Falling into Fall

When I checked the date of my last post, I was a bit disappointed in myself.  It's been almost two months and I haven't thought of a great subject to approach another autumn season of, sigh, raking leaves.  Though it seems a bit late in the year, I did get the better half to build a platform for the two rain barrels so that I can get a bucket under the spigot of each. But as far as gardening plans have been, I've just retained the status quo, weeding here and there, and deadheading where necessary. 

The morning glories are still blooming beautifully, but I did cut them back since they went rogue over the past couple of weeks.  Other flowers still looking good are the marigolds, pansies, and, surprisingly, California poppies.  Of course, all those plants are annuals, but I am hoping they will seed for next year. 


The perennials I have are just about done for.  Some chrysanthemums are still sitting pretty.  One of the tricks to getting chrysanthemum to winter over (most people treat them like annuals) is to cut them back once they have died back and throw a little mulch on top to help protect them.  If they do survive the winter, they may be inclined to bloom mid-summer.  Just pinch the tops as they grow.  You will delay the bloom and make your plants fuller and showier.

This time of year is also good for finding flowers that may dry well for winter decorations.  Hydrangea are usually reliable for a good dried flower.  The color may vary based upon the time you pick the flower, from green to white to pink, and it's nice to bring some of the outdoors in for the winter.  This year, however, I didn't have any real blooms on my hydrangea since I waited too long to prune it.  Poor shrub didn't recover, so I am hopeful next year will be better.  But I am consoled by the fancy grasses in the yard.  Just to see how they would dry, I picked a few and brought them inside.  They dried beautifully.  While they don't share the same colors as the hydrangea, they have a unique texture that sets them apart from other dried flowers.  Look for other flowers that have dried well on the stem at this time of year to see if it would make a good indoor decoration, you might be amazed at what you find. 

Love's Not the Only Battlefield

Sometimes you buy a plant that comes highly recommended as easy to care for and not picky about the soil.  You have high expectations that the plant will look as lovely in the garden as on the plant care tag.  Then you splurge on a nice, healthy plant.  You admire it as it grows, notice buds, and look forward to the day it opens.  You run outside to look at your "beautiful" plant ... and see only knawed stems.  This is my sad story of my doomed love affair with the Harvest Moon Coneflower.

One of the purple coneflowers in my yard.

This a website photo of what I was
hoping to see in my yard.

While I was watching a local gardening segment on TV a few years back, a well known local gardening expert recommended the Harvest Moon Coneflower as a low maintenance garden addition that added color without a lot of work. I began looking for the Harvest Moon Coneflower in the spring (not quite realizing yet that nurseries usually sell perennials just before they are expected to bloom). So I waited and waited, then looked and looked.  I saw other types of coneflower (like the White Swan-which, in my opinion, is one big misnomer) but not the Harvest Moon.  I began to call it my "white whale".

I finally found the Harvest Moon Coneflower at a nursery a couple of years later.  The cost of a medium sized (1 gallon) container was about $17, that seemed steep for this frugal gardener. I gave it a lot of thought, then decided I had waited so patiently for so long, had saved in so many other places, and I brought one home.

Beyond sad, this is the Harvest Moon
Coneflower in my yard this year.

A few years later I am still waiting for this poor plant to do something other than look sad.  At first I had it planted in the side yard.  It was in a protected area and it seemed to like its spot just fine.  It budded up and I was excited to see it in all its glory but it never happened.  I suspected that squirrels or birds at first ate the buds off and though disappointed, hoped for better the following year.  The following year the plant seemed healthy and grew so large it flopped and most of the blooms ended up on the ground.  So I attempted to stake it.  It looked just o.k. but not the same as the purple coneflower that stood up straight and tall even when in full bloom.  So, the next year I moved the Harvest Moon to the front yard thinking it would do better.  Less apt to be eaten, less apt to flop, and I hoped less apt to disappoint. But it's gotten worse with each passing year.

