Garden Projects #14

I would love to roam among your gardens like the deer.

FlowAjen, thanks, took more shots this morning of the east and south side which are full of tulips and no deer or rabbits, but will post them tonight.

Jan23, I wouldn't swear at you nor would our dogs chase you.

On fast ferry on a chilly morning with a day of nurseries ahead of us. Not that I neeeeeed anything. Patti

Me too, but I wouldn't eat the maple leaves.

I didn't recognize the ferny plant with the small white flower. I love all those tiny treasures.

Rosemary I believe thats a Pasque Flower, Patti correct me if I'm wrong.
Im with Jan, i'll stroll thru that any time! Just lovely as always Patti!!!!

Thanks. I'm going to look it up.

Absolutely correct. I am suppose to have a red one and a lavender one, but they haven't appeared yet. I love their spent flower heads as much as I like them in bloom. I bought that white one for 5.99 from country gardens in hyannis where I am heading as soon as we dock. No truck this trip but i am traveling with a big empty suitcase. Patti

I'm drooling over those primrose! I can see that I need more......notice I said need! Happy plant hunting, Patti.....

Went to Tower Hill primula show this morning. Did some shopping at the show, but there were far fewer choices this year. Still happy with the new primula and a few other woodland choices that we bought. took lots of pictures of the entries which were amazing. While Daffodil show is closed until noon for judging we are driving over to Garden in the Woods. Love that place. Patti

Oh can't wait to see what you got and the pictures of the show

Same here.....

More damage at Garden in Woods. Yummy stuff followed by a nice stroll through the woods. Now off to northfield ma to a little nursery or two that we like. Pricing annuals and veggie starts. So far country gardens in Hyannis wins for standard things.....1.95 per six pack. We are not ready to purchase them yet. We need the truck to get them back to the island. Beautiful day. Patto

What a great day to visit beautiful gardens! I hope you find what you'd like at the nurseries, Patti.

I spent the day planting my mail order native plants that go in our side shade garden--more tiarella, painted trillium, solomon seal, dutchmen's breeches,hellebore golden lotus, and some hosta--guardian angel--. snuck in there too. I thought it would be OK to underplant the white bleeding hearts with grey ghost caladiums along the gravel walk. Cliffie helped me plant 'golden gift' magnolia on the other side of the house. It deserves its place since it survived the winter in a pot.

RosemaryK, what a great list of plants. I was on your wave length with buying plants for the shady beds. I want a Magnolia so much, a yellow precocious one with a small flower. Looked at a few this week end, but didn't pull the trigger. Downloading shots from today but getting caught up with watching the Derby so it may be a while before I post anything from today. Patti

after a quick mow of the lawn spent the rest of the day power washing the pond. cleaning the small river stone is a pain - after finishing the stream portion - finally decided to fill 5 gal buckets and bring the stone to the driveway to clean off the pine needles, leaves, and gunk - still out there and will get it back in tomorrow and fill it up with water.

great to come back from travel and see so many jm's budding out!

I see lots of yellow magnolias around town that look rather washed out for my taste. My requirement was for a tree that stays pretty dwarf, so it's a short list for anything with cucumber magnolia genes. Too early to know about the blossom, but Morton Arboretum in Lisle Illinois put it on their best yellow magnolia list. Plan is to start reducing the forsythia if this tree succeeds.

jm pictures, please, bill.

weeded iris beds & watched the Derby. Glad that it was warm enough to work outside.

Patti, yes, burning is quite satisfying. I enjoy it. We can burn only for cook fires now, in a fire pit. That's okay, as we do that throughout the season. I hope you can keep the deer at bay from your JM's in the war zone. Where the deer roam. I'll bet your glad you don't have buffalo. LOL Have you tried spraying them, or around them, with Liquid Fence? Your place is looking spectacular. I went to Garden in the Woods the day before you did. I only bought one thing there, as I couldn't afford much. Got a river birch. Traffic was horrible on the way home. Rush hour. My friend and I got there at around 11:30 and left around 4 or possibly later. Didn't get home till 7. Huge backup at the turnpike exit approaching the tolls. Wish I could have gone to Tower Hill also. Another time. I went to that show several years ago, and ran into Boojum there.

BTW, I saw a gorgeous yellow magnolia in bloom today, Rosemary. I so want one. My Leonard Messell magnolia only has 2 blooms on it this year. :(

Bill, that pond cleaning sounds like it was a project. I suspect it might be easier if you had a pond vacuum for that kind of thing.

On Wed and Thursday I got more cleanup work done, and Thursday I worked on an old bed that's been needing renovation. Moved around some of the daylilies in there and dug up some Jerusalem artichoke tubers to try cooking. I've read they taste like water chestnuts. We'll see. Here are some before and after pics.

