Seasonal Chores & Observations...
In and Out of My Zone 6 Garden

Copyright © 2010 Hilda M. Morrill

Monday, December 20, 2010 - It's always fun to decorate our front-steps container for the Christmas holidays with various greens and decorations. Admittedly, some years have been better than others!

We received our first major snow storm today, just in time for the Winter Solstice. Thank goodness we did not get the Nor'easter that was predicted last week.

Later tonight there will be a lunar eclipse, a rare occurrence happening on the longest night of the year. After tomorrow's first official day of winter, the days start getting longer.

Happy Holidays!

Saturday, December 4, 2010 - Many of our hellebores are blooming in the garden. It's always a surprise to see their buds, although it seems earlier than usual for us. Also known as Christmas rose, Winter rose or Lenten rose, their beautiful blossoms always last for a long time.

We recently "pruned" some of our evergreens so that we can use the cuttings in decorating our year-round containers on the front steps and in front of the house for the holidays. The clippings are still in a pile on the lawn. Now we just have to do it before the soil freezes solid and we're not able to stick them in. Maybe today!

Sunday, November 21, 2010 - Our Thanksgiving or "Holiday" cactus is just beginning to set buds. Alas, it won't be so floriferous as other years. But, that's OK. It's just taking a rest. Some years it blooms and blooms around this time, seemingly forever.

A gift from our friend Mitch more than twenty years ago, it has never been re-potted in all that time. All dried-up blossoms have always gone back into the container to enrich and add to the tilth of the planting medium, whatever it was originally.

Our plant, with its "pointy" or "toothed" segments, is a Schlumbergera truncata. It is often confused with a Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii), which has "rounded" or more "scalloped" segments.

That is why someone suggested "Holiday Cactus" might be the better common name since there is so much confusion, even among some nursery and flower-shop employees.

Incidentally, the "leaves/segments" of both types are really stems!

Hoses have been drained and brought into the cellar and the outside water has been turned off. It gets dark early now since Daylight Saving Time ended on November 7. Our so-called lawn has been given a topdressing of compost and perennial grass seed. After all, our grandson Christopher will want to play croquet there come next summer! The seedlings are already visible.

Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner and I have much to be thankful for... a wonderful family, special friends, good health and gardens to always keep me busy.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010 - Although many of our trees are still holding on to their leaves, colorful autumn carpets decorate our gardens, the walkways, and even our birdbaths.

We've experienced our first real frost, and there's lots of work to do: removing the brown and yellowed foliage of perennials, such as hostas, daylilies and peonies; and cutting down at ground level the annuals, such as begonias, impatiens and cleomes, leaving their roots to decompose and enrich the soil.

Once the tops of the potted dahlias, cannas, callas, and tropical hibiscus get fully zapped by frost, their foliage will also be cut down (except for the hibiscus), and the outside of the pots rinsed off before storage in the unheated cellar for their winter vacation.

Many plants are still in bloom, however: the Knock Out roses, the lavender, and, of course, the mums. Although our seven-son flower tree (heptacodium miconioides) appears to be in bloom, it's really the red-pink calyces (sepals) of the tree that brighten the landscape. Interestingly, some new hellebores (which are still in their original pots waiting to be planted) are full of buds and ready to bloom.

A couple of days ago, hubby moved a young dogwood (cornus Kousa) from one part of the garden to another, where we recently had some huge pines and hemlocks cut down. Actually, I really made a mistake planting the dogwood where I did a few years ago, since it ultimately would have blocked our view of the lovely Japanese umbrella pine (Sciadopitys verticillata) growing by the side of our dry pond.

Since the ground is still warm, we're hoping the dogwood survives in its new home. About nine feet tall, it is one I grew from seed. In fact, I have several Kousa "babies" in an outdoor planter waiting to find new homes. Maybe in the spring!

Monday, October 11, 2010 - The 2010 Trial Gardens at Elm Bank provided the flowers for the beautiful centerpieces at last week's MassHort Society's "Honorary Medals Dinner."

Pictured on our kitchen table is one of the arrangements, which my lucky husband won and got to bring home. After almost a week, it's still spectacular; and as my dear friend Heidi Kost-Gross told me, if I keep it watered, it should last a very long time.

Heidi is First Vice President of The Garden Club Federation of Massachusetts. She and other GCFMA volunteers were responsible for selecting the plant material and creating the colorful centerpieces, which featured dahlias, marigolds, coneflowers and coleus leaves, among others.

