A Search for Shade

Still some shade in the McGuane garden

Gardens can change overnight, as many people learned after the great May storm that took down so many large trees.  Those who had treasured their trees for the serene shade they provided, and the cooling they often brought to the house, found themselves in a new situation that could not soon be remedied.

Marty and Jan McGuane’s cool shady garden became a hot sunny garden  less dramatically, but with the same result. “We had a beautiful and very large Star magnolia that we planted on our seventh wedding anniversary. It developed canker a couple of years ago. We pruned off affected parts, but last fall the whole tree had to come down. Then we were on a quest for a new tree,” Jan McGuane said.

“The magnolia provided screening and shade. It is so hot in our yard now,” McGuane said, explaining what they looked for in a new tree. They wanted shade, but they also wanted flowers in the spring and good color in the fall. After discussing many flowering trees they settled on a Japanese Kousa dogwood. Kousas are not susceptible to the diseases that afflict Cornus florida, the familiar dogwood  that blooms early in the spring before the foliage appears.

The Kousa dogwood blooms later than Cornus florida when the tree has already leafed out. The flowers, which are actually long lasting bracts, are pointed instead of being rounded. It has deep reddish fall color and its fruits that resemble raspberries are quickly eaten by birds.

It was a job to take down the large magnolia. McGuane explained that roots are much harder than the rest of the tree and it was another big job to grind them out.. I did not know this about roots, but could see that it made sense. Roots of a large tree need strength to hold that tree in the ground.  This spring the McGuanes planted the six foot Kousa that is doing very well in the same spot.

McGuane's stone wall and path

During the time the tree was failing the McGuanes undertook another project that took two years to complete – the building of a curved stone wall for a ‘raised bed’ and a graceful stone walkway.

Working with six tons of Goshen stone for the walkway was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. At the time Marty was not able to heft the stone because of broken shoulders, but Jan said he had a much better idea of how the stone should be arranged.. “He would chose the stone and indicate how it should be sited in the path. I was the labor, but between the two of us we had a better result than either could have alone. I really like the curves in the garden, the path and the stone wall.”

The curving stone wall is located where there was a small deck.  Last fall planting the garden inside the wall was completed. Bulbs, a variety of sedums and heucheras have settled in nicely. A small shallow metal birdbath ornamented with a dragonfly sits on the wall. “I like ornaments in the garden,” McGuane said. “They are fun, and the dragonfly is a symbol of the Franklin County Hospice; Marty is on the Board.”

There are many curves in the McGuane garden. The back border which started out as a Moon Garden with white plants, curves and draws the eye when they sit out on the deck in evenings. There is a white Cornus florida, honeysuckle and a white Queen of the Prairie (filipendula), scented nicotiana, and pale variegated foliage plants.

There is a round fire pit and round table. “Marty likes to grill and we enjoy sitting out here eating and talking with friends,” McGuane said.

Jan's favorite garden spot

As much as she enjoys the spaces for friends and socializing, she said her favorite spot is in a corner of the garden where she has placed a chair made for her by a friend on a patch of  bluestone she laid herself. She planted a ninebark behind the chair to create a bit of seclusion and included a water bowl as a very small water feature. “I am happy just sitting there,” she said.  We gardeners don’t do enough sitting in our gardens, and we should always provide an enticement that will encourage us to sit and admire the day and our own work.

The McGuane garden is an urban garden, and is relatively small and yet it provides room for solitude and sociability. Sociability will be the order of the day on Saturday,  July 10 from 9 am to 4 pm when the McGuane garden will be one of several private gardens on the Greenfield Garden Club Tour. Tickets and maps for this self guided tour will be available at the Club’s Trap Plain Garden at the intersection of Silver and Federal Streets.

This year the Greenfield Historical Society is participating in the Tour, offering refreshments and opening their exhibits about Mary P. Wells. Wells, the author of the Boy Captive of Deerfield and other historical novels for children, was also the founder of the Greenfield Garden Club!

This tour is one of the major fundraisers for the Garden Club, along with the May plant and garden sale. The Club funds horticultural school projects, town beautification projects, and educational talks, tours, and craft nights as well as a newsletter for its members every month. If you are interested in joining the Club contact President Debran Brocklesby at 413-648-5227.

