Tag Archive | improving curb appeal

New Gardens For a New Property: What To Do First

2021

A New Home and New Gardens!

View from the front porch.

As you might know from reading The Farm In My Yard, I moved from Rockville, Maryland to Charlotte, North Carolina in 2013. I worked for a few years, while watching over my elderly mother. After she passed away in 2020, the search was on for a larger property in a smaller town. Must-haves included reasonably quiet surroundings, lots of nature, room to play in new gardens, and no HOA. This article includes information from a landscaper’s perspective that might be new to first-time property owners.

Success! In late October, I moved to a new home in northern North Carolina. A few obstacles didn’t stop my tireless realtor, Erika, from finding this (almost) perfect little house. There was Covid, for one, and the reluctance on the part of homeowners to list their homes for sale. Very few livable offerings in my price range came to the market. As soon as they did, they immediately went under contract.

As many buyers have done in this tight market, I made an offer on the property sight unseen. Well, truthfully, I did drive by the house before submitting an offer, and liked what I saw. Trees, woods, space, and sunlight—perfect for a gardener! The previous owners made some major improvements, saving me the trouble and the expense. But I had no idea what the interior looked like.

Inspections

When buying a house, have all the inspections done before closing, as recommended by your realtor or for your own peace of mind. Estimate the cost of necessary upgrades and repairs.

Particularly for older homes, check the roof and electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems. Look for water damage and mold, pests and wood rot, foundation issues, adequate insulation, storage space, and evidence of ongoing maintenance.

Negative findings could nullify a contract or provide a basis for negotiation between your realtor and the listing agent.

The Lay Of the Land

Small towns, farms, and independent businesses dot the landscape in this part of Wilkes County. Several vineyards and state parks attract visitors to these lovely rolling hills. Drive along any of the scenic roads, and new vistas open at every turn; the Blue Ridge Parkway is only half an hour away. Beautiful countryside!

The big oaks frame a sunrise.

My new home, a one-story house built in the 1940’s, sits on 1¼ acres of mostly level land. The view from the front porch looks over a field, a few houses, and downslope toward a small stream. Stunning sunrises greet me from that direction almost daily.

Most of the trees’ leaves have fallen from the massive limbs of the native white and willow oaks (Quercus alba and Q. phellos). A few of these trees tower over the eastern border of the property. In the summer, those toward the west will shade the house from hot afternoon sun.

The mighty oaks came first, judging by their size, and then the house. If I were to name the property, “Quercus Magnus” would seem fitting.

Preliminary Plans For New Gardens

There’s plenty of space for the berries and the vegetables to bask in the sun. Plenty of space to raise shade-loving perennials in the fenced enclosure north of the great oaks. And plenty of space for gardens that will support birds, bugs, bees, and butterflies.

Also, importantly, there’s room to grow plants to sell at the local farmers’ market, as I did in Maryland for 25 years.

After Moving In

Deciding what to do first depends on the season, your climate, and the condition of the house and gardens. Priorities often reflect our occupations or interests, so artists might first set up a studio while contractors organize tools in the outbuildings. Growing families might rank bicycle storage, a big kitchen, and an extra bathroom at the top of the list.

And gardeners? Well, we look at soil quality, existing gardens, and sunlight. This gardener prefers a large, mostly blank slate. Others call it a lawn.

In April, I’d be concerned about starting seeds for the market, getting the summer vegetables and flowers planted, and cutting grass. But it’s December now. The yard needs tidying, houseplants need to find their homes, and, of course, we must bake Christmas cookies. Not to mention, those boxes won’t unpack themselves!

Moving into a house that doesn’t need major repairs eases the stress. To be sure, there are some improvements that can and will be made, but nothing that needs immediate attention. Wouldn’t mind a new kitchen with a dishwasher, Santa. (Chocolate chip or almond crescents?)

Trees and Shrubs

Poor Pruning Practices

Walking around the property will highlight issues that need attention. Check the trees and shrubs for dead or broken branches, or call a licensed arborist for a professional assessment. There are some dead twigs way up in these oaks. A brisk wind shakes them loose, so the truck stays parked under the carport. Fortunately, that debris falls short of the house.

: Low branches that have been headed back.

: Some of the daily fallout.

I’ll hire an arborist to clean up the trees and remove branches that have been headed back. Heading back, or bluntly cutting off the end of a branch, causes many epicormic shoots to form. Those are new growing tips emerging from buds concentrated close to the cut. The shoots also can cover the length of the branch. Epicormic shoots have weak connections to the branch and, over time, most will fail and fall from the plant (photos, above).

Similarly, topping trees is, in my opinion, not recommended. Yes, it reduces the height, temporarily, but topped trees in winter are hardly natural-looking and not attractive (photo, below). They, too, drop twigs over an extended period of time.

An expert arborist might be able to undo the damage from heading back or topping. However, removing the tree might be the most economical solution. Research appropriate tree species for your property and where to plant them. Keep in mind that plants almost always achieve dimensions larger than those indicated on the label. Your local agricultural extension office can help. Check with botanical gardens and sources such as your state’s native plant societies.

A topped tree.

The Root Of the Problem

Trees planted close to the foundation can threaten its structural integrity. Consider having them removed.

The same ruthlessness applies to the wrong tree in any space. Keeping silver maples or weeping willows close to the house, septic system, or underground utilities begs for trouble. This is where an arborist or a well-informed landscaper can recommend more fitting species and a pleasing design for better curb appeal. Call 8-1-1 to have underground utility lines marked.

Constricted

Look for old stakes and wires still looped around trunks or branches. Wooden posts rot, but wire and synthetic rope from clotheslines, fences, and hammocks persist.

As trunks and branches grow in girth, they attempt to grow around the obstruction, cutting off the vascular system inside the bark. This results in the death of those parts of the tree that cannot receive water from the roots. Early fall color on isolated branches might indicate trouble, such as pests or physical constriction.

In the Maryland garden, a dogwood tree died for no apparent reason. After cutting it down and opening the bark in several places, I found plastic rope deeply embedded in the trunk a few feet from the ground. Although the damage appeared several years after I had moved there, it eventually killed a beautiful dogwood.

Flares and Girdling Roots

: Flare on an old oak tree.

: Girdling root on maple tree and no trunk flare.

Most trees flare out where the trunk descends into the ground. If this flare is missing, see if soil has been piled up against the trunk, and remove it.

Construction around unprotected trees can deposit soil that cuts off the oxygen supply to the roots, resulting in the plant’s decline. As little as an additional 1-2″ can damage trees. Also, parking vehicles over the root system compacts the soil, impeding air and water penetration. Keep in mind that tree roots extend well beyond the dripline, or the edge of the canopy.

Check for a girdling root crossing over the trunk at the soil line or below it. As it grows, the root will hinder growth of that section of the trunk, making the trunk look straight-sided where it enters the ground. Cut it out before the tree tries to grow around it. Maples and other surface-rooting trees are notorious for this.

There’s no flare at the base of this maple tree (photo, above) and at least one large girding root is constricting the flow of water and nutrients from the soil. I noticed large dead limbs in the canopy, so the tree might be removed.

English Ivy

English ivy growing up an oak tree.

Vining English ivy (Hedera helix) is growing up a white oak’s trunk, using rootlets to cling to the bark. All the vines will be removed for 4 main reasons.

First, English ivy is a woody vine, so its stems will grow in girth just as a tree branch does. As they wrap around the tree trunk or the limbs and thicken over the years, the ivy stems will constrict tree growth, killing limbs and possibly the tree.

Second, the evergreen ivy holds moisture and debris close to the bark, and could encourage insects and diseases.

Third, as ivy scampers over the ground and up the trees, it provides safe haven for rodents. Birds of prey and other predators cannot see them. Here’s a red-shouldered hawk perched in a dogwood tree, looking for dinner.

Fourth, ivy competes with small native plants, crowding them out.

So the ivy must go.

Headings

Page 1: A New Home and New Gardens! (Inspections), The Lay Of the Land (Preliminary Plans For New Gardens), After Moving In, Trees and Shrubs (Poor Pruning Practices, The Root Of the Problem, Constricted, Flares and Girdling Roots, English Ivy)

Page 2: The Lawn (Safety First, Less Grass To Mow, Grass Clippings, Spontaneous Combustion), Drainage (Hold the Water), New Gardens for Old Plants (Virginia Sweetspire), More New Gardens and Less Lawn (The Black Walnut, The Ravine and the Woodland, Passionflower and Phlox ‘Minnie Pearl’)

Page 3: Planting a Few Trees (The Rule Of Thirds, Too Cold To Plant New Gardens?, Viola, Different Players—Same Script, All Those Leaves), A Welcome Surprise (A Firm Foundation, Heeling In, Iris, Chores Indoors), Christmas Already?, and Concluding

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Plant Trees To Transform Your Landscape, Part 2

Sep23

After reading Part 1 of “Plant Trees to Transform Your Landscape”, you’ve located the best spot where a tree will shade the house from brutal summer sun. Recommendations and practices presented here are based on climate and soil in the eastern part of the United States, where I live and garden, but the basic principles apply everywhere.