We will be writing about the "Honorary Medals Dinner" elsewhere on this site.

Meanwhile, our own gardens are "winding down." Temperatures have been in the 30's the last couple of nights.

The hummingbird feeders have been brought in, emptied, thoroughly washed and put away. We really enjoyed our little friends this summer. Sad to see them go, and they are really missed.

Not missed are the seemingly millions of pine needles we used to get at this time of the year. Although having 12 trees cut down (including several dead hemlocks) was traumatic, we are enjoying the sun's warmth now that there are no barriers. We'll see about that come next summer!

In the veggie garden, the no-longer-producing tomato, green bean, cucumber and zucchini plants have been cut down at ground level and discarded (not in the compost pile). The lettuce, parsley, chives and variegated sage, however, are still going strong.

Our few remaining trees have not begun to show any fall color yet, although neighbors' oak trees are lining our street with thousands of acorns.

One of the 'Queen Elizabeth' rose bushes is gracing us with some gorgeous buds that are literally reaching for the sky. We share one with our readers.

I forgot to mention that one of the rhodies is full of pink blossoms! Its leaves are covered with pine sap (after the pine tree cuts) making them appear variegated. Maybe no blossoms next spring? We'll wait and see....

Friday, September 24, 2010 - Late summer gardens in New England have much to offer. After yesterday's Autumnal Equinox, we look forward to the first official weekend of Fall.

Especially colorful right now are the sedums, which are magnets for hundreds of bees. Even after their blossoms dry up, sedums last throughout most of the winter in our gardens, adding interest and providing a perch for visiting finches.

Also "showing off" right now are the Knock Out roses, the asters, and the lavender. Many of the mums are beginning to open their blossoms. Soon the brilliant foliage of the Japanese maples will make a lovely picture outside my office windows.

This will be a good weekend to plant lots of spring bulbs. Oh, yes ... we are told the temps are supposed to reach the 80's! How's that for perfect Fall weather?

Monday, September 6, 2010 - Our non-hardy potted hibiscus is enjoying its summer vacation outside in the garden. It's been loaded with gorgeous deep pink flowers for several weeks. Alas, we don't know it's name.

This year we placed the pot in a different, more-hidden location in our lower garden because the small tree did not look so good after a recurring attack of aphids last winter in our unheated cellar. Most of its crown had to be pruned off because the branches had died. What we ended up with was, in fact, a tall stick in a pot.

Right now, as its top starts to fill out again, it doesn't look so bad in among our stand of 5-6-feet tall Joe Pye weeds (Eupatorium purpureum), a hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva', 'Autumn Joy' sedums, a butterfly bush, a purple/chocolate leaf snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate'), which will soon be covered with white flowers above its bronzy foliage, and assorted daylilies and irises.

Tons of bees a having a wonderful time flitting about, as are a group of colorful dragonflies. Of course, the weeds are very happy, too. It seems there are millions of them everywhere.

I see I have lots of work ahead of me. Which reminds me, Happy Labor Day to everyone!

Sunday, August 22, 2010 - The prettiest hosta blossoms in our gardens are those of 'Diana Remembered' named after the late Princess Diana. Not only are the flowers large and long lasting, but they also have a wonderful fragrance. The slightly corrugated leaves are also pretty, with creamy white colored edges.

Considering our recent drought, 'Diana' has been one of the best performers this year. Dried and crunchy leaves have been snipped off. Fairly new to our gardens, the plants have increased in size, and I plan on dividing them towards the end of September.

In the past, I've been known to advocate cutting off hosta buds and blossoms because I thought them ugly. Admittedly, none will compare to 'Diana' in my eyes. However, no more cutting off until after they are through blooming.

Why, you may ask? Well, let me tell you: Because I have seen many bees visiting the blossoms. And, last week I saw a hummingbird visiting one of the purple (former ugly) flowers.

Forgive me. I knew not what I did!

Friday, August 6, 2010 - Yellow blossoms are the current stars throughout our gardens. Not only in the vegetable garden but in the perennial gardens as well. Because of their size, however, the zucchini blossoms really stand out. Even as they fade away at the tip of elongating baby zucchinis, in my eyes, there's still something special about them.

The summer drought has been tough on our so-called lawn and on many of our plants, especially the hostas. Their leaves are brown and crunchy looking.

