hart- thanks for updating me on the lilac. I'm looking forward to it growing up.!
Scented plants, only the nose knows!
Oh Diane...every time you describe that lilac...I get so excited....esp since she's still hangin' on out there - sweet little ole baby!!! And you know I'm a shameless begger so if you wouldn't mind sharing some cuttings of those "extremely fragrant" mock oranges, I'd like to try my hand and rooting them - pretty please!!!
Gita - gorgeous color on those lilac blooms
Gita, I looked up info about fertilizing and flower blooms in my book on Lilacs (Lilacs for the Garden by Jennifer Bennett).
Quote "Lilacs can grow and bloom on poor soil, so too much fertilizer is more likely to cause harm than too little. Either don't fertilize a lilac at all, or in spring after blooming time, give it a light application of a fertilizer with a high middle number such as 4-12-8 - that is, a fertilizer high in phosphate". Other paragraphs stressed the importance of timing the application of fertilizer to the recommendation vs any other time of the year, and only doing it once annually. Also, she indicates that for ideal blooming, lilacs require six hours of sun a day - maybe you are getting less in the shade of your maple. Hope this helps... terri
Gita, Do you ever prune or thin some of the Maple canopy? I do some of this every year especially over understory plants that need some TLC. When I moved here there were several very old flowering shrubs that barely or never bloomed. I pruned them and also pruned and thinned the canopy to let in some more light.
Feeding them was also something that I did right away. I did some limited canopy pruning in the early fall and now need to do some more. A very large old Privet did not bloom until 3 years into this treatment. I got to see it bloom and then cut it down LOL! There's now a nice young Viburnum Bodnantense Dawn in full bud in it's spot! There's also an old large red flowering quince that's been getting an increasingly floriferous bloom with this treatment. In some ways it's easier to thin large trees in the winter as you can really see the complete branch structure.
stormy,
The lilac is to the right of the tree trunk. The split-rail fence is my property boundary.
My maple (the trunk) is huge. I have had some of the lower branches cut off in the past--but, as you can see, it is a very high tree and does limit the sun. Basides, there are 3 more trees in my neighbor's yard that shield the sun from reaching my Lilac.
Here is a bigger view of my back yard. That is all I have!
To the left of the tree is a long corner bed. You can imagine that I truly cannot dig in there.....
It is right next to the big maple! This is the bed I call my "YUK" bed--in case you have ever seen be use that. The whole lawn is full of roots that stick up and I am always going--"Ouch!....Ouch!..." when I walk barefoot.
In this picture--the lilac can be seen sticking up between the light pole and the patio support beam--look towards the back....It gets good light from the front side, which would be NE light.
The whole thing IS what it IS! I cannot change anything......so, my gardening is quite limited.
Gita
Chantell: Thanks so much for the link to the nursery that carries 'Frostproof' Gardenia. Good prices too!
Hart: Thanks for the offer of your double white flowering Gardenia. It's greatly appreciated!
Gita: Gorgeous blooms on your French double Lilac bush! I never feed my Lilac's either. They seem to thrive on neglect!
Gita, that lilac is gorgeous. I think it might be Charlies Jolie? I don't suppose moving it is an option but you might try digging some of the suckers and moving them to a better spot to get more blooms.
They do thrive on neglect. I know some people prune theirs but I don't do that other than to cut branches to bring the blooms inside. They get a pretty serious pruning then. LOL
Hopefully I'll have plenty of the double white suckers for everyone next spring. I'll be glad to bring cuttings from the two kinds of mock orange too.
Somewhere I read to cut the spent blossoms off the lilacs so they don't waste energy on making seeds, but puts the energy into next seasons growth and blooms.
My old lilac that came with the house 30+ years ago is pretty tall so I have been working on cutting out old wood at the base and keeping it shorter. Besides going after spent blossoms. This seems to be working.
It provides the back drop for the waterfall in my water garden, If it wasn't there all you would see is the side of the house.
