A GARDEN WANTS TO BE WILD

Anyone who has ever landscaped knows that.  

But what if you like neat???

First about WILD.   Wild is necessary.  Without wild you have no bees, no pollinating, no microbes (natures probiotics) to dissolve garden matter into compost; no uninvited seeds or wild plants, no birds - Wild saves our earth. I think you see the point - and the dilemma. With the wild comes the weeds and the goo; the vines and the animals, bugs, bats and mystery - all in all the messy look and the stuff that discourages us from being attentive to our lovely landscapes.  

Wild is also necessary for your sanity. We are wild-evolved beings - like the commercial that says your dog is really a wolf in its need for food, we are also re-booted in Nature- literally connected to textures,  smells, light, shade and sensations that are our heritage. They nurture us and  release our creativity

Luckily, most of us are not all that fanatic as gardeners, and we don't eradicate all of the juicy materials in our landscapes.  Lucky are those who do their own gardening. Their slice of nature is already working to heal itself every day. A little compost pile is working, extra worms aerating the soil, some weed seeds from the birds taking root, and some poop from our friends deposited nightly. Lots of material for microbes here.

About NEAT- We have to be very careful of neat. Like many people, I have a landscape company that cuts my lawn and edges my landscape beds.  They blow the hell out of all the grass clippings so they won't clump and discolor the lawn or take root in the beds. This is a major deterrent to wildness, but it sure looks great when they are done, and I love that look. 

We must not let Neat become the enemy of Wild. Weed killers, insect sprays, can be limited - used carefully.  Landscape services are evolving at a great rate. Amazing students of Nature and growth are ready to care for your landscape with limited or no chemicals and real skills.  In our past, landscapers were the guys with the T-shirts and the pickup trucks.  Now, as it has always been in Europe, 

Gardeners, Designers and Horticulturists are respected and knowledgeable. 

We can have both Wild and Neat.   www.gardensalive.com

Next post will be some great suggestions:  BOLD is one.

www.gardenerstherapy.blogspot.com                                                                                      

The Best Winter Mulch for 'too early ' spring flowers is Snow.            Heather ( actually spring heath - Erica carnea)  is in bloom now, as are some crocus buds and early daffodil flowers. I was worried about frozen flowers and buds so I did place arched evergreen branches on some of my daffodil plantings - that will shade them from strong early sun, as well as protect them from freezing. Yes, sadly the daff flowers do freeze and sometimes the plants die from warm weather alternating with freezing winds and cold.  Thank heavens for snow!   I used to love planting bulbs that bloom extra early - but now that we are ALL a zone warmer than we used to be, that may not work so well any more. The sweet pussy willow branches in the photo are available now at www.wholefoods.com.They will stay just as they are if you do not put them in water at home.  Pussy willow is a huge, rangy tree/shrub that bears no resemblance to the cute bunny looking things that they are when cut. Placed in a vase dry, they will hold indefinitely and look a lot like spring.

Spring Heath, Tete a tete daffodil and pansies 

Wild Tropics in the Bronx

New York Botanical Garden 14th Annual Orchid Show

www.nybg.org

             
                                           February 27- April 17
This year is also the 125 anniversary of the Botanical Gardens. The spectacular glass house is a tropical paradise all year, but they festoon every corner for the Orchid Show. I took my grandsons (8 and 11 years old) last year and they loved it. We are going again this year.  This picture was taken by Rex.

Do We Believe The Groundhog??

To Trust or Not Trust the Ground Hog:

Even if Spring is 'early' this year, we seem to have a zinger
of a storm near the end of March or early April every year.
Enough to shrivel all of the new growth on roses.
"Cautiously optimistic" advice -  Think happy spring thoughts
and look at pictures.  Order catalogs, but don't dig up soil.
You should, however, prune fruit trees: apples, pears, crabapples
now.  Also dogwoods and maples - cooler weather retards sap run.  www.Almstead.com

SAVE A TREE
This lovely tree is
Prunus Okame. The
first cherry to bloom in spring - late March sometimes.
If you look past the incredible bloom, down to the
trunk, and where it enters the soil, you will see a problem.
Unlike cartoon pictures of trees that go straight in to the
ground like sticks,  real trees have a flare of root- sort of like
feet - that hold them to the soil, and provide oxygen for the
tree.  This tree is buried in mulch.

