Winter Reflections

Well, November was a busy month putting my many gardens to rest. Along with laying out & preparing new beds on our outlying lots, I planted ten (10) new viburnums which were generously fed last years compost. Then logs with character placed to age & decompose. All this so transplants & new woodland perennials have a Spring home to move into.

The idea on both lots is to preserve native trillium, cranesbill, mertensia, ferns & so much more.

It took my new shredder hours to make big piles of leaves into chomped down bits which were mixed with perennials shredded. Then many a branch from dead trees & shrubs shredded & added to compost. So sitting in two large 10'x10' framed bins are future Black Gold for gardens of 2009.

Lastly now comes time in January & February to do the planning. Plan for transplants and plan for any new material. Picture in your mind bloom times as your gardens transition the seasons.

With our home being listed as a habit for wildlife I consider two other factors being food source & protection for nesting.

Take time now to reflect likes & dislikes of your gardens / landscape of 2008. Enjoy now the icy & frosty magic of winter that put our landscapes here in Illinois in a deep sleep.

Happy Composting!

Today is a good start on my compost pile. Sixteen wheelbarrow loads of leaves and cuttings from the garden beds added to recent grass clippings. The push lawnmower then did its job cutting them into very fine pieces to speed up decomposition. My recent baking of cookies had many egg shells to add with the mix.

As leaves continue to fall and I clean garden beds, my Compost Gold for 2009 will continue to grow. Whenever town, villages and cities have pick-up service of fall's leaves which are hauled to a farmer's field, I am please. For what better way to recycle Mother Nature's fertilizer!

A little TLC goes a long way!

Today I fertilized all of our hydrangea's with a 5 gal mix of fertilizer (Miracle-gro acid loving plant food). Then I started mulching and using our compost to prepare our hydrangea macrophylla for winter. A little tender car goes a long way to enjoy next year's blooms!

Hauling rocks!

New garden along the front side of our property.


We gathered flagstone for a bench in the new garden.


New flagstone viewing ledge at the pond.


Tucker checking out the new ledge.

This past week I went to the quarry with Janet to get flagstone for the pond to create a ledge for children to stand on safely to feed our koi. First I removed a larger juniper and replaced it with a smaller cedar so the fish are more visible and there is easier access to the new flagstone ledge. I am reminded that when designing, I must take in mind the many aspects of function and view when choosing plantings.

I also created a new bed in our front so as to lead the eye down our side yard. Janet had the idea of adding a stone bench in our new bed. I, physically and mentally, found a way to get the mass of rock home and in place, and it was worth the effort as it adds charm and character to the bed. I’ve also started a rustic curved fence as a backdrop to the new garden.

All I have left to do is mulch the new plantings for moisture retention. Then I’ll continue cleaning up the existing beds. I feel like gardening is caring for toddlers — they both have needs of care so they can grow to flourish! :)

Weather and Blooms

This year has been a hard year to predict bloom time as in a "normal" year.

I had a Garden Party June 29th this year and Spring Blooms were two weeks behind because lack of heat (BTU's).

On top of that we followed now with record rainfalls (7 inches over norm for month). This has caused many plants to curl as if swimming in a pool way tool long. The only thing we as gardeners can do is provide plants with excellent drainage.

This week I had to replace a rose that had its feet soaking in water. After I removed the rose from site I used pea gravel & peat to provide a proper home. Then fertilized with Bayer Rose Fertilizer with a systemic to prevent disease.

As my grandfather once told me, "We can not change the weather, so we must learn to work with it!"

Garden Competition

The celandine poppies are a welcome site as the shade garden comes alive!

I continue to attack the garlic mustard so that it does not have a chance to go to seed.

This week I worked at a customer's home updating and adding to a butterfly garden. I was saddened to see how much grass had grown into the perennials, so I quickly started to make a trench and remove the grass from the midst of flowers.

Seedlings most definitely need not compete for water or nutrients with grass. One need not put in plastic or metal edging if they periodically create a trench with a shovel, for grass roots do not like air and will not then creep into flower beds. This creates a softer, more natural edge to the flower bed.

I've been out in the vegetable and rose garden today prepping the soil getting ready to
turn it over, fertilize and have it ready for the cool weather plants that I'll be putting in this week.

Plants such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, lettuce - all the cool weather plants - can go in now here in Illinois, but our warm weather ones are still a few weeks away. Our last freeze date here technically is May 15, so don't rush the tomatoes or you'll just have to plant them again!

It's important to know your USDA plant hardiness zone and know your last frost date before you put in your warm weather vegetables.

Keep your eyes open for garlic mustard as Spring evolves! With a diligent hands-on approach of removing it, you may keep it from invading your gardens. It is INVASIVE and can choke out other plants. Garlic mustard is difficult to eradicate because seeds can lie dormant for years, so don't allow it to go to seed in your garden.

Starting to get busy!

Of late I've been raking up the leaves and mulching them so they're ready for compost and adding them to the gardens. Been working on a new compost bin. Also been doing maintenance for other people and coming across ornamental grasses that have not been cut yet. It's getting right to the end of cutting the ornamental grasses. They should be down 6-8" because they're starting to shoot new growth. So if you haven't done your ornamental grasses yet, now is the time.

This week I'll be going around fertilizing all the evergreens to green them up. They've had plenty of moisture this year because we had a record-breaking snowfall, but we're a little short on chelated iron in the plants around the pond. So I'll be adding an evergreen fertilizer to add the supplements ammonia sulfide and chelated iron and things that keep to them nice and green and promote growth.

