SEPTEMBER – My Gardens Survived Hurricane Irene!

What a month it has been! Who would ever imagine that we could experience an earthquake and a major hurricane in one week here in New England? As Irene made its way up the coast to Massachusetts, I feverishly brought in all things breakable from the gardens and did a last minute harvesting of vegetables and blooms. I picked so many dahlias that I delivered two large bouquets to friends and found vases for the rest throughout the house.

I’m happy to report that although we had steady, hard rain and heavy winds, nothing was damaged beyond repair. I continue to be amazed at how resilient plants can be under such stressful conditions! It was so nice to be rewarded with perfect weather for five days following the storm. What a roller coaster of weather we’ve had this hardy Zone 5 garden!

MY TOP 5 SHRUBS FOR THE GARDEN BORDER

Many of you have heard my talk on “Creating Easy-Care Gardens”. One of the major changes I’ve been making in my gardens here in Hadley is to replace high-maintenance perennials with small to medium-sized shrubs that require very little care. Four of the five shrubs on this list have resided successfully in my gardens for the past few years while the Boomerang lilac is a new addition. I hope you’ll give some of these a try in your own gardens.

1. ’Pee Wee’ Oakleaf Hydrangea
We’re all familiar with the ever-popular mop head and lace cap varieties that bloom in the summer. This fairly new, dwarf variety of oakleaf hydrangea is at the top of my list for small shrubs that make a 4-season statement in the garden. The small size (4’ tall by 3’wide) is perfect for any garden or border.

The deeply lobed oak-like leaf keeps its dark green color from spring through late summer and provides the perfect backdrop for nearby plants. The showy bright white flower sepals really stand out in the garden. When nights begin to turn cooler, the leaves begin to take on hues of bronze and maroon that eventually turn a beautiful burgundy. The flower panicles will turn a pleasing dark beige and persist on the plant all winter. It’s a winner in my gardens! .

2. ’Fine Wine’ Weigela
I’ve been using this wonderful burgundy-leafed shrub in many of my designs for customers and everyone loves it. With tubular pink blooms in the spring (very popular with hummingbirds!), the colorful foliage provides a wonderful contrast to other plants in the garden. The shrub grows no taller than 2-feet and the foliage has kept its shiny appearance all summer with very little damage from insects. An even smaller weigela with dark purple foliage and pink flowers is ‘Midnight Wine’. This miniature weigela grows only 10 to 12” tall and is very easy to fit into small flower beds and borders.

3. ‘Cool Splash’ Diervilla.
I’m always looking for a small shrub with variegated leaves to work into my borders. This compact bush honeysuckle can be grown in sun or part shade and has dark green centers surrounded by creamy white to yellow margins and has trumpet-like yellow flowers in late spring to early summer. It grows between 2 to 3 tall and wide and can easily be worked into the front or mid border for contrast.

4. ‘Bloomerang Purple’ Reblooming Lilac.
Finally, a smaller lilac that can be worked into the border that provides color and fragrance in the spring and then again in mid-summer. My first year plant has spent the garden season in a beautiful cobalt blue pot in the middle of my garden. In the next few weeks, I will plant it in a permanent spot in my border where I can enjoy this compact (4 to 5’) lilac for years to come.

5. ’Magic Carpet’ Spirea.
Combining green, burgundy and gold foliage is a signature design element that I use here at Gardenscapes and in many of my designs. Even when my flowers aren’t providing color or interest in the gardens, the foliage on many of my shrubs is. The bright gold leaves and small pink flowers of ‘Magic Carpet’ add a splash of color where I need a “punch” in my borders. Beginning in early spring, this neat and compact shrub (18” tall x 2’ wide) really makes a statement in full sun right up until a hard frost in October.

AN UPDATE FROM THE VEGGIE PATCH

My tomatoes and peppers are still supplying me with delicious produce. I’ve put up many containers of marinara sauce, roasted tomato soup, spiced tomato jam, and ratatouille to enjoy in the middle of winter. I’ve chopped up sweet bell peppers for the freezer to pull out and add to soups and chili, and have stuffed my larger peppers several times this summer. Just yesterday I harvested about two dozen acorn squash to store for the months ahead and my cantaloupe patch has provided non-stop sweet and juicy melons that are better than any I have tasted. The pole and bush beans are done and lima beans are slow to form the fat beans inside the shells that appear on each bush. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a good harvest in the next week or two.