Between the Rows  July 3, 2010

Don’t forget the Daylily Sales today or the Hawley Garden tour!

Surprises!

The first unpleasant surprise was frost!  The 7 am temperature on our thermometer on the north side of the house, but in the sun, said 42 degrees and I rejoiced. But my husband brought in the cat’s frozen water dish from the welcoming platform. The first shock. Then I went out to open our ad hoc cold frame and the inside was all frosty. I’d better mark this frost date in my Journal.

Jewel Black Raspberry

The second, and final, unpleasant surprise of the morning was finding one of the 10 newly planted and mulched black raspberry plants dug up. Who would do that? The deer have munched the hostas, but there’s not much to eat on a new ‘black cap’.  I will have to rush out and replant this, but I fear the roots may have dried out beyond reviving.

Rangoon rhododendron

Fortunately there was a pleasant surprise. The Rangoon rhododendron’s buds are preparing to open, as are the buds on Boule de Neige.  A tiny red primrose was also blooming this morning. I haven’t been paying very much attention to this bed next to the Cottage Ornee, but I got here in time. Buds of the tree peonies are swelling. It won’t be long.

Beauty of Moscow lilac

The reason I bought Beauty of Moscow is because the fat pink buds are just as beautiful as the big double white flowers. I bought this lilac locally from the Shelburne Farm and Garden Center several years ago.

The lovely blossoms on this ancient apple tree next to the Cottage Ornee are no surprise. The Cottage was sited to nestle between, and almost under, this apple tree and a large high bush cranberry (virburnam), both of which suffered terribly in the Ice Storm of 2008. Yet it still blooms, full of grace and determination.

When I Got Home . . .

Our family tree

I found that terrific windstorms yesterday had knocked over one of our linden trees, Tilia cordata. In 1991 we invited our three daughters and three granddaughters to visit on Memorial Day to each plant a linden tree along the pasture fence to the west of the house. Tracy was almost 10, Tricia was 5 and Caitlin was only 13 months, but they all got their pencil sized linden trees in the ground.  However, time brings change, not all of it good.

Linden trunk

When I left for Norwalk on Sunday, three of those trees were still standing; the other three had come down at different times over the years. In fact the two trees that now remain, at the beginning and end of the row were both damaged, one by a plow and one by insect damage, but both have coppiced, which is to say that new shoots have grown out of the trunk.  They look more like bushes now than trees.

I checked the trunk  of the newly fallen tree which broke off right at ground level. The wood is splintered but it is not rotten.  The winds were described as ‘wind shear’ and ‘mezzo-cyclones’ .  Whatever they were, the winds  came from the north, as usual, and were strong enough to knock the tree down right at the soil level.

Lindens, also called basswood, or lime trees have interesting uses. Basswood is light and good for carving. For those who enjoy flowery or herb teas, ‘lime flower’ tea is really made with the blossoms of linden trees.

Caitlin's many trunked tree

Lindens are beautiful trees, with wondrously fragrant flowers. Unfortunately they seem not be be ideal trees for Heath.  Still, Caitlin’s tree, as well as her mother’s, are healthy in their shrubby shape for the moment.

Good things happened while I was away, too.  The white lilacs and the Sargent crab have begun to bloom. Sitka and Alchemyst roses were delivered as were 10 black raspberries and three new blueberries from Nourse Farm.  My husband heeled them in and tomorrow I will be in the  garden all day planting and watering. Probably weeding, too.

Trees – Glorious Trees – Arbor Day

Rowe landscape

My friend (and noted author), Kathryn Galbraith, explained the importance of trees to community in her beautiful new picture book for children, Arbor Day Square.  I am fortunate to be surrounded by woodland here in Heath, but as a new member of the Bridge of Flowers committee I have been more and more aware of how healthy street trees, some of them quite new, add to the quality of life in a small town like Shelburne Falls, but they also support the economic life of the town. When visitors come to tour the Bridge of Flowers they see that the Bridge is not an isolated element in the town, it is just a symbol of the care the community takes of its resources, of its residents, and of the natural world. Visitors find pleasure in walking through the town, and stopping to shop and snack, and even dine. Not to be crass, but greening a town can lead to putting a little green in townspeople’s pockets.

Does your town have street trees? What do they mean to you?

Celebrate trees and Arbor Day. There is lots of information about Arbor Day in Massachusetts here.

