After a pleasant walk around the neighborhood this morning, I checked the garden in front of my sunroom and Viola! Daffodils! Many of them, some just leaves, some with buds, popping up near the windows.
I call this my reverse garden. It's designed with the smaller plants near the windows and taller shrubs set farther back. The sunroom is floor to ceiling windows, so we can enjoy the flowers without having to get up and look out the windows. Very pretty.
Windows, windows, window. What would I do without them?
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Plants, trees need mulch this winter
I heard from a landscaper that plants will need a thick layer of mulch this winter. Our super hot, super dry summer caused the thin feeder roots to rise close to the surface searching for water and are therefore vulnerable to cold temps this winter.
I immediately went out a bought eight bags of cypress blend mulch and bedded down my river birch (planted this spring) and Japanese maple (planted last spring). Both are still vulnerable to cold and frost. I also mulched the two small dogwoods planted last May, the bridal wreath spirea and the native azalea, which is doing poorly.
My daylilies look well-nestled in the mulch, so I didn't add to it.
Ooops, just remembered. Forgot the weeping cherry! Will give it a good blanket of mulch today.
I immediately went out a bought eight bags of cypress blend mulch and bedded down my river birch (planted this spring) and Japanese maple (planted last spring). Both are still vulnerable to cold and frost. I also mulched the two small dogwoods planted last May, the bridal wreath spirea and the native azalea, which is doing poorly.
My daylilies look well-nestled in the mulch, so I didn't add to it.
Ooops, just remembered. Forgot the weeping cherry! Will give it a good blanket of mulch today.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Propagating Mexican Bush Sage
I was planning to purchase more Mexican Bush Sage next spring but just discovered the plant is easy to propagate. Just break off some stalks, stick them in the ground and keep them wet. Not too complicated.
I like this plant because it blooms in mid-to-late September when most of my garden is burned out from too much sun and too little rain.
The sage blooming gloriously right now is the one I bought my first spring in North Carolina (2007). Three more planted in the front yard the following spring did not survive the winter, although I'm beginning to think I was impatient waiting for them to shoot up their second spring. I might have yanked three poky but healthy plants.
Hummingbirds and butterflies love Mexican Bush Sage, which is why I love it, too. And who can dismiss long, waving stems covered with soft, showy flowers? Best of all, the plant is drought tolerant! Amen.
I like this plant because it blooms in mid-to-late September when most of my garden is burned out from too much sun and too little rain.
The sage blooming gloriously right now is the one I bought my first spring in North Carolina (2007). Three more planted in the front yard the following spring did not survive the winter, although I'm beginning to think I was impatient waiting for them to shoot up their second spring. I might have yanked three poky but healthy plants.
Hummingbirds and butterflies love Mexican Bush Sage, which is why I love it, too. And who can dismiss long, waving stems covered with soft, showy flowers? Best of all, the plant is drought tolerant! Amen.
Most beauteous beauty berry
When I purchased my American beauty berry four springs ago at the Wilmington Farmers' Market, it was misshapen but healthy. The first year it remained gangly but in succeeding years grew into a vibrant bush heavy with clustered, grape-hued berries. Easily the favorite shrub in my backyard garden.
A little research shows the beauty berry is not just another pretty face. Its berries are relished by a variety of wildlife, birds and deer among them. I don't have a deer problem, but if you do, you might plant a few beauty berries on the perimeter of your property to keep them snacking away from your more delicate plants.
Don't worry about hauling water out there to keep the berries beautiful. According to Dr. Mike Dirr, professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia, "This shrub thrives with neglect." Can it get any better?
Besides being a natural insect repellent and a survival food for birds such as robins, catbirds, cardinals, mockingbirds, brown thrashers, finches and towhees, the plant's berries can be made into jelly and wine. Again, does this plant have a single fault?
Well, sometimes shoots volunteer around the plant, but I haven't found this to be a problem. My American beauty berry is not a pest! She is most welcome in my garden--a beauteous sight outside my kitchen window.
A little research shows the beauty berry is not just another pretty face. Its berries are relished by a variety of wildlife, birds and deer among them. I don't have a deer problem, but if you do, you might plant a few beauty berries on the perimeter of your property to keep them snacking away from your more delicate plants.
Don't worry about hauling water out there to keep the berries beautiful. According to Dr. Mike Dirr, professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia, "This shrub thrives with neglect." Can it get any better?
Besides being a natural insect repellent and a survival food for birds such as robins, catbirds, cardinals, mockingbirds, brown thrashers, finches and towhees, the plant's berries can be made into jelly and wine. Again, does this plant have a single fault?