If your main objectives are shade, attracting wildlife, and less grass to mow, include masses of shrubs and perennials in the landscape plan as well. This article concentrates on planting trees, the dominant features in the landscape.

Native Plants vs. the Non-Natives

The choices offered in garden centers can be narrowed down to native species and non-native, or exotic, species. Within each of those groups are the original species and the cultivars (cultivated varieties). Developed by plant breeders, cultivars exhibit more ornamental or desirable—or just different—characteristics than the species.

‘Red Filigree Lace’, a delicate cultivar of Japanese maple.

Non-native plants originated in a different country or perhaps only a few hundred miles away. If the plant doesn’t occur naturally in your geographic region, it’s non-native, although some gardeners restrict use of the term to plants evolving in another country.

There are many beautiful plants, exotic to our shores, which we’ve enjoyed in our gardens. Japanese snowbell (Styrax japonica), Stewartia pseudocamellia, and the dizzying assortment of Japanese maples (Acer palmatum) are just too hard to pass up. You can compromise, if you wish, by including both natives and exotics.

To most garden center visitors, none of this matters. We buy plants that solve problems and look pretty in our yards. But, to explain the relevance of native species, I’d like to expand the subject.

The Benefits of Native Species

First, native plants require less pampering to get them established.

Species that evolved locally can tolerate fluctuations in weather patterns. Temperature extremes, rainfall, humidity, soil types, altitude, wind patterns, and local fauna shaped today’s ecosystems.

Second, gardeners concerned about local pollinators choose plants that foster bees, butterflies, and other animals that pollinate farm crops and wild vegetation.

Every third bite of food we consume is attributable to pollinators. But, you might make the case that since most crops are alien to this country, it shouldn’t matter whether we use native or non-native trees. But we need to consider what larval insects consume, and that’s foliage and other plant parts. Thousands of species—not just bees—pollinate our farms, orchards, fields, and forests.

Egg-laying female moths and butterflies, beetles, and other insects are very selective and seek the natives they evolved with to supply sustenance for the following generation.

Incidentally, honey bees are not native to this part of the world. They will, however, forage from plants grown here, many of which are related to the plants they evolved with.

Making a Case For Single Flowers

: Amaryllis with yellow pollen and white stigma.

: Double amaryllis with no anthers or stigma.

Flowers attract pollinators, which reap the harvest of nectar and pollen. But many double- and triple-petaled flowers have lost their nectaries, stigmas, and/or pollen-tipped stamens. Photos above clearly illustrate the loss of reproductive parts in a double amaryllis cultivar. If these hybridized doubles and triples have lost the ability to reproduce sexually, they can’t make seeds. They must instead be propagated asexually, or vegetatively, by cuttings, division, grafts, or tissue culture.

The anthers, supported by filaments, bear the pollen; the male portion of the flower, collectively, is called the stamen. Female parts comprise the stigma, supported by the style, and the ovary, with its ovules, deeper within the receptacle; the female portion is called the pistil.

Not all dense flower heads are pollinator wastelands, though. Species in the Asteraceae family, for example, have flowers that normally look full. This family includes all the composites, such as aster, coneflower, daisy, dandelion, rudbeckia, and sunflower. Their dense inflorescences are composed of small florets arranged in a head, called a capitulum. But the original species also have the necessary reproductive parts. The composites are one of the most successful groups of plants and are found on every continent except Antarctica.

At a local garden center last year, I watched bumble bees that were quick to land on thickly-petaled hybrid red coneflowers (Echinacea). They were equally hasty in their departure! The bees stayed on the red flowers for a fraction of a second, while they lingered on the less frilly flowers of other cultivars, mining several florets in each flower for their treasure.

Pollinators waste precious energy visiting barren double-flowered hybrids. True, not all doubles lack nectar and pollen. For the pollinators’ sake, though, select more species or varieties with simple flowers. Natural selection favors plants that set seed, of course, which is why most native plants have simpler flowers.

Photos below show examples of single-flowering cultivars. If you see a boss of stamens and pistils in the flowers, those plants can probably supply pollen and nectar to the pollinators. This is a fine point, granted, but one that is critically important to populations of pollinators, given the preponderance of double-flowering hybrids at garden centers.

: Bumble bee on perennial aster.

: Pollinator on fruit tree.

: Purple coneflower (Echinacea) with bumble bee.

Third, planting a multitude of native species helps secure the future of threatened or endangered insects and animals.

In many regions, songbird populations have declined by half due to human intervention. Some have disappeared entirely. Trees and shrubs that provide shelter, nesting sites, berries or seeds, and which host insects, can help bring back the birds. Abundant biodiversity is a valid protection against the domino collapse of interdependent species.

Civilization has claimed much of the insects’ natural environments, so each of us can play a small part in rebuilding habitats. Annual butterfly counts show drastic declines. Monarch butterflies, in particular, now have less territory available in Mexico, a major overwintering site, than in the past, when they migrated by the millions.

Maintaining brush piles for overwintering insects and animals will help repopulate your landscape early in the season. Hauling those materials off to the recycling center, however, is sure death for the insects tucked inside. Fewer insects = fewer birds and other animals.

Fourth, incorporating native plants into the landscape helps keep the entire food chain intact.

A green anole basking in morning sun.

Insects feeding on plants become food for frogs, lizards, birds, and mammals. They, in turn, become food for snakes, hawks, foxes, and other predators. In many ecosystems, insects native to the region are the foundation on which the entire food chain is based.

A rich diversity of plant material supports an enormous number of insect and animal species. Left undisturbed, populations find a balance among themselves. On the other hand, life in monoculture, such as a lawn, is sparse. Unfortunately, countless urban and suburban neighborhoods have become dead zones with all their natural vegetation bulldozed to the ground.

As we spray, mow, burn, or build in natural environments, species will continue their rapid decline. Certainly, we need places to live and work, but we can also “give back” by planting for wildlife instead of continually killing it off.

Check with your state’s native plant society, native plant finders, BeeCity USA, and the local agricultural extension service for information. In addition to these sources, find a knowledgeable salesperson at the garden center for practical advice and sources of plant material. Garden shows might feature vendors specializing in native plants as this branch of horticulture grows.

Native Species and Nativars

trees, red leaves in fall, native white oak

Red fall color in a native white oak tree.

Plant breeders have brought to the marketplace many cultivars of our native species. These nativars might have purple or red foliage instead of green, or double flowers instead of single. Perhaps they mature at a shorter height than the original species, making them a better fit for small properties.

Garden centers often stock varieties of native species, although those selling native plants might also stock the original species. By a comfortable margin, though, most of the trees and shrubs in U.S. garden centers are cultivars of non-native species. Many originated in Asia, a treasure trove of tempting horticultural novelties.

Red Leaves and Wildlife

native trees, dogwood, red leaves, flower buds

Red fall color and flower buds on native flowering dogwood.

Many trees develop red or burgundy fall foliage. Species native to the eastern U.S. with red fall foliage include sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), red maple (Acer rubrum), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), red oaks (Quercus rubra, Q. coccinea), and white oak (Quercus alba).

Beautiful fall color lures camera-toting visitors each year to the mountains, to New England, and to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The U.S. National Park Service provides an interactive map which tracks the progression of fall color.

Red- or purple-leaved cultivars sporting this color all summer are in high demand at garden centers. But if the point of planting trees and shrubs is for wildlife, we want to be sure the plants we choose will attract them. Each plant species has a particular menu of chemical compounds in their tissues that either attract or repel insects and animals. Organisms evolved a tolerance for these compounds…or they didn’t!

Purple and red leaves often repel insects due to their high levels of anthocyanins, the red pigments in the foliage. So, that defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? Not necessarily; these trees might have had green leaves that hosted insects before leaves turned red. Or insects simply tolerate the red pigments.

Oak trees support huge numbers of insects, birds, and mammals at various times during the year. This one genus, Quercus, hosts hundreds of species of moths and butterflies, although they often turn red in the fall.

Before planting a cultivar that stays red all season, though, find out if insects, such as mature caterpillars, will eat the leaves. This indicates that it could host insects for their entire life cycle. If all the larvae are tiny, however, when some larger individuals are expected, most might have crawled off to greener pastures.

