My combination garden diary, plant list & photo page... because I've got to keep track of it all somewhere.
A New Season Begins
Posted 04-18-2012 at 06:30 AM by CanadaSue
Gardeners are like sports fans - always looking ahead to the new season & this is no exception. I'm hoping for a banner year in the garden for several reasons. First - I've given up on the round bed & fence line border at the other end of the complex. It's a good distance from MY door, too tough to get water too & frankly - too much like work. I don't mind work but this is supposed to be fun not gulag level labour. Instead, I'm going to focus on MY building where the west corner of the complex is quiet, peaceful & tenants are very respectful of the work I've put in. They keep their dogs & small kids out of the plants. Tenants bring lawn chair, cold drinks, books & needlework down there & I'm hoping more will choose to do so this year.
After a mild winter, I've been able to get an early start & since the beginning of April have gotten a lot of accomplished. Starting a new season is never fun. It's damp & dreary out there & that end of the building is a bit of a wind tunnel. Dressing in layers is mandatory until nid May.
But, the brute work is done & now, it will be 90% fun. I was afraid I might have lost plants this year due to zero snow cover & lots of temperature variation over the course of the 'winter' we had. It was a dry one as well... which may have prevented the frost heave I was fearing. So what have I done to this point?
I cleaned up my border, removing a winter's worth of blown in leaves & trash & as new shoots poked through the ground, cutting back the bits of old stems & stalks I left as markers. I extended that border by 50%. I was going to take it right out to the end of the fence - which would have been a 100% extension but have chosen not to; reserving the right to change my mind. Several reasons. It's brutal work digging out 23' sections & I run into tons of surface tree roots. Ongoing maintenance won't get easier as I get older. I can maintain what I have now without too much trouble but I'm not getting any younger & have to be pragmatic. Watering is a big issue. I have to hand water - 4 gallons at a time. The hoses I used to use I've been told, were 'stolen'. That's a load of codswallop but not worth arguing about. As it is, the addition means the garden can easily be seen from the road & front of the building - good enough.
As perennial weeds come up - thankfully very few - I've been uprooting them. It's easiest now while the ground is still soft. I think I have a few weed plants thriving but frankly, I'm not sure. I'll leave them until they make it clear what they are. In the past, I've accidently pulled a lot of good plants thinking they were weeds - it's a learning process. I have a fair number of seedlings coming up - some are no doubt weeds but again until I'm sure... they stay.
I cleaned out the border right up against the building, turning over the very sandy soil, weeding & yanking weeds. Both borders were edged & perennial plants were cleaned up - by now all old stalks & dead stems have been cut back.
I've transplanted from my abandoned bed & border, those plants I wanted to keep. All that's left there now are 2 lavender shrubs I promised another tenant. If she's home, I'll offer to move those for her today as a small group of tenants at the other building have expressed an interest in trying vegetables over there. They know I've removed what I wanted but I did tell them I'd have one final look today to be sure.
In the new extension, I've successfully placed all my rescues - no wilting, no dying... I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I transplanted a lot of tulips & don't let anyone tell you it can't be done in early spring as they come up. It can & if they were going to bloom... they will. Mine don't bloom until May anyway so no harm, no foul.
The sandy border against the building is going to be a bit of a catch all planting this year. In there because it gets baked, I've planted a couple of lavender shrubs, achillea, a couple of mums... I've also tossed in bee balm, a stray heuchera, astilbe, alchemilla mollis, a purple leafed spurge - let's see how they do. Today in there, I'm planting a couple of packets of nasturtium seed I found in my garden bag - think I bought those last spring. I'll add in some California poppy & see what happens over the summer - really don't know what I want to do with that border. I suspect by fall I may move some 'orphans' to the little community garden, (that no one is maintaining), over in the park next door. If somebody wants to snitch them - no skin off my nose. They may not be plants I particularily care for but may suit someone else.
I covered the fence line border with 250 liters of composted sheep manure. Over the spring, it will find its way into the ground, worked in by my increasingly healthy worm population. I haven't worked the soil in the established part of that border - plants still coming up that I don't want to harm & it shouldn't need it - that soil was well prepared & if I layer on amendments from here on it, that should be fine.
In the new section, I worked in a trash bag of composted leaf mold where I'm planning to plant delphiniums within a week or two. I have available enough leaf mold to place a generous covering of it over the entire border but am waiting until plants are well up. It looks nice right now with fresh black manure on it...LOL. I soon won't be able to see the soil for plants & that's when I like to mulch with leaf mold & other things. I've also located the remains of a massive old oak that fell years ago. The entire thing has been reduced to a spongy, powdery substance that will make a wonderful, water absorbing, soil lightening amendment to the new section. That worked beautifully with my older sections - I simply mixed in bone/blood meal to prevent the resulting soil from becoming too acidic & the result, almost 2 years later, is a really nice rich, black soil full of roots, worms & other insects.