The moral of the story is that you can do everything right (right soil, right amount of sun, right amount of water, etc) and still have a plant that for some reason or another just doesn't return the love.  It's o.k. to let it go.  This a an addendum to the "No Mercy" Rule, knowing when to say good-bye.

A Vacation from Vacationland

Over the past couple of weeks we took a vacation outside of Maine.  While it was good to get away I was in such a hurry to pack and get work (paid not hobby) related items done that I didn't even take the time to mow the lawn.  Fortunately, my sister was kind enough to mow the back yard while she was house and cat sitting so that we didn't have to sickle our way through to the composter when we got home.  However, I didn't realize the extent of my neglect until the first weekend home.  The weeds had taken over throughout the front lawn and most of the flower beds. Yikes!  I knew that weeds like sun and rain as much as any other plant, but I guess I had gotten complacent.

The good news is that it is never too late to get a handle on your yard.  Using scissors to deadhead the plants that blossomed while we were away, a two pronged weed puller (especially useful for large dandelions) and a narrow spade, after a few short (ok, a few more than a few) hours, the yard looks even better than before we left (or maybe it looks that way because it's neat and organized, like cleaning out a clothes closet).  After the next rain and bit of beautiful weather, it will probably be a mess again (like your closet before laundry day) but it's the natural cycle, so go with it and don't get discouraged.

Another good summer activity (besides dead heading and weeding, see, gardening can be fun!) is to take stock of your plants, what works and what doesn't.  For instance, I realize that in my haste to put in plants the last two years I didn't exactly plan their placement as well as I should have.  I currently have an incredibly tall grass plant (a stray my sister dropped off) far too close to a couple of peonies (it casts a shadow over both) plus two daylilies that are side by side (same color) that should be moved to either side of a complimentary red wine weigelia.  There are other adjustments that need to be made and hopefully I will remember to do them all.

Sorry if I am repeating myself repeating myself

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this next pet peeve in an earlier post (possibly two, but I'm old, I forget) but I really dislike it when people plant the exact same perennial and/or shrub in a straight row of multiples.  There is a house in my neighborhood with three white pieris japonica under one window and nothing under the opposing window on the other side of their front door.  I wanted to take a picture of it to demonstrate here, but didn't dare tick off a neighbor.  But it's not unusual.  I think we all know a house that has a walkway lined with hostas of all the same size and color, or a row of lilacs,  or the dreaded yews.  I'm not quite sure why people plant like this.  It seems so very unimaginative.  Hostas come in different colors, and so do lilacs and pieris japonica, but, alas, not the yew, so why limit your yard's appeal?

I feel the same way about trees.  Our neighbors (note, plural) like to plant two of one variety.  One house has two red maples, another two weeping cherries, still another two lindens.  I'm not against any of these trees, in fact I really like them, just one at a time, please.  For perennials and shrubs, mix 'em up a little.  Planting for impact is actually a good idea, repeating colors and blooms flatters your yard, and makes those blooms stand out, whereas planting in straight rows, looks o.k. (and I mean just "o.k.") while blooming, but is blah afterwards.

There are exceptions to every pet peeve, however.  The Audubon Society near us has a beautiful peony garden where peonies have been planted in long rows. They hold a "Peony Social" each year to celebrate the blossoming of the peonies.  I am also all for planting shrubs if you plan to create a garden maze in your own backyard.  And, if you do create a maze, you will find you can ignore my other pet peeve, using electric garden shears to trim your shrubs into straight little boxes.

As my bird seed stealing friend might say, it's variety that makes life nice.

Wee.....ds

I am not a great identifier of weeds.  I have probably only really waged war against crabgrass since it maliciously hides from my lawn mower and seems almost impossible to combat.  One of the best, non-violent, ways is to throw down some pre-emergence in the spring just as the forsythia are budded.  The environmentally friendly pre-emergence is composed mostly of corn gluten.  Because crabgrass is an annual this method is best for the pacifist; however, dandelions are quite another story.