If bees spend time working a flower and don’t fly off immediately after landing, that plant could be a good choice. Similarly, holes in the leaves indicate that the plant can host insects. Resources at the local university’s entomology department or botanical garden might have information that could help you choose plants that support wildlife.

The Untold Story

I’ve been packing the past couple of weeks, preparing to move to a rural location in northern North Carolina. I took a break from the work and sat on the deck, listening to the birds and insects.

One of those sounds was the hum of an approaching ruby-throated hummingbird, the only species summering in this area. Four feet away, and less than 4″ long, this tiny bird landed on a twig of the potted native dogwood tree, sitting right next to me. He then hovered near the flower buds (photo, above, with last year’s fall color), and I could see his tongue working the buds, one after another. These buds are tightly closed, yet he found something worth gathering, despite the presence of other flowers nearby.

Within a minute, another hummingbird arrived for the same reason, apparently. The two tiny birds fought for feeding rights, and the second one flew away after some impressive aerial maneuvering among the twigs. The first hummingbird continued searching for hidden sustenance held inside those buds. I’ve never seen this behavior.

My point is this: there’s much about the natural world that remains unobserved—a mystery to us—perhaps lending more credibility to the importance of using native plants in our gardens. (This section added 10/6/21.)

Deciduous Trees For the Eastern U.S.

Here’s a partial list of native and non-native trees that support wildlife. Large deciduous shrubs can substitute for trees in smaller spaces. Many other species might suit your purpose, so visit a few nurseries to see what’s available.

Most trees are sold in large plastic nursery pots, although you might also see freshly dug trees with their roots wrapped in burlap (“b&b”, or balled and burlapped).

American hop hornbeam (Ostrya)
basswood (Tilia)
birch (Betula)
black gum (Nyssa)
Carolina silverbell (Halesia)
chaste tree (Vitex)
cherry and plum (Prunus)
crabapple (Malus)
crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia)
dogwood (Cornus)
franklin tree (Franklinia)
fringe tree (Chionanthus)
hornbeam (Carpinus)
magnolia (Magnolia)
maple (Acer)
oak (Quercus)
poplar, cottonwood (Populus)
redbud (Cercis)
serviceberry (Amelanchier)
sourwood (Oxydendrum)
willow (Salix)
winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
witch hazel (Hamamelis)

Native red maple can have yellow, orange, or red fall color.

Most of the trees listed above have small- or medium-sized species or varieties. Compare suitability of native and non-native species within the genus. The familiar weeping willow, for example, is non-native and quite messy in the landscape. But smaller native willows behave better and host a large number of moths and butterflies.

Research disease resistance, flowers for pollinators, fruits for animals, sun or shade preferences, and soil types. Consider planting species that drop excessive amounts of fruit, acorns, or seedpods farther from the house and paved surfaces.

Also look into the tree’s habit of growth. A specimen with horizontal branches softens the strong vertical lines of a house. Pay close attention to utility poles and wires. Don’t plant trees near them that the utility company will butcher in future years.

Trees with invasive surface roots should be reserved for areas far from structures, pipes, and vegetable gardens. Find out from your town how close to the street or the property line you’re permitted to plant trees. Don’t forget to call 8-1-1 to locate underground utilities before digging.

Chionanthus, the fringe tree (photo, below), is a beautiful bloomer for gardens. This multi-stem plant has 2 species commonly available (C. virginicus, C. retusus), one native and the other from Asia. Male plants have larger flowers, but females set deep blue fruits for birds. The plants, however, are rarely sexed at the nursery.

Fringe tree.

The Hollies

Gardeners have used hollies in gardens for centuries. We can choose among deciduous and evergreen species.

The hollies (Ilex spp.) are another genus of primarily dioecious (Latin for “two houses”) plants that fruit on female plants. They ordinarily require a male plant, or pollenizer, to set fruit, although holly pollenizers (the males) themselves do not set fruit. Modern breeding techniques have yielded several cultivars that can make berries without pollination.

Ask your nursery salesperson for specifics regarding the need for pollenizers and how close they should be planted to female hollies. Choose the male hollies carefully; they must be closely related to the female holly and bloom at the same time. Incidentally, holly flowers are often nicely fragrant, and the bees love them! Just don’t shear them off after the buds have formed. Pruning should be minimal if you want flowers and fruits. And bees.

The Curious Case of Crape Myrtle

The Imperial moth.

Lagerstroemia indica is an extremely popular landscape tree or shrub in USDA zones 7-9. Crape myrtle, from China and Korea, was first introduced to the southeastern U.S. over 200 years ago. Adapting readily to our hot, humid summers and sometimes drought, it blooms for months despite the adversity.

What makes this non-native plant peculiar is a native moth’s preference for its leaves even when offered a multitude of its local favorites. Last year, I raised caterpillars of the huge Imperial moth. They went for the crape myrtle every time, ignoring all the others. Unless female moths instinctively target this species to host their young, the caterpillars will not likely eat these trees to the bone any time soon.

Several songbirds, including American goldfinches and juncos, feed on the seedpods.

Evergreens

You might prefer an evergreen specimen instead of a tree that drops its leaves in autumn. Look into arborvitae, chamaecyparis, hemlock, certain holly species, juniper, pine, rhododendron, spruce, and yew. Consider the shade evergreens will cast in winter, and whether sunlight might be blocked from entering windows or melting ice on the driveway.

Although not all evergreens are native to this part of the country, they make suitable nesting places and provide shelter in inclement weather. A dense border of evergreens can block fierce winter wind for a considerable distance downwind.

Soon after moving into the Maryland house in the 1980’s, I planted a chamaecyparis with deep green whorled foliage. Although it was supposed to get only 6′ tall according to the nursery, it grew to about 20′, when it was cut down by the people who bought the house from me. I left it in the front yard because birds raised a few families among its evergreen branches every year. And it looked gorgeous in the snow.

Chamaecyparis on the right, after 2010 blizzard. Sourwood on the left.

Good Looks

If you’re landscaping purely for aesthetics, plant a tree with characteristics that appeal to you. It’s your property, after all. Besides, all trees provide cover and nesting opportunities, even if they’re passed up by caterpillars.

Perhaps elsewhere you could grow perennials that offer food to wildlife. Planting a bed of milkweeds among the shrubs, for example, will help the monarch butterflies (photo, below).

While you might not consider insects important in your landscape, and, in fact, have invested considerable time and expense eradicating them, they are primary links in the food chain. A healthy landscape hosts a complex assortment of insects and animals. And with the rate at which natural habitats are losing out to development, it’s no wonder we see fewer ladybugs, butterflies, and songbirds in our neighborhoods.

Creating welcoming landscapes provides resting places for migrating birds. But they need natural corridors all along their path in order to find food and perching opportunities. We can help by planting at least part of our property with them in mind—every one of us! Provide food, water, and trees to rest in, and you might catch a glimpse of a bird you’ve never seen before.

I urge you to adopt a new attitude toward welcoming wildlife. You don’t need 10 acres to make a difference. A well-planted fraction of an acre will encourage many kinds of insects and animals to reside there. If you let them eat your plants and the sprayer hasn’t been used once this year, well done!

Monarch Butterfly Laying An Egg - Chesna / Pixabay

Monarch butterfly on milkweed.

Before Planting Trees

Let’s imagine a 2-story house and an appropriately proportional medium-sized tree. Your landscape plan calls for locating this tree off the southwest corner in the front of the house.

To prevent branches from rubbing against the siding in the future, you’ll want to plant the tree far enough from the house. Divide the mature spread of the tree by 2. Because plants tend to grow larger than the dimensions printed on the label, add a few feet to the measurement. So, a tree with a mature spread of 25-30′ should be planted 15′ or more from the corner.

While that little tree might look lonely out there, it will grow. Maybe that’s the extent of your garden project this fall. Or perhaps you’d like to develop a full garden on that side of the house with an underplanting of shrubs, perennials, and ground covers.

Walking a pathway through the garden to the side yard will feel like a walk through a park. This is a good solution where space is limited between your house and the neighbor’s. Consider your neighbor, though, and don’t plant too close to the property line. Perhaps the two of you could create an appealing garden that fills the space between both houses.

But first, it’s soil prep…please turn to page 2…

Headings:

Page 1: Are You Ready To Plant Trees?, Native Plants vs. the Non-Natives (The Benefits of Native Species, Native Species and Nativars, Red Leaves and Wildlife, The Untold Story), Deciduous Trees For the Eastern U.S. (The Hollies, The Curious Case of Crape Myrtle, Evergreens), Good Looks, and Before Planting Trees

Page 2: Soil Preparation For Trees (Slope, Outline the Bed, Heavy Clay, “How Deep?”, Adding Amendments, Organic Matter, and Time To Plant Trees (Trees In Pots, B&B Trees, Backfill, Edge, Mulch, And Water)

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Plant Trees To Transform Your Landscape, Part 1

Aug7

2021

It’s Time To Plant Trees!

