Holiday Decorating From Your Yard

I was finishing a pinecone wreath today and was reflecting that some of my most favorite holiday decorations did not come from stores but rather came from my own yard. Holly leaves and berries look lovely in any glass vase or set in floral form in a decorative container. If you did not have time to prune your holly shrub before winter, well, it's a second chance to shape longer branches.

If you love professionally arranged evergreen centerpieces that look and smell like Christmas, why not mix some of your holly leaves with other branches from your yard? You can experiment with different types of evergreens (cedar, juniper, pine, etc, each has a unique texture, smell, and color) to find a look you like. Construct a low centerpiece and you have a table decoration. Construct a tall centerpiece and you have a beautiful mantel adornment. Or, place a vase with greens, like the one pictured, in any room of your house for a little holiday cheer that is simple, understated, and personal, especially when entertaining guests. 

Other naturally derived decorations include pinecones in all shapes and sizes (if you collect any in the fall that seem sticky with pitch, bake in the oven at a low temperature for 20 minutes or so and the pitch will melt, harden, and shine as the pine cone cools down), acorns (always chose those free from worms and/or worm holes), dried grass blooms and other dried blossoms like hydrangea. I've also been known to hang sea shells and cinnamon sticks from the Christmas tree in addition to pinecones. If money is in short supply but the desire to decorate for the holidays is not, it's worth looking outside for inspiration.

Iris Paradise

It's a welcome sign of spring when the bearded iris begin to bloom. If you have iris in your garden and notice that the plants are leafed but no buds or flowers appear, check your plant for crowded rhizomes. Iris are great at self populating, the rhizomes will spread and what once was one beautiful flower will often turn to many. However, once they get crowded the plants may only produce a couple of blossoms, if any. I believe the standard rule of thumb is to divide your iris every 3-5 years, however, it really depends on the growth rate of your iris (some may need a more frequent division, some less).

Also if you decide to divide, it is recommended that you wait until after the irises have gone by. However, I have been known to divide in spring before the bloom; the iris will be fine but just won't bloom that first year.  The same can be true for newly purchased iris, they may not bloom the first year but should be fine the following year as long as planted in an appropriate location (iris like sunshine and their feet to be warm, don't plant too deep or the rhizome on the bearded iris will rot over time).

Iris are generally pest and disease free and reliable bloomers. Plus, the colors are a welcome distraction from a long Maine winter. While I prefer plants that bloom in solid colors (for impact in my small yard) I acquired some white and purple iris and yellow and purple iris from my dad when he subdivided and I would never turn away a homeless plant. 

Better Late Than Never

It would appear that I have been more than a little remiss in my efforts to maintain a gardening blog. I believe the last time I posted was in July, 2014, just about three years ago. While three years seems like a long time, I am hoping it has been long enough to properly reflect on what else I could possibly say about the joys of being outside and how a little digging, planting, and nurturing can be good for the soul.

This spring has gotten off to a late start (good to know I'm not the only one) and it has just started to become warm enough to begin working outside. The oak leaves that fell after the first snow last year need clearing as do the gallons of acorns littering the yard. While clearing the ridiculously large pine cones that fell from an abutting neighbor's tree, I noticed that some mushrooms had formed at the base of the rose of sharon I mercilessly trimmed back a couple of years ago (it had gotten far too leggy and leans heavily on one side). I thought the orange of the mushrooms was quite striking against the green moss on the rose of sharon so I took this photo. Then I began to panic that the mushrooms were a sign that the shrub might be rotting. So I performed a quick Google search and discovered that while mushrooms are not harmful in your lawn and garden, they are most likely a sign that something had gone horribly wrong and the shrub is on its way out. Well at least nature gives you a sign when something bad is about to happen. This particular shrub has pretty blossoms, but it will not be a complete tragedy if/when it dies. It has outgrown its space and should probably be replaced with something far smaller. I think of it as an opportunity to change the landscape and create a fresh look.

To Each Their Own

At my last job I brought in a number of perennials for a friend who worked in another department.  She, in turn, brought in some plants to share and gave me first dibbs.  I chose this liatris because I did not have any purple in bloom after June and I thought it would be a nice addition.  She looked at me and said, are you sure you want that plant?  I don't know if she thought I already must have one or if she assumed I liked a fancier type of plant (I brought her dahlias and irises) but I had no reservations. This plant loves its space and has been a real joy in the garden.  I planted it next to the rudbeckia and bee balm (the garden variety types, no pedigrees needed) and the effect is lovely.