Each time I visit the garden, I pick a handful of ripe, red raspberries that are such a delicious snack. I can’t wait for my bushes to mature so I can pick enough to top my yogurt or cereal in the morning and freeze several containers for mid-winter baking.

As you can see from the photo, my veggie garden is filled with flowers and herbs too. What a joy! I highly recommend building raised beds and using stone dust for your paths. It has made the maintenance in this large garden so much easier!

BACKYARD BIRD ACTIVITY

There is so much bird activity in the gardens right now. My favorite perky goldfinches are busy harvesting the seeds of my sunflowers and coneflowers and they are such a delight to watch. The tall sunflowers really took a beating from Irene’s winds last week but I managed to tie the bent branches to my fences and the finches are still flocking to them even though they are no longer standing upright. This has been a great year for dragonflies and the bees have certainly been abundant – particularly on my sedum plants. I have a bumper crop of crabapples and mountain ash berries this year and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a flock of cedar waxwings to stop by for a meal.

UPCOMING GARDENSCAPES LECTURE

Wednesday, October 12: Florence Congregational Church, Florence, MA – at 7:00pm. I will be giving my talk on “Creating Easy-Care Gardens”. This event is free and open to the public.

Join me and learn to design gardens and foundation plantings with low-maintenance in mind. I’ll be sharing valuable tips on how to select, place and plant my favorite easy-care perennials and shrubs. You’ll go home with fresh ideas and maintenance secrets to make your gardening easier. Handouts will be provided.

Be sure to check Cheryl Wilson’s weekly gardening column on Friday evenings in the Daily Hampshire Gazette to keep track of area happenings.

Note: All of my monthly garden blogs are archived here on my site. To read step-by-step advice on what to do in the garden each month, check here.

AUGUST – Weeding, watering and bugs, oh my!!

GARDEN WORK TO BE DONE THIS MONTH (written 8/2)
Note: I try to use the most popular names of plants that I think people will recognize – most often the common name and sometimes the botanical name.

MAINTENANCE

• Weeding marathons have become my primary activity in the garden. The hot and humid weather of July kept me inside with the air conditioner more than out in the garden. Now I’m paying the price. I find that watering the section I want to weed prior to weeding makes pulling the weeds a bit easier.

• Try to remove weeds before they go to seed!

• As for watering, if your town has not put a water ban into affect, the best time to water is early in the morning. I like to use one of the long wand-style attachments for my hose and water well at the base of each plant so as not to get the foliage wet – particularly on roses. The golden rule of watering is “1 inch per week”. Remember to water newly planted perennials, shrubs and trees on a regular basis until roots are established.

• Stop fertilizing perennials, roses and shrubs. Continue to fertilize annuals and containers.

PRUNING/DEADHEADING

• Deadhead all of the flowers that have gone by. In some cases, cutting back or shearing the entire plant is easiest at this time of year. I have done this with catmint, Purple Rain salvia, spirea shrubs, dianthus, lavender, and any plant that has too many blossoms to cut off individually.
• Continue to cut back tall foliage of Siberian iris and other perennials that flowered earlier in the Spring and Summer to keep from hiding late summer blooming plants.

GARDEN PONDS

• Algae build-up is the primary problem in hot weather. Check your pond often and remove excess algae with a skimmer, your hands, or net. I removed my pump and cleaned it out (taking it apart to get algae that was stuck inside.) What a difference this made to the flow of water over my waterfall.
• Remember to check for salt, ammonia, pH and nitrites. You can buy a simple kit at Lowe’s or on-line at EPonds.com.

CONTAINERS
I’ve pretty much given up on my containers with the unending heat and strong sun we’ve had this summer. The weather is just too much stress for plants in a container placed in full sun. I decided to put away many of my containers and will bring them back out in early September to fill with mums, asters, kale and other fall flowers.

HERBS
Herbs don’t seem to mind the hot weather and mine are lush and beautiful. I take daily trips out to the herb patch to pick basil, parsley, cilantro and whatever else I might want to throw into a sandwich, salad or dinner item. Have you tried Lemon Basil yet? On the way to the herb patch, I pick a few cherry tomatoes and pop them into my mouth for a treat. The Sun Gold orange cherry tomatoes are just too delicious to resist as I walk by!

I’ve had to stake up many of my herbs this year – they are growing so tall. Remember to keep pinching back the flowers on your herb plants and don’t let them go to seed. My dill plants are ready to cut off the seed heads already! I shake the tops into a paper bag to collect the seeds and put them in a jar for later use.

