Anti-desiccant Spray

.

Last week I sprayed an anti-desiccant on the azaleas.

Branches on some of the azaleas in front of the house have been dying off – especially at the top of the taller bushes. I thought they might be getting too much winter wind causing excessive moisture loss. So, for the first time, I used WiltPruf.

The red azalea near the porch looks very bare. It is not a deciduous azalea but it sure looks like one. I don’t know if it will live.

If I plant a new azalea next year I’ll spray before planting to give the roots time to get established. Doug Green suggests spraying evergreens before transplanting or propagation. That sounds like a great tip.

I picked a calm day to spray. Even so, a few light breezes sent the spray up my nose. That can’t be a good thing. At least the spray is labeled “organic” – whatever that means. Finding a calm day in fall is not easy. In spring, I hope to see healthy and happy azaleas.

.

Giving Thanks

.

To my family, friends, readers, and commenters:


I’m Thankful for You
By Joanna Fuchs

Thanksgiving is the appointed time
for focusing on the good in our lives.
In each of our days,
we can find small blessings,
but too often we overlook them,
choosing instead to spend our time
paying attention to problems.
We give our energy
to those who cause us trouble
instead of those who bring peace.
Starting now,
let’s be on the lookout
for the bits of pleasure in each hour,
and appreciate the people who
bring love and light to everyone
who is blessed to know them.
You are one of those people.
On Thanksgiving,
I’m thankful for you.
Happy Thanksgiving!

.

Leaf Eater

.

We’ve been busy the last two weeks – hording fallen leaves faster than a squirrel hordes nuts.

.

We shredded and bagged fallen leaves with our trusty old Lawn Boy. Then we dumped the shreddings into the compost bin. We also piled leaves next to the bin. Next summer I’ll add a layer of leaves to the bin every now and then.

Our compost bin is full and I’m a happy gardener. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to make a gardener happy.

I have to admit I’m lazy when it comes to making compost. I don’t obsess over percentage of green versus brown or nitrogen/carbon ratios. My grandmother made compost before we knew about the carbon/nitrogen ratio.

I use garden waste, kitchen vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and leaves. I add a little water from time to time. I add a little soil sometimes to discourage gnats. I turn it once in a while.

I know the proper mix helps the pile break down faster but I’m not in a hurry. Fortunately, I can pick up finished compost at the city compost center.

Doug Green has some good information on cold composting. If you want to take it a step further, Doug’s hot composting explains how to heat up the pile for quicker compost.

Virginia Cooperative Extension and Purdue University Extension have more in-depth instructions.

Compost is great for the garden and improving the soil. It keeps yard waste out of the land fill. I also use it to make compost tea.

Is it worth the effort? I can only comment on my garden. Over the years my garden soil has become dark and loamy. Plants thrive. And, the price is right -- free.

It’s a deal that’s too good for me to pass up.

.

Longwood Gardens

.

A few plants that are not mums at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. (Or, bits and pieces of the rest of a fun day.)

The grounds are immaculate at Longwood. A pleasant stroll through Pierce’s 7-Acre Woods is so natural that it is hard to believe it was planned.

The woods artfully combines ancient trees and more recent plantings. Tall holly is trimmed to a perfect cone. A giant Hinoki False Cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana) stands 70 to 80 feet tall. I can only imagine what it will be like when the rhododendron, azalea, magnolia and dogwood bloom.

Our guide was a bit rushed so, when I stopped to take pictures or get a closer look at a shrub, I didn’t hear the tour information. I couldn’t help myself; there was so much to see.

Longwood has the same problems as any other garden. A fungus infests ailing tree. Woolly adelgid riddles a hemlock. There are some things that can’t be cured in any garden.

.

Tousands of bulbs are planted along the Flower Garden Walk. Covered with mesh to thwart marauding squirrels, they wait for a color coordinated spring display.

.
The fruit of the Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) ended up in a pot of Ostrich Fern. Also called “monkey brains” and “hedge apple”, it is said that the thorns are of this tree are large enough to flatten a tire. The fruit is said to repel insects.

.

In the Production Greenhouses, the Christmas displays are coming together. (Pictures from my post of last year’s Christmas display here.) Rows and rows of poinsettias, begonias and amaryllis wait for their turn in the conservancy. Longwood closes for 3 days and the magic is done – from autumn yellow, red and orange to Christmas red, white and pink.

.
In the Children’s Garden, simple musical instruments, a scavenger hunt, puppets, grottos, mazes, fountains, friendly monsters, ramps and spiral stairs create a delightful, imaginative playground. I turned into a kid in about 30 seconds. I so wanted to play hide and seek.

.

The orchid house, at the first crossroads of the greenhouses next to the Main Conservatory, hosts a wall of orchids. Always a wonderful display.

.

.
A pretty plant in the Palm Garden (above), the Amazon Lily (Eucharis x grandiflora) was gracefully tucked in with other tropicals. A future house plant for me? I’ll store the thought in my “maybe someday” brain file.

.

In direct opposition to the serene Palm Garden, the Mediterranean Garden is a bright hot spot. Lantana, Kalanchoe and Variegated Spurflower would make a fiery combination for in pot on a sunny deck.

.

I’ll try to get back in spring to see the bulb display and trees in bloom. Then I want to go back to see the summer flower gardens. I may try the self-guided audio tour. I guess I’m hooked on Longwood.

.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day - November 2008

.

