Rocky Mountain Gardener

Spring Prep in your garden in early March

2011-02-26T11:47:00.000-08:00

As we start to get days above freezing and a few days here and there nice enough to be outside, there is work to be done in the garden. Just a few things that really need to be done soon:

Prune prunus cistenas (purple leafed sandcherries) back to promote a fuller shape. They’ll grow rapidly once the weather warms. Take anywhere from 6 - 12” off various branches, aiming for a rounded shape.
Prune back other trees ands shrubs not done in fall, except lilacs unless needed for shaping. Those should have been pruned just after flowering last year.
Cut back blue mist spiraeas, grasses, and perennials that you didn’t cut back in the fall. See earlier blog on how to cut back the large grasses and avoid making a mess.
Deep water your evergreens. Especially important with newly planted trees and shrubs, as well as the long-needled evergreens.
During a dry spell when there is no snow on the ground this is a good time to spread wildflower seed. If you've had a wildflower area in the past, you will still need to overseed with the flowers you especially want, otherwise the stronger flowers such as cornflower will take over.
Keep the tip tops of your spruce trees alive by calling us for early Spring spraying for white pine weevil. By the time you see the damage, it's too late and your tree will lose it's beautiful top. We'll set you up with an affordable program to be sure your valuable trees look their best.
Make sure your deer protection is still working, you're not safe yet!
Call us for tree or shrub pruning projects that are too big for you to handle. I have an arborist on staff and we can get the larger and harder to reach trees much more safely than you can! Plus shape them professionally and haul away all the debris.
Keep browsing through the plant catalogs and garden magaziens and make a file of your favorite photos. This will be invaluable when we sit down together to plan a new garden space for you!

Don't let your pumpkins freeze!!

2010-10-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

Get ready to pick pumpkins, squash

and gourds

Pumpkins, spaghetti squash and gourds are hardier in cold weather than their zucchini and summer squash cousins. Nevertheless, you need to beware of the dangers of frost and a hard freeze.

How long should you leave pumpkins and squash in the garden?
Pumpkins, squash and gourds can generally be left in the garden as long as the ground stays dry and until there is a freeze. Even if a light frost kills the leaves, pumpkins and squash can be left outdoors. While they will tolerate a light frost, it's still best to cover them with a cloth blanket (not plastic) when frost is predicted.

Did you know? Temps in the 28 degree range and lower will destroy the outside skin and ruin the tissue and the quality of the flesh will go downhill from there. So make sure all the pumpkins and squash are picked prior to a freeze.

If pumpkins are still green or partly green with some orange, it's best to pick them before frost can damage the skin. If that happens, pumpkins will stop turning color. Once picked, put the pumpkin in a cool, dry place where it won't freeze so it can complete the process of turning color, just like we do with our not-quite ripe tomatoes.

When you pick the pumpkin or squash:

Cut the stem with a knife and try to keep the stem intact when you move the pumpkin. A damaged stem can cause the pumpkin to rot and that means less time to enjoy it for fall décor.

If it is wet when picked, dry the pumpkin and clean off mud as moisture can lead to mold.

Keep pumpkins and squash in a cool, dry place where they can last quite well for several weeks.

Save some seeds for a new garden adventure
When you cut your pumpkin, save some seeds to plant next year. Remove all the pulp from the seeds and allow them to dry, and then keep the seeds in a cool, dry place in a jar or plastic bag.

Plant the seeds next year to see what surprising shape or color you might have. If pumpkins have grown in the same garden with zucchini or other squash, they will likely cross-pollinate and the seeds will be a hybrid. Next year's fruit may look quite different than its 2010 original!

Need help with your Fall clean up? Contact us at 379-4956 or email jaeg1@comcast.net.

"Dwarf" Artic willow

2010-06-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

Salix purpurea 'Nana'

Did any of you fall for the lovely dwarf arctic willow, and plant it in your residential lot?

This has got to be one of the most mis-labeled shrubs on the market today. I've seen growers labels that indicate it stays as small as 4' x 4'. Even large, reputable nurseries have this listed at this size. Well, as you know if you planted this in a tight spot, it is anything but dwarf. I've seen it get to 10' tall by 12 ' wide here in our area, before the overwhelmed homeowners finally take it out. It can grow 4' in one year!

