Happy 2010 - Spring is distant but coming, til then....

Well, here we all are, in the 2010 New Year watching our gardening ToDo lists grow but not much else here in the Northeast. We are surrounded by snow, ice and long grey days. I have taken to catching up on some of my reading this time of year. Seated next to a warm fire in my favorite spot on the couch with the cat and blanket, I enjoy thumbing thru some of the books I've pulled and piled up high in the Living Room during the summer months when I was too busy with the outdoor tasks at hand to sit and peruse for wanting knowledge.

I have a wonderful book that I found in 2004 that I enjoy and use very often. It has such wonderful little quick reads on gardening. It is actually a question and answer guide. 'The New York Times 1000 Gardening Questions and Answers' . Written using the column 'Garden Q&A' and materials by Leslie Land. It's an inviting looking book as well, a very nice bright green cover with a beautiful tulip in the center of the front cover. It looks quite large, but don't steer away from it on that account. Each subject question and answer really only populate 1 or 2 pages at most. It's a great resource to quickly find the answer to that daunting question you keep asking yourself or someone else keeps asking you.

Take all those questions folks have on hydrangeas for example:  what kind of hydrangea do I have? how do I get my hydrangea blooms blue? or pink? when should I prune my hydrangea?  An experienced gardener could purchase a book that is entirely about hydrangeas and enjoy obtaining detailed knowledge on the species, but most folks just want to cut to the chase and get the direct answer to their direct question, without being a plant guru. This book provides just that, a direct question with a short descriptive direct answer.

Although there is a great Table of Contents that lists topics by gardening type, I prefer to use the Index. I usually find my answer in less than a minute or two this way. The book sections are also page tabbed with 2 or 3 word sub-category description making it easy to fan thru the book and find a particular area of interest as well.


There are some very nice drawings here and there throughout the book.  Typically the drawings seem to be available in cases where it's just better to show you than to try to describe in words the information you need to absorb to get it right. Roses are a good example, pruning, planting, over-wintering are all subjects that describe textually the information and offer drawings for the reader.

As an accredited organic landcare professional I find that most of the practices recommended in the book are within the guidelines we are committed to following, this is a very welcoming feature.  As an example. It's January, most if not all Christmas Trees that were cut down  and placed in our living rooms for the season have been removed. Most trees probably ended up at the road side waiting for some very large gas guzzling truck to pick them up and leave them at some undetermined trash site and process. The book has sections that are not questions or answers but informational/educational blocks of text highlighted with a light green background.  The tip in this case is to Recycle That Tree, suggesting uses for the Tree beyond the use in the Living Room during the holidays. Don't have a garden? No problem, use the boughs on your outdoor window boxes and containers.

I'm traveling soon to attend a wedding in Florida. I plan to bring this book along with me and thumb through it adding a few more dog-ears to the pages and curl to the front cover. I so enjoy the ease of using it and the instant gratification of learning about something and/or having the answer stored in my head for the next time someone asks me their question or plea for help. I have had more than a few interesting conversations at airport gates waiting for a flight with this little big green book in my hand, and I suspect, so will you!

Snowscapes

Today it is snowing, I think our 3rd occurrence since Thanksgiving. Hopefully this will mean we will have the so loved traditional 'White Christmas' we all love here in New England. Sometimes such lovely happenings leave some folks indoors due to an inability to navigate thru such weather physically and for others perhaps a psychological distaste for the event.

Today I prefer to gather the beauty of the event. I am fortunate to have a lovely yard to experience from outdoors should I choose to. Anyone can however find beauty with this season from anywhere they view from the inside. I've put together a few very amature photos of what I found this morning looking out my windows and doors. I'm sure you could too. Some perhaps see the day as one of gloom without the sun shining bright, but if you stop and really look there is a lot of wonderfulness out there without the sun.

I'm always amazed at the monochromatic setting a snowfall provides. I appreciate many areas of my landscape that I might otherwise overlook for that colorful rose calling me or stand of flowering perennials offering their chorus of blooms. Today I'm connected to the black and white of it all. Trees that I can now see their beautiful twirling branches reaching for the clouds, shrubs with their bright colored berries like a string of lights on the Christmas Tree, and of course the beautiful conifers our Zone provides us naturally.

I took my little camera and attempted to capture some of it all to share with you. Mostly I did this little exercise to show all of you that you need not let 'cabin fever' get the best of you this season; instead, on those days ahead that you are unable to get out and be 'in the moment' of it all, stop and take a few photos of the beauty that is out there busting through your windows and doorways for you to see and enjoy! The simplest things i find often have the greatest reward.

