Bloom Where You Are Planted

This is probably the most important adage of the garden. For you, as the gardener, to commune with the sense of your garden. The location which has its own speech and its own beauty.

We often miss that in our modernist thinking that everything will bend to our will. That is a short-lived illusion. And an illusion which masks the incredible experience of exploring the mysteries hidden in the beauty of the natural creation.

We think we will make the alkaline nature of our soil acid. As though the puny amendments of peat moss and sulfurs will rectify the ancient limestone minerals in the makings of our soil. Eventually, the realities will laugh at such efforts. Not this year, and maybe not the next, but eventually.

That is not to say we ought not help the earth be the best that it can be. We should. That is what makes us gardeners. We nurture, we cultivate, we wonder, and we are rewarded. Not that I am trying to discourage any budding Capability Browns out there. I cannot help but think that even Capability had his knowledge of what he what working with rather than against.

So while I read Patrick Roger's Scenic Nursery blog and wish for some of that California fairyland beauty ( that is what it struck me as, in my visit long ago), and have wished, often, for such things as Camellias, I know I would miss the sharp contrasts of the changing seasons. I remember the amazement I once had at a Westerner's complaint that Ohio was so green. Like that was a bad thing!

But we learn to appreciate the specialties of our own part of the world. And that is as it should be. And to appreciate, rather than envy, those of other places. Being what we are, we shall always have our favorites.

And this is what reminiscence is made of, the smell of the evergreen forest in the far north, the humid heat and sweet smells of a mountain in Georgia, the inimitable fall fragrance and overwhelming color of deciduous woodland. Unbelievable bloom in the desert, scent of roses on the wind, there is so much to enjoy.... and your own part of the world can be the place to bloom.
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By the way, my lonicera fragrantissima finally gave forth its bloom, though reduced and late. Just lovely.

SlaveDrivers Anonymous

I don't know how it is at other people's houses, but at my house I am the idea person/slavedriver. That is right..... they run when they see me coming. All except that poor guy, AKA my husband, who has nowhere to run. So what is it this time? A new porch.

I brainstormed this idea - and it really is a good one- last week. You know how they say you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear? ( They do still say that, right?) Well, I decided it applied to our front porch. We shored it up and patched it when we first moved here, yon long time ago, but it always makes the house look like a sad man's countenance. Just sort of droopy, and on the outs.

So! I got to my trusty library and got old house plans, and old house books, and country house books. You get the picture. My husband leaped at the good idea and then realized how much work we are talking about. Talk about the sad man's countenance. A little verbal wrestling and we jostled out the plan: it can be done. I have two alternative designs to show him tonight. He, on his part, got his own slew of library books on the nuts and bolts of "building your own". Yay. Sign of actualization.

For the landscape, however, this means major work for me, lest I lose the plants that are presently in the dooryard part of my garden. I will need to do this soon. I have to figure where to put the plants. I have a major investment of hostas that I do not want to lose. They are not going to like getting uprooted again. I will have to move a small Mockorange, Philadelphus coronarius 'Aureus'. It has taken years just to look like it mattered, but I think it should be placed in a better position anyway.

Much more difficult will be a good sized birdsnest spruce. Maybe it will be alright if I c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y dig up the roots as paintakingsly as I can. I don't know if I have the patience. Maybe thinking about the price of a new one in an approaching size will inspire me. I believe the porch vines will be able to be trained from their area up the new porch; their roots will just be somewhat under the porch. The only other things are new hydrangeas I put across the front gabled area. They will be fine... just additional work in moving them again.

Well, it was my idea.

I help with demolition work, but I never had to handle hammers, etc. I think my husband would prefer I paint when it comes times for that, anyway. He finds that tedious and I think my novice work as a carpenter would make him flinch inwardly ( the "no one does as good a job as I do" sort of flinch, the " I 'd rather not have your help" sort of flinch) . If I took joy in that I suppose I would be a passive aggressive. As it is, I am glad we divide the work between us.

daffodils

I almost forgot! The daffodils are coming up strongly. It seems as though every single one that I planted from my mothers fall time gifting is making an appearance. I don't have any blooming yet, although I saw a number blooming on city hillsides.

And just in time I have charged the batteries on my camera and am ready to begin making actual pictures. Yes, I know I am slow. I am a little unsure about hooking up the usb cord to load the pics into the computer. I don't do cords. My sons always took care of the hardware and hookup of such things. Next time I will get them to show me how the thing is done.