The picture above is in the test garden, where as you can see, it is has way exceeded the stated size. And it's been pruned way back several times. It is a very lovely shrub, but be forewarned to plant it only where you have sufficient room. It can work in a normal site if you want to whack it back to the ground every 3 years or so. And if you have a large space you need to fill quickly, by all means plant it, or better yet take your neighbors when they remove it from their too-small spot!

And this is a formal apology to any and all past friends and customers for whom I enthusiastically planted this shrub, and who had to then remove it three years later. I'm sorry! It just shows that we professionals learn by experience just like everyone else. Hey, that's why we have a test garden. Because the shrubs don't pay any attention to what is printed on tags........

Plant shopping and garden tours in Denver!!

2010-05-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

WOW!!!!!!!

Just returned from two thrilling days full of PLANTS PLANTS PLANTS and cool gardens. It was the Garden Conservancy Open Days yesterday, a wonderful program that provides access to private gardens. We saw 5 rock and xeric gardens, and then spent an entire day in Denver garden centers. Echters, Paulinos, Tagawa, and Timberline. I'll detail the rock gardens we toured in a separate post.

First the garden centers - since I went with another plant enthusiast and garden designer extraordinaire - Genevieve - we fed eachother's passion for plants and gardens and got totally carried away. I'll just share highlights since I could go on forever about all the fun stuff I saw and learned.

The geranium planter at Tagawa

Paulinos was wonderful. Has a high-end feel, great selection, decent prices. Terrific grasses here, at the best price we found. Is very hard to get to, and they don't answer their phone which is extremely annoying. Why wouldn't a retail garden center answer their phone?

Echters is enormous and overwhelming for we country mice. Allow at least half a day to wander, and bring provisions to help keep up your strength. Some of the prices were high, but then, no one has higher prices for one gallon perennials than our local Eagle Crest. Why haven't garden center prices adjusted for the new economy? Echters has the largest selection of garden accessories I've ever seen, the equivalent of a huge warehouse full of pots and furniture and hoses and every kind of plant treatment ever made. A great place to browse with a vente latte.

Tagawa was a little disappointing after I've heard so much about it. It was also huge, and there we found the most spectacular geranium planter I've ever seen, but the entry displays of elf and other cheesy statuary is a huge turnoff. They had a nice Plant Select section, but overall the perennial section was a little weak. Their annual geranium section did stretch on forever, and the cat was available for petting as advertised. Tagawa is so enormous and so busy they actually had parking lot attendants directing traffic!

My new sedum collection from Timberline.

Timberline is certainly the place to go for the plant enthusiast and small-town gardener. It is less overwhelming, and the owner, Kelly Grummons, personally helped us and many other customers which is a lovely touch. They have a great selection of unusual and hard-to-find plants. This is our "local' source for High Country Gardens types of plant material.

For we small-town garden nuts and plantaholics, each one these garden centers is worthy of a trip to Denver just to visit them. It's so nice to have a huge selection of everything!

Quick observation: Aren't you tired of the same old trailers for container gardens? When the Ipomea's first came out it was quite thrilling, but I haven't seen much new since then. Every garden center we went to had the same 5 trailers, BOOOOORING! Enough with the vinca vine, impomeas, dichondra, and even the pennyroyal which seems to be the new trailer of choice! What non-flowering, heavily trailing plant would you like to see more widely available???

Look at this wonderful rose!! A great shade combination - that's a heuchera!

Another great combination - I guess I was on a green and yellow tone kick

Plant of the Week!!

2010-05-13T07:02:00.000-07:00

To die for! Annabelle Hydrangea

Finally, a hydrangea that is dead hardy and reliable in our area. Puffy white blooms up to 10" wide in mid-summer. Because it blooms on new wood, it can be cut back to the ground and is very useful for areas with heavy winter snow that would damage other shrubs. In other words - our area!! It makes a spectacular show in a border, and does well in part to full shade. Unlike most hydrangeas, it can take our Colorado alkaline soils.

I used it in a garden in RVR 7 years ago for a lovely woman with very poor vision, and due to the large flowers she was able to see and enjoy it. It has thrived and still looks just wonderful.

In Summer - lime green flowers initially

Maturing to white
This picture was taken the first year, look how great they look already!