The lilac is in the top right hand corner of this picture.
Gita, I have that same problem with 5 of my neighbors' Maples and also her and my roots. Her Maples and Hemlocks hang directly on top of my shrubs, sometimes touching them. I cut them back 2 feet into her lawn. This is what our township allows. I stand on an 8' ladder, usually on the 2nd step from the top. and use my pole pruner or pole chain saw. That's as high as I can go with pruning. But sometimes, Mother Nuture is helpful and sends high winds in to do some pruning of those Maples.
Every year I have dirt left over from gardening and I keep adding more of it around the worst of the roots. It is helping, but slowly. I find that I'm tripping less.
Lady I had read that too about Lilacs. At a previous garden, I had hugh old Lilacs that only bloomed at the very top. I did the sectional pruning of old growth for about 4 years and it greatly improved the blooms. Until they became overall shorter, I couldn't reach any of the blooms to remove them. But, they always smelled wonderfully!!!
Stormy, Big difference between the summer shot of my pond and the one in the Winter thread.
Since this is a scent thread, the scent of snow is one of a kind, nice and clean and crisp.
HART--
NO! Moving my Lilac is NOT an option! It would kill my back---my knees--and Me! Can't do that! It is already living in it's second location in my garden....
I have only seen suckers from this Lilac once--and I did dig one up and pot it--and it grew and grew, but it was limited in size b/c it was only in a 3gal. pot. I had nowhere to plant it--so it languished next to the Mama for a couple of years.....all ignored.....
This is the potted Lilac I gave to Becky at her plant Swap. She was going to put it in a bigger pot on her Patio.
Hey! Beck!!!!! How is it doing????????? Did it bloom?
I have now been cutting out a couple of the older stems at the base for the last 2 years.
Some of them are hard to get to....so I have "mangled" adjoining stems in the process.
I fertilize my lawn every Spring--myself. This also helps the trees and anything else growing in the lawn area--including my Lilac.
Stormy--a couple of years ago I sent Allan Summers (of Carroll Gardens here) an e-mail asking how much soil I could put on my lawn to try to bury some of these roots that are all sticking up. He said--1/2" a year! Ballony!!!!! I could put a truck-load on my lawn to try to bury all the exposed roots, and it still would not help! Besides--it might just kill my lawn in those areas......but--I could always re-seed?????
As a word of advice to any NEW homeowners that just do not have acres of land--DO NOT plant Silver--or any other kind of--Maples.....You will regret it in the long run! As I am....:o(
There are many other trees to choose from. Just that new home-owners, dying for some shade--are choose the Maples--as they grow and spread fast --and then destroy all your options for gardening.....
ladygardenrer--I DO try to remove all the spent blooms on my Lilac every year.....Some of them are a bit high! Oh, well......
Gita
Believe it or not there are some maples that aren't such pest trees. LOL
Silver maples are the worst. The roots are shallow so they're all over the yard, they constantly spit seed pods or leaves or something. And they're weak trees too - the kind that can fall over on your house in a bad storm.
These racheting shears with the telescoping handles are so handy for things that are hard to reach. You can extend the handles and because they ratchet, you have a lot more leverage for cutting. I use mine all the time.
http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.M7025.desc.Pruning-Shears-wRacheting-Action--TelescopingHandles
Gita, Good advise on planting Maples we have taken down 4 big one from our property over the years and still 3 left (one across the line that is not ours) they have heaved up the sidewalk, roots grow into the sewage lines and cause clogs, seeds clog the gutters. But they are pretty when the leaves change color.
My lilac is tall too, have to grab the branch where I can and "walk it down" I get the job done a little at a time, since surgery 3 years ago I still get spasms in my chest if I use my right arm to much at one time. I'm always trying to find ways to make gardening easy for me, I like it to much to give it up.
Ohhhh like those shears, Diane!!!
Ahhh Chris...will that dissipate in time or is there some PT that might help it for you?
