'm still trimming off the leaves from my maples, hosta, and cotinus from the last freeze

The pulmonaria are showing signs of mildew, and they're nearly finished flowering, so I am cutting them right back to ground. And I don't need any more hellebore seedlings in my already over-crowded beds, so I'm cutting the flower stalks only. This of course, will prevent re seeding. Lambs ears flowering stalks should be trimmed also right to the ground. You will lose the flowers which some people dislike, but it will also create much denser, more beautiful leaves.

23RD MAY 2009

SUSAN’S GARDEN Despite covering my annuals with sheets and towels, the temperatures were low enough to still freeze the tips of many plants that were still in pots. Unfortunately, it also damaged many perennials in my garden. The smoke bushes, a Japanese maple that leafed out late, and my Japanese ferns were the hardest hit. The new growth on my katsura tree was also hit, but in this case, it seems to have released its wonderful cotton- candy fragrance that fills the whole garden. Between the lilacs that are still blooming, the German iris that are just beginning and by the way, I personally think ‘Immortality’ smells like candy Pez, and dianthus with its vanilla-clove smell, it’s like a candy shop. If your plants have frost damage then just trim it back to undamaged growth. This isn’t possible with larger trees and shrubs, of course, but do the best you can.

Other than weeding and killing the millions of caterpillars that are marching through my garden, its a great time to move things around or divide plants that got too big. It's too hot right now to dig up whole plants—I’d wait for cooler, overcast days, but some plants are tougher. Hostas won’t even pause if you take out a chunk but leave the rest in place. The same is true with daylilies, sedums, coreopsis and ornamental grasses. Cut back rock garden plants like arabis and alyssum immediately after flowering. Polemonium is another plant that can be cut back. If the seeds ripen, you’ll have dozens of new plants.

Some of my heuchera or coral bells have a tall woody center. Its time to divide these. Dig the whole plant up and pull apart the separate baby plants—its very easy to do—each plant will have a separate stem and should have new growth. Trim out the old leaves at the base, and cut off any dead stems. Throw out the woody bit, replenish the old soil with manure or compost and a handful of grub killer, and replant. You will have a whole group of new baby heuchera. Keep watered for a couple of weeks but don’t over do it. You can also replant them in a large pot and transfer them later. They make a beautiful container plant in the meantime.

14TH May 2009

SUSAN’S GARDEN---It may be too late but you probably want to try to get your peony hoops up. I forgot—the peonies are so upright that I didn't even think about it, so I'll probably just use the half circle supports which push them right back. The clematis is growing so quickly now but some of them need a little help in staying on the support, particularly those that are cut back to the ground. I usually use garden twine, but be careful not to bend any of the stems, so you don't get clematis wilt. Some perennials benefit from pinching back earlier in the season so they don't topple over later. The other benefit is that they will bloom later. Helenium, with its fall colors, always bloom too early, so by cutting it back, it will bloom at least later in the summer when I don't mind its autumnal shades. Or, you can trim just half a plant, the back half of a plant so the front will bloom first and then the back later. or if you have several of one variety, cut back one or two to extend the bloom time. Taller sedums like ‘Autumn Joy’ will be more compact and full and tall plants like some asters won't be so leggy.

I'm applying rose food now—they benefit from a slow-release and a monthly drench during the blooming season. Just scratch the fertilizer into the soil and water in.

GARDEN CENTER---If you need color in your garden or if it’s a sea of green, consider adding some rich purples with sambucus, weigelas, cotinus or smokebush, barberries, or the purple-leaved Harry Lauder’s Walking stick. All look great right now, but our numbers are limited. If you’re looking for some sunny yellow, we have golden physocarpus, barberry, caryopteris, Rhamnus ‘Tiger Eye’, and spireas. Copper-colored iteas, physocarpus, and quince.

7th May 2009

SUSAN’S GARDEN---

I continue to remove matted, dead leaves because, heaven forbid, I smother out the many weeds that are coming up simply everywhere. I just finished weeding out that tiny white flowering @#!%@* bittercress weed, when I turned around and the ground is now blanketed with the flat bluish leaves of jewelweed. And those white mustard-type flowers are flowering already! In shrub and tree areas, I’m laying about eight layers of wet newspaper down and covering it with about 3” of shredded leaves. If I have to hand-weed, I’ll be done just in time for the goldenrod and Halloween.

On a happier note, when I was out on my morning walk, my purple beech that didn’t put out a single leaf last year, and of which I was considering painting its beautiful skeletal form a vivid cobalt blue or purple as I’ve seen in several magazines and I couldn’t bear to cut it down. I noticed tiny little deep-red leaves coming from the trunk. It’s starting over, and this after a whole season of nothing being taken in through its leaves. I had no idea what I was going to replace it with, so I’m very pleased. I’m going to Superthrive it once a week to help it along.

Speaking of no shows—there are several plants that take their sweet time letting us know they made it through the winter. Be patient though, it’s early yet and it hasn’t been warm for an extended period. Some of these plants are as follows—hibiscus, cotinus or smoke bush, lespedizia, buddleia or butterfly bush, Russian sage, clethra, some viburnums whose new buds are the same color as their stems, and callicarpa or beautyberry, which is the last, in my garden anyway, to show life.

