three is not a crowd

Hola!  Just a quick word about planting techniques.  I often see people planting their flowers in rows like little soldiers.  While this technique could be effective in creating a border, I generally stay away from it.  In my gardens, I like a mass of color rather than little specks dotted here and there.  So I plant in groups: usually threes.  That way the plant (in this case Victoria Blue Salvia - one of my very favorites) will make a statement and hold it's own against the rest of the garden.  With the exception of spreaders (wave petunias, nasturtium, licorice, etc), I plant all my annuals like this. 


In this picture, you can see how well the salvia holds its own against the hydrangea and cosmos (the cosmos were also planted in a group).  I love the way the blue color just grabs your attention!  Isn't it beautiful?

Anyway consider doing this in your own garden this year.

I am exhausted; another long, sweaty and dirty day in the gardens so it's off to bed with me!

soil, sunlight, ripping and decapitation

Its been crazy around here, between my job and my life, I feel frenetic.  The other day I took tons of pictures for the blog...and realized when I got home the memory card was still in the computer and not in the camera.  So this is take two.

As I plant, I think of so many tips for this blog; it's like a running conversation in my mind (ok, ok, I admit it, I am a chronic talker to myselfer anyway).  In one of these delightful conversations I decided that just in case I have novice gardeners reading, I am going to begin with the basics.

When planning a garden, soil and sunlight are KEY. 

While its true that different plants like different types of soil,  the majority of them prefer rich, well drained soil.  Well drained around here is generally not a problem because we live in Rocksylvania, but if you are unlucky and have thick, clay soil, get rid of it in your beds and replace it with good quality topsoil.  I am in love with mushroom compost; everything I plant in it grows like crazy!  Just make sure you mix it in well with your existing soil or you could burn your plants. 

Watch how much sun your garden area gets in a day, you may be surprised either way.  I recently planted a rose in an area I assumed had full sun only to discover that the roof  line of another building shaded that exact spot for hours.  Bummer for me.

Final tips for the day: root bound plants and pinching. 

All those gorgeous flowers you buy whether in flats or pots are gorgeous because the containers are so small the plants are forced grow quickly.  Thus when you take them out of their containers, you get a mini root ball.  Have no mercy; rip it apart!  I have included some pictures as an example.  This particular plant's soil was very moist when I planted it (always a good idea to make sure your plants aren't dry when you plant them), so it was easy to work with.  I take the root in my hand and break it open cross-ways.  The more root you expose to the soil, the better your plant will take root and grow. 

Pinching back - painful but necessary.  I will use cosmos as an example but I also do this with saliva, heliotrope, and zinnia, to name a few.  After you plant that sweet little flower, decapitate it: pinch off the buds and flowers.  I know, I know, it's brutal, but if you don't, your flower runs a very strong chance of being tall, leggy and scraggly.  Pinch back those first flowers/buds and more energy goes back into the actual plant to make it grow out and up.  Trust me on this one.  

I will be back soon (hopefully - sitting at the computer is one of the last items on my to do list - you should see how behind I am with my email!) with more.  Enjoy the spring!

rain and mud and shopping

The threat of frost is finally over and it's planting time!  I have been driving all over Northeast Pennsylvania and New Jersey looking for the best product I can find for my gardens.   It's tedious but worth it.  Although I confess I do buy from Home Depot now and then, I buy 90% of my plants and flowers from local green houses.  I find the people who own them are wonderful to work with.  They know and stand behind their product, are eager to share their information with you and have a vested interest in your progress.  Because they are local, your success is their success.

(Tammy Clucas, owner of Clucas Farms on Rt 521 in Harmony, NJ has been a terrific source for me.  Not only does she know a lot, her product is wonderful; I have never purchased something from her that did not completely satisfy me.  I often ask for plants or flowers she doesn't have or doesn't have a lot of.  Each time I do this ((she probably groans when she sees me pull in)), she does all she can to find it for me somewhere else.  You won't get that kind of service at Home Depot.)

