Garden Stories
Garden.True.North is about gardening in Zone 4,
sharing thoughts, ideas and tips for all northern gardeners.
sharing thoughts, ideas and tips for all northern gardeners.
Most gardens are coming into their peak season. Now is an excellent time to get your camera or smart phone and take some pictures. Why?
I’ve learned there are many uses for garden photographs. My reasons to take photos started with record keeping. Then I expanded my photo collection to use in garden programs. Now I also share on social media and get creative with cards and prints. Do you have pictures of your garden? Here are some reasons to consider regularly taking photos.
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Clockwise from top left: Butterfly Weed, Bugleweed, Sneezeweed (photo credit: Photo by Sue Trull, Ottawa National Forest), Joe Pye Weed As my series continues on plant names, this post concerns ones with “weed” in the name. I speak for all gardeners that we want to avoid weeds. However, there are four that I think you might want to allow into the garden bed. According to Webster’s dictionary a weed is defined as:
A plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth; especially one that tends to overgrow or choke out more desirable plants. So here are some that are suitable for your garden that I recommend. Alchemilla mollis or Lady’s Mantle requires little care, a requirement for my garden. It is a non-native from the eastern European mountains and is hardy in my zone 3 garden. Not often featured in garden books, Lady’s Mantle is also overlooked for perennial gardens.
This time of year I appreciate its froths (yes, that is the description all the books and websites give the blooms) of tiny chartreuse leaves. They are a colorful filler in the perennial beds as well as floral arrangements. They can be used as a dried flower for fall bouquets. Before blooming the velvety gray-green leaves are especially attractive after a rainfall. The Elderberry bushes are in full bloom and there is a buzz about them. I originally planted the shrubs to harvest the berries that are reported to be an excellent immune booster to prevent colds and flu. I have discovered that the flowers are pollinator attractors, both flowers and berries look great in bouquets (they can also be used to make a liqueur or wine) and the berries provide food for people and birds. As a result of all the additional benefits of elderberries, it turns out that I have made only one batch of elderberry syrup.
Definition of “Falsy”: Okay, I’ll let you look up the definition. For this article I’m using the term to define plants that have in their common name the word “False”.
I wander around nurseries with hardly any idea about what I want, hoping that I will see something interesting to fit my garden. I’ve found some good plants this way. And I like wandering around greenhouses. However, this is not the best way to select plants because when I get home I end up walking around my garden with said plant in hand wondering where to put this new acquisition. I have some criteria for perennials in my garden: longevity, low maintenance, hardy in my climate, resistant to diseases and pests, no winter protection needed, long blooming or attractive foliage, not invasive, and doesn’t need staking. But sometimes I just want to have fun and I throw all those important criteria out. Sometimes that fun is something that has an interesting name. In the next few weeks I’m going to write about plants that have such unappealing names it’s a wonder they are offered by greenhouses and nurseries. It’s a testament to how good these plants are that they have overcome horrible common names. When at the garden center, don’t dismiss these after looking at their name tags. I’m placing these plants into five categories.
This story is about an ending, the harvest of garlic. I’ve waited nine months to extract bulbs from the soil. It’s the middle of August and my garlic is ready to be moved out of the garden to be dried. The garlic leaves are half green and half brown. The ground has dried out from the moisture received a few days ago making digging easier. I’ve received advice from a commercial garlic grower. I am ready to dig. There are many ways to plan a perennial garden that delights from early spring to the last hurrah of the season. It’s mid-summer and my garden is at its peak. There are day lilies in colors of the sunsets ranging from pale yellow to the deepest purple and burgundy. The pale lavender spikes of Hosta flowers pair well with the day lilies. Black-eyed Susans are starting as the daisies are fading with Blazing Star as their foil.
I like the orderly progression through the seasons. I anticipate each new bloom as I would friends coming for a visit. Perennials don’t overstay their welcome and become tired as some annuals do before the seasons’ end. Reflecting on the progress of the garden I have come to appreciate my investment in perennials. Every few weeks something new captures my attention and makes its way into the flower bouquet gracing the kitchen island. There is a buzz in the air. Yes, that’s a good thing. It means that our pollinators are doing their thing. But the buzz is questions being asked: Why are the tomatoes taking so long to ripen? When will the green beans be ready? I know that green beans will be ready 1-2 weeks after they flower. I don’t have a clue for the other vegetables in my garden. I just know the wait seems longer each year. For northern gardeners it can take a big chunk of the summer for a small green tomato to become lush, large, juicy and red. Why?
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Classes*Gardening in Small Spaces, April 30 at 5:00 pm Spooner Library, Spooner Archives
March 2024
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