This is actually my second time with rudbeckia (or, black eyed Susans).  The first time I planted them in the yard they looked beautiful for one season and then were not seen again.  I don't know if I accidentally weeded out the plants and any seedlings (rubeckia likes to seed itself, but not obnoxiously like the coreopsis, or at least it's not obnoxious in my yard.)

The red bee balm on the other side of the liatris is a couple of years old.  I grabbed a seedling from a friend's house a couple of years ago since the pink and purple bee balm I'd purchased didn't do anything special and eventually petered out.  The red seems to be doing well, but in the recent humidity has a recent case of powdery mildew.  I gave it one application of sulfur spray (it's a fungicide for plants) and that seems to be working.  I don't advocate using biological warfare in the garden since you never know what the downstream effect will be, but I was afraid that the powdery mildew would spread to my nearby peonies, so I did a quick application explicitly following the directions on the packaging.

While planting common varieties of plants may not seem exotic or unique, they do provide reliable consistent blooms.  And if you like to repeat a plant in your landscape (which I recommend) a plant that seeds itself or can be divided is a really good pick if you also like to save money as well as time.

Less is More

I think a lot of people make the mistake of thinking a garden has to be big and crowded to have impact.  Some of the prettiest gardens I have admired are lovely because of their simplicity.  This one with the rock and ornamental grasses is just outside a doctor's office and the other photo with the rhododendrons in bloom was taken behind a hospital building.

When I walk by gardens like these I never see anyone laboring over them but yet they look clean and well cared for. Each garden has its own personal style and fits into the environment like it was meant to be there.

Both the Walgreens and Dunkin' Donuts in our neighborhood have upgraded their landscaping to include a garden "island"  to buffer their entrances and parking lots from the busy intersection they border.  If it wasn't for the fact that I am always driving by both places, I would have included photos of those areas as well.  Suffice it to say that if you find yourself thinking that gardens mean nothing but work and money, think again.  If Walgreens and Dunkin' Donuts can afford the time and resources, you can, too!

Springing Forward

In a little over a month it will officially be summer, but a just a week before Memorial Day it finally feels like spring.  And despite repeated attempts to go outside and finish the first pass at weeding and leaf clean up, but driven inside by torrential rains and hail (!) over the past couple of weekends, today I was able to spend a full day outside blissfully reconnecting with my yard on an intimate level.

I was not the only hard worker in the garden.  When weeding under the PJM rhododendron I could not escape the hum of bees all excitedly flying around bloom to bloom.  There were several kinds, but this guy was the only one who stayed still long enough for a clear photo (I really wanted one of the bumblebees, who seemed to be the size of golf balls, but they were surprisingly fast).

Next to the PJM is a Boulevard False Cypress that had dropped quite a few needles over the winter.  When I was clearing underneath I find a little nest that seemed to be constructed from straw and dryer lint.  It was uninhabited so I brought it inside to show my daughter and I put it on the mantel.

The bees and bird's nest are evidence that when we garden we restore the balance we disrupt when we clear the land for homes, driveways, streets, and other buildings.

The Winter of My Discontent

This may have been the longest winter in Maine history and thus explains my abstinence from blogging (nothing to report when the yard is consistently covered in snow).   While other states were enjoying the color of new blooms and mowing their lawns, we were still waiting for the snow to melt.  There are a few hearty crocuses making an attempt in my front lawn, but they will probably go by before we have a chance to properly pay our respects.  I bet we'll see a short spring and then a long hot summer before we know it.

It was warm enough this weekend to finally go outside and begin sweeping out the considerable amount of sand left behind by plow trucks. There are the stubborn oak leaves that fell after the first snow that will need to be cleared as well.  While it's tempting to complain about the volumes of snow we received, it should be noted that snow acts as an insulator for your plants and shrubs and, when it melts, is a good source of moisture so that they don't dry out.  Better to have too much snow than not enough.

The egg is put back together here to show the teeth or claw marks.
 The squirrel must have cracked this egg like a walnut;
the tin foil was next to it, but the candy was long gone.

And while I should have been doing more actual yard work outside I had to take a break and hide a few Easter eggs for my teenage daughter who hates to leave childhood behind. By the time she had gotten around to looking for the eggs, just about 2 hours later, one of our neighborhood squirrels had managed to get one of the hidden eggs open, eat the candy inside, and leave the colored tin foil behind.

I'm a little worried that there is a sad squirrel out there somewhere with a terrible stomach ache and wonder why a squirrel would be tempted by 2 Rolos and a Hershey kiss?  I guess it was a long winter for them, too.