Bloom Day After Buffalo

Crimson Pirate Daylily

After days of talking to the 70 other bloggers who gathered in Buffalo for a preview of the Buffalo Garden Walk I have a whole new appreciation for Bloom Day, created and hosted by Carol (who I got to meet!) of May Dreams Gardens.  For other mortals talk about the weather is banal chit chat, but for us bloggers, and all gardeners, it is shop talk. It is a topic filled with endless fascination – and we see the effects on Bloom.

Sweet peas

We saw daylilies in full bloom everywhere in Buffalo, but mine were just starting, in spite of the odd weather this spring which seemed to push the season two weeks early. My daylily bank is looking very colorful right now.  On the other hand, Renee’s sweet peas are just starting too.  They are sturdy though – growing in the midst of weeds and cauliflower.

Achillea 'Terra Cotta'

I’ve fallen in love with Achillea.  Terra Cotta is a new variety I planted this spring in the new Front Garden, right next to the yellow loosestrife.

I have other pink achilleas.

Achillea 'The Pearl'

Achillea ‘The Pearl’ is useful in flower arrangements.

Bee Balm

I planted this clump of scarlet bee balm in the new cutting garden near the vegetable garden where it is very happy.

Hydrangea 'Mothlight'

I love the flowers of ‘Mothlight.’

Hydrangea - oakleaf

Last summer I bought a tiny oakleaf hydrangea at Nasami.  It is still only about 16 inches high – but blooming!  This hydrangea, as well as ‘Limelight’, and ‘Pinky Winky are planted between the peony hedge and the road.  When they get bigger, as hydrangeas do, they will be another solution to lawn eradication.  They will be mulched and the lawn will be gone.

Phlox 'Blue Paradise'

I bought ‘Blue Paradise’ at the Bridge of Flowers plant sale. It is a stunner on the Bridge. It is a part of my new blue and white section which includes delphiniums that bloom earlier. You can see the daisies and white cosmos here as well. I had not anticipated how nice it would look against the cotinus.

Hawkeye Belle

Some of the roses are still blooming. In addition to Hawkeye Belle, I have Thomas Affleck, Double Red Knockout, The Fairy, White Meideland, Ghislaine de Feligonde, Betty Prior, Champlain, Apart, Martin Frobisher, Leda , Mrs. Doreen Pike, and the farmgirls.

Visit May Dreams Gardens to see what is blooming in Heath, Buffalo and everywhere!

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!

Hydrangeas Love Water

Hydrangea 'Mothlight'

Yesterday the Toronto gardeners and sisters Helen and Sarah Battersby, reminded me that hydrangeas like a lot of water.  ”Hydra” is right there in its name so it shouldn’t be too hard to remember.  Fortunately, my ‘Mothlight’ hydrangea purchased a number of years ago from Nasami Farm (before it belonged to the New England Wildflower Society )  was planted where I do some watering. The bush itself got much bigger than I expected!

'Mothlight' blossom

I bought ‘Mothlight’ because I like the airiness of the blossom. I am not sure that it qualifies as as a lacecap, but the flower does not have the density of the mopheads.

Oakleaf hydrangea 6-30

Last summer I bought the native oakleaf hydrangea (shown above) from Nasami Farm. It is still hardly more than a foot tall, but you can see it beginning to blossom. I later bought a ‘Limelight’ hydrangea from Shelburne Farm and Garden. Their purchase, and planting behind the peonies was part of my lawn eradication project.  I expect both of these bushes to reach substantial size, not only tall, but more importantly for my purposes, they will have a wide spread.  My plan is that ultimately the hydrangeas will nearly fill the space between the peonies and the road.  Last summer was very rainy and even if I had been thinking about how thirsty hydrangeas are I wouldn’t have needed to water them.  However they are planted in a spot that drains very well and is quite dry.  This spring I added a ‘Pinky Winky’.  Water is essential for good bloom  I  will water all three well today.

Sun and Blooms

After a full week of rain and weather so cold we had a fire in the woodstove every day, the sun is shining. You can see the big rose bushes are weighed down with rain. I can hardly tell where Rachel’s rose, Celestial and Ispahan begin and end.