TENDER BULBS
So much for all of those beautiful dahlias I started earlier in the Spring. “Woody” my resident woodchuck, has taken a particular liking to them. I’ve yet to see blooms on most of them and now have vertical green sticks with horizontal stubs where I was hoping for lush, full plants! Oh well, such are the trials and tribulations of gardening with wildlife.

WILDLIFE IN THE GARDEN

• Bird activity around my feeders has really dwindled. I still put out minimal cracked corn and black oil sunflower seeds, mainly for my one resident chipmunk who lives in my stone wall just outside my kitchen window. “Chippy” is such a joy to watch (I’m sure I wouldn’t be saying that if he had friends!)

• The butterfly bushes are working their usual magic to attract butterflies. The population has certainly increased since they came into full bloom.

GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS AT GARDENSCAPES (as of 8/2):

• Phlox and hydrangeas are the stars of the garden right now. With their tall mounds of white, pink and magenta flower heads, they fill the garden with their beauty. Phlox add a sweet fragrance throughout my gardens. My favorite white phlox is ‘David’ – it’s completely mildew free. I also love the two-toned pink and white Natascha and variegated Nora Leigh. Limelight hydrangea is in full bloom right now and the Endless Summers are covered with blue balls of color. Annabelle and PeeGee varieties are lush and full. (Remember, if you want blue or bluer flowers on your Endless Summer – mix one gallon of water with an ounce of aluminum sulfate and water your shrubs).

• Perennials in bloom now and plants providing great foliage interest are black-eyed Susan, phlox, coneflowers, liatris, tansy, yarrow, hollyhocks, butterfly weed, day lilies, Japanese painted fern, Japanese forest grass, Betty Corning clematis, coreopsis, balloon flower, hosta, grasses, hydrangea, meadow rue, Gaillardia, and Russian sage.

ACTIVITIES FOR THE “AUGUST SLUMP” IN THE GARDEN
Many gardeners give up on their gardens at this time of the year. The weeds have taken over, containers are looking overgrown and bedraggled, and let’s face it, we need a little break from the non-stop work that many gardens require. Don’t give up! Try these tips.

• Find a shady spot from which to admire your garden from afar. Sit and enjoy a cold drink and a good book. Enjoy the beauty of the flowers and the flights of butterflies, birds and other winged beauties. Admire all of your hard work and relax a bit.
• Make notes about what is working and what isn’t. Do you have areas where there is no color? Go to nurseries and see what’s in bloom to fill in those vacant spots. Many things are on sale now.

• Long blooming annuals are the key to lots of color in the garden in August. Plan accordingly next year.

• Move planted containers, birdbaths, or garden ornaments around to places that need color or interest.

• Fall bulb catalogs are arriving. Place your orders now for fall planting.


See you in September!

JULY – Plenty of summer blooms for bouquets and herbs to harvest for cooking – a busy time in the garden!

GARDEN WORK TO BE DONE THIS MONTH (written 7/4)
Note: I try to use the most popular names of plants that I think people will recognize – most often the common name and sometimes the botanical name.

PLANTING

• Summer has officially arrived and we are in the midst of a heat wave! When the weather turns extremely hot and dry, it is better to hold off on putting in new plantings so as not to stress the plants. However, this is also the time when garden places and nurseries offer great sales. Choose wisely.
• A great way to get new plants is to let some of your flowers go to seed. I let my foxglove and poppies reseed to ensure new plants each year.

MAINTENANCE

• Crab grass, purslane and all of the other summer weeds are taking up residence and are very happy in my gardens. I walk through daily, 5-gallon bucket in one hand and Cape Cod weeder in the other, and pull as many weeds as I can before they set seed or take over my gardens. This is a good practice to follow. Daily wanderings through your gardens will keep you in touch with what is growing where you don’t want it to!
• Remember that your plants need at least one inch of water per week – particularly new plants that you put in this Spring. If you’ve mulched around your plants, be sure that the mulch is pulled back a bit from the base of the plant so the water can penetrate down into the root area of the plants. Early morning watering is best.
• Keep adding garden clippings (and kitchen scraps) to your compost pile.
• An organic method for treating powdery mildew is to mix 1 T. baking soda with 1 gallon of water. Apply the solution in a spray bottle.