It's crabapple time

2010-05-12T06:06:00.000-07:00

By happy chance I was at the Carbondale Post office yesterday and came across this vision of beauty. Doesn't it make you want to add an - or another - crabapple to your yard?

Plant of the Week

2010-04-30T10:51:00.000-07:00

Spirea Ogon Mellow Yellow Spiraea thunbergii 'Ogon'

What a wonderful shrub that no one uses!

Featuring lovely, yellow to chartruese, willow-like foliage, this will brighten up your landscape and please you all season long.

Those of you who were enchanted by the delicate foliage of the "dwarf" artic blue willow, which, as it turns out, are anything but dwarf, will be even more pleased by this exciting, yet soft and pleasing shrub. And unlike the willows which paid no attention to the growers tags and got HUGE - this will remain a moderate 4 1/2 - 5 1/2 ft tall in your landscape.

Unlike the other spireas that have gold-tinged foliage in the spring -Goldmound and Goldflame, the flowers are white, not a sickly pink that clashes horribly with the foliage. Goldflame is a pretty spirea, but when it's in bloom it looks like someone made a horrible mistake, no?

Mellow Yellow needs nearly full sun for best performance and color, and looks great with larger-leaved and purple leafed shrubs, wonderful with an understory of shorter daylilies. Try it in a mixed shrub planting with Barberry, Chokeberry, or Annabelle Hydrangea.

Place it in a spot where the evening sun will backlight it and prepare to be wowed every day!

Like all spireas, it should be cut back every Spring to minimize some of the twiggy growth. Cut this one back very early, as it's one of the earliest to bloom.

Click on "Plant of the Week" at the top of the page for a link to more information.

How NOT to plant a tree...

2010-04-28T06:17:00.000-07:00

We got called to a customer's house with a common cry - "my beautiful tree all of a sudden started to die and was gone before I knew it!" In this case, an 8 foot spruce tree that had been in the ground at least 4 years.

We hear this all too often, and I almost always find the problem immediately - incorrect planting! Some landscapers slap a landscape in and sure, to you, it looks good and was maybe cheaper than someone else. But what is lurking under the surface is death and disappointment. The installer here did not plant this tree properly, did not even remove the nylon tie around the trunk, which doomed the tree at time of planting to die. What's the most important and valuable part of your landscape? Your trees! Mature trees are not replaceable, so be sure they were planted correctly.

If you're in a subdivision where the front landscape was provided, then it was likely installed in a cheap, production method, with many shortcuts. It may not be too late to save your trees. Go take a look at the base of your trees. At the very least, cut this nylon tie that will absolutely strangle your tree, just a matter of time.

Correct tree installation, to the professional standards of Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado, includes cutting open much of the metal cage around the rootball to allow room for mature roots to pass through, pulling back the burlap and cutting it off or burying it completely under the soil so it does not "wick" moisture from the rootball to the surface, and removing the top part of the cage completely. Then make a deep water well and water water water! Don't go with the least expensive installer who may not know what they're doing. This is a long-term investment and costs much more in the long run to replace a lovely tree after it dies. Plus it is sad!

From Chacala, Mexico

2010-04-22T09:22:00.000-07:00

During a little getaway to my "second home" here in Chacala, Mexico, I'm reflecting on how easy I thought gardening would be here, after our challenges in the rockies. I'm finding instead how appreciative I am of how good we really have in the Roaring Fork valley!

The soil here isn't rocky, but it's not good, either, and amendments are not readily available. Mulch is not available at all, unless you want to use bags of gravel, which I prefer not to. I haven't found any people in this little area who understand plants, soils, and basic design techniques, so I'm forever fixing whatever has happened while I've been away. Ornamental peppers planted next to purple wandering jews - yech!!! They sweep the gardens with a broom instead of a rake, which contributes to compacted soils. The favorite pruning tool is a machete - can you imagine?????

Most homes don't have irrigation, so you end up dragging a long hose around, damaging the little planties that get in the way. It can be quite dry, and they in the rainy season can rain 3" a day. Not that many plants like both types of conditions!

At about 6 months after remodeling the garden here, plants have still not filled in like I would have expected, not even as well as they would have at home. Surprisingly, though I'm sure thousands of plants we have at home would thrive here, they are not sold in the nurseries, which instead rely on 30 or 40 varieties. I keep wanting to sneak little bits of plants like succulents in my suitcase that I know would look great in this garden! Wanting, however, to avoid arrest and detention, I have not.