Perhaps I will put some pics on my tiny memory card. Sony provides a ridiculously small memory card with the camera. I still might have room for a few web resolution depictions of the purple crocus.

Oh...forgot the muscari. I have the muscari azurem blooming. Muscari azurem factsheet. I should dig up some and combine them with those white crocus. That would make a refreshing pairing.

The Season Begins

Over the weekend, I went to my local nursery, one of my time favored favorites. They had the Prairie Fire Crabapple trees and I bought two. The weather was good and two of the previous purchases were planted, the tulip trees. I really hope they do well, although I put them in a challenging place. Time will tell.

The other trees will be easier since I won't have to dig out clay and replace with loads of better soil. Good thing my husband helped. Now he has the achy muscles and understands the demands that heavy duty gardening can exact. I am sure that for years he thought I was just being a wimp. I am one now, though. The gardening season should begin to change that.

Anyway, lots of things are blooming, the Dawn Viburnum, Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn', is blooming with pale strawberry pink balls of bloom. Very pretty and decorative. The lonicera is blooming where the snow had protected it on the lower branches, but the upper ones had lost bloom. I suppose it is due for some drastic pruning. I'll decide that later.

oooo. I have lots of dandelions. I offered to pay one of my daughters to help me. Yes, that is how bad it is. Great spreading circles of toothy green waiting to leer at me with bright golden bursts of prodigous progeny.

The purple crocus are into their own. They seem to multiply best. I seem to have lost some of the others that I had. Named varieties with purple and white and some creams. Maybe they will appear later. My memory seems to be failing me. Time for a journal. A paper, hard copy type.

Here are some I know I had, formerly:
Prinz Claus ; Crocus chrysanthus "Blue Pearl"; Crocus chrysanthus "Cream Beauty"; Crocus chrysanthus "Advance" . I bought them as named single varieties, but have dug around in those beds quite a bit the last couple years.

There is a white that is blooming strongly right now, "Innocence". This is the larger flowered type, and it handles growing through grass and heavy applications of mulch. If you like a bright white, this is your baby. I have mixed feelings about this sort of white. It is the same as white petunias, they look a bit harsh, like paper got blown and stuck in the garden. I think the remedy for that would be to plant a larger expanse of them. Which reminds me.

As I was out and about, I chanced by a wooded front yard simply covered with the blooms of eranthus. You can tell them by their greeny yellow and the more regular form. It was a very large area under a number of trees. It was calming and eye-catching at the same time. I love woodland. And I really miss not having much around. By the time mine grows I will be gone from the earth...with another gardener to either undo or take care of all my well laid plans.

That brings me to the last thing. I bought two small oaks. That is height of faith, friends. We plant oaks for our children's children. But I bought them anyway, and will plant them in my little grove of trees. I think the Ent characters in the LOTR movies were designed along the lines of oaks, and the talking trees of the Wizard of Oz movie as well...never mind the apples. Apple trees do not have the armlike branches and gnarly faces of the oaks. They don't have that huge glowering presence that a fine stand of oaks can produce. Apples are friendly accessible trees when well pruned and just jumbled confusion when not.

That is my imagination speaking. A woods is a perfect place for imagining.

Bloom Report

So far the snowdrops are fully blooming. The snow protected them and they still look good. I am never very excited with these. I think I just don't have enough, perhaps.

What I do get excited about are the crocus. They were popping up and bloomed in the new driveway beds. YAY! The small golden and white types which are the first to show, usually. The purples tend to be a little behind those. Although, this bunch was simply the mixed varieties. I don't know how many of each color there are yet. The same sort of crocus that have been planted for years in the boxes are not blooming quite yet. They are deeper than they were due to adding soil on the boxes last fall. Weeding had somehow reduced the soil levels. I suppose that is what did it. But the spring bulb shoots are pushing through.

Those boxes have numerous short types of spring bulbs. The original idea was to mimic the medieval mead. Although without the grass, which wanted to grow in there, but I kept weeding it out. Grass is a weed here. It infiltrates and takes over everything.... the land desires to revert to prairie, but I revolt with tree plantings, weeding , and my own ideas about what should grow in this place. That is what makes it my garden.