PRUNING/DEADHEADING

• Keep deadheading and pinching back to encourage repeat blooms. Pinching back will also give you bushier, less-leggy plants.
• Remove any leaves that look like they are infected or infested. Cut back plants that have bad-looking foliage. Many perennials will be producing new leaves at ground level (such as salvia) and cutting back to just above this new foliage will improve the look of the plant.
• For many plants, such as catmint, it’s easy to just take the long stems with spent blooms in one hand and cut large groups of stems off with pruners or good sharp scissors.
• If some of your Spring flowering plants such as iris and amsonia are getting too large, cut them back and give them a nice shape so they don’t overpower your summer garden. As long as you only trim off about 1/3 of the plant, you will not be doing it any harm.
• If you keep pinching back and deadheading annuals like snapdragons, zinnia, angelonia, petunias, marigolds, calendula, etc., they will keep blooming all summer. Don’t let them go to seed!

GARDEN PONDS

• If you have water lilies and/or lotus, be sure to remove the dead blooms, following the stem of the flower right down to the base of the plant and pinching it off with your thumb and forefinger. Dead flowers will encourage algae.
• Keep water levels up where they belong. If you add water to your pond and your local water has a lot of chlorine in it, look into adding a de-chlorinator to keep your fish healthy.
• Don’t overfeed your fish!

CONTAINERS

• Trying to keep containers from declining in the hot sun of summer is a challenge. I sometimes water my plants twice a day. Be sure to pinch back spent blooms and stems that are no longer flowering. Use a water-soluble fertilizer periodically to encourage new growth and blooms. If the weather is extremely hot and dry, you might want to move your containers into a shady spot.

HERBS

• I’m enjoying my fresh herbs and use every opportunity to add them to salads, iced drinks and baked goods. Although I have herbs planted throughout my gardens, my favorite herbs that I use most often are planted in pots right at my back door for easy access.
• Pinch off the flowers of basil, mint, sage, cilantro and other herbs to keep them from going to seed and to keep the plants bushy and producing lots of new shoots.
• Harvest lavender when it is in the bud stage for best results. I pick mine early in the morning and dry it for a few days before removing the little dried buds and storing them in a sealed jar. Dried lavender is delicious paired with lemon in baked goods. Try it mixed with Earl Gray tea – a lovely combination.

TENDER BULBS

• I’m beginning to see buds and flowers on my dahlias. They make wonderful cut flowers and are worth the extra effort of digging and storing during the winter months. I have a large pot of cannas planted out near my pool and have lush foliage filling the pot. I expect to have bright colored blooms in the next few weeks.

GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE

• I still have lots of baby bird activity. A family of brown thrashers and more than the normal number of visiting hairy woodpeckers have caught my attention in my bird sanctuary.
• The hummingbird, bee, moth and butterfly population seems to be low this year. I plant whatever I can to encourage their visits.
• I have a good number of frogs and toads hopping around the garden but don’t seem to have any in or around my pond. Wildlife seems to be confused by our extreme weather too.
• “Woody” the woodchuck has been spotted heading to his dens under my deck and potting shed. Thankfully he has only defoliated my sweet potato vines, a little bit of mint and lettuce leaves. I don’t mind sharing as long as he doesn’t get too carried away!

GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS AT GARDENSCAPES (as of 7/4):

• My butterfly bushes are amazing! The fragrance and color are a perfect addition around pools and patios. I have them planted with grasses and hydrangeas – a beautiful combination.
• This is daylily time and mine are all in full-bloom right now. I have many, many shades of yellows and soft oranges. Some are quite fragrant. I particularly like the reblooming varieties like Happy Returns. If I keep them deadheaded, they will go on blooming until frost.
• I have lots of color in the gardens right now provided by roses, liatris, daylilies, poppies, salvia, coneflowers, delphinium, clematis, phlox, black-eyed Susans, lavender, catmint, salvia, campanula, grasses, herbs, yarrow, tansy, and the silver, burgundy and gold foliage of a variety of shrubs and perennials.
• Amazingly, I have asters and mums beginning to bloom! I’m not sure what the garden will provide for blooms in late summer and early fall!! Time will tell.

GREAT GARDENS TO VISIT
During the summer months, I find that I have a bit more time to get away from my gardens to visit and be inspired by other gardens. Here are a few that I’ve visited recently.

• Innisfree Garden in Millbrook, NY (a 2-hour+ drive from Western Massachusetts, but easily done in a day and well worth it. Bring a picnic lunch!).
• Newbury Perennial Gardens in Byfield, MA. (Be sure to plan a lunch stop and shopping in nearby historic Newburyport, MA – right on the water).
• Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, MA. (Great display gardens, paths for wandering, a lovely area for a light lunch, and a great garden shop).