So, overall, we have it pretty darn good where we live Glenwood - Aspen. With the right soils and mulches and using the very wide variety of wonderful plants available in stores and catalogs, I've built many gardens that are beautiful the first season. I love gardening in Colorado!!

Plant of the Week - 2 special Daffodils

2010-04-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

What's not to love about daffodils? Their sunny faces greet us with smiles on spring mornings when, for us here in the mountains anyway, not much else is going on in the garden. And they're just so darn cheerful, I feel sorry for the soul so sad they don't smile when they see a meadow of daffodils.

Of the thousands and thousands of varieties, I'm featuring two favorites this week due to their intoxicating fragrance. Now this is not a paper-white fragrance, which many seem to think smells like cats wee, this is a a lovely, tropcial fragrace that will delight the nose.

"Cheerfulness" is an all-time fave. A double daffodil, it is lovely to look at, and the fragrance will fill your entire garden. Well, depending on how large your garden is! And like most daffodils, they multiply year after year for a better and better show. As if the fragrance wasn't enough, this is a very florific daff, producing multiple flowers per stem. In this age of budget conciousness, this gives you lots of bang for your buck!

12 - 18" tall, it is excellent for cut arrangements, so plant extra! Plant them close to a walkway or door so the spring breezes will bring the fragrance in.
This also comes in a yellow variety for areas where you need bright color.

"Minnow"  is a real charmer - a miniature daffodil, in the Tazetta family. It gets only 5 - 8" tall - how cunning! It is wonderful for the edge of garden borders and in front of moss rocks you don't want to hide.

It has a wonderful fragrance and abundant flowers, and multiplies very well in the garden.  It's another very florific daffodil, with 3-5 blossoms per stem.    It is lovely cut and makes a wonderful gift to cheer a friend down with a Spring cold.

If you have young children or grandchildren, tell them you planted this just for them and they will be entranced!

Of course now is not the time to plant bulbs. But great varieties like these sell out quickly, usually way before you ever think of ordering them.   Before you forget (we all do!!), contact us to get on our list for Fall bulb installs. Don't let another Spring roll around without these lovelies gracing your garden. We'll put your garden on the Fall calendar and create a lovely early Spring fragrant bulb display for you. And save you money with our wholesale prices!

Email us today at artfulgardens@comcast.net, or call 970-379-4956.

Winter interest in the garden

2010-04-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Colorado has 8 seasons, not just 4? Here we have summer, fall, winter, spring, winter, spring, winter, spring….. yes, we all know what April feels like. Time to go to Mexico!

When you look in your garden this time of year, are you happy with what you see? Or could it use something interesting to look at, some structure, some form aside from the squishy remains of last years plants? To add winter interest to gardens, we incorporate architectural elements and elements that will remain standing all winter.

Here are just a few ideas that could help you love your Mountain garden even in early April.

1. Add hints of structure to flower beds. This can be as simple and natural as a tree stump, as lovely as a concrete statue poking up through the snow. If you can arrange for a cat to use it for your photo shoot, better yet!

Adding natural structural elements to bulb areas is a lovely idea too, and adds charm when a late snow blankets the area.

2. For areas that receive more snow, larger architectural elements such as arbors and benches will add winter interest and make your garden look inviting.

You may not want to sit here just now... but look how pretty!

3. Add evergreen shrubs. This will add important color and form to your garden. At least 15 % of every shrub bed should consist of evergreens. Here are a few that are especially wonderful:

Picea pungens globosa – the blue spruce shrub, adds an elegant look to the summer and winter garden, and looks so natural here in Colorado.

Boxwood – buxus – there are at least 4 varieties that are hardy in our area, and they add wonderful, compact structure for a more formal look

Arborvitae – thuja – aurea nana – this is a lovely addition to a shrub or perennial bed. While deer do like these delicious little shrubs, the lime green winter color and soft texture make it a worthwhile addition worth protecting.

Yuccas - For sunny locations with good drainage and typically less than 18” snow coverage, yuccas can be spectacular in the winter.

There are many other ways of adding winter interest, such as deciduous shrubs that shine in the winter and add tremendous beauty to your winter garden. We’ll detail those in the next article!

Early Bird Special...