Perfectly Pink

And now to see how Wordlessly beautiful the world is elsewhere click here.

Tulip Time on the Bridge of Flowers

Tulips on the Bridge of Flowers

Tulips of many colors and hues are in full bloom on Shelburne Falls’ Bridge of Flowers. It’s enough to make one stop – or at least slow down – to enjoy the day and be grateful to live in such an area where  going about one’s duties and errand running brings one this kind of pleasure.   And don’t forget you can add a little bit of the Bridge to your own garden by buying a plant or two at the Annual Plant Sale on May 22.  Nine a.m.!

Viburnam

The woods are also beginning to bloom. Even when my errands take me through the hills I look around and see woodland foliage attaining more definition and leaf buds unfurl in ruddy shades of maple, tender green and the bright yellow green of willows. Everywhere I go, magnolias, cherries and trees I can’t even identify are blooming in yards, along the Deerfield River, and at the edges of pastures. Crabapples are just beginning to bloom. Trees, tulips, daffodils – bloom is bustin’ out all over.

At home, bees are buzzing in the wild plum trees that grow around the hen house. I am reminded that I need to get busy as a bee. This week I spent a happy morning moving rotted horse manure from my neighborly supplier and into various garden beds. I pruned roses and planted roses: Hawkeye Belle (pink) on the Rose Bank, and Prairie Harvest (yellow) and Quietness (pale pink)  on the Rose Walk. All three are hardy Griffith Buck hybrids. I also ripped out Pamela, a pink rugosa that was too much like Scabrosa.  I put a couple of the shoots on the Rose Bank and gave the greater part to neighbors who have no roses. Yet.  My  husband revved up the tractor and pulled out a nearly dead spirea – too far gone to try and save. Now I have a beautiful open spot in a Lawn Bed that was looking too crowded.

Trillium Workshop - Planting Containers

The lasagna Front Garden is now completed and I planted my own lettuce and broccoli seedlings in the new bed. Then I celebrated by attending a Trillium Workshops program on planting containers. The three Trillium gardeners, Jeff Farrell, Lisa Newman and Gloria Pacosa, gave a group of excited gardeners information about options in containers, how to make potting mixes, how to keep container plantings alive – and then we all dug in. So to speak. We had brought planters and Trillium supplied a whole range of seedlings, annuals, herbs, dahlias – and ideas. One of the participants noticed that all of the completed and very different arrangements looked great. Which just goes to show that there are many aesthetic approaches and many ways to make something beautiful. Thank you Trillium!

Rain Gardens for Earth Day

The term rain gardens sounds kind of romantic. I imagine something vaguely tropical with exotic blossoms amid rain drenched foliage viewed from a wicker chair on a veranda.  In reality a rain garden can have colorful blossoms, not necessarily exotic, but when the foliage is rain drenched the rain garden is doing its work of infiltration. Infiltration is not a romantic term.

I have heard the term rain garden and seen Master Gardener work sheets on building a rain garden, but until I heard Ed Himlan, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Watershed Coalition (www.commonwaters.org), speak at the Greenfield Public Library last week, I  had no idea of how important rain gardens could be to a community’s department of public works,  the health of our waterways, and our own health.

Statistics can be boring, but the numbers that Himlan brought to the meeting were riveting. He said that 90% of the pollution of our waterways, streams, ponds, lakes and rivers, comes from stormwater runoff. How? By carrying sediment, oxygen depleting materials like leaves,  toxic chemicals from pesticides, herbicides and insecticides, heavy metals like zinc, lead and mercury, and bacteria from pet waste.

Pollution of our waterways is evident to those who use them for recreation. Fishermen will tell you that brook trout are gone. And many of us have been disappointed from time to time that we cannot swim or go boating because the water is too polluted.

In our urban and suburban neighborhoods where there is so much paving, of roads, sidewalks, parking lots, malls and other buildings, there is no place for storm water runoff to go except into the streets and inadequate drainage systems which discharge all these pollutants into local streams and rivers.

Himlan also gave a corresponding positive statistic. He said that rain gardens can keep 96 % or more of stormwater runoff on site, keeping it from polluting waterways, and letting it infiltrate and recharge groundwater supplies. The rain garden will filter and clean the water that will ultimately make its way to local streams.