Rachel's Rose

However burdened they are, rain soaked roses are very beautiful. I have written about Rachel’s rose before. Click here for her full history.

Pink Grootendorst

I planted Pink Grootendorst on the new Rose Bank last spring and she is doing very well. Lots of buds.  She is a rugosa and should grow to a good size. I love the little carnation-like pinked petals.

Mount Blanc

Pink Grootendorst has little very frilly petals; Mount Blanc has large and more elegant petals. I love this rugosa which is so big and hardy. Fragrant too.

Mock Orange

It is because of fragrance that I planted this Mock Orange right at the corner of the Cottage Ornee where we can enjoy it inside, as well as outside. It is now a substantial bush, more than six feet tall, and just loaded with fragrant flowers.

Peonies

Many of the peonies are fragrant as well. Because the Annual Rose Viewing is always the last Sunday in June I have many late varieties so that there will still be peonies as well as roses on that day. They are such showy flowers. Most of them are shades of pink or white, but I have a couple of deep red ones, and this spring I planted Coral Charm.  Ten peonies of the 30 or so are in bloom right now. I think I will have to wait another year for Coral Charm.

Green Lotus

Green Lotus is the one ‘odd’ peony in my Peony Hedge, but I just love it.  I showed Summer Carnival in Kathy Puckett’s garden and I am going to try and get one this fall. It has a similar flower form, but in pink and white stripes. You knew I wouldn’t be able to resist pink and white stripes, didn’t you?

This is a summer blooming azalea that is planted in the Lawn Bed. It is three years old now and has not grown very much so far, but it certainly does know how to bloom.

Of course there are many other flowers in bloom right now including daisies and buttercups in the field, but here is a list: AdditionalRoses – Queen of Denmark, Scabrosa, Mabel, Double Red Knockout, Hawkeye Belle, Buckland Rose, Mrs. Doreen Pike, Darts Dash, Leda, John Cabot, Belle Poitvine, Apart, Alba Semi-Plena, Rugosa alba, Rosa glauca, de la Grifferai, Ghislane de Feligonde, Harrison’s Yellow and the  mystery rose.  The rose I have been calling the Apothecary rose is also blooming and running out into the field, but I no longer think I have the correct identification.

The white, and the purple Siberian irises are still blooming, but are almost done. Joan Elliot campanula, salvias, dianthus and pink coral bells are also blooming. Often amid the weeds. Weeding is on the schedule today.

Carol, thank you so much for hosting this wonderful Bloom Day. I love seeing what else is blooming across the country.

William Baffin – on Tour

William Baffin

This is not my William Baffin rose! Alas!  I visited Deirdre Bonifaz whose garden is on the Franklin Land Trust Garden tour on June 26 & 27. Her garden has everything – blooming trees, blooming shrubs, fruit trees, perennials, vegetables, herbs, AND roses!

We went around identifying the roses when we could, and admiring them always.  Deirdre could hardly believe that I had managed to kill a William Baffin rose.  You can see what hers looks like. When Nina Newington was living here and helping Deirdre she insisted on building a sturdy support to hold the William Baffin. It looks kind of like a ’short’ pergola, but I should point out that the rose is at least  ten feet tall.  The support was about as tall as I am.

I have never seen a rose like this, even though William Baffin, one of the Canadian Explorer hybrids, is known for being a vigorous grower. Deirdre bought hers from the Pickering Nursery in Canada and said their is no problem with the plants crossing the border.

This year’s Franklin Land Trust tour focuses on gardens and farms in Conway and Whately. Please contact the office at 413.625.9151 to purchase tickets or email: lalvord@verizon.net

There are other roses in this beautiful garden including climbing roses on a pergola.

White climber

Based on its size and fierce thorns we think this pink mystery rose might be Jens Munk.

The  roses are spectacular, but there are more subtle beauties as well. I loved this little yellow columbine.

Columbine

On Your Mark . . .

Get Set . . .

