A few of the new shrubs waiting to be heeled in

The Shade Garden awaiting repairs and changes

Like it or not, I’ve been given the challenge of renovating our shade garden. Some changes were inevitable. I knew that. But little did I realize just how many changes were in store!

Our tiny village has finally installed a municipal sewage system and every house and business is being hooked into it. This past week, it was our turn.

Down came the board fence and gate. We were told the contractor would be here on Friday so I had planned to remove plants growing along the path of the sewer mains on Thursday evening. Upon returning home from work on Wednesday I discovered the contractor in the process of digging up our side yard. So of course I had to go straight to work removing the plants I wanted to save. When that task was completed, I headed indoors for the longed for cup of tea I hadn’t had yet. No sooner did I get the pot of tea made, when a knock on the door brought the news that more plants had to come out. Back to the digging!

To make a long story short, two thirds of the plants were removed, the grass torn up, and a pile of soil spanning the width of the shady side yard sits waiting to be levelled. Some plants are gone for good. Some damaged to the point where a lot of TLC is required to help them recover.

On the plus side, the weeds are gone, some of the perennials have been divided giving me more plants, the bed has been widened and more soil has been added to it.

Yesterday morning, the mosquitoes and I re-planted the shade garden without much thought as to placement of the plants.  I did consider height, width and foliage colours before plopping the plants in the ground, but so great was my desire to avoid becoming a banquet for every mosquito in the village, form and texture became unimportant. Talk about off the cuff landscape design!

It will be interesting to see which plants will survive the rough treatment they experienced and how the garden looks once things have settled. No doubt this fall will see a great deal of tweaking in the shade garden. Probably next spring will bring even more tweaking,

The front yard is also a mess, but not nearly as bad as the shade garden in the side yard. Some lavender plants were damaged, the back sides of the variegated willow standards were shorn off and the small lawn has been made smaller thanks to more mounds of dirt that trace the path of the sewer pipes to the road. The front garden should be fairly easy to restore, and the willows, being willows will come back quickly.

On that note, I’m off to join the mosquitoes and continue the garden repairs.

Suckers waiting to be trimmed off a main branch

More correctly, suckers “sprout” every minute.

You may think your tree is filling out quite nicely, but on closer examination, most of the new branches are shooting straight towards the sun. Those are suckers, also referred to as water sprouts. You may even find suckers appearing on the lawn, some several feet away from the main trunk. And they are not good.

Suckers grow rapidly and are rather weak compared to the rest of the branches. You will find them on limbs, around the base of the tree or on the main trunk. Because of their tendency to grow quickly, they rob the rest of the tree of valuable nutrients, weakening the entire tree in the process. Water sprouts that are left to on the tree, put a great deal of weight and pressure on the limb it sprouted from. That weakens the entire limb, inviting cracked bark or breakage. The cracked bark is an open invitation to insects and disease, and a broken limb is a safety hazard. Therefore suckers and water sprouts must be removed while they are still small.

To remove suckers, simply cut them off with sharp pruners or a pruning saw at the base of the sucker. Try a cut as close to the main branch as possible without cutting into that branch. Keep the cut as straight and as small as possible. The larger the cut, the more inner bark is exposed. The more inner bark exposed, the easier it is for diseases and insects to attack your tree.

Removing suckers can actually stimulate the production of even more suckers or water sprouts. Then it becomes a something you will need to do two or three times a year. An application of pruning paste helps curb the appearance of new suckers.

Silver Leaf Dogwood planted correct distance from building

• We’ve all seen them – shrubs that grow against a house, twisting the plant into a grotesque monster that hides windows and damages siding. Often, people only consider the mature height of a shrub or tree when the mature width should also be considered. Plant shrubs far enough away from building foundations to allow the shrub to reach its mature width without being crammed against a wall. Not only do the shrubs benefit, but you won’t have to worry about the roots of the shrub damaging drainage tiles buried underground.

• Planting in too shallow a hole. Container grown shrubs should be planted so the top of the soil ball is at the same height as the ground. The soil ball should not stick up above the soil level. That exposes the roots to air causing them to dry out, which leads to a plant that struggles.

• Planting too deep is just as damaging. That smothers the stem of the plant, affecting its ability to send nutrients and water to the leaves. It also increases the potential for rotting of the stem which kills the plants.

• Planting the wrong plant. Plants that like some shade, protection from the wind, and moist soil will not last long in an area of full sun that is dry and windy. The same is true of planting a shrub in the shade, when its requirements are full sun and well drained soil. .Read the label at the nursery or do your homework online so you know you are selecting the right plant.