This is a great time to take note of what you may want to add to your garden and/or landscape to provide you with much sought after interest during our long winter months. Plants, trees, and shrubs with 'winter interest' perhaps provide color such as the native Cornus stolonifera sericea(Red osier dogwood) with its red stems cannot be missed during our snow covered season. I have used the cultivar 'Arctic Fire' in large container plantings that remain outdoors over the winter, providing a stunning look especially during our Holiday Season. The popular Hydrangea petiolaris
(Climbing Hydrangea) provides great interest in winter, the blossoms of Early Summer hang on holding the snow like little umbrellas and the bark is beautiful with it's cinnamon color and peeling look.
Of course there are the conifers, all of which provide their own individual shape and color to the winter garden. Mix them up, like a kaleidescope, greens, blues, large needled, small needled, thin, thick needled, to me they are part of the glue that holds the rest of the garden together in winter, with our without snow. I have many of our native pinus strobus (eastern white pine)about my yard, they provide a wonderful curtain like back drop for many other shrubs and plants, and with new fallen snow they are quite grand, not to mention I didn't have to buy them or plant them. I've decided to put a Pinus strobus 'pendula' on my list, taking inspiration from the look many of the young Pinus strobus in my yard have today. I am imagining how nice it will look next to a large boulder.
Remember too about interests that may not be growing, but of a natural state, such as boulders. My husband is a rock lover, and creates whimsy for the garden with them. He makes interesting rock chains we have hanging about in areas where you can see and touch them. Whenever you find something that 'speaks' to you or 'calls' you, definitely try to include it in your garden or landscape, it will give back to you pleasantly, repeatedly.

So, if you think you need something to get you thru this winter (and trust me, you do!), grab your camera, have fun taking some photos from inside looking out, and try a little exercise creating a list of things you'd like to add to your view. Libraries have wonderful books on winter interest for the garden and many web sites have suggestions that may help point you in the direction you'd like to travel on this little journey, It's free, and will give you a nice enjoyable ride from December thru March!

Fall Color - How to see over 700 species in one location.

I had the pleasure of visiting Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Ma. last week to attend a tour given by the horticulture curator Dennis Collins. The tour covered information on the sustainable practices now being used in the care of all aspects of the property. Anyone who is teetering on whether to go organic with landcare could certainly take a trip and see the results at Mount Auburn.

The real treat for me was the Fall show during the walk thru the grounds. The colors were amazing. There are over 5000 trees of over 700 species to see. You can walk thru the grounds following the green line in the middle of the paved pathway. It will get you back to where you started. I pretty much walked thru looking up, so be sure to watch your footing! I even found a tree that I've been trying to identify in my own neighborhood for some time now. So its a great place to go and learn about trees at all stages of their seasonal growth/display.

The oriental maples where in their glory the day I visited. It was an overcast day which allowed some pretty good capture of them with a camera. Look at this one, bright pumpkin orange! So lovely when allowed to grow into their natural form, I've seen others at business grounds that have been sheared into those mushroom shapes, such a shame when you know if left alone the majesty they can ultimately portray. Most often a tree has been pruned into some geometric shape due to someone planting them in an improper area for their growth pattern. So any of you considering planting trees out there, make certain the area will provide the space and culture needed for it's mature size, not the size you buy it when you plant it!

If you're not sure how to achieve a particular desired display of color and texture in your landscape, a visit to a renowned property such as Mount Auburn Cemetery has hundreds of examples to view. Bring paper and pencil and a camera! When you find a combination you just love capture it and document information about it. Identification tags on the plantings provide the botanical name, the common name and usually when they were planted so you can get an idea of a minimum age they are.



Don't be afraid to plant something 'different' and/or new to you in your landscape. We don't all have to have the same trees plunked down in the middle of our front lawn. As an example the Katsura tree is readily available in the industry today, and yet I see so few out there in my consultation travels. It has a beautiful bark for winter interest, great fall color and it flowers before the leaves appear in the Spring. It's great to have a yardful of Native Trees but it's also nice to have a gem like this one that's non-native, especially as a focal point. Did I mention it has a unique fragrance in the Fall when the leaves drop? Sort of like cotton candy. Now how great is all that? And look at the beautiful multi-stemmed shape of this tree at the back of the cemetery. Speaking of which, there are trail gardens and greenhouses behind the scenes that support all the wonderfulness you see as you walk thru the grounds. The rainwater from the greenhouse is captured and stored in rain barrels for use to water some of the specimen plantings that would be over-stressed during drought conditions. There are categorized bins for waste to be stored from the grounds maintenance. A bin for green clippings, a bin for dead floral display, a bin for concrete, and so on and so on. So Kudos to Mount Auburn Cemetery for talking the talk and walking the walk on sustainable practices and organic care of this historic gem. Take a look at the photos in the Potscapes Fun Slideshow for examples of sustainable plantings and practices that appear to be working for this large property (hundreds of acres) with accessible limitations (gravestones) and lots of foot traffic. I encourage you to visit Mount Auburn Cemetery ( the first cemetery garden in the United States), I assure you it is worth the trip! Bring your camera and a large supply of oh's and ah's.