As summer’s sizzling temperatures begin to cool off, our thoughts turn to new gardening projects. Fall is a great time to plant trees and shrubs. At that time, garden centers bring in fresh plant material, so you’ll have a wide variety to choose from.

After leaves drop from deciduous plants, roots no longer need to provide water to foliage, making fall the perfect time for landscaping. New roots, though, continue to grow well into autumn, while soil temperature remains above 40°F. By springtime, new leaves will draw water from a more extensive root system, so you won’t have to water as often as you would when planting trees in leaf.

Although you can plant trees and shrubs in full foliage, they will need frequent irrigation to get them established. The warmer the temperature, the more water the plant will require. Summer sun bearing down a dark nursery pot stresses the root system and can prevent root growth on the hottest side of the pot. It follows that during the summer months, roots would rather be in the cool earth than exposed to hot sun. Planting leafy trees just requires more attention from the gardener.

Most evergreens also can be planted in autumn. Their foliage at that time transpires less water to the atmosphere as temperatures cool down and day length shortens.

Room For Improvement

During my search for a new home, what always attracts my attention first is the presence of mature trees. The absence of trees means more grass to mow, for a while, anyway. Not my cup of tea.

Because the Covid-19 pandemic has kept us closer to home, we can’t help but notice areas that could use improvement. Is the sunroom or the shed a bit too toasty in the afternoon? Gazing at the computer screen hour after hour? Now that you’re working from home, looking upon a pretty garden outside the office or pulling a few weeds would provide a needed break. Perhaps you’ve discovered that connecting with nature relieves stress and gives you a feeling of calm and comfort.

Those are just a few reasons to plant trees and spruce up our gardens. Converting high maintenance lawns into gardens with colorful trees, shrubs, and flowers not only enhances aesthetics, but also increases the value of our homes. And with all this talk of carbon footprints and deforestation, perhaps you’re eager to participate in the solution.

Plant Trees To Transform Your Landscape, In Two Parts

Part 1 of “Plant Trees To Transform Your Landscape” addresses seasonal changes, drawing a landscape plan, reasons for planting trees and shrubs, slope, and practical considerations.

Part 2 of “Plant Trees To Transform Your Landscape” details soil preparation and the process of planting trees in the landscape. I also write about native plants vs. the non-natives, and how they affect populations of insects and animals.

The Sun’s Path

The sun’s path across the sky in North Carolina, summer and winter.

Start thinking about your landscape now, before summer’s discomfort fades from memory. Notice how the sun’s arc changes from month to month, and how, by mid- to late summer, it’s already lower in the sky. My little succulents lining the south-facing bay windows get more direct sunlight now than they did a month ago, when the sun was directly overhead.

You can block much of the heat and sunlight falling on the south (northern hemisphere) or west side of the house with a deciduous tree or a group of trees. If you want maximum sunlight coming indoors during the winter, however, avoid planting trees right outside south-facing windows. Instead, shift the trees toward the southwest or the west, which will give you more sun in winter and shade on a hot summer afternoon.

Although deciduous trees drop leaves in autumn, bare branches and twigs will cast some shade. But with carefully placed trees—not directly south—shade will come from smaller twigs on the canopy’s periphery rather than from stout trunks and limbs.

Large evergreens block winter sun at a time when it is most welcome if they’re planted near south-, southeast-, or southwest-facing windows. Consider planting them farther out into the landscape and where they can reduce winter wind from the north or the west. Or use shorter evergreens that mature below windowsill height. Thick borders of twiggy deciduous plant material can decrease wind speed, but not as effectively as evergreens.

For the Record

It helps to keep a record of these seasonal changes. Visualize how tree placement will affect sunlight falling on your house or coming through the windows. Knowing a tree’s mature height and spread will help determine where to place it for maximum solar gain in winter and shade in summer.

Avoid planting trees too close to the house, where leaves, flowers, and fruits will litter the sidewalk and clog the gutters…not just in year 1, but also in year 31. Realistically, though, debris will get into uncovered gutters and leaves will swirl around paved areas, but planting trees far enough from the house will obviate the need for annoyingly frequent maintenance. In addition, limbs growing toward the house will require trimming, and the result often falls short of appealing.

These are merely guidelines that I’m suggesting, but, ultimately, it’s your property and your choice.

Let’s not forget the advantages of planting evergreens for winter protection. A dense planting of evergreen trees and shrubs can mitigate the brutal impact of winter’s fury. That can make living in and working around your home more comfortable, while lowering energy bills at the same time. Remember that winter shade on an icy driveway will delay rapid melting.

Try to recall the direction of prevailing winter winds, which usually varies from the direction of summer breezes. You can research local data from the National Weather Service.

Drawing Up the Plans

Tools Of the Trade

For accurate and detailed drawings, use an architect’s scale, a triangle (for straight edges and right angles), graph paper (for the base plan), tracing paper, a mechanical pencil, and an eraser. A plastic template with round holes of varying widths can be useful for extensive landscape projects.

The final design can be drawn on the more substantial vellum, if you wish, using colored pencils and markers. But, for those homeowners intent on planting a few trees and extending a garden, paper and pencil might more than suffice.

Community colleges and, sometimes, botanical gardens offer classes in landscape design. They might have sources for these tools, or you can find them at art supply companies.

Start the Sketch

Draw a sketch of your home’s footprint and property lines on graph paper. Use dimensions from a copy of the plat plan, if you received one when you bought the house. Pencil in existing vegetation, hardscape (structures and solid surfaces), prevailing wind directions, drainage patterns, slope, and a north arrow.

The 1/4″ scale, where 1/4″ on paper equals 1′ in the landscape, was satisfactory for almost all residential designs. For the largest projects, though, I used the 1/8″ scale. I measured the property, copied the plat plan, and drew, to scale and in permanent ink, all features that were to remain. This base plan depicted an aerial view of the property’s features, including locations of doors and windows in the home’s outline.

Then I drew preliminary plans, in pencil, on tracing paper taped (with removable drafting tape) to the base plan. You might go through several sheets of paper as different ideas take hold. That’s why it’s available in rolls!

Sketch ideas for how your family will use the property. You might include spaces for a sunny vegetable garden, shrubs and trees for butterflies and nesting birds, or a pond. In that case, pencil in the tallest plants either far from those areas or to the north, where they won’t cast shade for many years. Trees that grow less than 15′ or 25′ tall at maturity fit more comfortably in tightly clustered neighborhoods. Consider your neighbors, too, when including trees in the plan.

Now, of course, many landscape designers use software programs that cut short the labor involved in drawing plans by hand.

Also, keep in mind that the actual layout of the plants might necessitate shifting them somewhat from the locations drawn on paper. Before planting, place the potted trees and shrubs in their intended locations, and double-check the placement from all angles.

Elevating Your Skills

Drawing elevations, or vertical perspectives of the house as it sits in the landscape, supplies a more complete picture of your property. We plant trees, shrubs, and other plants around the house to anchor the structure to the land. Keep in mind that 10′ indoors looks much smaller outdoors, so expanding the beds will impart more appropriately scaled proportions.

An elevation of the front of the house will help you envision how the plantings will look from the street. Likewise, views from the back windows could be improved by adding a tree, or 3 trees, and masses of colorful shrubs and perennials near the fence. Remember to include hardscape and windows, doors, and the roof in your sketches. Then pencil in the existing plants from near to far, to scale, and see how they layer against each other. Additional drawings might depict tentative designs starting with no plants or having the biggest offenders removed.

This extra step could illustrate the need for some relief from all the short plants on one side of the property, or how the other side is too heavy with evergreens. If you add color to the elevation, you’ll see where you could repeat a cluster of flowering plants or where there’s too much yellow.

Maybe there are too many mounded forms, and the composition could benefit from a bold upright specimen or a fine texture, such as ornamental grass. Details in the elevation drawings help illustrate where contrast, color, height, repetition, or depth might be missing. Be sure to consider the color of the house and the trim when designing your landscape.

Simple Might Work Better

Perhaps the elevations reveal how busy or spotty the landscape appears, and how it could benefit from a simpler menu with fewer types of plants. The elements in the home’s landscape, when viewed from the street or from a distance, look more harmonious when the garden has only a few specimen varieties and masses of supporting plants.