The Honeysuckle seems to have lost its bloom to earlier freezes. The 'Dawn' Viburnum has its pink buds, but I can't tell yet whether this last cold snap damaged them or not. Viburnums can lose some of their bloom to late freezes. Ditto on the magnolias. I will just have to wait and see. My daffodil's have not bloomed yet, so I am sure they are safe. My garden is a good week to two weeks behind the city gardens.

I feel sort of pouty about the honeysuckle. I always enjoy that sweet lemony scent when there is nothing else going on in the garden. Other than that, that is the paltry news of the garden. And though I visited the garden centers, there was not much stocked yet. I almost made it to the nursery, but got waylaid once again. Maybe this week.

Propagation of softwood cuttings

Propagation of softwood cuttings of deciduous plants. Here is an article ( of many) written by a gardener even more enthused in their website prose than I am! Something of a cross between a motivational speaker and a sawdust revival preacher in the world of plants and propagation.

Propagation is an area that I am turning my attention towards. I am not having so many of my own babies and can use that nurturing side of me on plants again.

( I had a jungle of indoor plants when I had my first child, but more and more plants languished away as I had pregnancies and outcomes-people!- that diverted all the tender care I had once lavished on watering, repotting and starting cuttings).

New starts need regular attention. But I think maybe I can start doing this. Maybe I will have a little green house after a year or two ( that has been a longtime dream of mine).

Well, as usual, I am getting ahead of myself. I tried the cuttings route here in this garden, but I kept losing things after they rooted. Bad placing, I am sure. And the fact that when I am full bore into the season I am trying wildly to balance all that life demands. Plants, especially new plants, lose out to other obligations of attention. I do believe some regulated and carefully organized attempts could be successful. I intend to try.

Just so I don't try too many things. Hmmmm, baby chicks or baby plants? I want both!

See, this always happens to me........ I also want to try my hand at selling some of my clutter on ebay. And making some designs for cafepress shirts and things..... and making business cards for my husband...... and trying out the new world of the digital camera...... and... and....

There are always the blogs and the webpage needs some new additions..... and I haven't really gotten the hang of PSP8.

Oh, the life and trials of the dilletante. Is it any wonder that I find my solace just sitting in the sun on a warm spring day? Looking forward to that, I can tell you. Making pictures of the clouds and feeling all is right and listening to the children laugh and ......

HEY! I can't do that yet, I have plans to carry out. Each thing in its own time, each thing in its own season. No cause to rush things.

Journaling Again

Time to make an entry to Ye Olde Garden Journal. It's been an interesting week. Last weekend had beautiful spring weather, so I tentatively went out in the field over the weekend. You know, just walked around, inspecting things. The vernal aroma was just what I needed. There is just something about the soil warming and the smell of the grasses. Not the bliss of the summer garden, but peace- inducing. Like things will be right with the world.

Then on to Monday, when the weather was still warm and clear...with the impending predictions of snow, I went out to the apple trees with my newly purchased Japanese folding saw. That is always my weapon of choice in pruning...along with loppers. I tackled two trees. Took out some large branches in the first and both were cleared of extraneous bottom branches, suckers and water shoots. Took out most of the crossing branches. The new saw helped. I was able to get farther along than I expected. Worked until dark.

Oh yes, that was after digging holes for the new trees. I was a busy little beaver. Yes, I was. I had helpers on the digging, though. Two of my teenagers were extremely good natured about helping me dig those holes and clear some sod from the fence corners. If I figure out the cause of the good nature...I will pass it on. Or write a book, but it was just serendipity as far as I know.

The holes had to be fairly extensive since the county put in really poor replacement soil there. [REMINDER: make workers save your topsoil on your property for you- you will be very glad]. It isn't really soil.... it is clay subsoil from who knows where packed in with whatever rubbish they could get away with... old drain tiles, rocks, old boards... Sorry, didn't mean to rant.

Anyway, the holes are dug for three out of four. Although now that I am thinking about it, I may move two of the trees elsewhere and put shrubs into two of the holes ( can't waste good digging). Just because I am not sure I want trees so close together. I am weird about that. It won't make a difference in my lifetime, but when planting trees I try to think for posterity. I am still considering where the trees should go.

Partially, because I got a good deal on desirable trees. I wasn't planning on redbuds, I was planning on Prairiefire Crabapple. I researched that variety. I still plan on buying it which is why I am playing with moving the trees around on the little planning board in my head. And I decided it may be best to move the larger trees back further on the property to save them from the predations of my county officials.

