A Busy Week

I've had a busy week. I got my certificates from the American Rose Society for my winning photographs. Next month my rose society wants me to explain what makes a prize winning photograph. And we're all to bring photos along to be judged by peers. This should be interesting. The last time I did this, the meeting ran way long and everyone had a wonderful time.

I am hoping this year to have some really great roses in my garden. I'm getting the cameras ready now and will be practicing as soon as the daffodils begin to bloom.

The End of March

Today is close to the end of March. The saying is for this month is "In like a lion - Out like a lamb". Well, how about this year it's "In like a lion - Out like a lion". March is usually our most unpredictable month as far as weather.

Today it is trying to snow. The temperatures are in the high 30's, low 40's for the morning hours. It will warm up to about 50 by mid afternoon. This snow will turn to rain.



But after this month comes April. This is the month when everything begins to pop. The camellia which is marginally capable of handling this zone, does well where I put it and every year looks fuller and nicer. It's quite an outstanding shrub. I keep it on the east side of the shed where the hot afternoon sun doesn't bake it and the winter winds charging from the west doesn't whip at it. Each year it blooms better than the year before. Definitely a happy plant that will start blooming in the next two weeks.

My most adorable alpine primroses are up and dancing now, getting ready to strut their blooms again in the next two weeks. Such pretty little things! They will need divided this year and I will get to stretch them out over a larger area. Yippie!

The snow has stopped now and the sun comes out. Such is March!


Memories come back of April of 2006, and finally putting in the last of the largest hardscaping we had planned for this property -- the patio. It's been almost two years now! Incredible. Would you believe we're still giving this patio it's finishing touches? Each year we do something else. I don't know yet if we will be putting in the path from the driveway to the patio or not. I'll see as time goes on.




The patio in 1007

Right now, I have all the evergreen shrubs fertilized. The azalea, rhododendron and camellia are also fertilized. The very early trimming, such as the Japanese willow, vitex, butterfly bushes, beauty berry, and grasses are all pruned and starting their spring growth. I've transplanted one of the two or three roses that need done, and planted one new one that hadn't broken dormancy yet.

When it's not nice enough to be out, I've been potting up my new roots and summer bulbs to give them a good start. Even though it's a bit cool outside today, it's not to cold for these little potted roots and bulbs and tubers to be outside on the deck to bask in the sunshine and get well watered. I've even considered putting up my little hothouse that I keep on the deck every early spring so these plants can stay outside even at night. I only use this for about 2 weeks out of the year or I will roast anything that's in it.

It's time to start getting ready to open the garden for the season. I still have to fertilize and prune the roses, but not yet. There's to many other things that I do have to get done right now. It's time and so far, I'm right on schedule.

Happy Easter to everyone who visits this journal.

A New Tree

The past few days while I've been at work, Husband has been going around looking at different clump trees. I wanted an understory tree for a spot between my forsythia where there is a hole.

5 or 6 nurseries later, we finally narrowed the group down to about 6 or 8 different varieties. The original thought was for a Service Berry. I like this tree because it is native and is a big draw to some small birds such as wrens and buntings. I like the tiny but distinctive white flowers early spring and the medium green leaves in the summer. The fall color is yellow.

Other varieties we looked at were the Ironwood tree, not a clump but with an interesting red flower very early. Several different clump dogwoods including a very rare but extremely lovely yellow dogwood, clump maple, clump lilac, and clump hawthorne.

The one clump dogwood we found that was the right size for us to handle turned out to be a Kousa dogwood, probably the one variety of dogwood that I don't really like. My reason for not liking this dogwood is because the flowers come out so late in the season and are lost in the dense foliage of the tree. The flowers are generally a creamy color and just not as showy nor does it have that wonderful open branch pattern or the deep dark bark as the florida species. The Cornus florida has more problems with canker, sun scorch, blight and scale, but it is an earlier bloom and an extremely showy plant.

There was a wonderful yellow Cornus florida, which I'd never seen before. This was a strong contender. It was the species of dogwood that I really liked, but it was an earlier bloom (starting now) than the other dogwoods and to put it in a row of forsythia, I was afraid it would get lost with the color. The flowers are approximately the same color as the forsythia flower and to bloom at the same time in the same area..... However, I've not forgotten this beauty. If I decide on another understory tree, this one will be given first consideration. It is a beautiful conversation plant.

I didn't like the Ironwood tree all that much. Very early spring (now), it bursts into these tiny red brac type flowers. Though not big, they are somewhat showy, but get lost in a mess of strangling branches. Even with the exfoliating winter bark, this tree just gets lost with no attractive branch pattern. An open branch pattern would be nice to see this wonderful exfoliating winter bark and to show off those wonderful ruby red flowers.