Chantell, I have so many Dr. appts going on that I don't fell like adding another batch to the mix, I'll look into it sometime, just not ready yet. Since the cancer is in the bone and some spots on the rib in that area I think that is contributing to what I am feeling. I have a PET Scan coming up, then a Bone Scan and after that, see my oncologist to go over the results of the scans. Since none of these appts are close to my home most of the day is gone. Ibuprofen is my best friend.
Now getting back to the topic of scents, the flowers have no scent but I love crushing leaves of Pineapple Sage and Lemon Verbena when I go near the plant in the garden. Very refreshing on a summer day!
I love to cut Basil and Mint to keep in small bouquets in the house. It's amazing how a small quantity of either of these can perfume an entire room.
Stormy, There is nothing like Real Natural air fresheners ; )
Sweet Annie is another one, she can be a garden pest reseeding herself every where but the smell is great, and I love the feathery leaves. And Sweet Woodruff don't mind hubby nicking this one with the mower, only gives of a scent when it is drying.
My mission today is to make as many of my scented Potpourri lace balls as I can.
I have a large tote full of dried flowers and a bag-full just from las Summer to mix in there.
Every year--I add gallons of dried petals....There is so much in the garden that can be dried--starting in the Spring with Roses and Peonies and ending in the fall with cut up leaves of colorful Coleus, small mum blooms and any other flower still hanging on.
I do not use any "fillers", but something small would be nice...like those itsy bitsy pine cones that Hemlocks make....seed pods, etc.
I buy pretty lace curtains at thrift stores and cut them into squares....line them with some tule to keep any chaff from sifting through, fill them with a hand-full of the dried flowers and tie it tight with pretty spool ribbons. Then I glue-gun a small silk flower over the knot--and, voila!
Before I give these away, I scent them with Potpourri Oil. Nice gift.....
Here is a picture from long ago....
Gita
Ahh Chris, I understand...so many of our patients get the look when he suggests seeing another specialist...feel like you're being "doctored " to death probably. I'll keep it in my prayers in the mean while though...hugs.
Gita...so pretty....can smell them from here.
Lady, I've considered planting Sweet Woodruff, but have been afraid of it's invasiveness. If it's aggressive in your climate, it would probably be worse here. Do you have it in sun or shade? My shade might help tame it, especially under Maples. Does anyone else have experience with it?
Chris: I didn't know that about Sweet Annie (which I don't have) or Sweet Woodruff (which I have a lot of). Does anyone have any Sweet Annie seeds languishing?
Hart: Did you get those from QVC? I've never bought anything from QVC and I've always been a bit suspicious. Do they last?
Stormy: To respond to your comment about Sweet Woodruff, I have it in a shady area -- I don't know that it gets much if any direct sun. I think it looks very nice all season. I have it at the base of hostas, plus I have a large area of it all by itself (maybe 6'x 6' or 3' x 3' -- I don't know). It spreads, but fairly slowly, and it doesn't "jump." I've had it at least 15 years. I have actively tried to spread it, and will continue to do so. But if you want it to fill a 12" x 12" plot, say, and don't want it to go beyond that, it probably isn't the right plant. Though I have it in some spots like that too. When everything else is looking ratty, it still looks nice.
Thanks, Happy. I appreciate that. Maybe I'll try some. Did you grow it from seed? Do you notice if it gets taller in very dark or very dry areas or in dappled sun? I have two or three different areas where it would be useful.
Just took these now---
Wanted you all to see the amount of dried flower petals of all kinds I have.
The bag on the table is just from last year....
The lace curtain on the table will get cut up today.
Heres a closer look at some sachets I made the other night....
My goodness, Gita! You are a busy bee.
Wow Gita! How do you collect the flowers? Do you have to cut them when they are perfect? Because that would be a shame. . . . Do all flowers work? What exactly do you do to dry them?
