Reviewing 2015 Projects and Plants, Challenges and Results

Always watch out when someone offers you a plant, especially lots of them. Often they have an invasive, and for whatever reason, don't feel comfortable digging them out and tossing them. I have a client who was given at least 30 of those orange ditchlilies by a "friend". By the time I started tending their garden, it had become about 200. It took me weeks to dig them and their disgusting bulbs out by hand. Backbreaking. There is a property near me that is at least an acre that has NOTHING but ditchlilies. The person didn't water them a couple of years back, and wow, there are few things uglier than burned ditchlily foliage. I wonder wherther someone didn't offer him a "gift".

A neighbor offered me belacamda (blackberry lily). I declined. I went to his lot and it was teeming with them. He then turned up with a box of them. I put them in containers - they are very nice in containers, but not in the ground.

I made my own mistake by thinking violets in my yard were pretty and putting them under a tree. I have since dug them out, and made a hobby of using a dandelion digger to pull out at least 1,000.

On the other hand, a dear friend offered me geranium 'Bevan's Variety-, Nepeta 'Six Hills Giant' and Nepeta 'Joanna Reed'. All three plants are highly recommended by the Chicago Botanic Garden, and all three spread. But they are easily movable and in fact the geranium, which is semievergreen, has been placed at all the inhospitable places in my yard. It doesn't invade, is easily divided and a beauty. Better yet, it pushes back weeds and other undesirable plants.

I was at a Master Gardening event when a fellow MG boasted about giving large amounts of a nasty invasive to a novice gardener. She laughed because she thought she was being clever. I looked her in the eye and told her that she should be ashamed of herself (actually, I may have made a reference to being horsewhipped). She stopped laughing.

yes, over 100 plants on the MA list including iris pseudacorus ( the yellow flag) & euonymus (burning bush).

When I moved to my new home there were 3 euonymous (or is it 4?). I thought, what a drag when you can have lilacs or viburnums or a cotinus. But there seems to be a debate here as to whether they are invasive, which surprised me. And the birds love them. I read an article about their extensive root systems. I would yank them, but in the four years I have been here the real problems have been the seedlings from undesirable maples (in some years - thousands). There have been the same number of them apparently, for 34 years.

The color is amazing. And echoes the color of my baby acer griseum nicely. I keep thinking I am going to remove them, and then they look so wonderful in the fall. And they are really tough. A large tree limb, struck by lightning, fell on one and distorted it. It reshaped. And then a few days ago I saw a male and female cardinal romping in it. Oh, well.

Illinois Extension has a page that makes them seem relatively benign.

http://extension.illinois.edu/hortanswers/plantdetail.cfm?PlantID=391&PlantTypeID=8

So I'm puzzled. But they will stay for a while. Base on the invasiveness I have read about, I should have 20.

They are colorful. We have not pulled ours, but keep an eye on it.

Our state had burning bush planted at the exit from the highway....they cut them down last year....they were very colorful in the fall.....someone gave me a purple campanula that spreads everywhere.....plus I have orange double daylilies that spread everywhere...constant battle digging both of those plants....

Campanula can be wonderful or a major pain.

Campanula trachelium Bernice is a beautiful plant that stays put. If I want more, I have to divide it. If you put in three clumps, you have three clumps. Lovely!1st picture.

Caampanula takesimana Bellringers is aggressive enough to require division every two years, minimum. But it is great in open areas in sun and shade - where you have room, and want to keep other plants at bay. I established it around creeping Charlie and violets, and between peonies, and it's doing a nice job. But it forms large and ever expanding clumps. The leaves are pretty. 2nd and 3rd pictures. In the third I divided the original plants and put them in my back yard with misnamed peonies.

Campanula rapunculoides is a horrible thug that I never put in my yard but allowed to spread. It climbs into everything and spreads by underground runners. It comes from two yards around me and I spend considerable time digging it up because that is the only way to contain it. It turned up about three years ao and I thought it was pretty. BEWARE!

I like campanula....have had several varieties in the past, but I find many of them are short-lived....only the 'thugs' as you so aptly named them seem to thrive.....

Shortlived really describes it. REALLY shortlived - as in you put it in one year and the next its gone.

Isn't it funny? I purchased persificolia in blue and white. More than once. I grew from seed the plants in blue and white. More than once. No matter what I did (such a lovely plant) - it keeled.

I purchased campanula glomerata in all three colors - Joan Eliot and Alba in addition to the blue. More than once. Well, now I'll try the seeds from JL Hudson.

I grew campanula medium. Nothing more lovely. Of course, it's a biennial, so it keels after a year, and since it takes a year to bloom in the first place...