Extending The Growing Season

So its Fall 2009 now, officially. The garden is beginning to go dormant. But... we don't have to give it all up til Spring! We can use a coldframe to extend the season or start the new one early! I was inspired by a friends coldframe and decided to try and build one for my own use. I naturally included my friend and husband to help out. And, my special 4 legged friends Charlie and Willy. Charlie was having a bad photo day, so we only have smiling Willy in the photo display. Maybe Charlie will be ready to smile for us in the Spring when we uncover and display all the bulbs I'm hoping to force in this lovely addition to the garden.

You know how project A always turns into project B. Well, for us it was the fence. We had to make access to the cold frame thru the fence, so the gate was the first addition to the scene. I've been wanting a gate into this area of the garden for a long time, so finally, I have one! Something I think most writings I came across on building a cold frame forgot to mention is how much soil you are going to have to put someplace when you dig the area. We had quite a pile! We dug an area 108"L X 35"W X 28"D. The lower portion of the frame faces South for best heat capture/retention and I have a little step into the frame due to the depth.

Many of the materials we used were recycled. Some old cinder blocks we had been storing out back were on the property when we moved here over 17 years ago, the window tops were freebies from the side of the road on my husbands daily commute to work and the shelves to be used inside the coldframe are leftovers from a friends project and a few of our own.
We did purchase wood for the frame and gravel for the floor.

It was a fun process learning how to make some of the materials work, such as the windows. They needed to be reglazed and painted. The cinder blocks had to be placed in a fashion that would allow all the wall corners to fit just right. And the wood frame, well the wood chosen had to be arrow straight, not curvy like some of the stuff you get in the recycled or seconds pile. On a dry day I will get the wood painted then the frame will be ready to fill.

Many thanks to my friends and husband for their support and knowledge in building my so very appreciated cold frame. I can't wait to start filling it up with my container plants, it will leave my garden shed floor free for me to use this winter instead of trying to hop around and over everything. I plan to capture and post my cold frame experience so be sure to check back maybe monthly to see how its going. With some luck I hope to enjoy a lovely display of forced Spring bulbs and maybe even some fresh greens before the ground thaws next year.

If you'd like more specifics on building your own coldframe I thought GardenGate magazine had a nice description complete with photos and materials list for a coldframe project
FineGardening magazine also has a great article of different types of coldframes you can build/use. So don't let the coming winter season here in Zone 5-6 put your green thumb into hibernation, go ahead and try even a simple coldframe to extend your current garden and start next years garden early! Most of all, enjoy the process, your reward will be more than just an extended harvest or early start of the growing season.

How About That Gourd!

Fall harvest is quickly approaching, and, one of the fruits of the garden are gourds. As a designer I am always looking at shapes. I consider how they can be maneuvered to fit the space, theme or feeling I want a design to achieve. I must admit though I had never considered looking at a gourd as a tool for a design pattern.

Well, I know someone who has the gift of the gourd so to speak. He takes these grown and harvested fruits and turns them into all sorts of wonderful works of art. The workmanship is meticulous, an obvious sign that he's doing something he truly enjoys. What started out as a past time has turned into a true revealing of artistic flair and capability. But then most things this fellow does are way out of the ordinary. Like participating in the Iditasport , you know, riding a bicycle in the snow, in Alaska. And then there's living in Fargo, North Dakota before settling into retirement in Arizona. Peter says he can make custom gourds if you'd like. A visit to his website will show you more of his talent. Or you can use the link Peters Gourds above the Search area of this blog to get to the gourd website.

I'm always looking for objects of interest for the garden. I'm told the birdhouse gourds can handle our winters here in New England. And who couldn't find a perfect spot for any of these creations indoors. I know first hand that each of these creations has a story. The Bike & Bean is a favorite coffee stop of the artist so he created a bowl for use at the cash register.