You can do that when it is in the planning stage. I don't like to move trees after they have been planted. Laziness, I am sure. I make a big deal about planting trees, usually. I dig as big a hole as my time and energy can handle, put in some compost from the compost pile...hauled in the wheelbarrow from half and acre away, then add in peat moss to the soil, mud in, tamp, water well with the hose dragged over half the yard from the house ( and then dragged back), and then come back after a week or so to mulch. If I do things my favored way, you can see why I don't relish repeating the process.

They say you don't have to amend the soil for trees and that it isn't especially good, but I have tried both methods and I think trees are better established with a bit of extras at the outset. And, wheel barrow by wheel barrow, I will be trying to add good soil from farther back in my property to the trees planted in the unpromising clay. I have good clay loam here. Very nice gray profile soils, and a Crosby type. Prairie soils.

Then it snowed.

Not that I was unhappy about that. I like snow when I don't have to go out in it much, and it was a lovely deep-billowed snow. The kind that looks like spun angel hair puffs on everything. It piled on to about four to five inches, and in spite of melting temperatures, we still have covering on the ground today. And I was stiff from all the work the previous day; so I was enjoying the March snowfall.

The birds are foraging in the melted spots here and there , and on Tuesday when the snow was deepest, they visited the pyracantha at my window in a steady traffic all day. I love birds. But I have to say I am tolerant of the mess they make on my car and lawn furniture. I ignore the car as much as possible and I spray the furniture off regularly. My teenagers are embarrassed about the car... but they could do something about that ;)

So, obviously, I did not plant sweet peas on St. Patricks Day. I am just not that dedicated to dig through snow to plant... I don't know that that is a good idea anyway. Don't tell me if it is, OK?

Time to Scope out the Nurseries

It is high time to look over the offerings at my favorite nursery. I was going to do that today, but other errands took too long. Sigh.

I will need to keep my rule in mind: Don't buy more than I can plant. Plant what I buy and then I can allow myself to get more. In planting season I would go without some of my daily food to purchase plants. Really I would.

Yet there is nothing sadder than to have perfectly healthy plants languish whilst I put off planting. So each year I place my rule squarely in front of my face. Failing usually happens when I cannot put fulltime effort into my gardening season. But this year I have plans to indulge my gardening plans.

Will record the results here...... of course!

Tra-la-la. I bought two trees today. They were a special deal at the front of a discount store. Looked decent planted in a plastic pot of promising root size. They are Eastern Redbuds, for the front of the property in proximity to the bronzy leafed crabapples.

My previous experience of these was the tree in the back yard of my father's old place. They seeded themselves around quite a bit, but I don't think that will be a problem where I plan to put them. They are an ornamental tree with heart shaped leaves.

I am thinking of going back and getting some Tulip trees, Liriodendron tulipifera. They grow well here, and I could really use some more trees. I thought the price of $12.99 was economical.

Of course, this means that -ready or not- I have to do some planting in the next week or so. Well, I need these old muscles to get in shape for the season somehow.

I bought a few seed packets as well.

La-la-la...... am happily starting off my gardening season. Now to see if my husband wants to help dig holes for those trees (Groucho Marx eyebrows).

when should i start my garden

I ran across this search in my stats. Figured it was a pretty important question for most gardeners just starting out.

• If you live up North, in the Midwestern area, you can start certain things any time now. You can prune trees, and I would say you can plant trees and shrubs, although putting a quick call into your local nursery wouldn't hurt.


• Check your soil condition, if it is sticky and balls up when you squeeze some in your hand.... wait until it is more crumbly. Don't work up ground, especially clay types, with so much moisture still in it


• If you are planting perennials, you might want to wait for the soil to warm a bit, and maybe cover new plants with something like a plastic bottle with the bottom cut off


• Annuals need to wait until after the last frost date, although planting the seeds is according to times usually printed on the seed packet. It differs according to what type of seed it is ( HA, HHA, TA, TP)


• Plant peas or Sweet peas starting March 17th, that is the traditional day, St. Pat's Day.


• Corn goes in when the oak leaves are the size of a mouse ear - again one of those old traditional phenologies. Not to be mixed up with Ph{r}enology- which I do when I am not checking


• Most perennials can be divided in April, except for things like German iris , which are better after dormancy sets in, late summer

Do what you have time to do, when you have time to do it, generally. Just remember constraints related to moisture: plant too late and new plants wither in midsummer sun, plant too early and the cold and damp may harm or destroy the plants. It is mostly common sense, but if you accumulate a good set of tips for your area, it helps with success. I advocate talking with nursery guys and gardening neighbors. Extension services are available.