This doesn’t rule out all those fascinating little plants tucked in here and there. But use those smaller plants along a path or by the patio to appreciate up close.

Symmetry vs. Balance

Planting symmetrical gardens on both sides of the front door might be your go-to style. Sure—that’s easy! But to give your landscape that something extra, try to achieve balance without symmetry. Balance requires using some of the same or similar plants on both sides, but not necessarily in the same quantities.

Symmetry is more difficult to maintain when one arborvitae grows faster than the other due to differences in sun exposure. Or one bed of reblooming daylilies grows better than the one that’s closer to the neighbor’s Norway maple. And most homes simply aren’t symmetrical.

Depth Perception

Imagine your front yard with taller plant material in a raised bed near a streetside corner. Maybe a spacious area could use a few large beds, which remove even more of the lawn. Dimensions of the property and existing features will determine the most appropriate placement of these islands. The plans I drew incorporated irregularly shaped beds, with broad, naturally curved edges instead of straight lines.

Adding a small tree or an uneven number of shrubs with drifts of perennials and ground covers introduces the concept of depth, partially hiding the front of the house from full view. Some open space—a void—near the center, showing the front entrance, creates a contrast. This sense of mystery—where not everything is revealed in one glimpse—adds a dimension that’s hard to describe. But you’ll know it when you see it…or don’t see it.

One tip about planting a tree: don’t plant it dead center in the yard or in a bed! Use the “Rule of Thirds” when locating the tree. Place it closer to the edge of the property, framing the view, or about one-third of the distance from the far end of a bed. A tree in the center abruptly bisects a view, which is uneasy on the eyes. Similarly, I prefer not to plant an upright evergreen between 2 windows.

If space is limited between your house and the neighbor’s, consider planting a generous bed—the full width—on your property. Then add a mulch, brick, or flagstone path from the front yard to the side yard, and plantings on both sides. Given ample room, place the tree on the outside of the path. This gives you that nice feeling of walking through a park.

Perhaps you and the neighbor can develop a landscape together for a more harmonious setting. When I lived in Maryland, a neighbor and I planted the entire area between our driveways, but the man who bought my neighbor’s house replaced all the plants on his side with sod. “Just in case”, I had planted a monarch birch on my side of the property line before he tore out blooming shrubs and perennials. Nevertheless, the see-through character of the finely-twigged birch tree lent that feeling of depth to our front yards.

Take This Photo, For Example

Taking advantage of the depth of the front yard gives opportunities for repeating plant material without having to rely on symmetry. Research shows that people attach greater value to properties with attractively orchestrated plantings comprising wider beds and curved edges.

Enlarging the foundation plantings by bringing in a specimen and groups of plant material is usually more appealing. Try adding large curved beds in your drawings rather than narrow beds lined up against the wall. Curves soften rigid straight edges.

In the photograph, above, this landscape would gain depth by adding a new curved bed in the corner between the near side of the sidewalk and the driveway. I’d plant a small tree, several small flowering shrubs or evergreens, and flowers in this bed. Lastly, repetition, using the same ground cover on both sides of the sidewalk, not necessarily lined up, completes the picture. (Well, I might rethink those ornamental grasses…and…)

When installing a new sidewalk near the house, place it farther from the house, if possible, to accommodate more creative plantings.

Options For Cooling

Diagonally off the northeast corner of my last house in Rockville, Maryland, I planted a sourwood tree (Oxydendrum arboreum). This deciduous tree has spectacular red fall color. Although the tree is a slow grower, I selected it for its ornamental features: multi-stem trunk (usually sold with a single trunk), fine twigs, flowers after the peak spring season, pest-free foliage, and long-lasting fall color. With all those desirable features, I forgave its persistent seedpods.

During the growing season, the sourwood blocked morning sun, from the east-northeast, and helped cool the living room and the master bedroom upstairs. But, with winter’s sun rising in the east-southeast, the leafless tree did not affect light entering those rooms. In regions where the temperature climbs quickly early in the day, consider planting a tree to shade the morning sun.

Japanese snowbell.

On the west side of the property, monarch birches (Betula maximowicziana) provided afternoon shade. The fine texture of their leaves and branches cast a delicate shade, and those beautiful chalky white trunks contributed year-round interest. This species can be quite variable in trunk color, from white to gray to brown. I also planted the species Japanese snowbell (Styrax japonica), a small umbrella-shaped tree, off the west side of the brick patio.

When we first moved into the house, there was no relief from intense summer sun. Planting trees made good sense for this house with little insulation, original single-pane windows, and an inefficient HVAC system.

Over the next three decades, I renovated the entire house, insulated the attic and under new siding, planted a woodland, and greatly reduced our energy bills. Replacement double-pane windows, with that heat-reflective coating, were expensive, but worth it.

Headings:

Page 1: It’s Time To Plant Trees! (Room For Improvement), The Sun’s Path (For the Record), Drawing Up the Plans (Tools Of the Trade, Start the Sketch, Elevating Your Skills, Simple Might Work Better, Symmetry vs. Balance, Depth Perception, Take This Photo, For Example), and Options For Cooling

Page 2: Beautiful Trees In the Garden (Lessons From Well-Designed Gardens), First, Call 8-1-1, Establish the Hardscape, Dealing With Slope, Why Should We Plant Trees and Shrubs? (Planting Trees and Shrubs Can:, Finding Help), Choosing Plant Material, and Next: Part 2

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Southern Spring Home and Garden Show

Mar6

2019

It’s Time For the Home and Garden Show!

Arrangement by Kazuko Ikuta, Sogetsu school.

For two weekends in late February and early March, the annual Southern Spring Home and Garden Show, charlottespringhomeandgardenshow.com, comes to the Park Expo and Conference Center, in Charlotte NC. It arrives at that time of the year when many of us gardeners are itching to get out into the garden.

For years, my little horticultural company, Wellspring Gardens, set up at the Washington (D.C.) Home and Garden Show and then at the Maryland Home and Garden Show, in Timonium, Maryland. For several years I did both shows, and then decided to rent space at just the Maryland show.

There were many other local venues where I sold plants, such as Green Spring Gardens Park (Annandale, VA), Towson Gardens Day, Brookside Gardens Herb Fair, the Carroll County Farmers’ Market, the Leesburg VA Garden Festival, and the Garden Festival at Ladew in Monkton MD. These events were held rain or shine. So much fun…and so much work! Most of these occurred before the weekly farmers’ markets started up for the season.

Liberty Hall

A few hundred exhibitors set up throughout the show, either selling directly to customers or setting up consultations for home improvement. Since time was limited, I didn’t spend it in this section. But when there’s a house to fix up, this is the place to be. Here you can view products and speak with contractors.

King’s Greenhouse

King’s Greenhouse’s booth was located near the front entrance of the home and garden show, with the home improvement contractors. They had lots of plant material that could be planted outdoors now, including pansies and Heuchera cultivars (coral bells) in various colors, shrubs, and indoor plants. Hardening off the plants first will prevent damage to their foliage.

Kingsgardencenter.com. Phone: (704) 821-7507.

And food vendors were located in a couple of places, so shoppers need never go hungry. I took home a hot dog for Mother (she’d been begging for one) and we shared a really good cheese pastry.

Freedom Hall

Landscape companies set up full-scale gardens in this section of the show, complete with large trees, flowering shrubs, perennials, bulbs, and flowers. There are waterfalls, ponds, pergolas, she-sheds, and a chicken coop! I like to visit this area first, before it becomes crowded. Belgard is one of this home and garden show’s sponsors, so their paving materials feature prominently in the landscape displays.

Here are some of the booths I visited:

Ikebana International, Charlotte, Chapter 49

At the entrance to this section was an exhibit with Ikebana flower arrangements designed by members of Chapter 49. Those who are interested in this ancient Japanese art of flower arranging may attend meetings, held on the first Thursday of September, October, November, February, April, and May. Meetings are open to the public and are free to attend. Marcia and I had a lovely conversation, some of it on the subject of flowers!

www.ikebana49.org.

: Arrangement by Diane Titlestad, Ohara school.

: Arrangement by Virginia Matthews, Ohara school.

All Natural Streams Landscaping, Billy Provett

Owner Billy Provett always does a fabulous job with his water gardens. The sound of splashing water, the lure of nighttime illumination, and a restful garden ambiance create a magical place…right in your own back yard!

This pondless waterfall cascades down a slope and into a basin filled with rocks. A pump recirculates the water, sending it back to the top of the stream. This is perfect for a family who would enjoy the sound of water but not the high maintenance of a fish pond. People’s Choice Award.

www.naturalstreams.com. Phone: (704) 577-4306.