2010-03-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

Ready for a Spring Clean? The Artful Gardens crew is starting this week, weather permitting. And we have a special rate right now!

We had good success last year with Early Bird special rates- it helps us jump-start the season, gives our clients a nice little cost-savings, and introduces new clients to us. We're doing it again for 2010!

Our Spring work is very weather dependent, as we don't believe in trodding on and compacting soil that is still wet and making a mess. So I'm tentatively offering it from now until April 16th to blog readers and Facebook Fans who email or call me by April 7th . If you need lots of work done, this is a great way to save $3 - $5 an hour off our already low rates. Email me with your project details and we'll set up a free consultation if needed.

Landscape Design Principles

2010-03-27T12:18:00.000-07:00

People are often at a loss as to what landscaping is needed for their house. And, since they’re untrained, they often make the wrong decisions, and then wonder why it doesn’t look quite right....why they have an unsatisfied feeling when looking at it.

Here are just a few common mistakes we see every day:

1. Planting large trees and shrubs too close to the front door, often in that little 4’ walkway garden the builder allowed for. While cute when they’re small, they ruin the appeal and good energy of the entry when they’re full-sized. If you can't see the front door, or must duck under trees to get there, or it is so dark and foreboding no one wants to enter, it needs to be changed immediately! We fix lots of entry gardens that are overwhelming the house.

2. Planting trees too close to the house, smack in the center of window or patio doors, which ruins the look and the view, along with harming the "Feng Shui" and delivering bad energy. There is an art to placing trees so they enhance, shade, and provide some privacy but do not intrude.

3. Planting spruce trees where they will overwhelm the house instead of complement it. How many times in our valley have you seen this look >>>>>>
People forget spruce trees get 40' tall and 40' wide!

4. Making garden beds too small for the scale of the house.

There are dozens of design principles we follow when creating a yard or garden, I’ll cover a few at a time:

1. Framing. Landscaping should frame the house like hair around a face. It should soften the corners, and unify the house with its surroundings. This house has an okay, though undersized, front landscape, but the lack of framing or a background (see #3) makes the house look awkward on it's lot.

2. Scale. Plantings must match scale of house and lot. Nothing looks sillier than a nice-sized house on a large lot with tiny spindly trees. When budget is a factor, we combine small trees in groupings with a few large trees and shrubs for a more natural, balanced look.

3. Background. It’s important to provide a backdrop for the house, with tall trees behind the house which will show and provide perspective from the front. This gives the house a sense of place and highlights it from the street. See how uncomfortable this house looks on it's lot with no background trees? How pretty it would look with an appropriately sized palm tree in the back yard.

4. Balance. Houses are rarely symmetrical. Balancing the house with appropriate landscaping satisfies the eye. Visualize the house set atop a post – which way would it lean? Balance out the “light” side with landscaping by installling a larger garden with larger material on that side.

5. Size. Many homes have outdoor spaces that are not appropriately sized for the house. How big should your outdoor spaces be? Imagine that your house has fallen forward onto its front façade. The imprint it leaves is usually the right amount of ground needed for a garden, patio, porch, or lawn. This is especially important for the front for visual appeal, but on larger lots, you should do the same exercise with the back and sides as well.

6. Creating a Feeling. Looking at a garden should evoke wonderful feelings and memories. It should take you on a mental journey – help you visualize the numerous ways you will use and enjoy the garden over the years – sitting with a book, walking down a path, hosting parties, hearing the happy sound of kids playing.

What kind of feeling does this evoke in you?

How about this?

Stay tuned for more design principles. In the mean time, if you’re not happy with the way your yard looks or feels, call or email us for a consultation! jaeg1@comcast.net

Plant of the Week

2010-03-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

Iris reticulata

When there is nothing else going on in the garden in late winter, eager gardeners can count on this miniature iris to cheer them up. Available in several colors, it is a very small plant with a large, fragrant flower, and looks wonderful surrounded by very early miniature crocus (regular crocus will bloom too late) of a contrasting color. The combination is a lovely addition to the garden, and will bloom early to late March from Glenwood to Basalt, a bit later closer to Aspen. Flowers in March - yippee!

Since iris reticulata it is only 5” -7” tall, it should be planted in your more southern-facing gardens in very visible spots. You want it next to a walkway or right outside your window where you’ll be able to see and enjoy this diminuitive charmer.