I should have more compassion, really, for the dandelion.  Some people put dandelion leaves in salads or use them to make wine.  We can make wishes with the seed heads, and the blossom to leaf ratio is actually quite good.  But, I am not a fan.  I lie and wait every spring, weed puller in hand for any sign of the yellow invader, then I pounce.  It seems we will have just canvassed the yard, pulled every single weed, and lo and behold the next morning five more will appear.  It's a courtesy that they are easy to spot, unlike crabgrass, so they only have themselves to blame.

Lest you think I am completely heartless.  There do exist weeds I actually like and will allow a little invasion, and not just because I am lazy.  White clover has a pretty little bloom and adds healthful nitrogen to the soil.  I like the clover and will purposely buy grass seed that has clover in it (regardless of what the lawn "experts" say).  I also like johnny jump-ups (they look like baby pansies) but will eventually pull them when they get too uppity.  Lastly, violets often will grow where the grass won't, in both white and purple (yes, more purple!) and are easy to yank if you change your mind.

Purple Haze

Spring in Maine is a beautiful time of year when the white of snow is replaced with fabulous colors, although in my yard it pretty much amounts to many shades of purple.  I think of it as a wonderful "sea of purple" whenever I pull in to the driveway.

The purple is mostly groundcover, ajuga and creeping phlox, but I also have a lion's share of grape hyacinths (muscari) that have spread like crazy.  Because I have lots of shades of purple, I think it looks good.  Once the blossoms have faded, the different shades of green will look pretty, too.  Not far behind the purple will be a sea of yellow, coreopsis and the like will replace the purple by June.

While some might think that the purple is a bit "too much", I don't.  It's fabulous to have color in Spring when all the trees are just finally leafing out and neighbors have only green and brown in their yards. I also have had crocuses and daffodils come and go already, so there has been some color in the yard since early April.  For the low maintenance gardener, bulbs are a great investment.

Some bulbs, like grape hyacinth, crocuses, and daffodils, will multiply year after year and look so pretty in drifts.  Other bulbs, like most tulips, seem to peter out after a couple of years (the flower gets smaller and eventually stops blooming).  I tend to avoid tulips because I haven't had a lot of luck with them.  I do have nine dwarf  "May Wonders", but I am not crazy about the way they bloom, very low to the ground and hard to see.  Also, I started with nine, and still have nine.  I also bought three double flowering tulip bulbs a few years ago, but only now have one that blooms and the blossom is so heavy it usually opens then snaps off.  But I do see tulips in other people's yards that seem to do very well, so it could be that my yard doesn't have the conditions that they like.

I also have problems with doronicum (leopard's bane).  My dad can grow doronicum without even trying just one mile away.  Every year he pulls seedlings out for weeds.  I've taken my fair share of seedlings and planted the pretty yellow spring flower in my yard but it hates it here and tends to die fairly quickly.  I have no idea why.  But sometimes that is just how it happens.  So, I visit my dad, enjoy his blooming doronicum, curse it a little under my breath, but appreciate it anyway.

I suppose I could have a soil sample taken and I could determine the properties of my soil.  But, frankly, I don't have that kind of ambition, I am content to trial and error my gardening.  If something doesn't perform, I simply replace it.

Other purple currently blooming, dwarf iris, vinca minor, and PJM rhododenrons.

Yew Not "Ew"

If I were to list all my gardening pet peeves, 1) this would be a very long post 2) I would run out of adjectives and, 3) I'm certain someone reading would disagree with each and every one of them.  What bothers some, does not bother others.  For instance, when I look at houses with absolutely no landscaping whatsoever, not even so much as an obligatory foundation planting, I get a cold shiver and a creepy uninvited feeling, like vampires are afoot, and the house is just a daytime coffin.  However, others might look at the same house and think, "awesome, low maintenance".