Southern Showplace Landscapes, B. J. Fisher

A beautifully illuminated coral-bark maple, seen through the stems of a birch tree (photo, below), got everyone’s attention. So did this firepot, atop a large stone sculpture with water trickling down its sides. Environmental Award.

www.southernshowplace.com. Phone: (704) 699-0815.

Plant Man, Elton Liles

Another beautiful water garden, with a blooming camellia on the right. An important detail is using stone of similar color and varying sizes. Note that in the waterfall, flat horizontal stones make an effective fall. The void behind the cascade magnifies the rich tones of the water spilling into the pond. Best in Show Award.

www.plantmancharlotte.com. Phone: (704) 219-0160.

Southern Stonescapes, Daniel Flynn

Every landscape is improved by adding some hardscape, whether it’s a gazebo, a paved patio, a boulder outcroppping (with a pond?), or simply a large pot. Landscape the front yard for curb appeal, and personalize the private spaces.

I love this old lichen-encrusted bench. A great way to personalize your garden is to use items that might be gathering dust in the basement or the shed. Best of Outdoor Living Space Award.

www.sstonescapesunlimited.com. Phone: (704) 309-9117.

Bushwackers Landscaping, Chad Little

Part of this display includes an assemblage of stones, plumbed up the center to create a gentle cascade of water spilling over the edge, into a pondless reservoir. Just what thirsty songbirds need in our hot summers!

www.bushwackerslandscaping.com. Phone: (704) 463-0174.

Old Hickory Buildings of Monroe, Tim Beane, Betty Beane, Amanda Beane

A few sheds were on display, one with a couple of chickens! In the back of the shed was a door that led to a covered outdoor run, where the chickens could enjoy some sunshine and pick in the grass whatever it is that chickens pick.

Another looked like the perfect get-away to finish that book, with a cup of coffee and the dog for company. Uh-huh: She-Shed! Or use it for a comfortable potting area, regardless of the weather outside.

ohbofmonroe.com. Phone: (704) 289-5147.

The Market Place in Independence Hall

I encourage you to visit and shop at these home and garden shows. I know how much work goes into setting up and preparing enough material to keep the booth well-stocked. This one ran for two 3-day weekends, and that requires a tremendous effort to produce inventory!

All kinds of products are available for purchase from the vendors. You can find a couple of companies selling plants, of course, and also artwork, antiques, clothing, housewares, birdhouses, goodies for the kitchen, pottery, wood products, tools, and furniture. Much of it is garden-themed, and some of it is not. And you can order sod and compost, a security system…or book a vacation to get away from it all.

There are fewer plant booths than we gardeners prefer, but that’s nothing new. That’s a perennial problem at home and garden shows such as this one. In February and early March, the weather is a gamble, especially in the colder region back in Maryland. But we had so many more “green” booths! There was the bonsai man, and a few herb vendors, several selling early flowering plants (pansies, ranunculus, forced spring-flowering bulbs, hellebores), perennials, houseplants, the African violet lady, the Plumeria person, and carnivorous plants. I hope this show’s organizers will try to bring in more plant vendors.

Guest Speakers

Just when I needed a break, the YouTube gardening video “sensation” Laura LeBoutillier (“Garden Answer”) and Proven Winners’ director of marketing Marshall Dirks conducted a lively talk to an engaged crowd. Ty Pennington (“Trading Spaces”), Julia Collin Davison (“America’s Test Kitchen” and “Cook’s Country”), and Matt Fox (HGTV’s “Room by Room”) also gave presentations this year.

Several other speakers conducted programs and DIY workshops with topics ranging from aquaponics to bees, cooking to curb appeal, dog training to cake decorating, and chalk paint to herb gardening, among others.

These are just a few of the many booths I visited in Independence Hall:

Juice Plus Tower Garden®, Cathy Melesh

You can harvest an impressive amount of produce from this ingenious hydroponic (soilless) system using a vertical growing “field”, where many pockets hold various plants.

A reservoir on the bottom (photo, right) pumps nutrient-rich water to the top of the tower, where the plants’ roots inside absorb what they need. LED lights supply illumination for herbs and greens (or houseplants) indoors.

Or, used outdoors without the lights, you can grow your own salad all summer long!

Bonus: Cathy’s sister, helping at the booth, was a customer at the garden center where I used to work. Small world!

cathymelesh.towergarden.com. Phone: (704) 560-0994.

The Card Gallery, Abby D. Morgan

There really are some of us who still write letters…yes, on paper. So, when I saw these laser-cut pop-up greeting cards, I had to take a few home with me. There wasn’t a pop-up children’s book that I could resist, when my kids were little, so…

http://alexnbo.com/thecardgallery.pdf. Phone: (919) 593-7270.

Oakdale Greenhouses, LLC

A wide variety of plants—Serissa and juniper bonsai, hanging plants with roots enclosed in a ball of moss and twine (Kokedama), succulent gardens, air plants (large and small Tillandsia) in hanging glass globes and other bromeliads, Nepenthes, houseplants both unusual and common—it’s all here!

Every year I end up buying a few. This year I bought a succulent I’d never seen before. It grows in a rosette, like an Echeveria, and it has thick blue-gray leaves with small burgundy dots. And I bought a tiny Ficus pumila quercifolia, with variegated leaves. You’ll find inexpensive 2″ starter pots and larger dish gardens and terrariums.

https://oakdalegreenhouses.com. Phone: (704) 596-4052.

: Nepenthes, a carnivorous plant.

: An open glass terrarium.

DirtWorks Pottery, Dan Triece, with Ben Vanpelt

I love pottery. In front of me is a glazed blue coffee mug I bought almost 30 years ago, when my brother and I went to a craft show in New Paltz, New York. No, not from Dan. But this illustrates how these items become members of the family, integrated into our lives…mine anyway. There’s something about bringing home a piece of art that was handcrafted by a “real person” instead of by a machine.

Dan and I chatted while he fashioned tiny ceramic vases on the potter’s wheel. They will have to be glazed and fired, of course, but there were hundreds more ready to sell. I bought two of them, deep blue. As soon as I returned home, I filled the vases with a few violas plucked from the garden. Perfect! Mother and I can enjoy them while we’re working the jigsaw puzzle.

Also for sale were bowls of all colors and styles, platters, vases, bread dishes, artistically styled pitchers with curved handles, small teabag rests…just beautiful! Phone: (336) 873-8979, Seagrove NC.

https://www.facebook.com/Dirtworks-Pottery-429257577168804/

BBC Expressions, Billie Colley

If you like color, take a look at these uniquely painted table tops. Billie paints on plywood rounds, from 22″ to 28″ in diameter. And then they’re coated with a few layers of protective epoxy, a process that takes weeks for completion. But they’re not for outdoor living…treat them as works of art, which they are, and keep them indoors.

I was mesmerized— by the color combinations, by the sinuous swirls, by their simple-but-precise beauty! A cherry base is normally attached when a table is purchased, except when on display at shows.

Certainly this must be a skill that Billie has honed over the years. Born in Turkey and raised in Britain, all these influences must have contributed to her aesthetic. But, no! Although she really enjoys painting and designing mosaics, architecture is her trade, and this is a relatively new endeavor!

The top row photographs are close-up details of 3 tables. The center bottom photograph shows pendants employing the same technique. On the bottom right is the table top that first drew my attention. Gorgeous!

Billie at work, and explaining the technique to some customers.

Website for jewelry: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BBCExpressionsGifts. Phone: (704) 256-4000.

Come for a Visit

The next time a home and garden show comes to town, take advantage of the opportunity to talk with the vendors. It’s a great introduction to the projects you might want to get underway this year. The owners and personnel representing the companies are eager to help with your questions and to provide solutions to those nagging problems that never seem to get properly fixed.

And don’t forget to pick up that weird plant or the piece you fell in love with, for the finishing touch…because it might be gone tomorrow. Happy Spring!

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Plan Now for Spring-Flowering Bulbs

Sep9

2018

Time For Spring-Flowering Bulbs

Spring-flowering bulbs in a public garden.

In a few days, we finally will see some almost normal temperatures in this part of the southeast. It’s time to think about spring-flowering bulbs that will be planted over the next 2 or 3 months. Get comfortable; this is a long essay on the big topic of spring-flowering bulbs.

It often happens: when the daffodils, tulips, and wonderfully fragrant hyacinths bloom in February, March, and April, that’s when many customers ask for the bulbs. But most bulbs are planted in the fall and into early winter. Their roots develop as the soil cools in late summer and autumn, but growth above ground is delayed until months later.

It is no longer uncommon for garden centers to sell potted bulbs in spring. So, if you missed out on the fall planting season, or if you want to see the flower colors before planting, inquire with the growers. Vendors at spring home and garden shows and farmers’ markets also sell pots of budded or blooming bulbs.