We who live amid large lawns may think we have done our duty in capturing rainwater, but turf grasses are only about 30% permeable. They form a hard surface that rain penetrates with difficulty.

Those who want to see a rain garden in action can visit the rain garden that was created and planted behind Greenfield Library last year. The process is not complicated.

Remove the sod and dig a hole up to about 18 inches deep – of whatever size you wish. Any flower bed should be of substantial enough size to allow for the planting of shrubs, or even trees as well as perennials.

The depression can first be filled about halfway with coarse sand or small gravel.  Then add a layer of leaf compost, and finally a smaller layer of soil. It is important to leave a sufficient depression, five or six inches, where rain can collect, puddle and slowly sink into the ground. Mosquitoes are not a problem because they thrive in standing water, but a rain garden drains within just a few hours.

Native plants are a good choice for rain gardens because they will also attract indigenous birds and butterflies. It is not hard to find lists of plants suitable for rain gardens on the Internet. Some of my favorites are daylilies, cardinal flower, Joe Pye weed, turtlehead, Queen of the Prairie, sensitive fern and baptisia whose roots grow 25 feet into the ground, leading water deep into the soil.

Some of the trees or shrubs that can be added to a rain garden include river birch, elderberry, winterberry, and summersweet. When you choose plants they should not only tolerate the wet, but be chosen for the amount of sun or shade your site gets.

It is amazing how much water can sheet off a roof during a storm. A good place for a rain garden is where the rain comes off the roof or from a downspout. To protect the house it should be located at least ten feet away from the foundation. If you have drainspouts, additional pipe can be added to direct water into the rain garden.

Clean potable water is taking its proper place as a priority concern. We all need water to maintain life, and to maintain the lives of the plants, animals and fish that make up our diet, as well as the beauties that feed our souls. We need to use a multitude of ways to encourage rain infiltration on site. We can increase the permeable surfaces in our own landscapes by including groundcovers, trees and shrubs as well as flowers and lawn. We can use rainbarrels, although it must be noted that a 55 gallon barrel fills quickly. We can use permeable materials for our driveways and patios.

Himlan is working with his town of Leominster to install rain gardens at municipal sites as well as encouraging their creation on residential properties.

Michigan, Vermont and other states are encouraging the creation of rain gardens. There are now rules for Low Impact Development (LID) where there is new building that will emphasize permeable surfaces – and rain gardens.

Ed Himlan was invited by Ed Gorecki, a Greenfield Public Library Trustee, and the talk was co-sponsored by Greening Greenfield. The large audience was filled with gardeners. I think the town can look forward to some new rain gardens. I’d like to hear about them. If you are planning a rain garden, please email me at commonweeder@gmail.com.

Between the Rows  April 17, 2010

The Mysterious Larch

I just came back from checking the Larch seedling I was given ten days ago. I  watered it the first couple of days, but the recent weather has been perfect for transplanting  -  overcast, cool (but not freezing)  and showery. The tree seems to have settled in well. So far.

Larch trees, tamarack, hackmatack, or more properly Larix laricinia, are that mysterious thing, a deciduous pine tree. This is a native tree that can reach 75 feet tall.  It does not mind cold climates,  wet sites or heavy acidic soil, but does like the sun. Birds like the larch, espcially spruce, blue, and sharp-tailed grouse who eat the needles and buds; pine siskin, crossbills, and other birds eat the seeds released from the small cones.

Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin State Herbarium

As majestic as they are,  in spring they are known for their tiny bundles of inch long  needles that emerge in a tender bright green, such an unusual shade in conifers, and then the gold of autumn. Finally all the needles fall off, leaving only the small pine cones.

If you like a little mystery in your garden, and you have the space, this is the tree for you. The hazy springtime green of  spring is enough to catch the eye of visitors, but they will be amazed or confused by the autumnal gold. Aren’t we lucky that our gardens give us so many opportunities to delight and amaze our visitors?

Our Sustainable Home & Landscape

Jan over at Thanks for 2day is asking us to write about our current and or planned efforts to garden and live sustainably by April 15. There are prizes!  And a chance to learn more about each other, and more ways to live a greener life. Check out Jan’s blog for all information and don’t forget –  Earth Day is coming up – for the 40th year!