The clump redbud is a lovely small tree that has these really showy pink/fushia colored flowers that stay very close to the gray/black bark of this tree. Yet, the open branch pattern is designed to really show off this very early color. However, I drag my with this beauty because I had one just a couple of years ago that simply dropped dead after 4 years. It was never discovered why this tree died and that makes me nervous. Still, it remains a favorite for me. The dark bark, open branch pattern, multiple trunks and those very tiny but plentiful fushia pink flowers make this tree a real eye catcher. Put it over top those yellow forsythia flowers and you will have the color that will stop traffic.

So the picture above is the tree we picked. I went back to my original desire for a clump service berry. It should bloom tiny white flowers just as the forsythia are finished with their blooms extending the flowering on my side yard to the entire summer, coming to an end about the time the roses begin. And then a mid summer show a nice crop of purple fruits which the tiny birds will fight over. The fragrance of this small tree is also a huge asset. With it right at my office window, I should be able to enjoy this wonderful fragrance on nice days when I have my window open.

The Service Berry in the picture is the one we chose. The nursery will call us when they dig it so we can collect it and plant it ASAP. They will probably dig it before the end of the week, since we were told it is becoming the end of the season for digging the early flowering trees. There has been so much rain lately that the nurseries haven't been able to dig these early gems this year and are struggling to get them balled and ready for sale.

So now it has come to the conclusion that I am a fuss budget when it comes to my trees. It takes a lot out of us to choose a tree. It must be the right tree for the right spot from the right nursery. But then, trees are long lived, and an asset to a property, offering shade and protection from the elements as well as food in more indigenous cases and shelter for animal life.

The Day Before

It's the day before the 1st day of spring. I was home from work today due to a lovely stomach virus that hit me hard last night. Though feeling better, my appetite still isn't what it should be or maybe I'm still a little nervous about eating anything. But I'm not really all that hungry either.

Anyway, it's been showering steadily since early last night. Today, feeling better except for the eating thing, I decided to do some non-strenuous stuff. I had some canna bulbs that I'd been wanting to get planted up and started while waiting for the more perfect weather for them in about a month. But the pots I needed were in the shed. So I donned my hoodie and a pair of boots and trudged up to the shed. When I got out there, the rain was actually warm, so I took a pleasant few moments to walk about, inspecting my plants (established and newly moved).

Here's the verdict:

Blanc Double de Coupert in the front, which was struck by lightening last season, is alive and well and pushing.

Maple trees are blooming. Forsythia are ready to open their blooms. The flowering Almonds are also pushing buds. Flowering Quince is pushing it's flowers, Cleveland Pear is also pushing flowers, Snow Fountain weeping cherry is pushing blooms. Dogwoods are changing colors, their buds getting a green base to them, though they won't be ready to bloom for some time. Purple cherry is fattening flower blooms but won't be ready for a while yet.

There's been a lot of rain so far this spring and the plants are all loving it. Everything, including the grass is showing signs of chlorophyll production and all look strong and healthy.

My world is about to start showing color and I am ready. I have the begonias started, three of the canna started and sitting in the rain right now. The elephant ear is potted and getting the benefit of the rain as well as a day lily that was a door prize and a rose Dream Come True that I picked up at Costco. I also have a primrose and two pansies that I also got at the symposium on Saturday that are outside enjoying this wonderful early spring weather.

Even though the calendar says that tomorrow is the 1st day of spring, it's been spring here for the past week. I always say that you know it's spring when you hear the toads sing. The toads have been singing for the past week.

This evening I will clean and oil the cameras for the start of the new growing season.

Today

Today was the Penn State Master Gardener's Symposium. Of all the functions I go to, this one is one of the best. This year we had speakers about naturalizing your garden with native plants and trees. There was a Continental breakfast and a catered lunch. I came home today with two lovely pansies, a day lily and a primrose. The two pansies were the table gifts (for the past two years we got lettuce). The day lily was a door prize and the primrose, I bought.

When I returned home, after feeding the dog and having a nice glass of wine, I ventured outside to do some work in the garden. In the past two days I've fertilized all the evergreens, started the pruning and begun moving plants with the help of Husband. During the week, he had cut down the grasses and pruned and shaped the willows and vitex. Yesterday we heavily pruned the butterfly bushes and beauty berry, moving the last butterfly bush to it's permanent home. It's a big thing so I hope it makes it. After that we decided to go out for dinner (moving that bush was a lot of work and it took both of us), then off to Costco where I found a pair of roses that I liked....Veteran's Honor and Dream Come True.

Today after my wine, I pruned down Pearl d'Or quite heavily and had Husband move that rose to it's new home. Another large plant but luckily not one of the most prickled ones. That's one less plant to have to think about moving. Now I will watch it to make sure it adjusts to it's new home well. Then, I dug up a dead rose that I knew wouldn't make it last year. There I planted the Veteran's Honor that hadn't yet broke dormancy. It should do quite fine there. I hope it does anyway. Veteran's Honor was a rose I've had on my must have list.

As long as I can get these plants moved before the break dormancy, they should be fine. Right now I think I'll make some dinner and call it a day.