I have mugo pines in my rock gardens and the space is limited. So when the ‘candles’ or new growth is about half their full length, I trim them off. This will keep them small. Alberta spruce can be sheared right after new growth appears. Do it lightly though. You can’t take a clumpy spruce and make it slim.

30th april 2009

SUSAN’S GARDEN---The first round of daffodils shriveled in the heat of the last few days but my miniatures and late-bloomers are coming up now for another show of color. After two years of rust on my crabapples, it’s a pleasure to see them blooming this year. I've been spraying with copper every two weeks and its made a huge difference. Unfortunately, the caterpillars have already made a showing. I was just about to spray the nests, when two chickadees flew into one of the trees and started pecking away. I noticed them last year, piercing the caterpillar cocoons that were tucked in every possible crevice. I appreciate the help so I'll leave them for now.

My pond hasn't been the same without my goldfish so on Monday I went to the pet store and rescued—I mean purchased bought five little goldfish—one orange, two orange and white and two black and orange. The plastic bag sat in my passenger seat on the way home—closer to the air conditioning, and I have to admit, I was ridiculously pleased with them. When I got home I immerged the bag for 15 minutes, drained the water into a net, and then submerged the net into the pond as per instructions and they promptly swam into the roots of the water lilies and I haven't seen them since. I'm imagine they're reveling in the murkiness of my pond in contrast to the bright lights and emptiness of the fish tanks. Or else they're terrified and are afraid to come out with the four large frogs watching their every move. I felt I setting out a buffet and they were tying napkins under their chins.

I've done the finial trim on many shrubs. Sambucus has a lot of dead stems so I trim these down to fresh growth. These are a great substitute for Japanese maples as far as foliage goes. Two varieties have rich purple leaves and one variety, ‘Black Lace’ has very fine leaves. These can be quite large so I cut mine back hard to control the size. I'm still cutting off the dried heads of my hydrangeas to just above new shoots or lower to make them bushier. Several of my honeysuckles took a beating this winter and have to be trimmed back to almost the ground.

24th April2009

SUSANS GARDEN

This week, I’m working my way through my shade gardens. Anything that grows under trees can use the rain that is usually generous this time of year. Once the leaves fill out, watering becomes an issue since all but heavy, prolonged rainfall makes little difference to anything grown underneath. Matted leaves prevents water from reaching the ground, so I’m using my leaf blower to pick up the majority of leaves, shred them and then I’ll be putting it right back in the beds as mulch. The leaves are already partly decomposed so the result is very fine. The voles were at work in one of my largest shade gardens and the area is riddled with tunnels. I fill a wheelbarrow with a mixture of topsoil and compost or dehydrated manure and shovel a layer over all the beds. This adds fertilizer, covers any seeds and fills in the exposed roots. These beds were created over old burn and mulch piles and just adding leaf mulch and top dressing has improved immensely. My hellebores and pulmonarias are reseeding and I seldom have to water even in the middle of the summer. I’m cutting back all the dead growth on my ferns, ligularias, thalictrum, bleeding hearts, and astrantia. All already have new growth so trimming is easy to do. All my brunnera are up and their forget-me-not flowers are already blooming. Unfortunately, the weeds are already making a show in this bed too. The mustard weed is making its annual showing and while some can be easily pulled out, others need the dandelion weeder.

Buddleia or butterfly bushes and Russian sage can be trimmed now. For shorter, bushier growth, trim back to about six inches. For taller growth trim to just above new growth on the stems. I usually trim my honeysuckle vines back now. Cut off any dead branch tips, and any wayward growth to control the shape.

Get Ready for spring with a pair of sturdy work gloves—Mud, West County, Nitrile Touch and Womanwork. Sharp pruners mean cleaner, faster, healthier cuts for your plants. We have shear & scissor and pruner & lopper sharpeners in stock now as well as Felco spray which keeps the spring in working order and also waterproofs so if you accidentally leave them outside, it will protect the metal from rusting.

We’ve always tried to carry organic alternatives, and our fertilizers from Espoma have all the advantages without the damage to the earth. Dehydrated manure is a great soil conditioner as well as a fertilizer and is available now. The goodness lasts for many years.

19th April 2009

SUSAN’S GARDEN---My sunnier gardens are coming along slowly and I continue to remove leaves and trim plants back. Last years flowers on the clethra shrub can be cut off. This will also make the shrub bushier and more compact. I’ve cut all my colored twig dogwoods back to about 10”. This will result in more colorful stems in the winter and again a more compact plant. Smokebushes will have larger deeper colored leaves if this is done now, though you will sacrifice the ‘poofs’.