I'm a plant nut - there are so many beautiful things out there & that's the problem. What to grow? That was agonizing when I first planted. I wasn't entirely sure what I liked or what would grow well in my border. I also didn't know what would suit the area. I threw in everything but the kitchen sink & have been observing the past several seasons. I think now, I've finally figured out what I really like & what works.
It turns out I'm a 'hosta & heuchera whore'. I used to find those very plain & boring plants - essentially nothing more than green fillers. Modern hybridizing techniques have resulted in, in the case of heucheras; a stunning variety of colours of leaves. I have a lot of reds, a few that vary from spring to fall & some that lean to purple. I have a few on my shopping list for this year - some stunning, faily new cultivars. Hostas come in thousands of named varieties. I already have several really nice ones, all save one have come through the ground & today, I'll be dividing 3 of my favourites so I can have some in my new section, I will buy 2 this spring - any of a few dozen varieties will do.
I'm fond of astilbe as well. They come through the ground coiled up like fern heads & with purple/red stems. The leaves open up to look like fresh rose leaves & they hold a lovely shape all season. The flowers give you a month in whites, pinks & various reds. I'm not buying any this year - have more than enough.
Day lilies are another stalwart & are starting to get a tad thuggish. I need to remove a couple of them today - they're intruding into other plants' territory.
Those four plants are the backbone - the consistent threads weaving through my now 70' long border.
I have 2 small areas of delphinium & larkspur & they've done well. I'm looking to buy 5-6 young plants within the week - a new grouping will go into the border extension & I wish to add a few to established plantings... groups of a species always give more of an impact than single plants dotted here & there.
For early spring - which is now in my climate - I rely heavily on wild plants. I have bloodroot, hepatica, trout lily, jack in the pulpit, trillium, squirrel corn, Solomon's Seal, Canadian columbine & purple, white & yellow violas. My initial tiny patch of blood root is now large enough to split into at least 5 separate clumps - when it's happy, it grows very well & the leaves look neat all summer as well as interesting. I need more trout lily, jack in the pulpit & trillium. A newly surveryed building site in what was woods should provide an ample source. The squirrel corn & columbines are happily spreading & they're never a bother. I need to yank out a fair, few violas. They're gorgeous but can be invasive; especially the purple ones.
I need more spring bulbs - especially iris, crocus & mini daffs but that's a job for fall. I'm not short of several species of tulips.
Ugh - back to bed for a bit now that the sun is up. I ate & the sleepies are hitting hard.
After a mild winter, I've been able to get an early start & since the beginning of April have gotten a lot of accomplished. Starting a new season is never fun. It's damp & dreary out there & that end of the building is a bit of a wind tunnel. Dressing in layers is mandatory until nid May.
But, the brute work is done & now, it will be 90% fun. I was afraid I might have lost plants this year due to zero snow cover & lots of temperature variation over the course of the 'winter' we had. It was a dry one as well... which may have prevented the frost heave I was fearing. So what have I done to this point?
I cleaned up my border, removing a winter's worth of blown in leaves & trash & as new shoots poked through the ground, cutting back the bits of old stems & stalks I left as markers. I extended that border by 50%. I was going to take it right out to the end of the fence - which would have been a 100% extension but have chosen not to; reserving the right to change my mind. Several reasons. It's brutal work digging out 23' sections & I run into tons of surface tree roots. Ongoing maintenance won't get easier as I get older. I can maintain what I have now without too much trouble but I'm not getting any younger & have to be pragmatic. Watering is a big issue. I have to hand water - 4 gallons at a time. The hoses I used to use I've been told, were 'stolen'. That's a load of codswallop but not worth arguing about. As it is, the addition means the garden can easily be seen from the road & front of the building - good enough.
As perennial weeds come up - thankfully very few - I've been uprooting them. It's easiest now while the ground is still soft. I think I have a few weed plants thriving but frankly, I'm not sure. I'll leave them until they make it clear what they are. In the past, I've accidently pulled a lot of good plants thinking they were weeds - it's a learning process. I have a fair number of seedlings coming up - some are no doubt weeds but again until I'm sure... they stay.
I cleaned out the border right up against the building, turning over the very sandy soil, weeding & yanking weeds. Both borders were edged & perennial plants were cleaned up - by now all old stalks & dead stems have been cut back.