The first is a before shot of the bed I'm renovating, then 2 shots of that same bed after the work I got done on Thursday. I planted 2 geraniums in the front corner there. One is a pink one with darker veining that I can't remember the name of, and the other is 'Midnight Reiter' (spelling?). The 4th pic is a before shot of a bed in the same area, and then an after shot. See that spot of red-orange in the last shot? That's the 'Koi' Geum.

Karen

Here's a pic of that geum.

Karen

Karen: Midnight Reiter is correct. There is a similar plant with a similar name but I like the Reiter I have.I bought it 5 years ago.It performs and reseeds.

Great work, Karen. Your work positively shines. Love the geum. My pink geum isn't ready to bloom yet, so I'm guessing there may be a slight zone difference between us.

It's still not too late to change my mind about the yellow magnolia so I'm very interested in what choices folks make. 'Golden Gift' is a Dexter hybrid so I thought that might mean something. Not far way, I have planted his bright yellow rhodi, Capistrano. Not the most precocious grower, but the yellow of the blossoms is bright.

Midnight Reiter would be a great addition to any garden. In spring, I'd like it near peonies.

This message was edited May 5, 2013 3:25 PM

It stays really deep colored with part shade.

Karen, we should have done Garden in the Woods together. Tower Hill Primula show was nice to see and Boojum (Kathy) was there which was a wonderful treat for me. Miss her on DG.

We never went back to see the Narcissus show part as we had been to the one in Nantucket last week and I thought we should spend our afternoon time checking out some other nurseries rather than backtracking. The Tower Hill Narcissus show had some confusing information in their advertizing about their show hours both in print and online. I didn't expect it to be not open until the afternoon on Sat as I read hours in one place which said it opened at 9, but after we got there and found very little set up and then they locked the doors except for exhibitors, I found a flyer that listed it opening at 12 because of morning judging but only in one spot on the flyer, while the main entry at the top of the flyer listed it as being open at Nine.

I wanted to go to the Primula sale which started at 9:00 but actually lots of the primulas for sale were gone when we got there before 9 snagged by exhibitors who must have a secret way into the show, so apparently it started at 8:30 however the guy at the admissions gate said he shouldn't let us in until 9:00 though when the cars started backing up behind us, he opened the gate. All rather confusing and we weren't the only ones who had come to see the show in the morning. Even the lady at the information desk at the front door was shocked when I told her the Narcissus show wasn't open to the public until noon on Sat. She was blithely sending groups down the hall to the locked hall when I told her as we left. This included a big bus load who had come for the show. Before we bolted, we walked their gardens, but a great deal of the formal beds were in between Narcissus season and the next flush of plants so they were rather a mess and sparse, but the trees where spectacular out in front of the old house. They were worth the trip. And see some amazing primula is always a plus for us.

Here is a link to some Primula shots. Some of my notes about their classifications may be screwed up as I can't understand Primula classification which is way too complicated for me. But they sure are Pretty. Enjoy. Patti

https://picasaweb.google.com/107604936655818861781/TowerHillPrimulaShow2013?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJC5-rCsjsLAPw&feat=directlink

Too bad about the disorganization at the show. Nice pics, though. Sounds like you made the best of it anyway, Patti. I would have to attend as a nearly total idiot about primula classification. They are so pretty and delicate, it is worth learning about them.

Oh, heavens...there isn't a primula in the bunch that I wouldn't love.....I miss Boojum as well....just thinking about her & Daniel yesterday.....she has such gorgeous iris. Karen, lots of nice work there & the geum is very pretty.

Here is a list of the new woodland gems that we bought from Garden In The Woods yesterday.

Because my DH dug up one whole side of the endless stream last week looking for a slow annoying leak, I figure this will be a perfect time to replant that area with some new stuff, thus many are going in the Dell bed South which is the side with the hose running along it. The rest of the plants are all going in our wooded area on the west side of the house in the same general area.

DH found the leak in the coupling that connects the hose to the upper vault and falls, so we picked up a new fitting while we were at Country Gardens in Hyannis. They have an excellent pond department and people who know their stuff. I will be an easy fix, thankfully no leaks in the liner or hose. Like Wha, he cleaned all the rocks while he had the whole thing drained. I don't think he took a power washer to it, though we do have a new one which he gave to me for Xmas. Good idea. I will point that out to him.

