The Mighty Oak

My neighbor has eight oak trees (genus Quercus) growing in her yard, so it is no wonder that most of the leaves I rake and pick up are from these trees.  As I slave away each autumn, I can’t help but mutter to myself, resentfully, why does anyone would plant so many oaks in one so small property? and why do all the leaves blow over on my property and, would it not be great if some of the trees could be thinned out?  and then, I remind myself of the amazing value to wildlife that this magnificent trees are.

According to data from wildlife ecologists and entomologists, one oak tree supports 534 lepidopteran (moths and butterflies)  species alone! add hundreds of other insect herbivores -all of which are an indispensable food source for our backyard birds- and hundreds  of vertebrate wildlife who forage for acorns and are supported by them thru harsh winters and you can see what an invaluable tree the oak is.  All this data has been painstakingly collected in the Northeast region only, as documented in Douglas W. Tallamy, marvelous book  ”Bringing Nature Home”.  Other important native trees to consider are willows, (genus Salix) Cherry, (genus Prunus) each supporting 456 species, and birch, (genus Betula) 413 species to name a few among the most important in our landscape. Let us celebrate our national tree the mighty oak!

Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth.

– Herman Hesse

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Building a Vegetable Garden

After years of resisting the urge to grow my own vegetables, I finally decided it was time to take the first step.  To me, with already 3/4 of an acre of gardens, the commitment seemed daunting.  I guess the recent reports of contaminated fruit and vegetables from around the country and the knowledge that produce that has been transported great distances and sit in warehouses and store shelves could not be as nutritious or taste as good as something you pick that day, were the convincing factors that prompted me to get started.  Have you ever taken a bite into a carrot just pulled from the soil?  It is heavenly:  flavorful, crisp and sweet… those are the thoughts that have motivated me.

And so the project has started.  The decision to build raised beds was made after careful consideration of the site:  It is a fairly laveled and sunny parcel but it is at the bottom of a moderate hill so it tends to be a wet spot.  With raised beds it is possible to control drainage and soil quality.  Eight boxes, made of 10″x2″ cedar or non-treated wood,  ranging in size from 8′x4′, 6′x4′, and 4′x4′, with three feet of space all around.  I lined them with 10 ply newspaper layers to kill the grass only inside the boxes for now.  Here is how they look after 2″ of compost went in.

Next, they are going to be filled with mushroom manure and will sit for the winter.  In my area deer are very active at this time of the year and all winter, so planting anything on the boxes before the fence goes in,

will be like inviting them to keep on coming.  The plan is to build a fence all around the beds very early in spring before the planting season starts.

So, October was spent putting one garden to bed and starting a big project for the next growing season.  I love working outside on the crisp days of autumn.  I feel like if I could hold on to the light of day and make it last as long as I can, winter will delay, we know that will not happen, but I used the time well:   Compost piles were harvested to start the vegetable boxes and make room for the mulched leaves and all the scraps from the perennial gardens that will turn into soil amendments for the beds next fall.  Perennials were divided and replanted and after getting great deals at some of the local nurseries, new shrubs purchased and planted.

“Open your eyes that you may see the wonder that around you lies; it will enrich your every day and make you glad and kind and wise”   -Emma Boge Whisenand-

 

 

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Autumn joys and chores

Sitting outside in the balmy weather, I watched as leaves fell like a magical golden shower.  There was a specific sound too,  like hundreds of whisperings being carried past me by the wind.  Truly one of those quiet moments that happen so unexpectedly in the garden.  I had to shake myself to focus on the myriad of chores that come with the season.

Enlarging and widening perennial and shrub beds.  See a super easy way to get started here.  In shrub and perennial beds specially, this allows more room to accommodate for naturally growing shrubs.  It is also a very good thing to make your beds larger and diminish the amount of lawn.  Wildlife benefit from a variety of plants and rely on the food and shelter they provide.  I call large beds like these, ‘wildlife corridors’ as they are the highways that allow species to move thru the garden in the safety of cover from predators.

Houseplants are now ready to come back inside.  Here are some steps to follow before you bring them in.  I will add, it is better to bring them in before the heat is turned on inside.  This will reduce the shock of the change in their environment.