Well, sometimes shoots volunteer around the plant, but I haven't found this to be a problem. My American beauty berry is not a pest! She is most welcome in my garden--a beauteous sight outside my kitchen window.
Big mums, clean-up time
Returned from cool Rochester, NY and spent a good seven hours hand watering my Wilmington, NC front and back yard gardens. We're still desperately low on rainfall; down 5 inches for September alone.
Yet somehow, two autumn mums have managed to grow to mammoth size. I didn't get out the tape but they easily measure three feet across. I'll post a photo when they bloom. Already they're separating into clumps.
I'm officially in the garden clean-up mode. Trimmed the blue hydrangeas back far enough to allow a bit of sunshine to hit the tiny red azaleas surrounding the pine tree. Raked pine needles and laid them for mulch.
Drank a large cup of coffee in the sunroom afterwards and realized with glee that all I'll need next spring are another black-eyed susan, another tall Mexican petunia, a few red pentas (they grow tallest and most lushly) and lots of zinnias.
Yet somehow, two autumn mums have managed to grow to mammoth size. I didn't get out the tape but they easily measure three feet across. I'll post a photo when they bloom. Already they're separating into clumps.
I'm officially in the garden clean-up mode. Trimmed the blue hydrangeas back far enough to allow a bit of sunshine to hit the tiny red azaleas surrounding the pine tree. Raked pine needles and laid them for mulch.
Drank a large cup of coffee in the sunroom afterwards and realized with glee that all I'll need next spring are another black-eyed susan, another tall Mexican petunia, a few red pentas (they grow tallest and most lushly) and lots of zinnias.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Harvesting a Worm Box
I set up my worm box last April and harvested a hearty amount of worm compost at the end of June. Here's how to do it:
1. Tear up strips of old newspaper and cardboard. You'll need a lot. Enough to fill your worm box 2/3 full.
2. Soak the torn paper in a tub of water. Wring out very, very well. Can't be soggy.
3. Add dry leaves, clippings (I used pampas grass leaves and the sawdusty stuff from an old, dead plant). This will pick up much of the moisture in the soggy paper.
4. Move worm compost to one side of the worm box.
5. Bury new food scraps in the new bedding. Worms will crawl over to the new bedding side. Give them a couple weeks.
6. Remove compost. Put any residual worms back in the box to gnash on new food. Spread around your needy plants.
7. Fill empty half of box with new bedding.
8. Keep your girls' tummies full. They work hard for you and your plants.
1. Tear up strips of old newspaper and cardboard. You'll need a lot. Enough to fill your worm box 2/3 full.
2. Soak the torn paper in a tub of water. Wring out very, very well. Can't be soggy.
3. Add dry leaves, clippings (I used pampas grass leaves and the sawdusty stuff from an old, dead plant). This will pick up much of the moisture in the soggy paper.
4. Move worm compost to one side of the worm box.
5. Bury new food scraps in the new bedding. Worms will crawl over to the new bedding side. Give them a couple weeks.
6. Remove compost. Put any residual worms back in the box to gnash on new food. Spread around your needy plants.
7. Fill empty half of box with new bedding.
8. Keep your girls' tummies full. They work hard for you and your plants.
Hot & Dry Summer
Whew! June was a sizzler and July is following suite. Thank the rain god (where are you?) I have three rain barrels!
The Dragon Lily is starting to bloom. All other lilies have done their dash. Lovely but gone.
I dismantled the two-tiered circle in the front yard and my husband carted the landscaping pavers to the back yard and built a patio. Don't know if we'll ever sit there, but it sure looks pretty with three big pots (purple fountain grass, ginger lilies & callas, one sky pencil holly with petunias at its feet). The ornamental peach is doing well in the center, surrounded by short but gorgeous zinnias and petunias.
The circle is now a simple mound of lantana and an Arizona Crystal "something" evergreen. Much easier to weed, and we all know the weeds never give up even in the heat.
The Dragon Lily is starting to bloom. All other lilies have done their dash. Lovely but gone.
I dismantled the two-tiered circle in the front yard and my husband carted the landscaping pavers to the back yard and built a patio. Don't know if we'll ever sit there, but it sure looks pretty with three big pots (purple fountain grass, ginger lilies & callas, one sky pencil holly with petunias at its feet). The ornamental peach is doing well in the center, surrounded by short but gorgeous zinnias and petunias.
The circle is now a simple mound of lantana and an Arizona Crystal "something" evergreen. Much easier to weed, and we all know the weeds never give up even in the heat.
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