Today I woke up all fresh and eager for my day in the garden.  Even though it was raining (a soft rain), I was undaunted in my fervor to dig, plant and prune.  It wasn't so bad in the beginning, but the soft rain became a steady rain and the steady rain became a hard rain and the hard rain broke me.  My pants were so wet they were sticking to my legs, my gloves were soaked through and it was so cold I could see my breath!!!  That was where I drew the line!  I packed up my stuff, called Bentley to follow and headed home where a hot bath was awaiting me.

Now I am warm, dry and ready to go at it again tomorrow.

(Get ready Tammy.  I need a few more baskets of bacopa)

ps  the lady in the picture isn't me, but isn't she hilarious? That was my expression at the end of the day too.

just say no

I know what you're doing.  You're frothing at the mouth at all the beautiful flowers being sold everywhere you turn.  'It's warm outside', you say, 'I bet it's safe to plant now; they wouldn't sell the flowers if it weren't safe to plant'.  DON'T DO IT!   A few warm days does not mean it's safe to plant your annuals.  It could still frost and wipe them out.  I know...I've done it.

Did you know that Mother's Day weekend is the biggest gardening retail weekend of the year?  We just go crazy buying flowers...and don't even tell me it's all for your mom!  Grocery stores, Mega Hardware stores, roadside tents and even gas stations are selling us flowers right now.  That doesn't make it time to plant, it makes it time to sell (where I live, Northeast PA, there is a chance of frost until May 15 this year).  Let me qualify that, though.  You can still plant perennials and hardy annuals, but leave the impatiens and other tender annuals alone for a bit.  What I usually do is plant my containers now (because I can easily move or cover them if there is a chance of frost) and hold off on the rest until after threat of frost.

Many of  you may have early planting success stories; if so, you were lucky.  My advice is to wait.  Just say no.

service project

New projects and a new challenge, I love them.  And I got both in spades this spring.

A little church in a town nearby was in desperate need of a makeover.  The building inside is a gem: gorgeous stained glass windows, rich wood work, fabulous details.  The exterior, however, isn't.  It is suffering in a way many homes suffer: the disease of 'same old same old'.  People often come up with a solution that works for awhile, but every garden needs to be rethought now and then.  Overgrown shrubs, weedy grass, tired plants are a few of the most common offenders.  And they offend, let me tell you!  Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and pull things out.  There is nothing sacred about plants. 

The challenges here are a very small space and an even smaller budget.  But it can be done.  I will post from time to time so you can see what you can do with a bit of imagination a lot of hard work and a little cash.  This should be fun!

lilac time

One of my very favorite things to do at the end of the working day in the gardens is to cut whatever is ready and make a bouquet for my clients.  For them, after a long day at their jobs, it's nice to come home to a treat like that.  Plus I just love to do it!

Here, I used lilac and dogwood. But each week it's something different.  Spring blooms don't last long, so I make the best use of them by bringing them in and putting them all over my house.  As I type this, I can smell the white lilac (which reminds me of my mother) and crimson azalea in the mason jar on the table beside me.  (And that is a very good thing because it is so windy and cold outside, I am doing my work from inside the house today!  Even my poor puppy is on his own.)

master gardener

Try as I may, I can never outdo the Master Gardener.  Where I live, Northeast Pennsylvania, I am surrounded by hills and forests. It's just beautiful. The Delaware Water Gap and Appalachian Trail are only minutes away and I hike there as often as I can. In the spring, the streams are bulging and run into creeks that are rushing into waterfalls and are gorgeous.  It seems to surprise me every year.

In my own little corner of it all, there is a lovely woods that surrounds my neighborhood.  Every morning, I take my puppy out for his morning potty into this woods.  Today I was feeling a bit more sluggish than usual and grumpily trudged out to the woods with Bentley when I was assaulted by the most glorious fragrance (not emanating from him, I assure you)! Everywhere I turned, the wild honeysuckle was beginning to bloom and the smell was incredible!!  What a treat!!   In a few weeks from now, just as the honeysuckle dies off, the wild roses will take over.

There is a Master Gardener, and it's not me.