In spite of the dry conditions, however, our sedums, mums and asters are ahead of schedule, looking as they normally do at the beginning of September.

Last night we had torrential showers, which caused flooding in many areas. As I often say, welcome to New England!

Thursday, July 15, 2010 - We are a day late in celebrating Bastille Day, but we feel very much under the French influence as we enjoy our one lavender plant (Lavandula), so reminiscent of our stay in Provence. Yes, one plant!

We don't even remember its species name, but it certainly seems happy in our garden, and we've made a mental note to get more. Or maybe try to root some cuttings.

Our very fragrant lavender is rambling all over the place as some surrounding plants and the so-called lawn turn brown and crispy during our drought and steamy weather. Even after sporadic monsoons, digging in the soil shows that the ground is dry, dry, dry! So, the lavender must like these conditions.

On a funny note, both hubby and I received ads yesterday declaring that now's the perfect time to be thinking of purchasing firewood and fire pits. "Merci bien!" for the reminder.

Friday, June 25, 2010 -- Our milkweed patch is beautiful to behold. Consisting of several plants in a dry, sunny area of our garden, they are reaching for the sky, already at five to six feet tall. Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is also known as Butterfly flower, Silkweed, Silky Swallow-wort, and Virginia Silkweed.

The most exciting thing about milkweed for me is that it attracts Monarch Butterflies. It is the Monarch's exclusive food source for their larvae.

The herbaceous perennial plant grows from a rhizome. (I understand that some species are annuals.) The stem and all parts of the plants produce a white latex, which can irritate the skin. Numerous fragrant little flowers make up the spherical umbels.

Over time the plants will form a large colony if left undisturbed. However, new shoots are easily pulled out as they appear where not wanted. At the end of the season, I try to remove all the large seedpods before they dry and pop open, ready to disperse their silky feathered seeds all over the place. Of course, I never totally succeed.

Saturday, June 12, 2010 - Today is cloudy and rainy, not the best day to be working in the garden. In between showers, however, we were able to take some pictures.

The salvia sclarea is beginning to put on quite the show. Also known as clary sage or European sage, it's a member of the mint family and a biennial in our garden. Some gardeners in warmer growing zones say that it is perennial for them, reliably coming back year after year if they cut it down at the end of each season.

Biennials require two seasons after sowing or self seeding. The first year they exhibit only leaves; then, after over-wintering, they will flower the second year and die. By cutting off the spent flowers and encouraging side branching, some years we are able to keep these salvias blooming through the middle of October.

The salvia sclarea has germinated here and there among our plants and in our weedy paths. Fuzzy basal rosettes are evidence of first-year growth. After thinning them out, some will stay where they seeded themselves. Others will be moved to new locations, where hopefully, they will bloom next year.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010 - Memorial Day has come and gone, and for many gardeners summer has begun even though its official start is not until June 21.

The celandine poppies were especially pretty this year. Also known as wood poppy, yellow poppy or poppywort, it's botanical name is Stylophorum diphyllum. The "flowers" are really showy sepals that are petal like, with many stamens in the middle. After blooming, a green hairy pod-like fruit is produced that usually hangs down under the foliage.

In our garden the charming perennial has self-sowed and multiplied from its original planting on the north side of the house into another shady area.

The pollen and mosquitoes are ubiquitous. Chipmunks are all over the place. We have had some severe thunder storms off and on the last couple of days.

Today, however, it's a glorious day. Must get outside and take advantage of the good weather!

Friday, May 21, 2010 -- Iris pallida 'Variegata' is among my favorite irises because it looks good for more than one season. Once the blooms have faded, the bright green leaves (aka "blades'), striped with yellow and cream, continue to add interest to the garden throughout the summer and into late fall. Commonly called Dalmatian iris, its soft blue-violet flowers are fragrant. Another plus!

Also adding their blooms to this week's spectacular garden show are Iris 'Caesar's Brother' (aka Siberian Iris), and the tall bearded reblooming white Iris 'Immortality'.

In a few weeks the Iris ensata, or Japanese iris, will begin their own show. We'll share more info about them when the time comes.

In the meantime, we are excited about the box of plants that arrived in yesterday's mail from Danielle Ernest of Proven Winners. Watered and temporarily resting on a lawn chair after their long trip from propagators in California, they're waiting to be planted in our garden this coming weekend.