• Incorrect watering. When planting, make sure you water it in well. A slow trickle of water applied for thirty minutes, is much better than a rapid soaking. By watering slowly, you give the root ball time to absorb the water. Soaking will cause the water to drain away into the subsoil and not enough will be retained by the plant to give it a good start in its new home. New plantings should be watered every day for about a week. Then you can cut back to twice a week until the plant is showing evidence of new growth.

New Dawn preparing to flower

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful here! Sunny, warm (over 50F), a few clouds now and then, a good breeze to help dry the soil. Amazing for early March!

A tour of our garden revealed many surprises. Tulips, daffodils, narcissus and Siberian irises are all peaking through the soil. Under the mulch of leaves, perennials were greening up in anticipation of more warm days ahead. The buds on the trees, especially the maple, are beginning to swell. All signs of what’s to come.

A very nice surprise came when the roses and chestnut showed no signs of being winter pruned by our resident rabbits. I think we can in part, thank the large bird population in our garden who, are very messy eaters. They spill as much bird feed on the ground as they eat, I swear! And the rabbits eat the spillings.

Not so nice is all the litter that has been buried under the snow. Why people cannot throw their garbage into a trash can is beyond me! Pop cans, drink cups, chip bags, papers all scattered around the property.  The other nasty, we found are the land mines left by dogs. Poop and scoop is a foreign concept to some of the dog owners here. But, I’m not getting into all of that!

Since it is just the first week of March, I resisted the temptation to begin the garden clean up. The mulch was left in place and shrubs were left un-pruned as I know more cold weather, and snow, will come. One thing I did do, and it broke my heart to do it, was cut back our “New Dawn” climbing rose. Yes, my pretty climber that reached over the porch roof, is now a mere ten inches high. Why you ask? Read on!

The rose has to be moved to allow easier (and safer) access to the porch which will be undergoing some renovations this year. In preparation for that move, I took the precautionary measure of cutting it back before its leaves began to sprout. In theory, having less growth to maintain will make transplanting easier on the rose. When it is moved to its new home, the rose can concentrate its energy on developing new roots, rather than dividing its energy between new roots, new leaves and flower buds. It will likely be sometime in April before the “New Dawn” is transplanted.  I will wait until I know it has just broken dormancy, as evidenced by the swelling buds of this year’s leaves.

All in all, yesterday was a delightful taste of spring. A kind of day that gets the inspiration and imagination going, A taste of warmer days ahead and another gardening season that will be full of colour, fragrance and beauty.

Enlarging a garden bed

Suckers to be trimmed.

Poinsettias, red in particular, are the most favoured to plant to give and receive at Christmas. How and why this Mexican native became so popular is due to a man named Joel R. Poinsett, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico in 1828. He was the first one to introduce the showy plant which bears his name, to North America.  Because poinsettias burst into full colour during the Holiday Season, and its bright red bracts resemblance to the Star of Bethlehem, it’s soared to fame as the plant to represent Christmas. In the century and a half since its first appearance on our continent, it has not lost it popularity.

When plant breeders got a hold of the poinsettia, they introduced white, pink, marbled, mottled, burgundy, and every shade of red imaginable. Not content with just offering us a variety of colours, they began playing with the foliage and we now see curly leafed and variegated leafed plants.  If you are not of big fan of red poinsettias, there is now a multitude of colours for you to choose from.

The coloured petals of the poinsettia are not really flowers, but bracts. The flower is actually the tiny yellow centre of the bract.

Poinsettias are very easy to care for. If you don’t have a green thumb or much time to fuss over a plant, then the poinsettia is for you!

-          As soon as you get the plant home, remove the protective sleeve. This prevents damaging ethylene from building up.

-           If you’ve purchased the poinsettias as gifts, but don’t intend on giving them right away, remove the sleeve until just before you deliver them.

- Place the poinsettia in a bright location, away from cold drafts. They deeply resent cold.

- Poinsettias do not like wet feet! Keep the soil on the dry side, but do not allow the plant to wilt. That just shortens its life.

- When to water? When the pot feels light. If the bracts (leaves) are beginning to wilt, you are not watering soon enough.

- Remove the decorative pot cover before you water.

- When you water, drench the pot, being careful not to splash the foliage.

- Fill the pot to the rim with water and allow the water to drain out the bottom of the pot. I usually water them in the kitchen sink to be sure they

  are well drained.

- After ten minutes or so, replace the decorative pot cover and you’re done!

- You should not need to fertilize the poinsettia over the holidays.