I grew campanula pyramidalis. The only problem is that it has to be deadheaded. And it produces a billion tiny flowers - so deadheading it is a half hour project.

Sigh.....

You've grown more varieties than I have....I had a peach-leaved variety for 3 years....longest ever....most are gone after the 1st or 2nd year.....shame, because they have lovely flowers & growth habit for the per. garden......

My only JM purchase this year (so far) his is being sent today from GA to avoid leaf burn in the spring.

http://www.gardendesignnursery.com/acer_palmatum_radiant.html

I love it! My JM that's planted in the front of the house, is sending branches onto the porch.....can I prune it in the spring?

Perhaps someone who knows how should update this to 2016. After answering the question, of course.

Hi Marilyn,

You can trim it now, especially if it is established. Have already begun that on my small forest of jm's

I've stopped growing campanulas because they don't last more than a few seasons and I'm still too busy putting in the big stuff to fret about them. The same fate may await heuchera too,

I am in the eradication camp regarding burning bush. They are very hard to get rid of and even with great effort, they do pop up along fences or in hard to reach areas. It's gotten so I don't even like the looks of them anymore. Since an old wodower owned our land before us, i doubt he ever tried to eradicate any of them. There are also many nature specimens in the neighborhood. Once everyone owns a plant, its invasive qualities can take over!

Thanks, Bill....I'll start next week after the temps moderate a little.....Rosemary, I know what you mean about focusing on the big stuff....I should be thinking hardscape, but I'm easily distracted!

Still following you all, but not as much time with my pottery making. But I am wishing you all hugs and happiness today and no weeds this spring. Our garden is good. We did have a minor stumble when DH needed Rotatory Cuff Surgery, due to a Hockey injury this fall just when we were about to plant the spring bulbs. But we managed on getting nearing 3000 in the ground in early Feb during that wonderful warm spell when his shoulder was better, so all should be right with the world this spring. I have ordered lots of lilies from Bert Leeks, Touch of Nature coop, but nothing else so far. Our son has just bought a Nantucket Restaurant (Oran Mor Bistro) and I will be doing the flowers, so more flowers will be purchased. Harbor is freezing over, but GH is nice and warm and full of flowers. Hearts, Patti

Hi Patti (and all NE friends):

Viburnum Valley (not quite as cold as you have it) Happy Valentine's to you all!

Below zero this morning. I.reticulata bulbs had started to show, but DH put on a pine needle mulch 7 now with a couple inches of snow added, they should be ok. the restraurant is lucky to have y our flowers.

Hi Patti - good to hear from you.

Currently going to therapy for my shoulder and hoping to avoid the surgery although we shall see.

Received my one JM Friday and looking forward to seeing it in the spring.

Lets hope we can all recover for spring! VVs Valentines offering would also help with some pain management as well, at least occasionally. Apparently a whiplash I which is my injury) can cause nerve pain in the rotator cuff as well as anything we gardeners might do to our bodies.

I don't have any interesting pictures to start a 2016 thread, but I will if there is inspiration to be had in lots of snow-covered plants. Anyone else is welcome to if they are inspired.

I will remember the restaurant's name in case I get to Nantucket any time this year. What a lucky son to have a flower arranger for a mom, Patti!

Happy Valentines day to all! It is our big dog's anniversary of arriving in the rescue dog truck on Valentines Day about 7 years ago. We call him Clifford's Valentine. He ought to be Clifford's Finnish sauna dog because of all the trips to the snowbanks after warming at our fireplace.

What lovely messages.

Happy Valentines Day everyone.

For winter inspiration, I do have some history. These are images from the big storm of March 29, 2009 at my former home.

The second picture is of a prunus yedoensis.

The third is a viburnum prunifolium.

My neighbor's redbuds and white pines.

Buried bayberries.

I remember that it flt quite warm. Relatively. I took about 30 pictures. I treasure them now.

That was quite a snowstorm! Patti, happy that you're doing well, glad your DH is better....how awesome that your son has come home to Nantucket! You'll need lots of lilies for the restaurant...how about glads? Easy-peasy & they look nice for several days....I had one amaryllis bloom this winter, & that was a new bulb....my old bulbs are in sad shape, guess I may toss if there's no bloom this year.....

Patti:

Now you have to punch up that Ilex verticillata collection, so that you have an ample supply of great cut berried branches all winter.

A kind friend gave me some Abyssinian glads and I was wowed by them. Mine actually rebloomed, they didn't require staking and they are scented. They are pretty widely available and are not expensive. They are in my basement because, like traditional glads, they are not hardy in my zone.