Many shade plants need a little attention now too. Hosta stems and leaves should be removed and can usually just be pulled off now. Earlier, you would have had to use pruners. Brunnera is a pleasure to clean up since the leaves come away easily. I have several large patches of ajuga and these look a mess this time of year. I usually just lightly rake any leaves off and push any plants that come out of the soil, back in. Any brown leaves are soon covered by new growth. Ginger is the same. I hand-pick and trim any dead leaves out but leave the rest. I don’t have that much patience. Peony stems and leaves have to be cut with pruners and Japanese and Siberian iris should be cut to the ground. German iris’s new growth can be left if it is unmarked but cut damaged leaves back to about an inch.

As I’m working my way through the garden, I realize how much work I still have to do, and despite the cold temperatures, there is so much to see. I love the combination of cobalt-blue scillas under the golden barberries that are just breaking bud. And my woodland garden with its drifts of hellebores, pulmonaria, and primrose, are so colorful. Spring is really here.

10th April 2009

I've begun cleaning the garden in ernest now that the pin oaks new buds have pushed off last years leaves. Its been so windy though, I barely rake one area clean, when leaves from another area come back in. But as long as the matted leaves are gone, I'll have to be pleased. I've already found a few tiny black snails and the tiny transparent pearls that are their eggs. Disturbing them will limit their numbers and hopefully the birds will find the rest.

With our problem with voles and mice, I stopped feeding the birds a few years ago, but this winter was so cold, I decided to at least hang a suet feeder out. I usually takes a few days for birds to find a new feeder, but within minutes the chickadees arrived, and the woodpeckers—three different kinds-- weren't long behind. I see the birds at the feeders here at work, but it isn't the same as these in my own garden. Before long, I dug one of our old feeders out of the basement, and started putting out some bird seed for the juncos, cardinals, and morning doves who are ground feeders, and were pitifully pecking away at the scraps that fell from the suet. They've come back as if they were never away, like old friends. The added bonus is that they're also picking their way through my gardens, digging under leaves and hopefully eating the insects that are already out in the warmer weather and any weed seeds that are lying in wait.

Unfortunately, the feeders have brought back the squirrels, but since this is one of the squirrel-proof feeders, The Roller, they haven't been able to get in yet, but the trying is very entertaining for us and my dog who after barking menacingly, promptly goes and gets her stuffed squirrel toy and shows us exactly what she would do if she only had the chance. The other visitor, isn't so amusing. A bear came one night, climbed our deck, and somehow bent the cast iron rod low enough to bend the cage open and take the suet. It left the other feeder alone, and the experts will say to stop feeding the birds for at least three months. But I can't do that. So every evening the feeders are hung in the basement from hooks attached to the ceiling and are brought out in the morning which is a real treat when its twenty something degrees and the birds are sitting outside on the railing looking around as if to say. “I know there was a nice place to eat here just yesterday. Did I take a wrong turn? Where did it go?’

Despite the cold temperatures and harsh winds, I optimistically think my garden has fared pretty well. There is quite a bit of wind damage on some of my boxwoods, and several clumps of the larger ‘purple’ sedums including ‘Blackjack’ and ‘Matrona’ have rotted out. If the soil is too moist in winter, the roots will sometimes rot out but the crown remains. When the soil dries out in the spring and summer, the roots regrow and the plant is fine. However, I don't see any growth which definitely should be showing by now.

I've started trimming my heucheras or coral bells back. Don’t cut any new leaves that are coming up in the center. Remove old, damaged and limp leaves from the sides and follow old stems back to the base on the top. Carex, even though many still look great should be cut back now or else you may be cutting into new growth. You can also start trimming any dead tips on honeysuckle vines and now would be a good time to cut your rose-of-sharons back to create bushier plants and remove the old flower heads.

21st March 2009

SUSAN’S GARDEN Welcome to another gardening year! It's probably too early for many of you, but I’ve been out whenever its above 38 degrees. I’m trimming back barberries, spirea, and hibiscus to keep them nice and neat. Don’t cut back any spring flowering shrubs like weigela and lilacs, or you’ll cut the flowering buds off. My ornamental grasses still look wonderful. Even with all the snow that we had this winter, it fell so finely that it didn’t crush the plants. I’ve left them up as long as possible, but I have so many that I’d better get a move on, or I’ll be cutting grasses in June. I’m also cleaning the leaves out of the beds. The last of the leaves are matted in my flower beds, so I’m removing those. Any plants that have heaved, and there are plenty—particlarly heuchera, are gently pushed back in and I’m putting a little leftover mulch back on.

I didn’t have much of a problem with the deer, but the rabbits were incredibly destructive. Three large ones were leaving tracks all winter all over the garden. Several of my barberries have been given Mohawks—the sides are all eaten. Even the poisonous hellebore foetoides had its lime green buds chewed. If they’re going to go after plants like that, I’ll have to spray the whole garden. It would be easier to use the garden hose. It wasn’t a good winter for my pond either. My de-icer failed mid winter and all my fish and frogs have passed. I had six inches of ice this year, and it finally melted enough for me to lift it out piece by piece, and then net the creatures out. I hope I got them all or I’ll be emptying the pond this spring. A sure sign is milky water.

I hope everyone else's winter was kind and spend some time outside.