landscape and design

Pruning Forsythia, Spirea, Mock Orange, Fragrant Viburnum, Ceanothus…

Or, Pruning spring-blooming shrubs that grow as thickets of svelte trunks and slender stems, because although they  have their differences they all behave pretty much the same way.

Forsythia in thicket mode

Forsythia in thicket mode

Flower buds form during the summer, mostly on one and two year old wood, so the standard advice is “prune right after bloom.”  That way there’s maximum time for next year’s show to get itself together. 

But after years of following that advice I started doing something that’s more fun and just as good or better from the pruning standpoint: making big bouquets. Read More…

Snow in Eccleston Square

 The  big snow in Britain is making so much news I got a little worried about my long time penpal  Roger Phillips and all the nifty plantings in Eccleston Square.

No problem, quoth he:

“Yes big snow last night the largest fall since 1963!

Here are a couple of shots, the Hamamelis ‘Jelena’ was great.

Hamamelis ( witch hazel) 'Jelena'

Hamamelis ( witch hazel) 'Jelena'

 Plus a view

Eccleston Square covered with snow

Eccleston Square covered with snow

All the kids are out there making snow men.

Love Roger

Given that I’ve always wanted one and never had a place to put it, I wish he hadn’t reminded me about ‘Jalena,” a cross between Chinese and Japanese witch hazels. It not only has those spiffy winter flowers but also sports some of the most brilliant fall foliage to be found. (When you find it on the tree; autumn storms often knock it all down.)

Pictures by Roger Phillips

Juniper Needs Pruning, Eats Path (or, The Heap Revisited)

Years of garden observation have given me a firm belief in 4-S ( Spare the Shears, Spoil the Shrub), but I still don’t do all that much pruning. Sometimes it’s because there’s simply too much else to do (see the original Heap, a spiraea of monumental untidiness) and sometimes it’s because the pruning is Bill’s department (see Fruit Tree Pruning Time).

But sometimes it’s because I’m reluctant to mess with something gorgeous, even when its increasing gorgeousness starts causing traffic problems.

spreading juniper

This is one of the junipers that came with the house. That angled object over on the far left is the edge of the greenhouse. Between them is – theoretically – a path that’s 3 feet wide. Between them is – actually – a gap of about 13 inches.

You can see why Bill warned me that if I didn’t get it out of the way he would lop off all offending branches in a straight line.

But here’s the thing about juniper pruning; Read More…

looking ahead

to catalog plant lust. Always useful to remember they have to be interesting in context.

The Black Pearl pepper is in a tall urn that’s set in the middle of a clump of Artemisia Silver King. The sedum is good old Autumn Joy.

Fall Lawn Care – the Leaf Issue

Useful things to remember:

* Heavy leaf fall must be raked from lawns or the grass will be smothered.

* Chopped leaves make terrific winter mulch for shrubs (whole leaves can pack down and suffocate roots). They also make ideal all-purpose compost after they’ve decomposed. Leaves can be chopped with a lawnmower if you don’t have a garden chipper/shredder.

* Chopped leaves rot more quickly than whole ones but still take quite a while to compost unless mixed with a nitrogen source.

* Grass clippings are very high in nitrogen.

Thing to do:

one-shot mowing and leaf sweeping

one-shot mowing and leaf sweeping

Mow with the bagger on. Read More…

Just Get a Peep at Those Leaves

What’s to say? This is a GREAT year (in the Northeast, anyway). Yesterday’s drive up what might be called the still wonderful part of Mr. Roosevelt’s Taconic parkway – from Salt Point to the end at Highway 90 – was a solid hour of heartstopping beauty, a gift in a hard time. It’s happening everywhere there are deciduous trees; don’t get so down you miss it.

looking north on the Taconic in Columbia county

looking north on the Taconic in Columbia county

Fall Planting, Part 2: Spring Bulbs

Tulip or not tulip? That is the question. Happens every year, as dazzlers never seen at the florist beckon from the glossy catalogs,  page after page after page.

In addition to being beautiful (and frequently fragrant), tulips are inexpensive; the more you buy the cheaper they are. They’re easy to grow – in fact almost impossible to screw up – and in spite of the general wisdom, they often come back.

These Giant Darwin hybrids have been around for so many years I no longer remember what they are. Probably ‘Parade,’ famous for returning almost as dependably as daffodils.

On the other hand Read More…

Blue and White in the garden

Aren’t always two flowers, especially in August in Maine, when the sky is cooperating and azure to the max.

white single hollyhock ( Alcea ficifolia)

This plant is a solo pearl, the only absolutely-no-pink-in-it pure white we’ve ever drawn in the self sown hollyhock lottery. Our winnings are usually dark purple, pink, peach, apricot and primrose, a genetic salad all descended from one packet of yellow fig leaf hollyhocks (Alcea ficifolia) I planted years ago in the (vain) hope they wouldn’t get rust.

Today’s other beautiful white on blue may be more of a special taste Read More…

Dealing With Drought in the Garden

How dry we are! It’s just the worst – our sliver of the Maine coast has had less than a half inch of rain in the last 5 weeks and we have only a shallow well, barely enough for dishes and showers. I’m watering the joint with my tears, and when friends complain they’ve been stuck dragging hoses around for eversolong, it’s hard for me to dredge up much sympathy.

Some crops are going to be all right, and there’s still plenty going on – Lois had no trouble finding something to paint the other dayLois Dodd in Leslie Land's garden

but if you look a little closer Read More…

Photographing the Garden

Kristi the demon camerawoman was just complaining about it yesterday, so I know I’m not alone when I say

iris , probably louisiana

closeups are easy.

philadelphus flower closeup

and mugshots present few problems

view of cutting garden from side yard

while landscapes are difficult

beans and lettuce with lily

And anything in the middle is just about impossible

Yet the urge to photograph persists, along with the urge to get back to gardening and not be endlessly messing around with the equipment. Read More…