The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
I have a distinct memory last summer of enjoying a meal with a friend in her newly constructed screen house. I kept thinking it was raining due to the incessant pitter patter on the metal roof. When I later realized that it was gypsy moth poop, I had two thoughts. First, gross! And second, thank goodness for a roof! Gypsy moths seemed to be everywhere.
If you thought last year’s invasion of gypsy moths was of biblical proportions hold on to your hat. According to experts, this year could be just as bad, if not worse.
Read More»Inside Out Design.
There is one very important thing you should do before starting any garden design project.
Stare out the windows. I mean it.
Really stare, or at least look very closely.
Too many designers start outside the home with no thought given to how the garden will look from inside. For many of us in colder climates a good deal of time is spent enjoying the gardens from inside so designing from the inside out just makes sense.
The Garden. A Love Story.
It’s Valentine’s Day and love stories abound.
The one between me and my garden is one of my favorites.
And like love, it has its seasons.
The spring garden is ripe with promise.
Yet, like new love, it is fragile. A time of emptiness surrenders as an opportunity for hope springs up, like the snowdrop bravely pushing itself through the snow. Or the crocus straining towards the sun. Still, the spring garden can be full of worry and concern.
Will that late cold snap kill ripening flower buds? Will the deer munch the tulips? Will the snow load prove too much for the small snowdrops? Anything too weighty, at this point in the development, could prove disastrous. So much promise, yet so much risk.
Read More»Truth Is … Bittersweet
No doubt bittersweet is beautiful in fall arrangements. Just search Pinterest and you’ll see it featured in many fall container gardens.
While I understand bittersweet’s appeal I NEVER advocate it.
Oriental bittersweet (celastrus orbiculatus) is invasive.
Our feathered friends feast on the orange/yellow berries and then do their business in the woods. Bittersweet is a thug. Once it starts growing it takes over, monopolizing light and water, and choking out native plants. Bittersweet will either climb over plants and smother them or twine tightly up the plants and constrict them. If you like the look, consider using artificial. You’ll not only help save native plants you’ll save money by having a garland you can use for many years to come.
Plant Lust
I was fortunate to accompany my friend, Kerry Mendez, on a recent garden tour where we were both stopped in our tracks by the most beautiful shrub. As we fumbled for our phones to takes pictures we asked the homeowner its name. Clerondendrum, or Harlequin Glorybower.
The name felt vaguely familiar but I could not recall it from the catalogs I routinely poured through. Apparently, it is hard to come by; which made me want it even more.
I did some research to find out if this beauty would do well in my garden.
Clerondendrum needs full sun (yes!) and grows between 10-15 feet tall and wide (no problem). It is covered with fragrant jasmine-like flowers in late summer (great!) which are followed by bright blue berries accented by pinkish-red calyxes (even better). When bruised, the leaves are thought to smell like peanut butter (I like peanut butter) which explains clerodendrum’s other common name, Peanut Butter Tree.
Clerodendrum can be marginally hardy in zone 6 (I will site it near a wall) but if it suffers dieback it will most likely rebound in spring.
It looks like I need to go on the great plant hunt to find a clerondendrum. If you spot one, please let me know.
Landscape Overhaul
Sometimes it’s time for a fresh start. And for this project, we knew it was that time. Our client, a member of the local garden club, was frustrated with the old, tired overgrown plants that were not contributing to the landscape and wanted to completely renovate her gardens. The area around the home had become overgrown, threatening to obscure its classic Royal Barry Willis lines.
So where did we start?
While some designers might favor a “blank slate” approach I prefer not to destroy material that is viable. Maybe it’s my frugal Yankee nature. If a plant doesn’t work where it is we can often move it and give it a second chance. After a thorough plant assessment, decisions are made as to what stays and what goes. When it comes to the “what goes” part all I can say is THANK GOD FOR A GREAT CREW.
Read More»Winter Plant Spotlight – Dogwood Shrub
Many people are familiar with the beautiful spring-flowering dogwood tree (cornus kousa). Fewer are aware of the wonderful attributes of the dogwood shrub (cornus alba, cornus sericea).
This four-season shrub is useful in every landscape.
In the spring it’s covered with white flowers which are followed by a bluish tinted fruit in summer.
In fall the leaves can turn a dusty maroon.
But it is in winter that this shrub shines.
Bare stems are either vivid red or yellow and brighten the winter landscape. The cultivar ‘Cardinal’ is one of my favorite varieties for its brilliant red/orange stems.
Cut back 1/3 of dogwood branches every year as the most beautiful color occurs on newer stems.
Fothergilla
My Fall Plant Spotlight -Fothergilla.
One look at this deciduous shrub in fall and you’ll have to have one. It’s beautiful in the spring with white, fragrant bottle brush flowers appearing before the leaves. During the summer fothergilla’s textured leaves are a nice medium green.
But it is in late fall that this shrub shines. Orange, red, and yellow leaves combine on one knockout plant. Fothergilla will color best in full sun but can take some shade. One of my favorites for reliable color is ‘Mt Airy’.
Fothergilla major grows between 5-10 feet; fothergilla gardenii between 3-5. If you can’t decide which fall color you like best, why not plant a low-maintenance shrub that can give you them all?
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