No time for a weekly post

Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) is a joy in the late-summer garden, and unlike its red-flowered cousin, cardinal flower, it’s easy to grow and adaptable.

Refer back to last week’s In the garden this week for a list of chores for the week, but it’s time to stop pruning of shrubs and trees now, except for removing dead and diseased material, which can be done at any time. Do keep up on watering newly installed plants: it’s hot and dry out there, and I’m seeing signs of drought damage everywhere.

And if you’re planning to doing any fall planting, please check out my latest “Backyard Environmentalist” column, which explains why everything you think you know about planting is probably wrong.

Northern bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera), a small, drought-tolerant shrub, is one of my new favorite plants. Consider it if you have a dry, shady area where nothing else will grow.

Blue berries

Cornus sericea (red osier dogwood) growing in shade–look carefully and you’ll see the truly blue berries.

There are few truly blue fruits or flowers, perhaps because very few creatures can see the color blue (birds and primates are the most important groups that can). Some viburnums and dogwoods make blue berries, but with most of the these very tasty plants, you almost never see a ripe fruit–the birds eat them the second they ripen. If you look carefully at the photo above, you’ll see a number of ripe blue berries among the green unripe ones. I took this photo early yesterday evening, and all the ripe berries were gone this morning. (The colors and contrast on the photo were enhanced a bit.)

By the way, Cornus sericea is one of the most adaptable native shrubs: in nature it usually grows in very wet places, often in full sun. In my garden it’s growing in dry, sandy soil and almost complete shade.

Landskipping

I’ve just started reading this marvelous and marvelously written book about the history of the English landscape: not how it came to be, but how people have thought about it and looked at it since the Romantic era, when people began traveling to look at landscape. At the time philosophers came up with ideas about landscape, and rules for viewing it properly, that still influence us today.

Notice the sheep. On a visit last week to the Hudson Valley, where we toured the homes of Frederick Church and Thomas Cole, two major Hudson River School painters, I was most struck not by the beauty of the landscape but by the absence of sheep! In the eighteenth century, people viewed landscape under the influence of the contrast between the sublime and the beautiful, an idea promulgated in a seminal philosophical treatise by Edmund Burke in 1757. A rugged landscape dominated by mountains, waterfalls, and windblown trees exemplifies the sublime. A pastoral landscape dominated by gentle hills and pastures exemplifies the beautiful. The Hudson River School painters were most interested in conveying the majesty of nature–the sublime–while the English idea of landscape, although appreciative of sublimity in nature, tended to focus on the beautiful (think of the contrast between Constable and Turner). And to include lots of sheep.

Landscape in Derbyshire, with sheep.

(And if you share my appreciation for sheep, check out Google Sheep View. Almost every day you can view sheep doing their thing in some beautiful corner of the world.)

View from Olana, home of Hudson River School painter Frederick Church, without sheep.

8/19/16: In the garden this week

Verbena stricta has been blooming since late June and shows no sign of letting up. At its feet is purple lovegrass and daisy fleabane. This is a new garden created by mulching part of the front lawn last fall. Both species of grasses you see here–purple lovegrass and little bluestem–were transplanted in very early spring and are blooming nicely.

I’ve been away for a few days, but the garden looks dry and there was no water in my rain gauge, so it looks like the scattered thunderstorms we were hearing about missed this area. But at least the heat has moderated a bit. So get out there and consider these seasonal garden chores:

— water new plantings:  in any week in which we receive less than an inch of rain, water all woody plants installed this spring or last fall. Perennials planted last spring should be well-established, but those planted last fall or this spring need supplemental watering during dry spells. How do you know when we’ve received an inch of rain? I use a highly sophisticated rain gauge–an old yogurt container placed on the ground among the plants. A tunafish or catfood can works equally well. Sunday is my watering day, and I’m going to water my new trees and shrubs.

— practice good horticulture with warm-season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, beans, corn, and cucumbers: Monitor for insect eggs and larvae and remove them before infestations become serious. Throw out badly infested or diseased plants to prevent the spread of disease (do not compost diseased or infested plant material). Cucumber vines are showing signs of wilt: remove them immediately to prevent the spread of this fungal disease.

— as tomatoes ripen their fruit, cut back on watering to avoid split fruits: provide no more than an inch of water per week. (If it rains, don’t water.) Keep removing suckers. Look at this post, this one, and this one for basic information about growing tomatoes.

