Sky High

Early spring isn't the easiest time to shoot photos in the garden. The soil is still bare, leaf and winter debris still covers many spots. So, for inspiration one needs to get down on hands and knees and look across the ground or even upwards towards the sky.

The emerging tips of the Polygonatum variegatum (Variegated Solomon's Seal) poke upright unerringly bending towards the sun. We'll be potting up lots of these lovelies for our friends.

Hellebores are at their peak, if I was staying at this house I'd be buying more and more of these lovely perennials. Incredibly easy to maintain, stunning flowers, no diseases that I'm aware of, unedible to deer and other wildlife and beautiful foliage...who could ask for more?

This is my favorite shot from yesterday's photo shoot, and yes, I had to lie on the ground to take it. The Epemediums are just beginning to put on a show, one of their nicknames is "Turk's Cap".

Another Hellebore, this one is in such a tough location... barren soil, massive tree roots from a large Maple, no water during dry season and yet it's still blooming away.

Four or Five years ago a gardening friend gave me a few Hellebore seedlings which I put out back by the shed. This is the most beautiful one, thank you Mary Kay!

One more Epemedium here. In the next week or two I will have several more varieties open. Eventually I'll dedicate a post to this plant, it's well worth adding to your garden.

The Pulmonarias are also starting to shine, I'll be posting about them on Melanie's Perennials later this morning.

Hypertufa day

Last Thursday was Hypertufa Day for a few women from the Nathan Hale Garden Club in Huntington, New York.

We gathered at Kim's house where her wonderful husband Paul had put together all the ingredients we needed to try our hand at making hypertufa.

Hypertufa is a product that looks like cement but weighs less. A woman can actually manage to lift containers made out of hypertufa. It's a mix of Portland Cement, Peat Moss, Perlite and fiberglass fibers.


Some other products needed are a spray-on oil so the molds slip off easily.


Gloves are a must to protect your hands and a breathing mask and goggles are also important!


This is the fiberglass being added to the mix. In a future post I'll give you the exact recipe.


Once water was added we had a nice crumbly product to work with.


Each of us chose a different kind of container to use as our mold. Nothing too large, we're saving that for the next time!

Simply press the mixture firmly against all the walls of your mold, making sure there are no trapped air pockets and that the thickness is the same all the way around.


Smooth off the top since that will be the top of your container once it is taken out of the mold.


Kim and I both chose to make ours out of 3 litter soda bottles (almost impossible to find). Kim formed hers by hand like you see here. I chose to use a beer can in the center as a second mold. We'll see which works out better.



Don't forget to poke some holes in the bottom for drainage.

Then, wrap your mold in a plastic bag and tie it shut. You need to wait for 48 hours before taking it out of the bag and slipping the mold off. Then leave your container out in the rain and elements for about 2 months in order to cure before planting in it.

Lots more photos to follow, Kim and I are putting together a whole power point program on this fun project.

Spring sprang a leak

This opening shot is not quite as sharp as I hoped but it still gets my message across. Yes, spring has arrived here at Old Country Gardens. The rains have also arrived (or maybe they just never left?) and it will be some time yet before the soil is dry enough to walk upon.

Between work, travel and weather I missed most of the earliest blooms. Galianthus (snow drops), Crocus and Hamamelis (Witch Hazel) have all finished up their show. No worries though, there's so much more to come!

The Hellebores have really been gearing up to what appears to be a banner bloom season. As you can see here, to appreciate their lovely face you need to turn the blooms upward. One way to get around this is to plant them on an embankment or in a raised garden.

Today I photographed a number of Hellebore blooms and will post specifically about them on my other blog Melanie's Perennials.

While there is growth everywhere I turn, I wouldn't say that most of it is photo worthy yet. Lush and delicious looking are the glaucous stalks on the Egyptian Onions. I'm still searching for a recipe that will utilize these yummy babies.

The Pieris japonicas (Japanese Andromedas) are also starting to bloom. They have the most heavenly scent but I think a bit more heat is required before I will be able to smell them.

Try planting one near a window in your house so on warm spring days you can open the window and let in the perfumed air.

As the title of this post says, spring sprang a leak. Not detered by all the water though is this darling little rosette of Sedum poking out of an old watering can. I'm just tickled pink when I find things like this.

With warmer temperatures and a few dry days on the way, I hope to get out and snap a few more photos on Friday or Easter Sunday.

Stay tuned, I won't be far away...
Melanie

Blooms!!!

Rushing off to work every morning only to arrive at home in the dark makes it hard to focus on the garden. Today as I stepped out of the store I was delighted to find myself standing outside in the most glorious spring conditions.

Driving my short trip home I noticed clumps of Crocus and even a few early Daffodils in bloom. I couldn't wait to get to my own little piece of heaven to see what was here.

Sure enough, driving slow as can be down my driveway I saw that spring has arrived here at Old Country Garden too!