Recycle those leaves!  What a great resource nature provides, free!  If you have a large garden, these bounty can save you on compost, mulch, and plants. With a mulching mower, my husband runs over most of the leaves in the lawn.  I then collect all that is left and place then in my compost pile.  They are a good amendment for the soil, can be used as leaf mulch, or after they are shredded, can be left on the shrub beds for the winter just as nature intended.  By spring add mulch right on top for a more uniform neat look.  I have been doing this for some time as I write about it here

 

“A woodland in full color is awesome as a forest fire, in magnitude at least, but a single tree is like a dancing tongue of flame to warm the heart.”  ~Hal Borland

 

More on Deer Resistant Plants Part IV. Evergreens.

Evergreens are the bones of every landscape design.  They are your backdrop canvas and your focus.  I want them to thrive and I want them left alone.  No one finds it attractive to keep large plants wrapped in chicken wire! Selecting deer resistant plants will save all of us a lot of extra work and aggravation.  Here are some of my favorites:

Cephalotaxus h ‘Fastigiata’ or Japanese Plum Yew, is quite an asset to any garden, It does well in dry shade, is a slow grower so it stays within bounds in a small space.  Grows five to six feet tall and two feet wide with an upright vase shape.  Very attractive for those hard to fill spaces  and since it is an evergreen, excellent for hedges year round.  Take a closer look here.

Boxwood, (genus Boxus) encompasses a huge family of some 70 different varieties in the form of evergreen shrubs as small as 12 inches and trees growing as tall as 20 feet.  They are used in home and public gardens all over the world. Some are used as specimens and many are very suitable for hedges and topiaries.

 

Buxus sinica (syn. Buxus microphylla var. sinica): Leaves

 

There are two main species of boxwood shrubs commonly found as ornamentals: buxus sempervirens, or american boxwood, and buxus microphylla, or littleleaf boxwood. American Boxwood and its Cultivars The American Boxwood, also known as the Common Boxwood, is a wide-spreading species with dense, leathery, deep green foliage. Though it can grow to over 20 feet in height, it is typically kept to between five and 10 feet. The American Boxwood and its cultivars are somewhat more tolerant to cold than the littleleaf. Among the American boxwood cultivars, suffruticosa, or the English Boxwood, is especially popular, known for its short stature. The handsworthiensis is a durable, upright growing cultivar commonly planted as a hedge. The aureo-variegata features striking yellow variegation in its foliage, while the argenteo-variegata’s green leaves are emblazoned with white variegation. The angustifolia has enlarged foliage and is typically grown in a tree form. Littleleaf Boxwood and its Cultivars The littleleaf boxwood is a short, low-growing species that reaches no further than four feet in height at maturity. It also grows to four feet in width, creating a rounded shape. It has somewhat smaller leaves than the American boxwood varieties. The littleleaf boxwood is well-suited to hotter environments. There are several popular cultivars of the littleleaf boxwood. The Kingsville Dwarf is an exceptionally low-growing variety, reaching no more than 12 inches high. The Wintergreen is known for maintaining its deep green color all winter long, while other varieties of both American and littleleaf boxwood dull in color during the winter. The Korean littleleaf boxwood has an open growth habit, in contrast to the other densely-filled varieties.

According to the United States National Arboretum, Boxwood leaves contain alkaloids that are distasteful or poisonous to deer and they do not browse boxwood. It is one of the few evergreen shrubs that is usually not damaged by deer.

I am determined to increase my plantings of both Japanese Plum Yews and Boxwoods in my garden,  I have heard fellow designers are putting hedges of low growing boxwoods around specially vulnerable plants to discourage browsing, now there is an attractive ‘cage’!

“On every stem, on every leaf,… and at the root of everything that grew, was a professional specialist in the shape of grub, caterpillar, aphis, or other expert, whose business it was to devour that particular part.”  ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

Summer Days in the Garden

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Sweet days of summer, all around me there is a profusion of color and form. Wildlife bursting with activity and my heart soars at the beauty of it all…

Beat the Heat and Humidity.

Coreopsis,Veronica, and Echinacea.

We are experiencing a major heat wave. This morning I heard that there is a heat advisory for 29 states in the North east and south of the country, with temperatures in the 90 to the 100 degree mark!  This is not necessarily bad for your garden, as long as it gets at least one inch of rain or watering per week.  A simple rain gage or even wide glass jars or can in between your beds will give you a close idea of how much rain or water your plants are receiving.  When you do water, water deeply and directly to the roots, avoid giving flash showers and wetting the entire plant.  Watering early in the day is also recommended to give the plant the moisture it needs to make it thru the heat of the day.  More tips on watering  here.  Most important in extreme heat, for the sake of water conservation is to water your trees and shrubs first.  Next, your perennial borders and last, your grass.  Grass has the amazing quality of going dormant when water is scarce,  it does not die,  just turns brown and rests, as soon as it starts raining again it will come back.  If you are one of those people who is not overly concerned of a little brown on the grass, let it go.    More water on lawns actually promotes shallow roots which weaken the grass and makes it more likely to die in extreme conditions.