— extend a garden bed or start a new one (it’s always a great idea to eliminate some lawn): spread a 3-4” layer of cedar or hemlock bark mulch over the area to kill the grass. In the fall or next spring, you’ll be able to plant right through the dying grass and mulch.

— collect seeds. Coreopsis seed ripens nearly every day. So does seed of daisy fleabane, a lovely native annual. It pops up in different parts of my garden each year. Some seed of purple lovegrass is beginning to ripen, as are seeds of nodding prairie onion and monarda..

— it’s a good time to prune woody plants, but don’t  put it off much longer. Once growth, flowering, and fruiting are done, the plants are relatively dormant, giving you a window of time to prune before they get ready for their next critical task: leaf abscission (shutting down for the winter). I do most of my pruning in winter, but I also prune back shrubs as needed after they have ripened their fruit.

— pick fruit! Aronia berries are almost ripe, native plums are ripening; elderberries and nonedible fruits such as grey dogwood berries are almost gone–both are bird favorites. The second crop of everbearing raspberries is ripening—yum! The most plentiful crop in my garden is aronia, and I made a batch of aronia/plum jam.

— follow a sustainable lawn care regimen: if you feel you must fertilize your lawn, best practice is to give it no more than two applications of slow-release organic fertilizer each season, around Memorial Day and Labor Day. It’s too hot now to reseed bare areas: wait until early fall. Better still, if you have a place where grass won’t grow, plan to plant something that will, like shade-loving native perennials. Let the grass grow at least 3″ tall for maximum photosynthesis. Lawns do not need water now (or ever), but if you do water, do it infrequently and deeply to encourage deep root growth. One inch of water once a week is much better than a few minutes each day. But remember: the more you water, the more you’ll have to mow!

Enjoy the garden this week! Don’t you feel like we’re starting to transition to fall?

As sweet joe pye weed finishes blooming, great blue lobelia takes over and asters are still to come in this shade garden.

 

8/12/16: In the garden this week

The perennial garden is a riot of color in mid-August. Yellow Rudbeckias vies for attention with pink Hibiscus and purple Agastache, while native grasses and asters provide a calming backdrop. Most asters won’t start blooming for at least another couple of weeks.

I heard on NPR this morning that El Nino is ending in the Pacific; so, it seems, are our two years of moderate temperatures and drought. Notice how the weather has changed in the past couple of weeks? (I particularly notice it because I often have to work outdoors, and the heat and humidity have been punishing.) And there’s little relief in sight.

If you can manage to go outdoors, there’s plenty to do, in addition to admiring the beautiful summer flowers:

— water new plantings: depending on location, you probably got more than an inch of rain last week—my garden got an inch just last night. So I will not be doing any waterint this week. However, in any week in which we receive less than an inch of rain, water all woody plants installed this spring or last fall. Perennials planted last spring should be well-established, but those planted last fall or this spring need supplemental watering during dry spells. How do you know when we’ve received an inch of rain? I use a highly sophisticated rain gauge–an old yogurt container placed on the ground among the plants. A tunafish or catfood can works equally well. Sunday is my watering day, and I’m going to water my new trees and shrubs.

— practice good horticulture with warm-season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, beans, corn, and cucumbers: Monitor for insect eggs and larvae and remove them before infestations become serious. Throw out badly infested or diseased plants to prevent the spread of disease (do not compost diseased or infested plant material). Cucumber vines are showing signs of wilt: remove them immediately to prevent the spread of this fungal disease.

— as tomatoes ripen their fruit, cut back on watering to avoid split fruits: provide no more than an inch of water per week. (If it rains, don’t water.) Keep removing suckers. Look at this post, this one, and this one for basic information about growing tomatoes.

— extend a garden bed or start a new one (it’s always a great idea to eliminate some lawn): spread a 3-4” layer of cedar or hemlock bark mulch over the area to kill the grass. In the fall, you’ll be able to plant right through the dying grass and mulch.

— rain brings weeds! Keep up with your weeding so things don’t get out of control.

— collect seeds. Coreopsis seed ripens nearly every day. So does seed of daisy fleabane, a lovely native annual. It pops up in different parts of my garden each year. Some seed of purple lovegrass is beginning to ripen.

— it’s a good time to prune woody plants. Once growth, flowering, and fruiting are done, the plants are relatively dormant, giving you a window of time to prune before they get ready for their next critical task: leaf abscission (shutting down for the winter). I do most of my pruning in winter, but I also prune back shrubs as needed after they have ripened their fruit.