And buy!  Gardeners are allowed to browse the hundreds of perennials laid out at the Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale – but no touching!  Not until the starting bell rings out.  This year the young woman in charge of the Annuals from LaSalle’s in Whately said for the first time she had two women poised over a single flat of gorgeous rich purple geraniums. They did not come to blows; they shared, half and half.

Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale

The sale runs til noon and committee members were on duty along with Carol Delorenzo, our Head Gardener, to answer questions about the suitability of a plant for a particular site, and share tips on plant care.

Bridge of Flowers Entry - Shelburne Side

I stopped at the Bridge on my way to the Sale for inspiration – which begins right at the entry.  I knew I would need to get home right after the sale to begin planting, which still continues.  I cleared out a spirea shrub that was not doing well and now I have a big new space that I am filling with blue and white flowers, Connecticut Yankee delphiniums, Blue Paradise phlox, White Seashell cosmos, annual light blue lobelia, Snow in summer and a white filipendula.  For a little accent I planted two beautiful golden Troillus globe flowers and a yellow yarrow.  Other perennials have been planted in other beds.  Most of the annuals will go in containers. Stay tuned.

Wisteria 5-19

One of the pleasures of the week has been watching the wisteria begin to bloom.

Wisteria 5-23

As the sun was  setting last night the air was filled with the sweet perfume of the wisteria. What a way to end the week.

Rain Drenched Pink

Guan Yin Mian tree peony

This  is the day I wait for every year – the first tree peony blossoms. I bought this one because of the name which translates as Guan Yin’s face. Guan Yin is the goddess of compassion and I am sure her face is as beautiful as this blossom. Tree peony flowers look fragile, but the plants are extremely hardy.

I vaguely remember buying a bag of pink tulip bulbs last fall, and then sticking them in any old where – and promptly forgot about them.  They were a wonderful surprise when they came up this spring. Maybe if I look through my Journal I’ll be able to find their name.  All the plants loved the inch of rain we had all day yesterday.

Beauty of Moscow lilac

The fat pink buds of Beauty of Moscow have very slowly been opening because the weather has been so cool, but I think today’s promised heat will bring an explosion of bloom.

How to Plant a Shrub

A $50 hole

In the olden days planting wisdom said you needed a $5 hole for a fifty cent plant.  Inflation is everywhere. Now when I guy my $35 Proven Winners Pinky Winky hydrangea I know I need at least a $50 hole. This was a lesson I gave my daughter last weekend when I learned she was much given to taking out a shovelful of soil, sticking a plant in and considering the job done.  My $50 hole is 24 inches square.  And it is none too big at that.

I couldn’t show the depth graphically, but this hole is 15 inches deep.

Compost

Having a $50 hole means you have room to fill in with good compost that has a little lime added to it. I also always add a handful of rock phosphate and greensand on general principles when I plant.

I mixed the compost with some of the soil and refilled the hole sufficiently so that when I put in the hydrangea the soil level in the pot is just slightly below the soil level in the lawn.   Sometimes it will be necessary to loosen the roots of your plant, but this time the roots were not pot bound at all.

As I fill in the enriched soil and tamp it down, I also water well.  You’ll notice that I did think ahead and put out a piece of plastic to hold the soil I removed from the hole so that I wouldn’t leave too much of a mess on the lawn.

Pinky Winky Hydrangea

All done. Pinky Winky joins the oak leaf hydrangea and Limelight that I planted last year. As they mature they will make a 25 foot long hedge of sorts.  I am slowly eliminating the lawn around these shrubs so that ultimately they will be underplanted with groundcovers. At the moment I have a swath of barren strawberry that is coming along.  Spring bulbs will come up through the ground cover.

Barren strawberry

Barren strawberry, Waldsteinia, has yellow strawberry-like flowers in May but the foliage is attractive all year long. I bought these native plants at Nasami Farm in Whately which is open Thursday through Sunday into early June.