I have been documenting, to some degree, our attempts to live more lightly on the earth beginning with a couple of my first posts about Changing One Thing, and switching to cloth grocery bags; and our changing our Christmas lights to LEDs. Since then we have changed many light bulbs to CFLs and replaced our old (29 year old) washer with an energy and water efficient front loader. I now also use the Quick cycle for many types of laundry which uses less electricity and means less wear and tear on the laundry. During as much of the year as possible I use the solar clothes dryer out in back, but I confess that I do still use the electric dryer for several of our New England months every year. We also had to replace our old refrigerator with a more efficient model.

The biggest energy saving project we completed last year was an efficient heating system using propane gass instead of oil. This was a major investment, but it did away with electric water bills as well as oil for heating the house. Part of our heat is supplied by our woodstove. Local wood! We recycle glass, paper, plastic and everything else we can think of. Of course.

I told my husband that I didn’t see how we could join the 10% challenge and lower our electricity bill by another 10%, but he said Yes, we could!  So, there are more CFLs and a new tighter more efficient door in our future. I have solar LED lights out in the garden.

That brings us to the garden which has always been an organic garden. No chemical fertilizers, pesticides or insecticides. I make and use compost. The chickens help by providing us with manure and bedding, as well as eggs. The only other soil amendments I use are  greensand, rock phospate and lime.

We live on 60 acres of woodland and field. Lots of natives to maintain the local ecosystem, without any effort on our part. I have planted some natives, but it is because I want plants that will do well in our area, without a lot of effort on our part. We have been working slowly on eliminating some of the lawn – my husband is all in favor of lessing the lawn mowing effort.  Henry doesn’t mow the field (in the interest of less effort?) until the meadow larks and bobolinks, should there be any, have raised their young.  Can you tell we are not in favor of unnecessary effort?

We are at the point now when the garden is coming to life. Today a friend dug up a Larch (Larix) seedling from his land and gave it to me.

We planted it in back of the Cottage Ornee. We haven’t done much cleaning up back here, but the soil is quite good. We dug a wide hole so the shallow spreading roots would not be crowded and watered the young tree well. The Larch, a deciduous conifer, is a remarkable tree.  The needles turn gold in the autumn and then fall. In the spring they appear in tender green bundles along with the tiny pine cones. The tree is very tall when mature, and very beautiful at every stage.

Scillas and Glory of the Snow

The grass around the newly planted larch is beginning to bloom with scillas and glory of the snow.

Rhubarb shoots

The rhubarb is well up, and the first fine leaves of spinach are up in the herb bed in front of the house. I can see the leaves of the lilacs and roses starting to open and all manner of perennials and herbs are making their presence known. I walked through the garden today with my daughter who was visiting, and working with us on a DVD project for our big upcoming Family Reunion. She was doing all the work but needed us for historical background. Later, friends with their year old daughter joined us for lunch and conversation about Water. Andrea works for the Connecticut Watershed and our daughter Betsy works for the Mass Water Resources Authority – both of them concerned about and working to protect our water.

It struck me as the glorious sunny day progressed that while I work to make the garden, and our household, as sustainable as possible, I am sustained by the garden in turn. The garden feeds our bodies and souls, with vegetables and fruits, beauties for the eye, a sense of our connection to all living things from the weeds in the lawn, to the birds and bugs of the air. The garden is a safe playground for grandchildren and all the friends who visit here, a delightful underpinning for our sustaining family and community life. The Annual Rose Viewing is coming up!

Don’t forget to visit Thanks for 2Day.

The Bridge is Open!

The historic Bridge of Flowers is in bloom!  When I ran across yesterday admiring all the flowers I met three visitors from Australia, taking lots of photos – and who could blame them. I took photos too.  First there is the new sign on the Shelburne side. It was painted by Jane Wegscheider of The Art Garden and hangs from a structure created by Bob Compton of Rising Sun Forge.

Crocuses and scillas

The flowers begin even before you step on the Bridge.

All manner of daffodils – and companions – are in bloom.

The magnolia blossoms are just opening against a perfect spring sky.

The first hellebore has opened. This is just the beginning, and those of us who need to run regular errands in Shelburne Falls can enjoy every shift in the season

We can all also become a Friend of the Bridge of Flowers. All it takes is a small donation and you will have added your support to the Bridge that is the jewel of our community. Check the Bridge of Flowers website for full information.