While looking for examples of what I call "crimes against the yew bush", I brought my cell phone along with me on a lunch time walk to take photos of those "yews" that I find to be "ews".  On my first day I saw some great examples, but it was sunny out and a lot of people were home so I was afraid to take photos worried I'd be accosted by someone demanding to know why I was paparazzing their domicile (for all I know these people weren't at work for some other reason besides lunch).  But the next day, I got a little braver and tried to look like I was checking my messages on my cell, while I was actually taking photos.

This first yew pictured here is a victim of bad trimming.  I really dislike the "flat top" method of pruning a shrub like the yew.  Are they planning on having a picnic on it?  There are probably three yew bushes lined up in a row in this image, but you cannot tell where one begins and another ends. I'm sure someone just hauled out an electric or gas powered hedge trimmer and took one pass over the top and said "done".  While I am all for low maintenance, this is just plain lazy and does nothing to enhance the house, the yard, or the people who live there.  I get so disappointed in those who trim in this way, I wonder if we shouldn't require a written test and a permit for use of hedge trimmers, much in the same way we do for the operator of a motor vehicle?   I suppose it could be worse, however...

Here is an image of "worse".  This image shows a couple of poor bushes being attacked by unweeded maples.  Though you may not be able to see it clearly from this photo, there are several small trees growing throughout the yew bushes.  There isn't room for all of them, and the small trees seem quite large already, since maples are fast growing and can seed like wildfire.  Best to mulch under shrubs and keep weeds (like tree seedlings) easy to pull out in the early stages than try to get them when the roots have taken a firm hold.  Now, the roots of both may be too intertwined.

This next photo shows two yew bushes that have not been trimmed, perhaps ever, and while they appear now to be getting a bit leggy, I actually prefer this look to the first image I posted where over trimming is the crime.  This problem, well, I see it as a problem, although the home owners may just like the street privacy, is the easiest to fix.  Thinning a few branches here and there, giving the yew a rounded, more controlled, shape, and allowing the trimmed branches to thicken a little, would make these two shrubs refreshed and quite pretty.

I feel like the above image is a "Where's Waldo?".  If you can easily spot the two yew bushes, then it is because you are really looking.  The rhododendron takes center stage, and really there is no need to distract from it with two badly trimmed yew bushes off to the side, so I would just remove them.  If they are small, they could be relocated, if not, well, less work for the home owner.

Now a very personal example of good yew bushes gone bad.  When we bought our house in 2001, this is what it looked like (this is the city's online tax image, I was in no hurry to take photos of our lackluster exterior). As mentioned in one of my most early posts, the yew bushes probably lasted for one week, maybe two, before I looked at the better half and begged relief from the eyesore.  There were seven badly trimmed yew bushes that added nothing to the charm of the house.  Frankly, I found the house pretty charmless anyway, inside and out, built by the neighborhood contractor in 1972 so that he could live and work in the same area.  He cut every corner, and I actually doubt he planted anything in the yard at all.  These shrubs in the photo were still quite small in 2001 and may have been planted after the house was vinyl sided (sometime, I believe, in the 1980s).

This is our house in 2008.  We have changed the shutters and windows since this photo was taken and the false cypress boulevard is now higher than the gutters, but essentially you get the idea.  With some well thought out landscaping, a house and yard can become a welcoming, colorful playground, where you can enjoy the view inside and out.  (Case and point, that lovely snowdrift flowering crab also looks beautiful when viewed from the living room window, even on a rainy day.)  You may also notice that mulch replaced the grass.  We lost a well fight battle with grubs and decided to plant ground cover and fill in with mulch.  It is far less maintenance than grass and I like the look of "park" in the front more than high maintenance green carpet.  

In closing, if you like yew bushes because they are evergreen and easy to grow, just thin them when needed and resist the urge to make them look like shipping boxes or picnic tables.