The ideal place for this combination is in a rock garden, or on a slight slope where it will show very well.

Don’t plant these in a deer traffic area, their hooves will destroy the little flowers and make you sad. And we don’t want sad gardeners!

Look around your garden this spring to find locations that would look good with this plant combination, then order them early to plant this Fall. Or call us to get on our schedule for Fall bulb planting – it’s so easy to forget until it’s too late! You don't want another Spring to pass with no March flowers, do you?

Don’t skimp on these bulbs, they show best if planted in groups of at least 20 bulbs each. The crocuses sometimes start week earlier than the iris, so we plant them a tad deeper than usual to delay them a bit. Timing is everything……

Some nice yellow miniature crocuses are Crocus 'Uschak Orange, Crocus korolkowii, and Crocus “Early Gold'. For a good miniature crocus selection - http://www.odysseybulbs.com/springcrocus.html

More information on iris reticulata http://www.theplantexpert.com/springbulbs/DwarfIris.html

A favorite iris reticulata – wonderful blue! http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/BIRHA.html

To Do in the Garden

2010-03-22T12:46:00.000-07:00

For you intrepid do-it-yourselfers
1. Clean up areas where bulbs are planted, to showcase them better. Best to do it now, before flowering starts. On a nice day, cut back any grasses and plants in your bulb beds, then clean up leaves and debris and rake the area. Cover with 1/2 - 1" fresh mulch for a finished look. Small bulbs like crocuses show much better in a tidy mulched bed! They don't look anywhere near as pretty half covered with leaves.

2. Clean up wildflower areas. Cut any remaining plants back to the ground. Rake the area lightly, then cover it with fine screened Cottonboll compost. Sprinkle new wildflower seed of the plants that you want more of.

3. Cut back Miscanthus grasses before they start getting messy and starts spreading grass everywhere. For large grasses, it's easiest to tie a rope around the bunch to contain the grass, then cut away with good shears. For really large bunches, we've used a chainsaw with good success. And it's more fun for people (I won't actually come out and say men, but you know who you are!) who prefer their gardens come with engines and motors. For a great tutorial with pictures follow this link: http://www.northcoastgardening.com/2010/01/pruning-miscanthus-grass/

4. If you're a grow-it-yourselfer, it's time to start early spring hardy annuals, early veggies such as lettuce, any perennials, and peppers and tomatoes indoors in a warm, sunny location.
5. Trim all spiraea back 3-6" in a rounded shape, before the new growth starts. If they're getting too large and bushy, remove about 1/4 of the branches at the ground.

Plant of the Week

2010-03-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

Lavatera trimestris - annual rose mallow.
click on Plant of the Week for another photo

This is a lovely annual with huge, non-stop flowers on a 2-3', very easy-care plant. When visitors came across it during tours of my Test Garden they all raved about it and begged for seed.

The flowers have a glow to them, are 2-3" across, and come in several colors. Easy to grow from seed, nearly impossible to find at nurseries. We will be growing a few for our customers this year. A must have for every gardener who loves florific plants!

Find the seed at http://www.backyardgardener.com/seeds/category/Lavatera_Seeds.html

Good soil and warm weather

2010-03-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

Spring Spring Spring! Today is beautiful, yesterday equally so. It's dreadfully hard to stay inside when you're craving a vitamin D fix.

Our wait is over.......for now. We all know the vagaries of Spring in the Rockies which means we could get a 10” snowfall this weekend.
Did you know there are actually 8 seasons in Colorado?

Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring, Winter, Spring, Winter, Spring... But still, for those who like Fun-In-The-Garden-Time, it’s okay now to work the soil on south-facing sites, in the Mid-valley to Glenwood area. Go ahead and savor the smell of good soil!

I am an adamant advocate (try saying that 3 times real fast. No really, try it now!) for creating great soil first, a great garden second. This allows plants to thrive, and is why some gardens look so wonderful the first season.

Here is what the soil in a customer’s new veggie garden bed looks like right now, after just one year of improving it..............................

Beautiful tilth, a wonderful loam. Because the garden was "put to bed" with care in late Fall, it took only 15 delightful minutes to prepare the entire 14' x 7' garden yesterday. And it was a pleasure to work with the soil! No clay! Tons of earthworms, though this bed didn’t even exist a year ago.