Frost Damage Discovered

When we were at Betsy’s house yesterday we looked at some shrubs that we all thought were dead. The leaves were twisted, curled and brown. We were having trouble identifying what the shrubs were until we found one that had a few undamaged leaves. Oh yes, Betsy said. Magnolias.  Well, the shrubs aren’t dead, they were hit with frost, and with luck they will recover. At our house we realized that the kiwi on the shed was also frosted. The vines closest to the shed wall are OK, as are the vines farthest away from the corner of the building where the wind is the least fierce.  The kiwi has never been damaged by frost before.  Like Betsy’s magnolias it will recover. I was going to try and give it a good pruning anyway.  The hard frost last week didn’t bother most of our plants; and inexplicably hurt a plant we never considered particularly tender.  Sometimes Mother Nature seems unpredictable

Gardening There – and Here

Betsy and me in The Secret Garden

If there is anything more enjoyable than an afternoon working in one’s own garden, it is spending an afternoon working with a daughter in her garden.  Yesterday we visited Betsy for a garden consultation, nursery shopping and planting day. Betsy has done some landscaping around her house which is built on sand that hides many many stones. In fact the house is directly across the road from a granite quarry whose boulders form a major element of the landscaping. However,  she has not really been a gardener. That is changing. We went to Mahoney’s huge nursery, which is overwhelming, but between us we picked out an array of plants that she likes – and that are suitable for different areas of the property.

Betsy - finished with planting

This little sunny garden is not visible from the house and Betsy calls it her Secret Garden. It is filled with spring bloomers, Siberian and bearded iris, creeping phlox and ajuga. Quoting The Nonstop Garden: A Step-by-step Guide to Smart Plant Choices and Four Season Designs by Stephanie Cohen and Jennifer Benner, I helped Betsy choose plants that would extend her bloom season. I was so happy when I saw her light up at the sight of a pot of daisies. “I love daisies!” she said.  We bought daisies and pink echinacea, and a bargain pot of coreopsis, and a red bee balm I brought from my own garden.

Roadside garden

One of the appeals and challenges of Betsy’s property is the little woodland. It provides privacy for the house – and is home to a number of pink lady slippers!  Betsy is planting the western edge of the woods with shade lovers, like hostas and now a new bleeding heart with golden foliage, but the area between the woods and the busy road has been a bit of a desert wasteland. The soil is sand and stone in equal measure. The area gets shade from the quarry on the other side of the road and the woods. It only gets sun until about 1 in the afternoon at this time of the year.  With Henry hard at work digging $50 holes, we planted a pink mountain laurel, a big pink astilbe and Walker’s Low nepeta. The lesson for Betsy was stressing the importance of $50 holes for planting, loosening the tight roots of the potted plants, and  using a mixture of  two parts composted cow manure, 1 part peat moss and 1 part of the removed sandy soil around the plants. Unfortunately, Betsy couldn’t find any commercial compost makers in her area and has to make do with bags of composted cow manure – and we used a lot!  The final part of the lesson was deep watering and an admonition to keep watering these plants while they settle in and get established. This is especially important considering her sandy soil.

Rory, waterer and mouse hunter

Our grandson Rory, 13, was the major waterer. He doesn’t like spiders, but he was fascinated by the mouse that he found living in the hose reel. He also helped moving loads with the lawn tractor. There was work for us all.

We left Betsy to plant her new herbs. She was delighted and amazed to learn that some herbs are perennials. She bought peppermint, sage, marjoram and thyme. And a pot of Italian parsley. I left her with two big clumps of forget me nots from my garden. It was a memorable day.

Naturally I could not go to Mahoney’s without buying something for myself. Today I plant a healthy looking Pinky Winky hydrangea from Proven Winners. This will finish my hydrangea hedge. It will take a while to fill out, of course, but the oakleaf hydrangea, Limelight and Pinky Winky will make a 25 foot long hedge, underplanted with barren strawberry and daffodils. The daffodils are already there and the barren strawberry is slowly moving across the area.

So it’s been a busy week with the purchase of astrantia, echinacea, heucharella, baptisia and astilbe for my own garden as well as the gift of Pocahontas, Excel and Maiden’s Blush lilacs from my friend Jerry. I am planting and weeding and fertilizing. It’s spring!  More plant shopping at the Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale on Saturday, May 22 in Shelburne Falls!  And more shopping at the Greenfield Garden Club Extravaganza on May 29.  There is always room for more plants.