We also bought a nice weeping Japanese maple called Acer palmatum Ryusen while we were at Agway buying veggie seeds. I was admiring it and then was startled to see that it was priced at 105.00 which was a great price for one so large. They had a few much smaller ones that were less than half as big but all marked 89.00 so we snagged it. I will enter the primula and other things we bought next. Patti

Trollius laxus (American Globeflower) dell bed south
Caulophyllum thalictroides (Blue Cohosh) dell bed south
Asarum canadense (Canadian Wild Ginger) dell bed south
Penstemon digitalis(Foxglove Beardtongue) dell iris bed north
Zizia aptera (Meadow Parsnip) dell bed north
Phegopteris connectilis (Long Beech Fern) dell bed south
Caltha palustris (Marsh Marigold) dell bed south
Uvularia perfoliata (Merry Bells) dell middle bed
Geum triflorum (Prairie Smoke ) dell Iris bed middle
Allium tricoccum (Ramp) Jed's bed
Actaea rubra (Red Baneberry) dell bed south
Anemone acutiloba (Sharp-lobed Hepatica) dell bed south
Dicentra canadensis (Squirrel Corn) dell iris bed north

Wow, amazing list. Of Patti's list I have and like ararum canadense and geum triflorum. I have found them easy to grow. I am going to be interested in how how easy it is to start the rest. I am working hard at ground covers, so barren strawberry was my prize at their nursery, and I got a verbena as a birthday present to myself.

patti you will really like Ryusen I have mine to the high side of the pond to weep over the edge.

Karen a vac will not do the job - the river stones need to be removed, muck washed out of the pond, stones washed and then brought back in - spent another 4-5 hours on the pond today, filled it back up and water is flowing again.

rosemary maybe I can get some pic's before work this week - many are really looking great right now!

Looking forward to them. I am thinking seriously about Ryusen when there's an opportunity to put one near a water feature.

It's a beautiful specimen for sure.......

time to start collecting SDB pollen for use in hybridizing. 'Pussycat Pink' is in bloom & I should collect today as rain is predicted for tomorrow.

Patti, as usual, you're overwhelming me with all you have going on. You're place is so beautiful. I aspire to make mine look as good, although I would have to be retired to keep it up the way you do. Would help if I had a husband who loved gardening and yard work as much as I do. Even if he just loved yard work, that would be a big plus.

Your Midnight Reiter looks great, Jo. Mine is just a tiny little thing right now. Will take a few years for it to look great.

Bill and Patti, you both make me glad that I have just a miniscule pond. They're a lot of maintenance. I have to clean mine out.

Got some more work done yesterday in the garden where I planted that geum. Got it completely weeded out, shifted a few plants around, and planted 2 new guems that I just got. One is called Geum coccineum 'Borisii' ( http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/79846/ ) and the other is Geum 'Blazing Sunset' ( http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/79845/ ). The orange one I split into 3 smaller clumps and planted them all together. The other I tried dividing in 2, but the one piece had few roots, so don't know if it'll thrive. I took most of the foliage off of it. If it doesn't live, then no biggie, as the other piece was well rooted.

Karen

rosemary I picked up my ryusen at Mahoney's and it was a larger one like patti's. - really nice green coloring.

I'm beginning to really love the geums!

Got home with all our new kids from the Primula show and found a box waiting for us that was full of Epimedium from Arrowhead Alpines. Loving them of late.

Epimedium acuminatum x dolichostemon Kaguyahime west walk east side
Epimedium brachyrrhizum old beach plum bed
Epimedium coreanum Jmaple bed west
Epimedium franchetii Jed's bed
Epimedium lishihchenii dell iris bed north
Epimedium pubescens old beach plum bed
Epimedium sutchuense dell iris bed north
Epimedium wushanense driveway walk

Primula japonica dell bed south
Primula x polyantha white with yellow eye dell middle bed
Primula x polyantha yellow dell bed south
Primula x polyantha Silver dollar yellow with darker yellow eye dell bed north
Primula x polyantha scarlett with yellow eye dell bed south
Primula kisoana dell iris bed north
Primula vulgaris subsp. sibthorpii dell iris bed south
Primula denticulata west walk west side
Anemone nemorosa Ginny dell iris middle
Corydalis cheilanthifolia Jed's bed
FoxgloveDigitalis purpurea Alba dell iris bed north 6 pk
Alcea rosea Spotlight Blacknight chocolate bed 6 pk
Acer palmatum Ryusen
Dianthus Peppermint star narrow bed east end

And I picked up some six packs of parsley, both kinds, snaps (2 orange, 2 red) and a Lemon Verbena so I will be a planting fool tomorrow once I get the garden deadheaded in the morning.

Discovered that the plumbing issue with our endless stream is more of a problem then we thought as we are having trouble getting the right bulkhead fitting for our falls. New one that we bought is too thick to work with our 2007 falls. May have to jury rig a solution or get a new falls. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Patti

Sorry to hear about the plumbing issues, but thrilled with your new pretties.

patti you should be able to do something before going for a new falls - had issues like that myself here - talk to a pool supply house as they have a lot of different fittings - that is what I did in the end.

so here are some pic's of what I did with the 20 yds of dirt/compost

first one is bed behind seat to look at the real pond

expanded out this bed - the next two I expanded each side to give more bed room and make path smaller - last one is behind the fire pit and next to the veggy garden.

And it's all cleaned up already too. No way I could do that.

Now that Patti has Ryusen this could be the start of a trend :)