Signs of Spring

It has been quite warm lately, so I looked around the garden to see if things were getting to bloom stage. Not yet, but lots of the bulbs are popping out with promising sprouts. Usually I have bloom on the lonicera fragrantissima, but I checked it and there are buds, but no bloom. I will need to keep an eye on it. Them. I have several large bushes in a screening hedge at the end of the drive.

The old saying is that if March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion. So maybe there will be some chill, with winter slamming the door shut at the end of the month. We'll see.

More reporting on the emerald ash borer. I guess they were breaking the news to us slowly and now are giving out some of the true picture of devastation. It really is awful. So many trees .... just gone.

It made me angry with a nursery man named. He deliberately shipped trees to other states and helped spread the infestation. There really is no excuse. I know that the landscape business has quite a bit of risk and the long term investment, but the future of our forests and street trees are long term investments, too. We need to take care of the earth. We really should be responsible stewards, there is just so much that can be lost and it can be relatively small things that can preserve it for future generations.

We each need to try. I believe most gardeners and nurserymen work hard towards that end; I guess it only takes a few, or in this case -one- to unleash a lot of trouble.

Sorry to get "sappy" on you....... the article really impacted me.

What are your ten top choices for perennial plantings?

If I was reduced to ten plants around which to plan the gardening season, which would I choose?
There are lots of them I haven't even tried. I always wanted a dictamnus, gas plant, but never managed to purchase it.

As for those I would choose now for this garden on the plain, I have greatly appreciated those old stalwarts, (1) roses and (2) peonies. They make the May/June garden. (3) Lilies are something I would plant more of, they fill June/July with bright color and fragrance. (4) Rudbeckias, like 'Guldsturm' tend to be overdone, but their easy growth and golden daisies provide color in even the hottest summer heat ( for the north, anyway), so I would always like some of them in the garden. (5) Hostas, everyone needs some hostas, and they have beautiful flowers on graceful stems.

Smaller flowers are sometimes overlooked, but (6) campanula carpatica is a useful, sturdy, blue flowering cushion. I have come to really appreciate (7) scabiosas. Another blue, graceful and free-flowering.

(8) Daylilies are in a class by themselves for usefulness. Many are fragrant, and free-flowering, they come in lots of colors, but the yellows are always wonderful.
(9) Siberian Iris replaces all the German types in my opinion. Not as showy, but far more graceful and lots less work.
(10) Chrysanthemums have to end the season. Nothing else gives as much hardy color in the fall garden. But I would be tempted to say Flowering Kale.... it simply is not as versatile or colorful as the mums.... but it lasts through frosts and freeze. but, no, Chrysanthemums stand. They are easy to grow and propagate. They have all sorts of interesting forms.

So. There is my list. Of course, it is only imaginary, since I don't think I could have only those in a garden... I would fill in with whatever little plants I could tuck into corners and niches. Things like campanula cochlearfolia, adenophora, alchemilla, violas, ........ I better grow to be a really nice old lady that grandkids will gladly work in the garden for.....

or perhaps I will take the advice on taking up growing orchids? One of my grandmothers who became invalid, after having grown prize iris and peonies in her younger days, took up African violets. She grew the most beautiful violets.

Flowers are a lifetime of joy, I think.

growing old in the garden

When I was first gardening in my early twenties, I read some garden books that shaped my experience. The author that most fascinated me and influenced was probably Helen Van Pelt Wilson.

I read most all her books on the subject of gardening, and one of them dealt with the reduced scope of gardening as one ages.

I am beginning to realize that I will soon enter that stage. Perhaps that is why I procrastinate such jobs as the pruning of my trees. A lifetime of the three score years and ten is not enough for a garden. A garden speaks in the Entish tongue, and we speak in the language of our flowers of the field existance. We briefly till the earth, until we become a part of it.

I am beginning to turn my mind towards reducing the workload. More groundcover and less weeding, more shrubs and less perennials that need attention. It is a subtle change, but a decided one.

Like a woman herself, the beauty is less lush, but more dignified. There are many ways to grow old gracefully. None of which include giving up anything important, but of changing the emphasis.

If you come across one of Helen Van Pelt Wilson's old books, I recommend you read them. Good advice is timeless.