Daffodils are reliable, easy to grow, and not eaten by animals.

Many thousands of varieties of bulbs are available to gardeners. Each region of the country has its favorites, based on ease of culture, resistance to hungry animals, and familiarity with what people “usually” grow there.

If you want something more unusual but your local sources don’t carry it, you can probably find it online or through mail order catalogs. Find out what the bulbs require before investing in 2,000 pink tulips that can’t take the heat in your back yard.

On the Subject of Tulips

Tulips are not deer-proof.

Large-flowering hybrid tulips grow in the cooler northern half of the United States, down to Zone 7. A few will perennialize in slightly warmer climates. The smaller species tulips will grow a bit farther into the South.

Tulip bulbs planted among the roots of trees and shrubs might work slightly better than those in open beds. The soil there is somewhat cooler and dryer. They’re not fond of warm temperatures and high moisture levels.

Many gardeners here in the piedmont of North Carolina plant tulips with the expectation of only one glorious show, and then tear them out when flowers fade. Beautiful as they are, tulips in zone 8 or warmer usually do not come back for an encore performance the next year. Even zone 7 is a challenge for them.

And that’s okay with a lot of people, including designers of public parks and municipal common spaces. But, wow, what a show...if you can keep the deer and rabbits away from them! They are especially fond of tulips, and I highly recommended using deer repellents. When using a solution in a sprayer, set the nozzle to a fine mist. A coarse droplet will simply bead off the waxy foliage and flowers without sticking.

Voles, too, eat tulip bulbs. Planting tulips with PermaTill (small, expanded gravel used for drainage) around them usually deters the voles. Stainless steel mesh planting baskets will exclude burrowing animals from the root zone. And squirrels have been known to do a little transplanting of their own. Products are available to help prevent these problems.

How Bulbs Work

crocus pickwick, white with purple stripes

Striped ‘Pickwick’ and purple ‘Remembrance’ crocus, in the Maryland garden.

A bulb is a shortened stem, with roots that emerge from the basal plate when the temperature cools in the fall. The basal plate, clearly visible on hyacinths, is a rounded disc of tissue at the bottom of the bulb. Tightly folded undeveloped leaves surrounding the flower shoot contain food for the plant during dormancy. A bulb has all the parts necessary to complete its life cycle: root initials in the basal plate, a growing tip, leaves, stems, and flowers.

The rooting bulbs remain safely tucked underground until the soil begins to warm up in spring. That signals the plants to burst from the ground with their beautiful, cheerful flowers. We bid another winter adieu! Hungry bees and other pollinators emerging on warm spring days feed on pollen and nectar from spring-flowering bulbs, when little else is in bloom.

The foliage must be given enough time to photosynthesize and to store carbohydrates in the bulbs. This food will sustain the plant during dormancy, and ensure that more buds will develop for next year’s flowers. So, after the flowers finish up, let the plants wither naturally. Foliage can be removed after at least half of it has yellowed.

First, a few words on summer- and fall-blooming bulbs

Garden centers stock most of the summer-blooming bulbs in spring to early summer. You can find bulbs, corms, tubers, and rhizomes of lilies, gladiolus, canna, caladium, iris, and calla at that time of the year. Nurseries also offer potted specimens as they come into growth.

Elephant Ears

For dramatic foliage plants, look for elephant ears (Alocasia and Colocasia spp.), which grow only a foot tall to over 6′ tall. These are tropical plants and will die with frost, unless the tubers are dug and stored over winter. Planted in the ground in regions where frost doesn’t penetrate the soil, they usually survive the winter.

Caladium

Caladium, in late spring.

The colorful caladiums are tropical and need warmer soil temperatures in winter in order to survive, even when dormant. Some gardeners dig up and save the tubers every year, but most purchase new tubers or potted plants in spring to mid summer.

Foliage colors include green, white, chartreuse, pink, peach, and red, and can be mottled, edged in a contrasting color, streaked, or spotted. Their spathe-like flowers are not showy and usually removed.

For the past four years, I’ve kept a large Italian terra cotta pot outdoors in the summer. It contains a white caladium, a few kinds of brake (Pteris) ferns, and trailing clumps of Pilea ‘Aquamarine’, with its reddish stems and incredible pewter-blue, rounded leaves. It’s also home to whatever else dropped in. This year: some bulbs of tender Ledebouria socialis (leopard lily), a miniature African violet, and Dendrobium kingianum, a small orchid that has lived in a 3″ clay pot for over 4 decades.

Dormant Caladium

When the weather cools, the whole pot comes indoors to the sunny kitchen, where the caladium goes dormant. One by one, the leaves turn yellow, and the caladium sleeps through the winter. At average indoor temperatures, it remains dormant.

Instead of digging out the tubers, I leave them in the soil, caring for the rest of the plants as needed. Every couple of years, some potting soil is added under the plants, and the pot goes outdoors to light shade. And each year, the caladium comes back after about a month of warm weather. It’s a heavy feeder, so fertilize caladium every 2-3 weeks while it’s in leaf.

Dormant caladium tubers that remain surrounded by soil over the winter are more likely to return the next year than dry, loose tubers kept in a bag. Keep them dry if by themselves in a pot; damp is okay, if in company with other plants.

This variety is always the first amaryllis to bloom.

Amaryllis

Amaryllis (photo, above) is a beautiful late fall to spring flowering plant. Dormant bulbs can be found at garden centers at this time of year, alongside the spring-flowering bulbs. Potted in the fall, Amaryllis bulbs begin blooming indoors around the holidays.

Colchicum Autumnale

: Colchicum ‘Waterlily’, nice with….

: …purple beautyberry, Callicarpa americana.

This is one of my favorites partly because the plant is animal-proof and partly because it blooms in the fall. Sometimes slugs can be a problem. Scattering Sluggo granules near the Colchicum will take care of that.

The bulbs will appear in some, but not many, garden centers, along with the daffodils and other spring-flowering bulbs. Left on a windowsill, the bulb produces flowers with no encouragement necessary! But I prefer to plant these hardy bulbs in the garden. Colchicum is the source of a potentially toxic pharmaceutical component, so grow with care.

Only the flowers make an appearance in autumn; colchicum foliage arrives in spring and lasts a short period of time.

Placed near a shrub called Purple Beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma or C. americana), the Colchicum ‘Waterlily’ flowers perfectly echo the color of the shrub’s berries (photo, above).

Once planted, they soon begin blooming in white (‘Alba’) and shades of lavender-pink. ‘Waterlily’, available from Wayside Gardens, has many petals, pale in color until exposed to light. It has the appearance of a water lily, but it is not an aquatic plant. After 2 years in the ground, one bulb will produce dozens of flowers. This plant is sometimes called “fall crocus”, but it is not to be confused with…

…Fall Crocus

Species crocus bulbs, with saffron on the left.

A few hardy crocuses bloom in the fall. One is saffron crocus, Crocus sativus, which gives us our most expensive spice, harvested from the female flower part, the red style and stigma. Only 3 threads of saffron are laboriously harvested from each flower, explaining its very high cost. Incidentally, saffron has been used as a spice for 3500 years. And for more trivia–saffron crocus is a sterile triploid whose ancestry is open to speculation.

There are other bluish (C. speciosus ‘Cartwrightianus’) and white (C. kotschyanus) fall crocuses available. The lavender-blue color positively glows in the setting sun. This color is rare in the garden at this time of the year, and a welcome surprise when the flowers emerge through the Liriope and other short groundcovers.

Crocus, technically, grows from a corm, but, for simplicity, is often called a bulb.

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Headings

Page 1: Time For Spring Flowering Bulbs, On the Subject of Tulips, How Bulbs Work, and First, a few words on summer- and fall-blooming bulbs (Elephant Ears, Caladium, Amaryllis, Colchicum Autumnale, Fall Crocus)

Page 2: Color Effects, Formal and Informal, Naturalizing in Lawns, Naturalizing in Meadows, If You’re New To Spring-Flowering Bulbs, When Planting Drifts of Bulbs (Microclimates and Timing, Laying Out the Beds), and Aftercare

Page 3: Galanthus, Crocus (Snow Crocus, Giant Dutch Crocus), Eranthis, Muscari, and Puschkinia

Page 4: Hyacinthoides, Tulipa (Tulips In Zones 7 and South, Species Tulips), Hyacinthus, Narcissus (Buying Daffodil Bulbs, Linnaeus, the RHS, and the ADS, Planting Daffodils, Fragrant Daffodils), and Allium

Page 5: Maintenance, Tricks to Hide Maturing Foliage, Stinzenplanten, Forcing Spring-Flowering Bulbs, Rock Gardens, and Don’t Overlook the Little Ones

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

Improving the Landscape Is Like Painting a Picture

Jul12

A Landscape Primer

Now that you and your family have enjoyed a few months of outdoor activities, you’ve noticed a few changes you’d like to make. Summer is a good time to start thinking about improving the landscape, but many gardeners wait until the cooler days of early autumn before starting the work. The weather at that time is more favorable for establishing most plants than it is during the hot—and often dry—conditions of summer.