The leaves are still down thick, heavily matted from the deep snows that covered them only two short weeks ago. Galianthus (snow drops) Crocus and other early spring bloomers don't seem to mind, they just muscled their way through to poke up and greet the warm sunshine.


In the grand scheme of things, these blooms are tiny little jewels scattered across a very large landscape. Still, the joy they bring when I see them is worth their weight in gold.

The Hellebores have been just as busy pushing up their spectacular buds, this winter must have been perfect for them because I'm seeing more buds than ever.

Even the Sempervivum (Hen's & Chicks) are happy to soak up the cool sunshine.

Thursday we are expecting 60 degree temperatures and I'm off from work. How muddy do you think I'll be able to get?

Can't wait to see :-)
Melanie

Orchids in my window

House plants have never been my strength. Strange as it might seem, I have problems forgetting to water them or take care of them. So 6 years ago when Eve gave me an Orchid I thought "oh no, another plant I'm going to slowly torture to death". Imagine my surprise when this plant not only thrived but continue to bloom for me year after year!


The type of Orchids I've been growing are Phalaenopsis. As house plants I find them ideal, they don't require high concentrations of light, and if you forget to water them every now and then they don't seem to mind. In fact, if I understand it correctly, too much water is how most people kill their Orchids.
About a month ago my daughter Emily and I were at the local supermarket where they had a table full of Orchids. Emily liked the hot pink varieties but I just had to have this darling little chartreuse one. The sale price of $14.99 put it right in the same category as a nice cut flower arrangement. How many cut flower arrangements would still be going strong a month later?

Last spring when my Mom drove up from Florida she brought a few of her Orchids with her. They've been in my den window since then, blooming more often than not. My only complaint is that they are all white (hear that Mom :-) Guess I need to shop for some other colors...

While I'm far from an expert on Orchids I'll share what's worked for me. In the summer I water them every 10 days or so, once the heat is on in the house I step that up to once a week watering. That might not be needed in your home but the heat here rises right up the wall under the windowsill so I find they dry out faster in winter.

Once the blooms are finished (thankfully they are extremely long lasting) I don't cut back the stem unless it turns a dried brown and appears dead. Even then I often only trim the stem back a few inches. So far I've always had a new node push out from lower on the stem and before I know it, there's more blooms for me to enjoy.

I've never fertilized these plants, it's the one thing I think they would like that I haven't provided. If you grow orchids and have some tips on fertilizers, please leave me a comment.


Still not sure you want to try them? Get a copy of Judy White's "Bloom-Again Orchids" published by Timberpress. I've found it to be a wonderfull book filled with luscious photos. In fact, it has inspired me to try to add a few new varieties and now I also have two miniature Oncidium Twinkle orchids that are just delightful!

As soon as we have another day with temperatures well above freezing I think I'll bring home one of those pink ones for Emily. Shush, don't tell her, it's a secret!

The Exercise of Writing

Writing has become like exercise to me. So many times we tell ourselves we should exercise, we need to exercise, we must exercise. Yet each day goes by and we find another reason not to exercise, too busy, too tired, don't feel like getting sweaty, what ever it is, there's a reason not to do it.

The funny thing is I exercise every day, it's just I've had the hardest time getting back in the saddle here to write.

As motivation I made myself go through some photos taken this past season so I would remember the passion I have while I'm out in the garden. The first one that caught my eye was this shot of my delicious peas growing up the blooming Physocarpus 'Diablo'. What a wonderful moment that was when I saw the stakes I had cut for the peas also began to grow and bloom. Yummy too!

Part of my block comes from the realization that this year I will be dismantling the garden. Oh, I tell everybody it doesn't bother me and in a general way, it doesn't. I look forward to the future, to creating a new garden somewhere else. But this garden is such a part of me that it's easier to forget the whole thing, immerse myself in my new job and life and try to ignore that twinge that comes when I think about my garden.

Talking with a dear gardening friend we decided the right bed to remove from this property is the long border at the right here. Ouch!

This garden has been my pride and joy, just chock full of all kinds of wonderful perennials that thrive here in my zone 6b garden on Long Island.

As I wrote up above, I exercise every day. I have no problem taking the time to work out my body, I just need to begin to work out my brain and fingers again.

Instead of buying new work out clothes, I bought a new external hard drive and backed up all my photos. I also moved my desk to the other side of my room so that I have a different view out the window. Only trees out there now, quite naked to the eye but I know that in a few months I will start to see the lush growth begin in my shade gardens.

While the temperatures are just too cold to go out there and do much of anything, I can see from my windows that the Sempervivums (hens & chicks) are still there. They looks small and chilled but ready to plump up once the warm temperatures return.

Surprisingly, the few troughs I kept for myself look amazing well! Maybe I'll finally get out there in the next day or two and photograph them for you.