— pick fruit! Aronia berries are almost ripe, native plums are ripening; elderberries and nonedible fruits such as grey dogwood berries are almost gone–both are bird favorites. The second crop of everbearing raspberries is ripening—yum! The most plentiful crop in my garden is aronia, and I am planning a batch of aronia/plum jam.

— follow a sustainable lawn care regimen: if you feel you must fertilize your lawn, best practice is to give it no more than two applications of slow-release organic fertilizer each season, around Memorial Day and Labor Day. It’s too hot now to reseed bare areas: wait until early fall. Better still, if you have a place where grass won’t grow, plan to plant something that will, like shade-loving native perennials. Let the grass grow at least 3″ tall for maximum photosynthesis. Lawns do not need water now (or ever), but if you do water, do it infrequently and deeply to encourage deep root growth. One inch of water once a week is much better than a few minutes each day. But remember: the more you water, the more you’ll have to mow!

Enjoy the garden this week, and think how much your plants are enjoying the rain!

Garden phlox is in full bloom in my garden, as the first Boltonia flowers open.

 

8/5/16: In the garden this week

The native Hibiscus in my garden can be pink or this lovely white with red centers.

Didn’t we get some lovely rain this past weekend? But according to my rain gauge, not as much fell as you might think: only about 1 3/4 inches. Still, it was a welcome relief, as was this week’s relatively cool weather. It’s much pleasanter to work outdoors as a professional horticulturist when the temperature is 85 degrees, not 95 degrees.

I hope this week’s very pleasant weather beckoned you into your garden. Here are some seasonal tasks you might consider:

— water new plantings: depending on location, you probably got more than an inch of rain last week, but all of it came very early in the week. Unless we get quite a bit of rain tomorrow, new plantings need watering: Any week in which we receive less than an inch of rain, water all woody plants installed this spring or last fall. Perennials planted last spring should be well-established, but those planted last fall or this spring need supplemental watering during dry spells. How do you know when we’ve received an inch of rain? I use a highly sophisticated rain gauge–an old yogurt container placed on the ground among the plants. A tunafish or catfood can works equally well. Sunday is my watering day, and I’m going to water my new trees and shrubs.

— practice good horticulture with warm-season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, beans, corn, and cucumbers: Monitor for insect eggs and larvae and remove them before infestations become serious. Throw out badly infested or diseased plants to prevent the spread of disease (do not compost diseased or infested plant material). Cucumber vines are showing signs of wilt: remove them immediately to prevent the spread of this fungal disease.

— As tomatoes ripen their fruit, cut back on watering to avoid split fruits: provide no more than an inch of water per week. (If it rains, don’t water.) Keep removing suckers all summer long. Look at this post, this one, and this one for basic information about growing tomatoes.

— extend a garden bed or start a new one (it’s always a great idea to eliminate some lawn): spread a 3-4” layer of cedar or hemlock bark mulch over the area to kill the grass. In the fall, you’ll be able to plant right through the dying grass and mulch.

— rain brings weeds! Keep up with your weeding so things don’t get out of control.

— collect seeds. Coreopsis seed ripens nearly every day (although goldfinches are getting most of it). So does seed of daisy fleabane, a lovely native annual. It pops up in different parts of my garden each year.

— it’s a good time to prune woody plants. Now that most growth, flowering, and fruiting are done, the plants are relatively dormant, giving you a window of time to prune before they get ready for their next critical task: leaf abscission (shutting down for the winter). I do most of my pruning in winter, but I also prune back shrubs as needed after they have ripened their fruit.

— pick fruit! Aronia berries are almost ripe, native plums are ripening; elderberries and nonedible fruits such as grey dogwood berries are almost gone–both are bird favorites. The most plentiful crop in my garden is aronia, and I am planning a batch of aronia/plum jam.

— follow a sustainable lawn care regimen: if you feel you must fertilize your lawn, best practice is to give it no more than two applications of slow-release organic fertilizer each season, around Memorial Day and Labor Day. It’s too hot now to reseed bare areas: wait until early fall. Better still, if you have a place where grass won’t grow, plan to plant something that will, like shade-loving native perennials. Let the grass grow at least 3″ tall for maximum photosynthesis. Lawns do not need water now (or ever), but if you do water, do it infrequently and deeply to encourage deep root growth. One inch of water once a week is much better than a few minutes each day. But remember: the more you water, the more you’ll have to mow!

Enjoy the garden this week. And please take a look at this week’s Backyard Environmentalist column, about the effects of drought on our trees.

Great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) is beautiful and extremely easy to grow in shade or part shade.