Dianthus also thrives in dry heat.

Work must go on in the garden.  Perhaps our chores are a bit lessened in the heat of the summer.  I have narrowed my chores to some light weeding, watering and deadheading.  I try to go out early in the day or in the evening after the sun is low in the horizon.  Both times are my favorite in the garden:  Birds and other wildlife are very active and the morning chorus and going ons are in full swing. Weeding is important because this opportunistic plants rob your perennials of needed nutrients and water.  Deadheading keeps the plants producing blooms and contributes to the overall beauty and health of the plant.

“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water”.

LORAN EISELY, The Immense Journey, 1957

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A wonderful new hybrid

Rudbeckia hirta 'Prairie Sun'

I came across this little gem at one of my favorite nurseries las month.  Black- Eyed Susan ‘Prairie Sun”  It has the most amazing blooms with a light yellow-green center.  It was in a four inch pot and very small, but here it is a month later and I am delighted by the size of the bright cheery flowers.   It is deer resistant, (so far) but the rabbits do seem to have an appetite for it.  I had to protect it from day one as it got eaten to the ground the first day!

“Each flower is a soul blossoming out to nature.”
Gerard De Nerval

Oh Deer!

Digitalis purpurea

By popular demand, I am expanding my writings on deer resistant plants at least those that my local herds are not now eating.  It is said if a deer is hungry enough it will go after anything, unless they had have a very bad experience with a toxic plant.  If you do not have pets or very small children that are known to experiment by eating plants,  here are some suggestions:

Aconitum or Monkshood.  This is a wonderfully ornamental plant with deeply lobed leaves and deep blue blooms borne on very tall spikes in the summer. Highly toxic however, the use of gloves is recommended when working around this plant, specially Aconitum Nepellus a European native, known to contain some of the most potent poisons of any garden plant.  I must add that despite all the literature in the subject, I have handled this plant quite a few times with no adverse effects.  Deer or  rabbits have never touch it.

Digitalis or Foxglove.  Represented by many species, some biennial and some perennial forming semi-evergreen rosettes.  Flowers are showy but short lived in the perennial species.  The popular biennial, Digitalis purpurea,  generally dies after one season, but reseeds in different parts of the garden.  Unfortunately the offspring may be of unpredictable color.  It is best to buy fresh plants or seeds every year.   Plant leaves are a source of the drug digitalis and are highly poisonous.

Actea and Cimicifuga or Baneberry, Bugbane. Rather tall herbaceous perennials with large ferny attractive leaves.  The flowering stems are tall, upright, slender spikes with many small flower heads that bear dry pods but in some species now known as Actaea Racemosa, produce fleshy white berries. Most species are harmful if eaten and are known to cause skin irritations.  for more deer resistant plants click here.

 

 

How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence.  ~Benjamin Disraeli

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Blooming in May

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I went out this morning with the best intentions for doing some serious work in the garden, I found out very soon that it was too hot to work outside today!  so I took pictures instead and ducked in to enjoy the air conditioned house.  Here is what is blooming in my garden in  May!

Container Gardening

A garden in an old tree stump.

Driving around town I come across so many ‘commercial landscapes’ – wonderful clean edging, neatly trimmed shrubs,  impeccable lawns, –  It all feels so impersonal somehow.  But add a few container plantings to these landscapes and the entire scene is transformed!  Colorful containers are like a ray of sunshine that attracts the eye and brightens the garden.  The plant combinations are as limitless as the color schemes, even black flowered Petunias and Violas, more on  that here,  which are all the rage.

Petunias, Heliotrope 'Fragrant delight', Sutera 'Gold and pearls' .

Whatever your style, from formal plantings to creative or funky container combinations, now is the time to put them together!  Some of my favorite annuals:  Heliotrope, with its purple fragrant clusters, Calibrachoa in an amazing array of colors, Sutera, a trailing beauty available in pinks, purples and white.  Do you have a favorite annual for containers?

Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity.  ~John Ruskin

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