Oakleaf Hydrangea 'Gatsby'

I have vowed to add my hydrangea to my yard, especially other species than macrophylla. I have always admired the oakleaf types because of their beautiful foliage, but was worried they would not prove reliably hardy nor bloom in my garden.

Along comes 'Gatsby' which is quick to flower and the flower begins turning color ever before paniculata 'Quick Fire'. I bought my cultivar from Bluestone Perennials and it came as a 2 1/2" potted slip last year. I up-potted it and kept it close by the water spigot until late summer when I planted it out in my hosta garden, which along with other hydrangea, a pagoda dogwood and a species azalea is looking more like a woodland garden these days. It has grown remarkable fast (almost 3' feet tall) and flowered this year (a single bloom). I look forward to it filling in its space where it get only about 4 hours of dappled sunlight a day. I water it when I can, but it is at the far end of my hose.

Pagoda dogwood with its porcelain vine-like berries

Quick Fire hydrangea and in the foreground a species azalea

View of a Garden: Garden Walk 2013

Pagoda dogwood 'Golden Shadows', the other pictures can be seen by clicking on the "Read More"

On Saturday, 240 new sets of eyes saw my garden, most for the very first time.  This after Wednesday's Master Gardeners walk through of around 50 people.  These (pictured) are the plants and things I was asked most about.

In general, I was surprised at the level of discernment among this group of garden walkers.  Many of them were gardeners themselves, although vegetable or fruit gardeners, so these items, although not the most interesting and not the coolest things in my yard garnered a lot of attention.  But overall, lot of them asked if mine was a "real" garden?

I thought this was the very best question I was asked, although the first time I was asked it, I was a bit perplexed.  I stopped a moment and digressed a bit.  I told them the whole garden walk process starts almost a year in advance (just in case they didn't know).  As it was, there are always things that a gardener plans to do and stuff that we should be doing that doesn't get done.  The idea that my garden would be on the walk pushed me to finally deal with some of those issues.

I went on to explain how the long border had originally been created ten years ago, with newspaper, and wood chips, and leaves raked and collected from the library lawn a block away, as I had NO trees at the time.  I told them when I came to this lot I wanted to garden as organically as possible.  I told them how I lugged those leaves home and mowed them into the beds for a couple years.  How I composted everything organic I could find.  And how I still battle the terrible quack grass that is my lawn and how it runs from lawn to beds. And, how I had made the decision not to use Round-up because I have my own well and the garden sits on top of my drinking water, how I could probably dig my next well with a spoon, I'm so close to that water table.

I talked about how I don't use lawn chemicals, and the Village Maintenance Person dumps wood chips for me and how they are incorporated into the shrub and alley border, how I compost in place, everything but quack grass, weeds with seed heads, and really big sticks.   I talked about how when I dig a wider bed or a new area or remove sod I find the equivalent of beach sand, great drainage, but...

I talked about how I felt clean crisp bed lines is what draws a border into one cohesive "all."  and yet how the early long border has a couple ton of rock dragged in from my father's local dairy farm and how dragging it back would be too onerous, but how do you deal with it?

I talked about how I had redone the rock border 3 times in ten years.  First to weed it and raise the rock up as it sinks over time.  Second, to again raise it up and make an attempt to prohibit the quack grass entry into my long border.   I had put down REALLY heavy landscape fabric only to have the quack use it as a rooting mat and weaving itself into an un-weed-able, impenetrable barrier.

And how last fall I had dug everything up in a 20 foot section at a time and threw it on two tarps and laid down the rock yet again and replanted the long border.  And finally I had come across what I now think is "The Solution": a six inch deadzone between the rock and the lawn.   Finally, a clean bedline!

I was asked if I fertilize?  This year I did.  The last two years, I did not.  I did not fertilize my lawn.  I mostly fertilized roses and clematis.  I didn't fertilize my veggies.  Some years I mulch with compost; some years with wood chips.  The year I exclusively used wood chips I added chemical nitrogen.  I used to fertilize with cow manure, until there seemed to be too much of a thistle problem at my dads.

My worst weed?  Quack grass, clover, and turkey foot.  I seldom see creeping Charlie-- when I do it is all hands on deck. I don't tolerate violets and I am still eradicating the last of the lady bells, code name "campanula horribilis".


Do I spray?  No fungicides, I use 1:1 2 % milk to water and spray it every 3-5 days.  Yes, fungal stuff has been terrible this year, but my ninebark had that fungal disease that tends to kill ninebarks here and it appears nearly clean of it at this point.  Vigilance and good tool sanitation is key.

I explained the village's composting/chipping program, and the "too mulch of a good thing problem".  I told how I trim my shrubs and throw the trimmings and raked pine needles under shrubs in the long border.  I told how the duff under the iconic white pine is so fluffy, I can dig planting holes with my fingers because I never remove much there, just add mini pine bark nuggets each May.