Stormy: My sense is the Sweet Woodruff looks the same wherever it is. I am sure it must spread faster where it is happy, but I haven't noticed that it is happier any one place in my yard than any other.
Gita, those are really pretty, and what a batch of petals you have. Nice work.
My Sweet Woodruff is on the side of my very large Norway Spruce, I don't do anything spical to it, I got a start of it about 25 years ago and have moved bits and pieces of it to different areas of the yard. This patch seems to like it here. No direct sun, not much direct rain fall. Grass did not want to grow in this area, hubby tried many times to seed grass there.
And in the spring it is just covered in tiny white flowers, Here is a picture just getting ready to put on a full bloom. Picture taken spring 2007.
Oh LG -- that gives me the best idea! I have a big area where I can't get grass to grow -- I don't know why I didn't think of it until I say your post, but I'm going to try transplanting some Sweet Woodruff there!
Hmmm Sweet Woodruff...gotta look for that in my front...every time someone shares some with me it's died...ugh! I think the last patch did ok though so I'll wait and keep checking that area for it.
Let me know. I can bring you some at Critter's swap.
Speaking of which, does anyone have any seeds of Sweet Annie, that LadyGardener mentioned above?
What a cute idea for the pot pourri, Gita. Do you have orris root? It's not expensive and adding a little to your mix will fix the scent to make it last a lot longer.
Years ago an old family friend had a huge, not to mention beautiful, rose garden and he gave me grocery bags full of spent roses. I made monster batches of pot pourri with his rose petals, dried scented geranium leaves and anything else I could gather from the garden. I always added a bit of orris root too.
happy...I just realized I may have seeds someone else had sent me last year...do you think they'd still be good?
I have never collected seeds from Sweet Annie, if I did I'd send you some. Sorry ; (
Chantell -- some seeds last a long time; some don't. If you have extras, I'd love a few. But don't leave yourself with less that all you might possibly want, because I am not a reliable seed-planter.
Happy,
I do not pick anything in their "prime", but when a rose is done, and just before the petals would fall down, I take the bloom in my hand and they all just come off. NO picking!
Same for peonies.
There are SO many plants you can dry that will keep their color! That is important! And lots of leaves too--like Coleus, purple whatevers, seed pods--like Columbines (after you shake the seeds out), Rose Campion seed pods too. Dusty Miller is great! I cut up the whiter tops of the growth in the Fall. it dries just like it is.
I remove spent blooms from X-Mas cactus--they stay the color too. I even tear in pieces Brug blooms when they wilt--they stay exactly the color they are. I take apart Hydrangea bloom clusters, cut small clusters of Ageratum and Heliotrope, the list is endless. But, as I make these sachets--I can tell you what every petal is!
Just experiment!
Flowers that DO NOT dry are those that have a high water content in the blooms--like begonias, Impatiens, etc....
I grow Strawflowers and Gomphrenas just for my dried petals mix.
I have huge, shallow wicker trays. That is what I use to dry them...naturally. Even a shallow (beer type) cardboard box will work too.
In the Summer, if it is not too humid, petals can dry in 3-4 days outside. Mix them occasionally. Otherwise, I bring them inside. They have a very nice, gentle scent just as they are--but I buy Potpourri Oil and use a bamboo skewer to dip it in the oil and then poke it all through the finished sachet and keep them in a plastic baggie to keep the scent.
Get the real oil--NOT the scented oils they use for air freshening.
Hart--What on earth is Orris Root? Never heard of it! Thanks for mentioning Scented geraniums! I have not grown those for ages! They DO smell good as well as leaves of herbs....
Glad to hear you have done this too. We are 2 peas in a pod in several ways....:o)
Today--I decided to spend all day making these things. Cut up the curtain in the picture on the table and used rolls of Bridal Tull and criss-crossed them over the lace squares. This really helps keeping the small bits in. I made 45 sachets today and scented 30 of them with 3 different oils.