You will see this problem all over, in all sorts of landscapes.
Because the trees don't die immediately, it doesn't get corrected.
For a long life, remove this heavy blanket of mulch until the
flare of root is visible. Sometimes it is too deep to clear at
one time.  If there are considerable small roots already growing,
remove as much as 4" of mulch, out to a ring 3 feet from the trunk.
Next year, more can be taken off.

Three important things to know about your trees:

1.  They need 1" of water per week: especially our lovely dogwood.
Supplement in dry times -  1" of water takes about 2 hours with
a sprinkler and city water.  Don't spray them with the hose - doesnt
help.
2.  They provide you with massive oxygen and shade benefits:
especially when planted on the South side of your home . Statistics
also indicate that there is 25 percent less crime in areas with street trees.
3.  Only Feed (fertilize) them in November, and April in the Northeast.
Check with your Co-operative Extension service in other areas - listed
in the blue pages of government phone listings - One place your tax
dollars get you good information.

If you purchase trees mail order, know they will be small and need soaking
3 times a week for the first 3 months -www.waysidegardens.com
Wayside gardens has unusual trees.
For larger trees, contact your local nursery. They will often be
able to plant it for you, and guarantee it for a period of time.
These people are often a great source of information.

Beautiful little tree for Spring bloom:  Cercis chinensis 'Avondale'
www.olivernurseries.com

First week of April -  2013 -  The Daffodil is Ryjnveld's Early

                                 Sensation - sometimess blooms in March.

                                 Nice to plant in a place you will see every day.

Planning advice:  For your greatest gardening pleasure, plant your 

                                favorites in a place you will see every day. 

                                Kitchen window, driving in the driveway - 

                                whatever greets you often.  Make that your 

                                first special planting spot.  You will love to 

                                make it pretty, and it will love you back!!

whiteflowerfarm.com

Delta True Blue Pansy

Note snow in off deck:

I was desperate last spring and bought these

while the snow was on the ground. Made my day!!

only 9 weeks 'til we plant pansies! 

Sorry - I get very excited by pansy time - after 35 years of gardening I still think that spring is soooooo exciting .Pansies/violas are planted from plants -  seeds take a long time.  

They like cold days and nights and lots of water.

the little yellow guys are violas

The bigger blue ones are pansies.

Five things to do now for a great spring garden:

#1 Dahlias:  Dahlia" Karma Fuchsiana" 4 ft tall, gorgeous cut flower.

Dahlia Seattle             

Order now for the best varieties- dwarf for short bouquets, no staking
                                                      24-40"  for long stems and lots of flowers
                                                                   also good in the garden for show

Dwarf Gallery Art Fair

 www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com

#2  Order plant Catalogs -   I use garden catalogs to plan my colors.
It is good to know that some have very accurate pictures -
www.whiteflowerfarm.com
www.waysidegardens.com
I don't necessarily trust the recommendations, but the colors are true.
Blackmore and Langdon delphiniums (very finnicky but gorgeous) are
one of their specialties.  Less finnicky and fun to put in containers; Aster
Frikarti Monch.

#3 Order flower seed catalogs-  www.shepherdsseeds.com
very nice selection of veggies, flowers and herbs.

#4 Order herb plants or plan to purchase them at a nursery already grown:
Take a long time: Parsley, Thyme, Lavender, Rosemary, Chives.
These are cool weather plants -- If you live
in zones 2-7, order them to arrive about 2 weeks before cold weather
plants can be set out in your area: www.TheHomeDepot.com
Bonnie Plants are excellent, well-grown herbs and veggies.
Your State Co-operative Extension service will have than information.
In CT, it is April 10 or so.  I will put the plants out in the sun for an hour
or two every day for a week, then pot them or plant in the ground.

#5  Prime yourself:
If you have cabin fever or want to see what the rest of the plant world
looks like, plan a trip to your local Botanical Garden or Flower Show.
www.NYBG.org  is for the New York Botanical Garden.  There is a huge
glass house full of plants, trees, cactus and fountains that make a one day
tropical vacation, for just the price of admission.

Early Seed Starting

January , 2016

I  received Larkspur seeds in the mail this morning - I ordered them from
Eden Brothers seeds.  1/4 oz. of dark blue and 1/4 oz. of lilac colored.
These gorgeous flowers are cold weather annuals: {bloom and die in one year)
Cold weather annuals like to be planted April 1, here in Connecticut.
They are 2-3 ft tall dark blue , white, pink or lavender colored flowers, They
bloom in June and July - looking a lot like delphiniums, because they ARE - but not
perennials.