And I talked about starting my own seedlings, cuttings and overwintering most of the annuals they see.

These were more the types of questions I had hoped to have.

I have been sweating the ornamentation aspects.  I overheard several comments on how I nailed it with my signature green apple paint and ultra-modern "green" squiggle.

Spring Indoors and Surveying the Winter's Damage

Growing from seed has been so uplifting this winter, I have been thinking about growing some more unusual flowering tropicals from seed over the summer.

Did you see that lambs quarter growing with the salvia!  I didn't either, until I looked at this picture!

Most of the snow fall of yesterday has gone.  We had some rain overnight and fortunately it is warm enough it didn't turn into a sleet storm.  Also, although the ground is frozen still in many spots, several micro-climates around the yard are sufficiently warm any bulbs planted within the cold dark reaches of the soil are thinking about it.  I planted a bunch of tulips and grape hyacinths in pots so I could use them in the spring in pots and planters (like the ones fastened to my deck windows) last fall.  I'd like to bring them out to where they could start pulling in the sun's rays, but they are still frozen to the ground.

My plants under the lights are getting ahead of me.  Generally, I can set some of the trays out (of spring onions, spinach, or some cold hardier annuals) to harden off, because the soil is warm, closer to 50 degrees, and cover with a make-shift green house made of plexi or plastic and brick.  Not this year.  That is messing with my timing of pricking out and potting on of seedlings, which requires more space per plant. I'd also like to start some more seeds and take some more cuttings, but I'm running out of room.

I also like to approach my spring clean up in easy stages.  I'd be too stiff and my hands too soft after the long winter to cut back and rake out all of my garden beds in a single day. I start around the house, concentrating on the deck area, and the street view.  It seems I get around to the side where all my roses are about the time they begin to think of blooming, although I do trim the roses themselves back as soon as possible in the spring so they don't waste their spring growth on the bits I will prune off later.

This year I actually trellised my 'Red Blaze' rather than let it flow across the ground behind the Knock Outs.  It should be a nicer show in June and July than this.

And you can see I have a bit of house painting to do where snow sits against my house in the winter!

One of my other climbers, William Baffin, was moved to trellising against the fence.  I have never been a big trelliser until I saw the difference it made with a climber tied up across the way in the yard of my neighbor.  After seeing his 'John Cabot' trellised I tied up my on my front porch also. (In this zone there are a limited number of climbers.  The Canadian Explorer Series being the majority.  it's no surprise, my neighbor and I would have the same roses in our yards.  They are almost the only roses which will do well here.) Many more blooms and a much bigger impact, I recommend it for any sprawlers or climbers you may have,

So trellising it is.


I fear for winter damage, too.  I already know my spruce at the back corner of my lot have taken a hit.  It appears rabbits have eaten of just the tiny leaf buds on my Golden Shadows dogwood.  I have never seen such peculiar damage from rabbits.  I have a pagoda, cornus alternifolia, out front and have not suffered this sort of rabbit damage there. That hosta bed pagoda is beautiful in form and shape.

I don't want to look at the blueberries.  I'm just not that brave yet. Winter has been long and cold.  I also have to inspect my fruit trees for tent worm egg capsules, a reminder for all of you to do so.  Here are some good pictures of what to look for.

Drupe of cornus alternifolia, pagoda dogwood. (Picture taken last fall.)

Finally, this spring, I should be moving this 'Bloodgood' Japanese maple.  I have no idea where, though. (Picture last fall.)

This boulevard cypress has received little winter damage this year.  It seems little changed from this picture.  Often the amount of trimming and shearing needed renders it more poodle-like and less plant-like.  The soft, blue, needles have been so tactile and gorgeous, that even having to stomach its poodle-days each summer has made it  a worth-while and comment-worthy addition to my yard (however poorly sited (under my bathroom window, and thus on top of the sewer line.  I guess I feel keeping its top topiaried (in a manner of speaking) may discourage excessive root growth as well.  At least I hope so!

A lot of my smaller conifers look smucked flat by the weight of the snow. I'm not sure what to do about that.  I don't want to create shelter around them for mice and voles.  Mice and voles like nothing better than to crawl in amongst protection of a small conifer or a rose and girdle that beauty over winter for you, killing it.

Blue Flax

One of my indoor gardening projects has been to grow this beauty from seed.  In 2011, I mistakenly weeded this out in late fall cleaning up my scree garden.  Eek! I am really happy to report that I may have a nice drift of these beauties, which only bloom until about 1 PM or so, but for a good two months!  I can handle that, but because of this non-blooming aspect, you seldom see them for sale in a retail setting.

I have my work cut out for me this spring.  Someday soon, I will be able to feel dirt on my fingers and the sun on my back, rather than dirt on the grow room floor.