Tomorrow I will take the done ones to that Senior Craft Gallery and see what they want to keep. I bet they will say--OH! I'll take 6 of each! ....if I am lucky! I really need to find a better outlet for my stuff if I would ever get serious about this.
I could try DG Marketplace--but i really do not want to mess with packaging and mailing stuff. That can be a pain you know where!
So--today was spent fruitfully! Gita
Remember this picture???? I did this before I cut up all these Sun Coleus leaves for drying....They were just too colorful not to immortalize them--somehow.....
Holly,
Here is one of my wicker trays full of all kinds of stuff--drying. These are about 28" diameter....Check Pier One--they might have stuff like these.....
Gita: Orris root is a fixative. Here is an excerpt from an ad for a commercial product that explains its use: "Fixative is a generic term to describe the material that absorbs and holds the scent of fragrance oil, adding a stronger or new scent to your potpourri. The fixative is also what allows the fragrance of your potpourri to last and last. There are many types of fixatives available. Some traditional ones are orrisroot, wood shavings, bark, vermiculite and Fiberfix. Anything porous enough to absorb the oil and hold it will work. We carry only Fiberfix as a fixative because it seems to work best. It is inexpensive, compared to the others, 100% natural and non-toxic. Since it is not water soluble, the oils penetrate and stay. Moisture from the air will not dissipate the scent."
I gather the orris root can be used either in chunks or as a powder.
Wickipedia says: "Orris root is the root of some species of iris, grown principally in southern Europe: Iris germanica, Iris florentina, and Iris pallida. Once important in western herbal medicine, it is now used mainly as a fixative and base note in perfumery, as well as an ingredient in many brands of gin (perhaps most famously in Bombay Sapphire gin). Orris root must generally be hung and aged for 5 years before it can be used for perfumery. This substance is left out of products that are labeled hypo-allergenic.[citation needed] Fabienne Pavia, in her book L'univers des Parfums (1995, ed. Solar), states that in the manufacturing of perfumes using orris, the scent of the iris root differs from that of the flower. After preparation the scent is reminiscent of the smell of violets. This unique smell only wins over time in the drying process. After the drying process the root is ground, dissolved in water and then distilled. One ton of iris root produces two kilos of extremely expensive essential oil. The scent then is marvelous and incomparable, as powerful as it is subtle. It has been described as tenaciously flowery, heavy and woody. (Paraphrasing Pavia, Dutch translation, page 40.) Typical iris-perfumes (where the compound of the ingredient prevails over the other components) are: "Infusion d'iris"(Prada*); "Tumulte"(Christian Lacroix*); "Aqua di Parma"* and "Iris nobile"(Aqua di Parma*); "Irisia"(Creed*); "Y"(Yves Saint Laurent*) and "Vol de nuit"(Guerlain*). Once banned in many parts of Europe, it was smoked and made into pottery.[citation needed] Orris root is often included as one of the many ingredients of Ras el hanout, a blend of herbs and spices used across the Middle East and North Africa. Orris root is also often used in home-made toothpastes."
I had a hard time finding a place to buy orris root (one place that sells the powder is http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/orris-root-powder). Maybe products like FiberFix are more popular now. (I have never used either, buy I have played with the idea of making potpourri). Here is a place you can buy fiberfix; they include instructions: http://www.save-on-crafts.com/fiberfix.html.
Happy,
Very interesting information. Will print it out and throw it in the tote I keep all my Potpourri stuff in. Thanks.....
Nice site--that "Save on Crafts"....
Seems the Orris root is out of my league...but the fiber fixative? I have seen this in bags at craft stores, but never knew what it was. Will check it out next time I go to one.
Potpourri oils are not cheap either. I try to pick some up if I see them at a discount somewhere. Of course--one can always use the perennial 40% off coupons Michaels, Joannes and AC Moore stores crank out every week. They also take each other's coupons. ...Did you know that?
I found my way to the page where all the Potpourri stuff was on.
I will just plug away making do with what I have.
Gita