I've transplanted from my abandoned bed & border, those plants I wanted to keep. All that's left there now are 2 lavender shrubs I promised another tenant. If she's home, I'll offer to move those for her today as a small group of tenants at the other building have expressed an interest in trying vegetables over there. They know I've removed what I wanted but I did tell them I'd have one final look today to be sure.
In the new extension, I've successfully placed all my rescues - no wilting, no dying... I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I transplanted a lot of tulips & don't let anyone tell you it can't be done in early spring as they come up. It can & if they were going to bloom... they will. Mine don't bloom until May anyway so no harm, no foul.
The sandy border against the building is going to be a bit of a catch all planting this year. In there because it gets baked, I've planted a couple of lavender shrubs, achillea, a couple of mums... I've also tossed in bee balm, a stray heuchera, astilbe, alchemilla mollis, a purple leafed spurge - let's see how they do. Today in there, I'm planting a couple of packets of nasturtium seed I found in my garden bag - think I bought those last spring. I'll add in some California poppy & see what happens over the summer - really don't know what I want to do with that border. I suspect by fall I may move some 'orphans' to the little community garden, (that no one is maintaining), over in the park next door. If somebody wants to snitch them - no skin off my nose. They may not be plants I particularily care for but may suit someone else.
I covered the fence line border with 250 liters of composted sheep manure. Over the spring, it will find its way into the ground, worked in by my increasingly healthy worm population. I haven't worked the soil in the established part of that border - plants still coming up that I don't want to harm & it shouldn't need it - that soil was well prepared & if I layer on amendments from here on it, that should be fine.
In the new section, I worked in a trash bag of composted leaf mold where I'm planning to plant delphiniums within a week or two. I have available enough leaf mold to place a generous covering of it over the entire border but am waiting until plants are well up. It looks nice right now with fresh black manure on it...LOL. I soon won't be able to see the soil for plants & that's when I like to mulch with leaf mold & other things. I've also located the remains of a massive old oak that fell years ago. The entire thing has been reduced to a spongy, powdery substance that will make a wonderful, water absorbing, soil lightening amendment to the new section. That worked beautifully with my older sections - I simply mixed in bone/blood meal to prevent the resulting soil from becoming too acidic & the result, almost 2 years later, is a really nice rich, black soil full of roots, worms & other insects.
I'm a plant nut - there are so many beautiful things out there & that's the problem. What to grow? That was agonizing when I first planted. I wasn't entirely sure what I liked or what would grow well in my border. I also didn't know what would suit the area. I threw in everything but the kitchen sink & have been observing the past several seasons. I think now, I've finally figured out what I really like & what works.
It turns out I'm a 'hosta & heuchera whore'. I used to find those very plain & boring plants - essentially nothing more than green fillers. Modern hybridizing techniques have resulted in, in the case of heucheras; a stunning variety of colours of leaves. I have a lot of reds, a few that vary from spring to fall & some that lean to purple. I have a few on my shopping list for this year - some stunning, faily new cultivars. Hostas come in thousands of named varieties. I already have several really nice ones, all save one have come through the ground & today, I'll be dividing 3 of my favourites so I can have some in my new section, I will buy 2 this spring - any of a few dozen varieties will do.
I'm fond of astilbe as well. They come through the ground coiled up like fern heads & with purple/red stems. The leaves open up to look like fresh rose leaves & they hold a lovely shape all season. The flowers give you a month in whites, pinks & various reds. I'm not buying any this year - have more than enough.
Day lilies are another stalwart & are starting to get a tad thuggish. I need to remove a couple of them today - they're intruding into other plants' territory.
Those four plants are the backbone - the consistent threads weaving through my now 70' long border.
I have 2 small areas of delphinium & larkspur & they've done well. I'm looking to buy 5-6 young plants within the week - a new grouping will go into the border extension & I wish to add a few to established plantings... groups of a species always give more of an impact than single plants dotted here & there.
For early spring - which is now in my climate - I rely heavily on wild plants. I have bloodroot, hepatica, trout lily, jack in the pulpit, trillium, squirrel corn, Solomon's Seal, Canadian columbine & purple, white & yellow violas. My initial tiny patch of blood root is now large enough to split into at least 5 separate clumps - when it's happy, it grows very well & the leaves look neat all summer as well as interesting. I need more trout lily, jack in the pulpit & trillium. A newly surveryed building site in what was woods should provide an ample source. The squirrel corn & columbines are happily spreading & they're never a bother. I need to yank out a fair, few violas. They're gorgeous but can be invasive; especially the purple ones.
I need more spring bulbs - especially iris, crocus & mini daffs but that's a job for fall. I'm not short of several species of tulips.
Ugh - back to bed for a bit now that the sun is up. I ate & the sleepies are hitting hard.
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