This is not to say that you can’t successfully plant at other times of the year. With careful maintenance, plants will survive a summer installation.

Before the first time a shovel goes into the ground, get the underground utilities and cables marked. Call your municipal authorities (8-1-1, in the U.S.) to have it done.

Lake Geneva Lakeshore Path - islandworks / Pixabay

A fine example of framing the house.

Check All That Apply

Is the patio too small for family gatherings?
Are you tired of spending your weekends pruning shrubs?
Are you putting your house on the market within a few years?
Does retirement allow more time for vegetable gardening?
Is it time for the greenhouse you’ve always wanted?
Where will I put the cold frame the kids gave me last Christmas?
Now that the trees are mature, is it time to get rid of the struggling lawn (and the mower)?
Are the children showing an interest in butterfly gardening or a goldfish pond? Are you?

Walk around the property, clipboard in hand, and note all the issues that need improvement. Go ahead; dream a little! Start to visualize how you could use different areas of the property.

A Little Research

Visit public gardens and parks at different times of the year, taking notes and pictures. Notice how the interplay among trees, shrubs, ground covers, flowering plants, and structures creates a harmonious picture. Don’t ignore how you got from point A to point B; pathways are practical and are among the most important features of the landscape.

Books, magazines, online sites, and classes offered by Master Gardeners’ programs and community colleges are excellent sources of information. Record the names of plants you can’t live without as well as those that do nothing for you. And get all the information, so you can avoid asking, after the planting, “What did I ever see in you?”

Cupressus arizonica ‘Blue Ice’.

Take a look at the trees, shrubs, and flowering plants offered by your local garden centers, and ask about winter hardiness and susceptibility to disease and insects. Find out what they do in every season of the year, what kind of maintenance they require, and how they can contribute to improving the landscape.

If low maintenance is important, look for dwarf varieties of plants that don’t need to be sheared every other month. Copy the full name of the plant: the botanical name (Genus and specific epithet), the ‘Cultivar’, and the common name. Then research them. “Japonica”, “Holly” and “White Splendor” refer to dozens of plants!

In the spring, and sometimes in the fall, landscape contractors set up full-size exhibits at home and garden shows. See which displays appeal to you the most. Personnel are available to answer questions and to set up consultations, but first find out how they will be compensated.

Compile a list of likes and dislikes (colors, materials, styles), which will guide the designer (or you!) in planning a garden that will give you the greatest pleasure. Decide what’s realistic financially and in terms of time and effort required to maintain your project.

Using Native Plants When Improving the Landscape

Plants that are native to your area adapt more readily to local environmental conditions. Seasonal temperatures, precipitation, and soil composition are a few factors that contribute to a species’ evolution. So, if the sourwood tree (Oxydendrum arboreum) evolved in the Carolinas, then the one planted in a North Carolina garden is likely to survive without being pampered.

Plant breeders have introduced “new and improved” versions that you might find more appealing than the original species. Cultivars of trees, shrubs, and perennials native to a region are available in a wide variety of plant heights or foliage and flower colors. Look for these “nativars” at your local garden centers.

cardinals bathe, watching while Coronavirus keeps us home.

Cardinals come for a daily dip.

If you want to attract more butterflies to your garden, find out which plants will feed the larval stage of a particular insect. Many species of butterflies have declined significantly in numbers, and it’s up to us gardeners to make an attempt at reversing that trend. Remember that insects, birds, and other animals evolved alongside a unique set of plant species, and that they’re all interdependent for long-term survival. If holes in the leaves bug you, perhaps confining those unsprayed plants to the back yard is a good compromise.

My mother and I enjoy watching the northern cardinals and other birds visiting the bird feeders. To make them feel at home in your garden, incorporate shrubbery that provides nesting opportunities and shelter. And don’t forget the bird bath! There’s nothing like a beautiful cardinal to enliven a winter landscape.

Speaking of shelter, consider constructing a simple brush pile to protect overwintering insects and other small animals. All that garden debris hauled off to the recycling center includes many insects in their pupal stage. Keeping cocoons and chrysalises on your property will ensure greater numbers of butterflies and other insects that might feed the next brood of bluebirds or wrens.

Leave It To the Professionals

Perhaps the scope of this kind of work is beyond your comfort zone and you’d rather employ a landscaper to install it. If you hire a contractor, try to accommodate him or her by confining the family pets, removing children’s toys, and providing easy access for the workers.

Improving the landscape and transforming it from blah to beautiful requires a fair amount of disruption. Expect dust, mud, noise, and possible delays.

Identify existing plants that are special to you and ask the contractor early in the process if they can be worked into the plan. Some might be too large and unlikely to survive the transplant. Dig up dormant bulbs, if you can find them, and replant later in areas suggested by the designer.

If you’re an experienced gardener or an avid beginner, you might wish to participate in some aspects of the project. Maybe you’d prefer to have the contractor deal with permits, inspections, hardscape (utilities, paths, structures), and large specimens, while you plant the annuals, vegetables, and bulbs. All details should be spelled out in the contract. Open communication prevents most misunderstandings.

You might prefer to have the first phase installed this year, with additions made over the next few years. Ask the contractor which parts should go in first.

Headings

Page 1: A Landscape Primer, Check All That Apply, A Little Research (Using Native Plants When Improving the Landscape), Leave It To the Professionals

Page 2: Design Considerations For Improving the Landscape (The Right Size, Getting the Picture, But I’m Repeating Myself, One Garden in Derwood, Add Some Rocks), Improving Curb Appeal (Under the Parrotia Tree (Surprise!), Raise It Up, Only the Beginning

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Pages: 1 2

A New Home and New Gardens!

Inspections

The Lay Of the Land

Preliminary Plans For New Gardens

After Moving In

Trees and Shrubs

Poor Pruning Practices

The Root Of the Problem

Constricted

Flares and Girdling Roots

English Ivy

Headings

Native Plants vs. the Non-Natives

The Benefits of Native Species

First, native plants require less pampering to get them established.

Second, gardeners concerned about local pollinators choose plants that foster bees, butterflies, and other animals that pollinate farm crops and wild vegetation.

Making a Case For Single Flowers

Third, planting a multitude of native species helps secure the future of threatened or endangered insects and animals.

Fourth, incorporating native plants into the landscape helps keep the entire food chain intact.

Native Species and Nativars

Red Leaves and Wildlife

The Untold Story

Deciduous Trees For the Eastern U.S.

The Hollies

The Curious Case of Crape Myrtle

Evergreens

Good Looks

Before Planting Trees

Headings:

It’s Time To Plant Trees!

Room For Improvement

Plant Trees To Transform Your Landscape, In Two Parts

The Sun’s Path

For the Record

Drawing Up the Plans

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Tools Of the Trade

Start the Sketch

Elevating Your Skills

Simple Might Work Better

Symmetry vs. Balance

Depth Perception

Take This Photo, For Example

Options For Cooling

Headings:

It’s Time For the Home and Garden Show!

Liberty Hall

King’s Greenhouse

Freedom Hall

Ikebana International, Charlotte, Chapter 49

All Natural Streams Landscaping, Billy Provett

Southern Showplace Landscapes, B. J. Fisher

Plant Man, Elton Liles

Southern Stonescapes, Daniel Flynn

Bushwackers Landscaping, Chad Little

Old Hickory Buildings of Monroe, Tim Beane, Betty Beane, Amanda Beane

The Market Place in Independence Hall

Guest Speakers

Juice Plus Tower Garden®, Cathy Melesh

The Card Gallery, Abby D. Morgan

Oakdale Greenhouses, LLC

DirtWorks Pottery, Dan Triece, with Ben Vanpelt

BBC Expressions, Billie Colley

Come for a Visit

Time For Spring-Flowering Bulbs

On the Subject of Tulips

How Bulbs Work

First, a few words on summer- and fall-blooming bulbs

Elephant Ears

Caladium

Dormant Caladium

Amaryllis

Colchicum Autumnale

…Fall Crocus

Headings

A Landscape Primer

Check All That Apply

A Little Research

Using Native Plants When Improving the Landscape

Leave It To the Professionals