I'm also going to get ready to fertilize the shrubs now - the spring blooming ones, lilacs - and I'll probably fertilize the hydrangeas and other things too so they're ready for the summer along with any of the other shrubs that look like they might need a boost. So spring is coming in!

I've also been going out and dividing some of the plants. Now's a good time for division just as they're breaking ground and popping. If you can get out there and divide them they won't go into too much of a shock because of the cool nights and plenty of moisture to help them to promote root growth. I'm glad spring is here and I hope you're looking forward to a productive spring as you add plants, divide, multiply, or re-create your gardens with a design that's more suitable for you're area. Enjoy your gardening!

Spring Is Near!

Finches roosting outside our window.

As our record-breaking snowy winter comes to an end, all the trees, shrubs and perennials are pleased with the additional water to start the spring season. However, in Illinois the unexpected drastic fluctuations in March temperatures can still hurt plants. The worst scenario is a day in the 60's-70's followed by a heavy freeze. That harms buds in flowering trees and may cause crown rot in perennial flowers.

The crown is the point where stems are about to emerge just above the root system. When the crown has been exposed to thaw/freeze conditions, the crown gets up heaved and exposed, making it susceptible to rot.

Do not pull away any mulch protection completely or too soon. From now until the end of April you may have to keep an eye on your beds. Warm weather and then deep freeze is brutal on plants in Spring.

If you see signs of a heavy freeze after the temperature went below 25̊F and there was ½" to 1" of ice at the base of the plant, cover the bed or plant crowns with mulch. When temperatures warm again, pull the mulch back from the crown to avoid having plants rot from too much moisture.

Signs of frost on trees and shrubs will be noticeable on the buds where the moisture turned to ice when the buds were just ready to emerge. On the plant you will see emerging buds turning dark brown to black , thus stunting growth for the season or decreasing blooms on flowering trees and shrubs.

Parenting a flower means a constant observation of preparation for weather changes - much like making sure your child has gloves on a snowy day! Spring is drawing near for as I walk my gardens I see buds on trees and shrubs that almost speak to me, saying, “Be patient, I’m almost ready!”

Happy New Year 2008!

Robert and Rachel hiking in Colorado late Dec. 2007

I just had a reminder of the awe and the wonder of nature, as stepson Robert and I went to hike up the Denny Creek Trail in Colorado, of the beauty of the mountains, the beauty of the trees, the snow glistening and what it reminded me of is all seasons are beautiful.

Winter has a beauty of its own as the skeletal of the trees come alive, so when planning a garden or a landscape one has to keep in mind the shape of the trees, the shape of the shrubs, what they'll look like in the winter when the perennial flowers go dormant, when the shrubs have their buds sitting and waiting for the next season.

So remember winter, it's a forgotten season, but remember the beauty and the awesome skeletal look - the winterscape. At this point and time right now, being January 1st, it's time to start planning again for laying out a new garden or laying out the perimeters for a garden. So plan your garden with heights and textures that include the winter glory.

Late Fall 2007

Forgot to add this blog entry...!


Building the arbor in Door County

Well, the last week in Oct. we headed up to Door County, WI to create a little bit of landscape wonder. Put in an acre and a half of tall prairie - had 1700 plugs to plant. Did a 12'x12' arbor that you can sit and look out on to the prairie. We also put the plugs in for a short meadow and then started a woodland wonder.

Drove back home and did a small job in Stillman Valley, IL - did a courtyard - then turned back around and went back to Door County. The weather was nice up there - it was in the 40's and 50's which is great for putting in the plugs. They'll go dormant until springtime and then take off. We also over-seeded with 8000 sq.ft. in the prairie of seeding and about 4000 sq.ft. of over-seeding in the meadow. And the weather was okay... it was in the 30's in the morning but warm enough to work during the day.

Now back home, I'm putting my gardens to rest - mulching the leaves - giving them a nice bed - 2-3" of leaf compost, which is Mother Nature's way of fertilizing and taking care of the woodland plants - esp. around the amelanchiers and viburnums. The hydrangeas are appreciating the good thick bed of leaf mulch also since they need the nitrogen to keep their blooms.

We had an unfortunate accident in the pond. It looked like a wild critter - most likely a raccoon - had knocked a big rock in the pond which is approx. about a 3000 gal. pond, but they put a slice in the liner, so we're going to have to replace the liner and work on the waterfall. But, whatever I do I will try to keep it as natural as I can because the birds and the wildlife love to use it as a water source and I don't like the sterile ponds, so as much effort as it takes we will move the rocks and limestone to re-create as much as I can a natural pond for the birds and for the wildlife to enjoy - including our cats, who like to go out and take a drink and a sip.

As I put my beds to rest I will transplant and move things around if need be or create curves which makes maintenance and cleaning a whole lot easier. I will clean out the beds of any dead debris but try to keep it as natural as I can because the birds do need some of the dead wood just to create a home and live in.

It is nice to put the beds to rest and look forward to the renewal in the springtime. Trying to create my big shrub rugosa roses into an arch that I can walk through. Might take a little work to convince them which way to grow, but I will do my best. My arch out in front has grown over now as an entryway as I've arched living trees to create a living arch. So hoping to do the same with the roses. And going to go today and continue picking up leaves - should be getting near to the end of it soon.