When the season is done, toss the poinsettia on the compost pile. If you are up to experimenting, you can attempt to keep the poinsettia over until late spring or early summer. At that point, cut back any weak growth and set it outside for the summer. Bring it indoors in early September, and you’ll be ready to force the poinsettia to show colour for your next Christmas.

When I began writing this particular instalment of Bert’s Bloomers on November 14, the temperatures were relatively warm for November. The thermometer has suddenly dropped out and we now have a dusting of snow on the ground, but, Mother Nature is still astonishing me with her stubbornness to let go of the growing season. In other words, what I wrote about, is still current news.

A tour of our rather wild and barren garden this morning has brought many delightful surprises! Still blooming are two roses – New Dawn, and The Fairy, as well as sweet peas, black eyed susans, alyssum, feverfew and garlic chives (we’ll pay dearly for that last one). How exciting to see anything blooming in November in our area!!  I can perhaps understand the cooler weather plants, but how does one explain the tenacity of the roses? Heat loving, sun loving roses?  While I’d like to take the credit for the survival of all those spots of summer, I can’t. The credit goes to Nature herself.  Incredible, wonderful, never to be understood, Nature.

Having survived the shock of seeing plants in bloom, my attention was drawn to a number of gardening tasks yet to be attended to. There are still containers of plants to be emptied, still some perennials languishing in pots, a bird bath to be stored for the winter and let’s not forget about the patio furniture that has to be stored yet. And leaves to be raked off the lawn. I should forget about writing and go outside.

I guess while I’m out there, I really should shut off the outside tap and drain the hose, and store the hose.

Some of the more delectable plants (according to our neighbourhood rabbits) need to be caged. Those would include all of the roses, the flowering quince, the chestnut and a dwarf burning bush. Caging them may prevent the ravenous rabbits from pruning them down to the ground. I say “may” because if we get enough snow built up around the cages, the rabbits will still be able to reach the plants. 

I haven’t cut back any of the perennials nor do I intend to! I’m leaving the seed heads for the birds, and the stalks for added winter protection for the crowns of the plants. The theory is, the stalks will cause snow to build up around the plants, and the snow is a natural insulator, therefore, no winter mulching is required. That’s been my story for twenty odd years, so I’m sticking with it! Besides, it really does work.

One bit of trimming I continue to put off is removing the wild grape growing between the walls of our greenhouse. Perhaps the description of where it’s growing is explanation enough for why it has not been removed. And since it isn’t interfering with the greenhouse, I figure, why mess with it? If it ain’t broke and all that. Common sense says I’ll kick myself some year for not dealing with it. Maybe when we re-skin the greenhouse the grape vine will be dealt with?

Enough rambling for one day! I’m off to the gardens.

Well, here we are again: Another fall bringing us frost on the gardens and lawn each morning, leaves turning colour and perennials preparing to sleep the winter away.  Another gardening season over. Almost. There are still things to do in the garden.

This morning there is grass seed to plant, as well as a shrub or two and some bulbs. And, the twenty-five perennials I scooped up for a dollar each at one of our local greenhouses’ end of season sale (more like “stole” at that price!).

When I look at all the plants and bulbs that are awaiting a permanent home, I wonder if I am obsessed with gardening or maybe just plain crazy? There is no room for these plants in our gardens! We’re supposed to be down-sizing, not increasing!! What have I done?  Then I look at the plants and think “Gosh, I’ve always wanted this plant, and now I have it!” Or, images of how the ferns I purchased will look in the shade garden come to mind and the spending spree is instantly justified. Picturing the bulbs blooming next spring amongst the bare stemmed shrubs and emerging perennials excites my passion for gardening anew.

Many of the perennials I purchased have silver foliage, and since a silver garden has always been on my wish list, I now see one appearing in the not too distant future.  We’ll spring that on Trevor next year.

Some shifting and removing plants is also on today’s agenda. A few years ago, I started a wild rose from seed. This unnamed rose has sweet scented, single pink flowers in June, beautiful red hips in the fall, and glossy, dark green leaves; A very lovely looking rambler. However, it has become one of those garden thugs you read about. Spreading throughout the rose garden by sending out undergrounds runners, this rose is threatening to smother every other rose in the bed! It is coming out today and being planted beside the fence along the back of our property where it can ramble to its heart’s content.

There are a few perennials that have been struggling because they aren’t receiving enough sunlight anymore because the tree canopies are spreading. Today they will be moved to new homes in sunnier locations.

I suppose that while I’m in the gardens, I should do some weeding. Guess I should edge the gardens too. And cut the grass.

Yes, it may be fall, but the gardening season is far from over.