After thirty-two years of writing the newsletter, I thought there couldn’t be much left to write about.  But the fact is there is always someone hybridizing new or better versions of a familiar plant.  One that I can’t get enough of is hydrangeas, especially my favorite Hydrangea pan. ‘Limelight’ with its huge upright lime green panicle blooms.  There is also a new interest in the native Hydrangea arborescens varieties, which will include two additions to our listing.  H. arb. ‘Hayes Starburst’ proved to be a gorgeous plant of white starry blossoms in our garden last year, and H. arb. ‘Riven Lace’ has huge upright heads of white sterile blooms, edged with a few fertile blossoms.  I also enjoy finding new hardy varieties of Southern Magnolia. In my early gardening years I only hoped to have them in my landscape and enjoy their huge lemon scented white blooms.  Now I grow four hardy varieties in the gardens.

      In my life time I’ve seen gardening trends come and go.  The succulent revival is an example.  I started my collection in the sixties.  Now we fill tufa troughs or other attractive pots full of succulent collections, like little landscapes.  They are great for terraces as they need no attention and rainwater is usually sufficient for their moisture.  The succulents and scented geraniums are the plants I take in for the winter because I can leave them for two or three weeks and they will survive with no watering.  Both are great for dry areas outside.  The scented geraniums planted either in pots or in the ground around a patio will make huge lacy leafed plants and flowers to scent the entire area.  And an added distinction is their uses in cooking and teas.

   Gardeners are always looking for perennials that will tolerate dry, shady areas, so here are a few I choose. The Geranium macrorrhizum spreads and blooms under those conditions.  Its foliage is extremely fragrant and blooms are lovely in the spring and early summer garden.  Geranium sanquineum not only does well in dry shade but in full sun also, and stays from 2” (G. s.‘Nana’) to 12” depending on variety.  There are many colors to choose from and will bloom from May to frost, and even have gold-red foliage for the fall season.  The tall blue annual salvia I grow is still blooming when the hard freeze arrives at the end of fall. I don’t know what the variety is but it grows three feet or more with long spikes of vivid blue flowers.  I save my own seed as it is a true species.  Remember hybrid seeds do not come true when reseeded.  I usually have some of the salvia plants available when the annuals are put out for sale.  Remember that Hellebores are beautiful in the shade and will tolerate the drought once established.  Nandina domestica and the its dwarfer varieties are shrubs that are lovely in dry shade but do well in full sun, plus have evergreen red or yellow foliage and berries for winter.

Mahonia ‘Beleai’ is a very handsome evergreen for dry shade providing it is protected from harsh winds. It blooms in March, and then forms blue clusters of berries like grapes, hence the common name ‘grape holly’. If you need a climbing vine for a dry wall area, use the Hydrangea petiolaris

or H. pet. ‘Miranda’ that has variegated foliage.  Both have huge white blooms and exfoliating bark for winter.  My only recommendation is to buy at least a 2-3 gallon size as they are slow growing when young.  Some other perennials to use in dry areas that will give you great texture in the garden are the Polygonatum (Solomon Seal) varieties, including the variegated form, and the stunning hardy Cyclamen hederifolium and C. coum that not only have gorgeous bloom in early spring or fall but the foliage is outstanding and hederifolium is evergreen during the winter.  These must have a well drained area, perhaps under trees or on raised walls or beds. 

     I planned to write in the fall 2009 newsletter about fall color in the garden from Sept. into Nov.  I realize that you need a listing of those plants for spring planting, so here are a few.  The lovely Jap. Anemone x hybrids bloom 2 ½ tall in white or pink shades, and make a grand show.  The Aconite fischeri (monkshood) was 4’ tall, with spikes of blue bloom that lasted for over 5 weeks last fall.  The fall asters, our native, that the English gardeners love and call Michaelmas Daisy were wonderful.  These same aster species can be the short A. dumosa ‘Woods Blue or ‘Woods Pink’ and including the short A. obongifolia ‘Dream of Beauty’ (true pink) or A. o. ‘October Skies’ (blue).  These varieties are known for their fragrant bloom and foliage.  I love the great mass of bloom on the A. novae-angliae ‘Purple Dome’ at 2’ tall, and the taller 4’- 5’ varieties in white, pink or purple.  Remember you can keep them all shorter by pruning in June or July, which makes them bushier and promotes more bloom. I shouldn’t forget the A. novi-pelgri ‘Professor Kleppindorf’ with 12” tall light blue blooms and wonderful shiny foliage. 

     Fall blooming shrubs along with beautiful foliage and berries including those on trees are my joy.  The fragrant bloom of the native Hamamelis virginiana is wonderful for fall.  But I would never want to forget the other Hamamelis species we carry that begin blooming in the fall, and then continue to come on through winter and early spring.  How wonderful to bring those branches in from the snow and let them fill the room with their fragrance.  I was told by many friends and customers that my garden last fall had the most beautiful color and bloom they had seen.  I will say that with all the asters, anemones, fall bulbs, fall tree and shrub foliage it was lovely.  Fall foliage color and berries on the 45 viburnum varieties was outstanding.  The Katsura (Cercidiphyllum) trees were gorgeous gold.  I read an article that said Katsura foliage in the fall smelled of caramel, and a friend said it smelled like her grandmother’s apple butter.  I picked up a handful of the fallen foliage and it did have the scent of caramel.  If you’re growing Katsura this may be of help.  I received an e-mail ‘thank you’ for solving the problem a gardening friend had with her newly planted Katsura that wasn’t doing well.  It was in the dry fall and she was watering it with the local water which was heavily chlorinated.  I told her to use rainwater.  But with no rain, she filled 5 gallon tubs with her water and let it stand for at least 48 hrs. before soaking the tree.  It soon started perking up.  “I can always count on you to solve the problem” she said.  How kind of her.

     Pest problems are commonly brought to me.  Especially aphids and how to control them.  They are a soft bodied insect and are on many plants and even shrubs and trees.  They can be control by a strong spray from your garden hose as they drown easily, but you must remove all of them.  Aphids are parthogenestic females; they can produce without mating and do produce live off spring.  They do have a lot of enemies, like lady bugs, lace wings, wasps etc, so by using the water method you don’t kill the good insects.  Another common problem is the whitish film on leaves of Gladiolus, Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ or often on Buddleia (Butterfly Bush).  This can be thrips or spider mites, and can not be controlled by insecticides.  I have been using Merit, a systemic spray. When sprayed on Columbine foliage in the spring it also prevents the tunnels in the foliage made by leaf miners.  So, one spray takes care of the problem.  Scale on Lilacs or Euonymus can be controlled by spraying with agricultural oil. It is a dormant spray that is not harmful to humans and can be used in early spring or fall while temperatures are cool (between 50 and 70 degrees).  Do not use this on conifers or blue spruce as it will cause the loss of color in blue needles.  If insecticides are warranted, remember to use them as directed and with caution.  Sometimes, just removing the infected foliage or stem into the garbage can solve the problem if caught early on.

     As I finish this and I’m looking at 18” plus of snow on the ground I wonder if the ground will ever dry out when this begins to melt.  I can only hope that the green house roofs hold and that the limbs on the evergreens (so beautiful with snow) will not break with the heavy snow covering.  We all look forward to sunshine, warm temperatures, and the glory of another spring.

Good Gardening,
Mary

©Mary Harrison