Lilies are always wonderful, but be careful of the scent. Some popular orientals are overpowering in a small space (especially Stargazer and Casa Blanca) while some are more delicately scented and last a long time in a vase. I was experimenting this past summer.

What an exciting undertaking, Patti!

We were up in Sudbury, MA for the weekend. BBBBRRRRRRR! Looking forward to visiting the old North Bridge on a warmer day. Had a great time visiting 3 of the grandies. Came home a little early today to try to miss the freezy rain mess.

DIL wants me to help her with landscaping ideas. I told her she is in a totally different zone from me, now and to get ideas from neighbors. I also told her native plants are a very good thing. She needs to experience her yard for a year to see what emerges. Can you tell I am passing the buck???!!!! Hehehe.

I think she might also avoid plants that stores like Home Depot have an abundance of, referencing Donna's comment above about invasive plants. I've always wanted to tell that to the younger me! There's a reason there are 50 pots of it all marked down!

Patti, hi, how are you? I thought of you the other day because we got symphony tickets for Christmas and we were there at Symphony Hall. :)

Good advice to your DIL, Jan.....after being there for 4 seasons she'll have a better perspective of her new gardens.....Have a friend that just moved to a new home in Harvard last month....she has formal sunken gardens & no idea what's there....hope to get up there when then things are blooming to help her with IDs.....

Good idea, Carrie.

How fun, Marilyn!

They have already started a list of improvements they would like to do. Energy efficient Windows high on the list. But, first, they have to repair some holes a woodpecker pecked on the side of the house. WHAT?! He did that soon after they moved in. They have a sunroom added on with three walls of windows. I felt like a cat moving around with the patch of sun. THAT was my favorite room.

They are after insects. We have trouble with a downy, they like to work on houses especially if painted blue like ours or grey.

I always have woodpecker problems on the north side of the house....which is painted a tan color.....I often have to open the window at 6 am & yell at him/her!

When our house was repainted last year, they took off a couple boards along the roof line & found insect holes underneath. The birds do know where trouble lies. A neighbor had long strips of vinal to scare birds away.

I'll pass that info on to my son. Thanks.

Dry today, but my yard is ONE, big soggy mess! Warm enough to walk with Thomas. My hands got cold, but not bad.

Soggy here, too.....mud season is early this year!

Nice to back in touch with you all. I have been out in Pruning Paradise with this glorious weather. Our Grass is still green now that recent snow has melted again. The Hamamelis are starting to pop and actually H.Wisely Supreme is starting to already go by after a good show. Thanks VV for my collection. But, sadly VV I flunked at Ilex verticillata or at least the deer won that battle big time. Beds are all cleaned and we have our first Eranthis (winter aconite) showing, but have never had the big show of it I was hoping for when I planted some years ago. The snow drops were very late this year but now out in force. Lots of Hellebore in bloom too. Woodpeckers at the feeder, especially a red bellied one, but not munching on our house, thankfully. We are desperate for a new roof, but put it off now until fall as I hated the idea of my bulbs being mashed this spring by the carpenters. I am trying to think of what to order for restaurant plants, but think I have plenty already. I did try more glads last year as I have found some of the annual ones that are surprisingly hardy in certain beds. I have the Byzantine gladiolus, but not any Abyssinian glads, so those might be worth a try. Thanks. I do love lilies, but will be using as many unscented ones as possible at the restaurant so as to not compete with the food smells. VV love your candy and wine shot, I am amazed at all your and wife's talents. Back out to work on some too large spireas. Wha, hope you avoid the shoulder surgery, but DH survived it well. He is out pruning a scrub oak now.

I hope that you don't have problems with the red lily beetles. How about Siberian irises?

Sibs always look good in a vase....and not much scent! Patti, you are way ahead of us...my hellebores are budded but no blooms.....I keep forgetting to plant snow drops...this would have been a good year, since there is very little snow cover right now. I see one of the girls....is the other still with you?

Robindog, thank you for asking. Both sisters, who will to be 13 in June, are still going strong. Digging more holes than we can keep up with, but still loved. irisMa, I do have a nice supply of Sibs and thankfully, no red lily beetles. Out again today just picking up winter detritus and stacking some wood. I need to get back outside to prune some more big stands of Comptonia or Sweet Fern and clean up some iris. Rabbits have been chewing on them as always.

Need to get out and do clean up. The ground is really squishy underfoot.

I have a hellebore that has been blooming for awhile.

the garden I still frozen here

60 degrees today. OK, 40 mile an hour winds, but 60 and sun. So wonderful.