Part of being a Landscape Designer is finding and using good one-of-a-kind artist creations for the landscape and/or garden. When you are looking for something special for your landscape or garden, remember that it should be just that, special... not the neighbors special, your special.
Many artists such as this one welcome the opportunity to create for you a custom piece of artwork. Try not to talk yourself out it, but rather, embrace it and enjoy the journey!
I'm certain you will be pleased to learn about your own creativity and then see it come to life through the training and experience only an artist can provide. If you'd like to inquire more about Peter's Gourds, send an email to potscapes@gmail.com with a subject matter PetersGourds. We'll get you in touch.

Keep Your Eye on the Cone!

Cones, Cones, Beautiful and Lots of Cones Everywhere!

I had the pleasure of visiting the White Mountains earlier this month and hiked Mt. Osceola with some friends. It was a glorious day, the rains had stopped and the sun shone brightly. We enjoyed cool temps along the trail and an outstanding view at the summit. Check out the photos taken on our hike and enjoy the exquisite color of these cones! The summit was so full of them one had to force the eye to look beyond at the sites of the other mountain tops in view.

As many of you are noticing the conifer cones this year are quite abundant. You can see them at the tops of the trees from a distance, pulling the upper branches down into an umbrella like arch. The cones for many conifers actually take more than a year to reach their mature size, did you know that?

The red squirrels are busy trying to harvest the cones in the trees that surround my property. It sounded at first like someone either was hitting a slew of homers that fell the hardball in our yard or maybe they were throwing stones. We of course went out to 'check out' what the heck was going on. And thunk, thunk, then thunk thunk, thunk thunk thunk we heard them falling.

No it wasn't the wind, the air was still, so what was it causing them to drop? There are too many on the tree my husband said, I disagreed, I knew all too well what those little four legged furry tooth sawing, gnawing creatures were up to. Sure enough I found em, Red Squirrels, up at the top of the 50' or higher white pine, harvesting the crop! And below, it was 'bombs away'. The ground littered with fresh new cones not yet ready to fall. All nice and thin and green and fresh pine aroma in the air. Alongside of these perfect cones were the cartoonish looking skeletized cone, nothing left but a long thin post with a pointed top and rounded bottom.

So, keep your eye on the cones! For a couple of reasons, they just may fall on your head if you have a busy critter like we do in the neighborhood, and because they just look so beautiful hanging there in large clusters like I don't ever recall seeing before. Perhaps I just never noticed because they didn't get harvested by nature until later in the season when they may have lost a few on their own, or maybe I was just always busier that I am these days to have looked up enough to catch such a site.

I'm grateful this year for whatever the reason we have such a grand display of cones.
I'm also grateful that I'm able to enjoy and experience the journey to the summit of a mountain.
Nature is the most perfect designer of the landscape. I am most inspired by the plans that nature creates all by itself. Thank you Planet Earth for allowing us to join you for the view!





The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man. ~Author Unknown

Containers are masters of magic for the tired garden

Oh yes it's here, the hot humid days of August in the New England garden.

Many of our gardens are now bursting with color! Yellows, oranges, pinks purples whites blues and more!

Soon September will be here and many of the garden colors will begin to wain.

If you haven't a container ready for placing in those oh so lonesome spots that emerge when the perennial burst is over, now is a great time to begin them. Many annuals and perennials are still out there waiting for a home! A container planting could be the perfect answer.

Here I've filled a dark corner that looks lovely with its Spring blossoms, but right now without the container it would be nothing but green, greeen, green. The oranges and yellows and limes I've filled the container with are visible from my Kitchen window a good 75 feet away! How nice is that.

The hummingbirds love the fuschia and impatience. I can opt to place the bright colored heucheras in the garden in late autumn, or overwinter them in the container for next year.

I will likely fill the container with a few interesting woody stems and evergreen boughs and berried holly stems for the winter season, a welcome site along the path during December and January journeys to the shed.

I have many containers - as you may have guessed with a name like 'Potscapes'. I use them in all areas of my gardens, patios, entryways, walkways, decks and landscape.

I enjoy planning what I will do with each one every year. Some years I've put roses in them when I wanted to know how a particular rose would look in the garden, other years I've planted them with vegetables to harvest from the kitchen patio. I bring many of them in to overwinter indoors. The lavendar I brought in last Fall flowered over the winter in my South facing dining room. Such a wonderful treat!

Finding the container to fill is as much fun as filling it. I've found a few fun things in my travels and received others as gifts. I'm always on the peek for something different and of course have a nice collection waiting for their chance to be part of the magic welcomed by the tired garden. Wouldn't you agree that meeting this little monster just might make your day!

Filled with Parsley and Portulaca, this little monster is a favorite of many visitors to my garden.
If you'd like me to help you with a bit of magic for your garden, visit my website and give me a shout.