In the mean time, keep up your exercise, both that of your body and your mind. I'll try to hold up my end of the deal too~

Melanie

December Dreams

Sitting here at my computer, I get a wonderful satisfaction looking at old photos taken on garden tours. At times I shake my head to wake up from dreams of tours yet to come. Many of these places are close enough that a tour would only take half a day. Other places require a bit more planning, some require serious travel.

Planting Fields Arboretum is an easy half day tour for me, only 1/2 hour from my house. It is by far the place I've visited most. (Photo credit goes to my daughter Emily who took this shot when she was 12.)

Even closer than Planting Fields Arboretum are the trial gardens at SUNY Farmingdale, our local State University. Only a 15 minute ride, I could shoot a hundred photos there in an hour or two. Best of all, there's always something new to capture my attention.


Old Westbury Gardens was the first formal Gardens that I remember visiting as a child and we visited it often. Funny thing though, I couldn't find any digital images of this wonderful place and I realize it's been a number of years since I've visited there. This is something that needs to be addressed in 2010!

Now if you want a real treat, something totally unexpected, you need to tour the Shakespeare Garden in Central Park. Central Park is the most amazing place, smack dab in the middle of New York City. When you're walking through this delightful garden you'll never realize you are surrounded by skyscrapers.

Just a little bit north of Central Park (still in New York City) is the Bronx Zoo where you will find not only a vast collection of animals but some truly beautiful plantings. I was in heaven when I came upon stands of Podophyllum (May Apples).

Just across the highway from the Zoo is the famous New York Botanical Gardens and just a bit further is Wave Hill, another to-die-for garden visit. The Bronx is just chock full of garden places to tour.

Day trips taken a bit further afield include Stonecrop Gardens up state in Cold Spring, New York. The potager there had me on my knees, it was a dream come true.

Still within a day's travel is Chanticleer Gardens, just outside Philadelphia. Another place that you could totally lose yourself in as you wander around and drool over some of the latest plant material.

This photo is blurry and yet I still love it. My daughter Emily took it while riding a tour bus through Washington DC during the Cherry Blossom bloom season. I'd love to plan a trip there and see the US National Arboretum. What do you think, would you come with me?

Finally, furthest from home are the heart wrenching swamplands in Florida. Every year I make a trek down there to visit my mom. Every year she takes me to one or two of the wildlife sanctuarys where I feel like I've been transported back in time.

Mom called me yesterday and offered me plane tickets as my Christmas present. You can bet I said yes, so it looks like this January I'll be photographing the swamps and wildlife in Florida again. Maybe, just maybe I'll have a new camera by then. It's a great goal to shoot for...

Time to stop dreaming and get ready for work,
Melanie

Easy Come...Easy Go....

Easy come, easy go...when the title of this post popped into my head it was strictly plant related. Then, while typing it in I realized that it could be applied to so many things in my life right now.

Some plants are easy to find, easy to care for but also, easy to go. These photos were taken in 2006 and some of these plants are no longer in my garden. In the opening shot you see the purple foliage Physocarpus 'Diablo', it is now a monster, much larger than I planned for but such a wonderful shrub that it's still in this spot. To the right is Baptisia 'Screaming Yellow' another favorite that's still here. But what's that in the foreground? Alliums that declined year after year and I know for sure that not one bloomed this year. How'd that happen?

Stachys monnieri is one the top 10 perennials in my garden. I have a wonderful pink variety I bought many years ago in a little pot at Franks Nursery. It's been divided and replanted all over my property so when I saw the purple variety, 'Hummelo' I thought it was a must have.

Unfortunately 'Hummelo' petered out almost instantly. Now I don't know if it's something that was wrong with the single plant I bought. If I remember correctly, my friend Kim bought it at the same time and hers is still growing fantastically. What ever it was though, 'Hummelo' is no longer in my garden but I would definitely try it again.

This photo isn't the best, I don't even know what the plant in the center is... I'm guessing it's Gaura. I've tried Gaura at least 4 times, never had it return. Perhaps it likes alkaline soil, my soil here is quite acidic. Have any of you had luck with this plant coming back? Any tips?

Of course there's the annuals and tender plants that I love one year and yet never seem to get again in future years. In 2006 my garden was on tour and over 600 people came through here in one week. I added 5 or 6 pots of Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandorf' which might not excite Dahlia collectors but excited me just fine with it's dark purple foliage. Hmmm, now I'm not even sure about the name...maybe it was Earl of something?

Still, as exciting as this Dahlia was, I did not dig the roots and never bought another one. Wonder of wonders...

Last but not least, it's not just plants that fit the easy come, easy go catagory. Gazing balls were a passion of mine but no matter how carefully I place them, something, wind, downed branches, Calie-the-wonderdoodle, something came and broke them.

Looking out my bedroom window right now I see what looks like a gazing ball in this same spot. Get closer though and you'll find it's a bowling ball. Bowling Balls are much hardier in my zone 6 garden, and that's a fact!

Today was my first day off in a week and my "to do" list is as long as my arm. Right at the top of it was "blog". It's wonderful to find the time to be here!

Melanie