Mophead Hydrangea

I’ve been busy enjoying spring flower shows, meetings, tours and classes. Garden cleanup has suffered as a result. Cold spring winds and rain have also put a crimp in my gardening style.

We did manage to prune the pussy willow on one glorious 70 degree day.

Another pile for the city compost.

Deadheading the hydrangea is next.

I’m never in a hurry to deadhead the mophead. I wait for the growing buds to be obvious. Sometimes buds will be killed off by a late frost. It's easier to tell if a branch is really dead if I wait.

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If they bloom on old wood like this mophead (Hydrangea macrophylla), I trim off old blooms down to a growing bud and cut out dead wood in early spring.
I don’t usually prune the hydrangea. If it needs to be pruned for shape or size, I’ll do that in summer (before August) – even though that may mean cutting off some of the flowers. (The flowers look pretty in a vase or floating in a crystal bowl.) That way I won't be cutting off next year's blooms.

It’s snowing now so no garden work will be done today. I won’t look out the window and maybe it will go away.

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(Pruning information from University of Virginia on my March 9, 2011 post here.)

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Saga of the Pussy Willow

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Memorial Day 2007 we came home to find our old, 30 foot tall pussy willow (Salix discolor) lying in the yard. The event wasn’t totally unexpected. The huge tree had been ailing for years. Nevertheless, loss of an old shade tree was sad.

As we cleaned up the fallen branches, scored the stump and chopped the trunk into liftable pieces, we became resigned to the fact that our shade garden was now a full sun garden.

Later that summer we noticed growth at one end of the stump. (New growth at top of picture.)

Last year the pussy willow reached 10 feet.

And … this year it blooms – a happy ending.

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(Information on the Pussy Willow from Westborough Community Land Trust in Massachusetts.)

Snow

Tired of snow? Me too. I choose to ignore the snow and think about indoor plants, garden catalogues and flower shows.

The coleus cuttings are due to be trimmed for more cuttings. I'll pot them in peat pots so they can go directly into the garden in May.

Fuchsia cuttings grow well under the lights. They are also ready for cuttings.

The rosy amaryllis is ready to bloom.

Pussy Willows produce fuzzy little blooms.

As I continued to ignore the snow, I put through my first garden catalogue order. From Gardener’s Supply – Large Tip Bag, 31" Diameter - “Self-Standing Bags Make Yard Clean-Up Easy”. I borrowed one of these bags last fall for leaf cleanup. It worked so well that I had to have one for myself. They are sturdy and collapse for storage. I also ordered two Drip-it Pro waterers for my container vegetables - ”Two-Week Plant Sitters” according to the catalogue. I’ll let you know how they work out.

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Next month the 36th Annual Lehigh Valley Flower and Garden Show "Tapestry of Green” will be held at the Allentown Fair Grounds Agri-Plex - March 7 to 9. You can print a $1 off coupon and read the press release at http://www.allentowntradeshows.com/html/flower_show.html The press release promises more plants for sale this year.

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The Philadelphia Flower Show "Jazz It Up" takes place March 2 to 9 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. http://www.theflowershow.com/home/index.html According to the promotional material, ' "Jazz It Up" will celebrate the birthplace of jazz and much more, as exhibitors take gardening to the next level with pumped-up versions of New Orleans walled courtyards, cast iron balconies, fountains and canals. If you like music, there will also be the toe-tapping sounds of great Jazz legends.'

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Think spring!

Promise of Spring

Even though I’m in the “season of brown” mentally, there are signs everywhere of the promise of spring.

The PJM Rhododendron with its burgundy tinted leaves cradling buds waiting to explode next April.

Buds of the Dogwood trees pop straight up among the fall colored leaves.

Pussy Willow buds swell in anticipation of late winter sun.

Azaleas and Rhododendron buds wait for April.

Time to get over the brown mood. It’s time for a garden tour! The Coplay Garden Club’s Longwood Garden tour will be a treat. Then there are the house plants – the Christmas cacti are setting buds. The topiaries need a trim. The amaryllis will bloom. The cuttings are growing and will need to be cut and rooted. There are flower shows to look forward to. And all those flower and garden catalogues. I’ll need to asses this year’s garden and make a plan for next year. I have a few new garden books on my Christmas list that will keep me reading through the winter. It’s time to rake leaves. So, I guess I’m over the "season of brown" mood. There’s too much to do.