(Christmas cactus – earliest of my cacti to bloom, white with a pink tint. )

.
In the comments on my October Bloom Day post, HappyMouffetard said, “Welcome to GBBD. It's addictive, and makes you look at your garden with fresh eyes each month.”

She is right. It creates “stop and smell the roses moment.” It is addictive. Another great idea from Carol at May Dreams Gardens. I'm glad I got these pictures taken before the last two days of rain.

(Can you guess the blooms I would not have noticed if it wasn’t for GBBD? HINT: most of them.)

.



.

Deep pink mum – a potted Easter gift - planted in ‘06 and moved in ‘07.

.

Yellow mum volunteer – 2nd year.


.

.
Calendula – re-seeds every year. Another reminder of my Grandmother’s garden.

.

Sweet alyssum – continues its perfume in the autumn sun.



.

Dusty Miller – flower bud removed. Proof in the picture.

.

Rose – climber ‘Don Juan’ – the last rose of summer.




.

Lamium – Dead Nettle under the locust tree – either ‘Elizabeth de Haas’ or ‘Purple Dragon’

.

Nicotiana – another re-seeding annual

.

Snap Dragon – stands bravely against the frost.

.

Red Azalea – silly shrub thinks it’s spring.

.
Also not pictured:
Sedum seiboldii – October Daphne – at the end of it’s color.
Lavender ‘Grosso’ – a few fall blooms.

.

Fish Boxes

.
I picked up three fish boxes from a local seafood store. Thanks for the tip on fish boxes Matriarchy. You can’t beat the price – free.

They are about the size of a small window box (24”L x 9”W x 5”D). I will need to punch holes in the bottom for drainage.

The boxes came with lids. I’ll have to figure out how to recycle the lids. They could be used as trays for potted plants.

I’ll reuse the soil from last year’s pots. I don’t know if that’s the best thing to do but it certainly is the cheapest. I may mix in some new potting soil and vermiculite. I’ll fertilize with fish emulsion.

I have all winter to select some plants for the boxes. I may plant some lettuce or herbs. Or, I may fill them with marigolds for a nice edge to the sunny patio. Or I may start with lettuce/herbs and change to marigolds later in the summer. Or, I may try something else entirely. What would you do with free planters?


.
NOTE: The annual Lehigh Valley Flower and Garden Show at Allentown Fairgrounds Agriplex has been canceled for economic reasons as well as decreasing attendance. The show was originally scheduled for March 6-8, 2009. After 36 years, spring won’t be the same without it.
(LV Flower Show posts March 3, 2007 and March 7 2008.)

.

Longwood Gardens

.

In fall, the story at Longwood is mums.

According to Longwood’s brochure, “During the Chrysanthemum Festival, mid-October through November 23, more than 20,000 colorful, blooming chrysanthemums flourish in the palatial Conservatory.”

The showiest part of the mum display is “A Thousand Blooms.”

“A Thousand Blooms. The dramatic Thousand Bloom Chrysanthemum is one of the highlights of traditional Japanese chrysanthemum exhibitions. A single plant is trained to form a perfect dome of hundreds of flowers, each the same size and blooming at the same time.”

Mums trained into domes, balls, cylinders, sheets, arches and topiaries defy gardening logic. The "single plant" thing is what blew me away. During training, the plant is allow to go limp in order to bend the branches.
.
.

.

.
Single specimens, as well as beds of mums, colored the displays everywhere.

.

.

In a greenhouse off the main display, signs explained the classifications of mums. Spider mum and spoon mum were two among the many gorgeous examples.

There is so much to see at Longwood. It will take another post to cover the plants that are not mums.

.

(Compare Longwood Christmas display posted December 5, 2007 or enter "Longwood" in the search box at the top of this page.)
.

The Winter Gardener

.

If you ever have a cranky, out-of-sorts day this is the book to browse.

Perennials for Pennsylvania, by Ilene Sternberg and Alison Beck is loaded with plant pictures for gardeners to dream on.

The introduction includes information on the selection, care, and propagation of perennials. While the short section is not an in-depth study, it is a good basic primer on perennial gardening. I found the lists in this section helpful.

For instance the, “Perennials to Pinch Early” list includes:

“Artemesia, Aster, Boltonia, Black-eyed Susan, Catmint, Chrysanthemum, Hibiscus, Purple Cone Flower, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, Shasta Daisy.”

In the heart of the book, an alphabetical list of plants is beautifully illustrated. Flower close-ups as well as pictures of entire plants gave me a good idea what the mature plant will look like.

Each plant description includes growth habit, color, bloom time, tips, problems and pests. It’s a helpful quick reference for an answer to, “what’s going on with my hibiscus” or other plant questions.

I started putting markers in pages where I may want to add the plant to my garden. So, beware, this book can increase your plant lust.

.

Waiting for the Leaves to Fall …

.

… is like waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The garden is almost all cleaned up for this year. The hostas are frost bit and will soon turn into mush. Being a lazy gardener, I wait for the mush stage and then rake them out of the garden.

The maple and locust trees are still very green. The dogwood leaves have a pretty reddish tint. The sweet shrub is turning yellow. None of them seem to be willing to let go of their leaves. It will be another month until all the leaves are raked, shredded and composted.

The slow-down will help me slip into my Winter-Gardener mode.

The Winter Gardener lives in my mind. The Winter Gardener plans gardens, reads gardening books and catalogues, researches plants and gardening, annoys house plants, visits public gardens and flower shows, studies plants and insects, learns about plant disease, organizes plant files. I’ll have a lot to do this winter.

I hope it doesn’t include shoveling snow.

.