It's always fun to trial Proven Winners' new plant introductions and share our experiences with our readers. These plants will not be available to the public until 2011. www.provenwinners.com

Thursday, May 6, 2010 - The azaleas are in bloom and are a glorious site to behold. Everything seems to be at least a couple of weeks earlier than usual.

In the veggie garden, the chives, Egyptian onions, lovage, self-seeded lettuces & parsley - and, yes, the rhubarb, are ready for harvesting.

Too bad we don't like rhubarb, but it does make an attractive addition to the garden.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010 - The Pieris shrubs are especially pretty at this time of the year when they are covered with panicles of pretty white flowers, reminiscent of lily-of-the-valley blossoms. In a couple of weeks, I'll deadhead them and do any necessary pruning.

There are still some daffodils in bloom as well as some tulips. Unlike spent daffie blossoms, those of the tulips will be removed so they will not waste energy on seed production. Except for species tulips and the so-called "perennial tulips," most of them decline over the years anyway, no matter what you do. Many people consider them "annuals" and plant new bulbs every fall. I can't bring myself to do that.

When we woke up this morning, there was frost on our cars. Some areas north of us even had a sprinkling of snow!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010 - The Hellebore blossoms continue to enchant. Too bad we only have one plant! Will definitely have to get some more.

The forsythia blooms are fading as are those of the daffodils. There was a time when I used to cut off all the daffie seed pods thinking that it would help strengthen next year's bulbs. However, according to Sally Ferguson, it's not necessary. Since Sally represents the Netherlands Flower Bulb Organization in the U.S., I will listen to her.

As she says, "Narcissi (daffodils) do not require dead-heading, just leave as is. The main requirement for bulb flowers in the post-bloom period is to leave the leaves alone so the plant can put its energy into 'recharging' its bulb for next spring's performance. It is necessary to leave the green foliage exposed to the sun until it turns brown, or until six weeks have elapsed since blooming."

"Fight the urge to trim back or constrain the leaves during their die-back phase. Don't bunch, tie, braid or cut bulb plant leaves during this period. Dealing with the fading foliage is basically one of those things that lovers of spring bulbs must deal with. The only management tip is camouflage."

Speaking of bulbs, we've received our first Fall catalog from Brent and Becky's Bulbs. One must be prepared, after all!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010 - We have tulips in bloom, but not in the garden. The bulbs were planted in pots by our grandson last December (he chose the colors); and they've been in the unheated porch all these weeks. (See March 7 entry for image of his emerging plants.)

Seemingly a miracle, "forced" bulbs never disappoint.

Outside in the garden, the daffodils are still putting on a great show, in spite of the almost 90-degree temperatures last Wednesday.

I never did get to sprinkle my annual poppy seeds last month. I usually do it right over the snow. Since in March we had floods and more floods rather than snow, before I knew it, April had arrived. So, I just got to do it last week. No matter how careful I've been, I've never had luck planting annual poppy seeds in flats. They prefer to be sown where they're to grow.

To make it easier to evenly scatter the tiny seeds, I mixed them with construction sand and shook them over some of the daffodil clumps. Since I only plant annual poppies, they won't interfere with the permanent daffodil bulb plantings.

By the time the poppy seedlings appear and begin to elongate, the daffies will be through blooming. Ultimately the daffie foliage will die down and I'll carefully cut it off rather than pull it out. If all goes well, the poppy plants should grow undisturbed. At least they have in the past.

We have frost warnings for tonight. Welcome to New England!

Monday, April 5, 2010 - Yellow seems to be the principal color "du jour." Clumps of daffodils are in bloom throughout the gardens, and the forsythia hedge is literally exploding with sunny rays.

Speaking of sunny rays, we are told the weather is going to warm up in the next couple of days. It may even hit 90 degrees! Unbelievably, plants in the well-draining areas will need to be watered. For sure the outdoor pots will need a drink.

And to think that last week I thought we would float away with all the rains and flooding.

Monday, March 29, 2010 - Easter is this coming Sunday. Children everywhere have visions of Easter bunnies and Easter baskets.

I, however, have visions of water! We are experiencing flooding rains again today.

Our garden has waterfalls and rivulets where there have never been any before. In some cases I've been able to redirect the water to walks and paths by using rocks and wooden posts.

The raised beds in the vegetable garden, which are surrounded by stepping stones, are doing OK. For the most part, the water is affected by gravity and flows from higher areas to lower. Certainly the saturated beds will keep us from walking through to continue our spring tidying up once the rains stop.

Good thing I never did get to plant peas on Saint Patrick's Day, so I have no seeds to rot. But, we are luckier than others in our town whose yards and gardens never did dry out from the last deluge.

Sunday, March 21, 2010 - It seems that everywhere we look there are crocus and scilla blossoms popping up throughout the gardens. Even between flagstones in the paths!

Yesterday's 70+ temperatures made it perfect for working outside. Of course, today it's at least 20 degrees cooler. We're told that rain storms are approaching, maybe even some snow!

Of course, we already put our shovel away. Hoping we don't have to take it out again.

Monday, March 15, 2010 - One appreciates the beauty of indoor plants all the more when the weather outside is frightful. That certainly has been the case for the last three days as we continue to endure a Nor'easter that has dumped almost 10 inches of rain in our area.

Our gardens and pathways feature ponds and waterfalls that were not there last week as I enjoyed and wrote about the balmy air.

In fact, in the more than 40 years that we have lived on our almost half-acre lot, we have never seen so much water.

It will be a while before I get to work outside. So much for living in New England!

Scenes of flooding from nearby Norwood Country Club:

Sunday, March 7 - Spring is definitely in the air! The snowdrops are in bloom and so are the pink hellebores.

This weekend the temperatures in Boston reached a high of 57 balmy degrees. It was hard to resist poking around on the still-moist garden beds and remain on the designated paths. Don't want to compact the soil.

In our unheated enclosed porch, the tulips that our six-year-old grandson planted in pots last December are starting to emerge. He will be so proud!

In the unheated (but above freezing) cellar, the tubers of the potted dahlias, cannas, agapanthus and calla lilies are also throwing off some leaves; while the non-hardy hibiscus and dracaena are beginning to wake up from their winter nap.

Also in the cellar is a four-shelf, plastic mini greenhouse waiting to be taken out of its box. I bought it at Ocean State Job Lot for $20. Soon it will be outside in a protected south-facing location next to the house, where I'll plant some seeds in flats, getting a head start on the gardening season. Will report back how all works out (or doesn't).

Most of the Christmas decorations in the neighborhood have been removed.

Daylight saving time begins next Sunday, the 14th; and spring officially arrives on the 20th.

Life is good!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010 - I recently read that groundhogs, also known as woodchucks, are the largest members of the squirrel family. Punxsutawney Phil, the most famous member, saw his shadow yesterday. We are told that means we can expect six more weeks of winter.

So what's a gardener to do?

Amazingly in our garden, the Brussels sprouts are looking good. In February! This has never happened before. Even last year's parsley and some of the gourmet leaf lettuces are showing signs of life - all in spite of freeze-and-warming cycles and some weeks of deep snow cover.

I expect to be picking some "crops" soon.

Ah, yes. Spring will come. It always does!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010 - The recent three-day weekend snowstorm gave us the opportunity to enjoy the comings and goings of our local birds. Hanging from the Kousa dogwood just outside our kitchen windows, our birdfeeders are easy to refill and enjoy without having to go outdoors.

No telephoto lens for picture taking is necessary either, as the feeders are less than three feet away from where I sit at our kitchen table, and I can click right through the glass.

It's interesting to note that some of the birds, such as the titmice, take a seed from the feeder and fly away to our front steps or another nearby tree to do their actual "shelling and eating." The finches, however, do all their eating at their feeder.

A solitary dried up Kousa berry is all that is left of the hundreds of juicy red orbs that fed our feathered friends at the end of summer. It makes a rather pretty picture, though, against the gray-white swirling snow.

The days are getting longer and we look forward to spring. Catalogs arrive daily in the mailbox tempting us with their pictures of perfect flowers and vegetables.

Alas, some of the photos have been altered and do not represent true colors or plant shapes. Our Garden Writers Association colleague Graham Rice recently wrote about such "Photoshop disasters" on his excellent blog www.transatlanticplantsman.com. Be sure to take a look when you get a chance.

Especially annoying are the ads in newspapers, such as the one on the left, which show a plant with lots of perfect tomatoes that aren't even attached to the plant. In fact, if one looks closely, it's the same tomato illustration reproduced several times, seemingly floating over a fake plant. To make matters worse, the ad promises up to 100 pounds of tomatoes!

Let's hope that newbie gardeners (who take the bait and purchase) don't give up on gardening when their expectations don't live up to the ad. Only my opinion, of course!