And much to my surprise, look how well the carrots that were “stored” in the ground (okay, I forgot to pull them!!) all winter fared when dug up yesterday, March 15th. Still crisp and delicious.

If your soil doesn’t look like this in your most important garden areas, it should be improved this Spring. Stay tuned for a line-up of my favorite soil additives. Don’t feel like digging? Call us to do it for you, at our special Early Spring Rate!

Is it an early or late Spring?

2010-03-10T20:41:00.000-08:00

This time of year we always hear, "My, it's such an early Spring!" or "It seems like it's a late Spring this year".

So which is it this year?

Let's compare to my journal notes on my Dakota subdivision Test Garden from 2004 - 2006:

2006: March 5th - It warmed up during the day, although part cloudy and still cold at night. All the snow melted in 3-4 days. Worked in the yard today, lovely and 60’s. March 9th - Several nice, warm days. March 13th - It’s been snowing for 4 days. Rec’d maybe 10” last night, on top of 4 or so we got earlier. Snowy and stormy, cleared up this afternoon.
2005: Mar 6th - Quite warm today – maybe 55, and lovely again. Tidied up where all the crabapple leaves settled. Ground still frozen and some icy snow piles in the N facing gardens. The South facing rock garden is a dust bowl already. I cut back Yarrow, Karl Forrester, Rudbeckia, Solidago, etc. Pulled lots of Pinks, severely cut back Marrubium which had spread to cover the nearby rocks. Looks like I lost a few rock garden plants – some Cactus, the Pasqueflower, maybe all the Stachys coccinea coral pink. : (
2004: March 7th - A glorious day in the garden. Warm and lovely, our first taste of Spring. A marked contrast to yesterday, which was cold, gray, and windy. Worked outside on and off the whole day. The little crocuses in the Rock garden really shone today, they look very cute and cheery. A while back the deer got into the yard and really did a number on my Thuja. It was looking so wonderful, and now it’s quite ragged. March 9th - Lovely coffee walk around the garden at 7:30. Another beautiful day. More deer got in somehow. They ate or pulled out most of the beautiful purple hens and chicks I just admired Sunday. They were full and lovely and now they are destroyed. Argggh! They also pulled small plants and chomped the tops off other things. I need to have someone trap the skunk living under the porch, very smelly and destructive! Also need to cover the soil surface in the rock garden with crushed lava fines this year, it looks very crusty and ugly this time of year. Mar 12th - Another beautiful day, smoothed everything out, fixed and watered all plants. Very dry in areas. Lots of bulbs starting!

Back corner of test garden, May 4 2004

Verdict?

Based on this comparison, in the Mid-Valley area, this year is a slightly late Spring, courtesy of a 2 late snowfalls that haven't completely melted yet. There is too much snow and it's too wet to want to "garden" much just yet. But, the weather certainly is typical - some beautiful warm days last week, followed by a mini-blizzard tonite!

To Do in the Garden:
* Remember not to tread too heavily on your wet soil – it will compact it and you’ll just have to aerate and compost it later, but as soon as it’s a bit drier, it will be time to cut back most of the plants you did not cut back last winter.

* You can see that deer and skunks are an issue to guard against in the garden now. Get out your Deer Off or Ropel and spray your special plants. You want to train the cute young ones that your garden does not taste good. Make their first bite this Spring an unpleasant one!!

* Why not make note of any areas that have problems right now? I look for areas of standing water, gardens that needed more mulch, places where you really need a path, gardens that don’t have enough “structure” so look especially barren – so you can fix them this summer. And by all means, look for areas where you can add bulbs next Fall!

Tulips April 23 2005

Spring is coming

2010-03-08T15:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we could all smell it in the air. The end of winter. The sun was glorious, the sky blue. You could go outside with a tee shirt, comfortably. For a while. And in the last few days the snow has been melting like crazy. The birds were chirping happily and if you looked closely at the newly bare spots in the garden, perennials were sporting new basal growth. Oh, we knew that there will be more snowy wintry days, that right now we're just being given an intoxicating taste that will be snatched away as soon as we begin expecting it, relishing it, pining for it. But oh, we all enjoyed it so! And sure enough, today it's gray, snowy, and expected to continue on so for much of this week. But it's too late for us garden lovers - we know our time, our season, is just around the corner. Eeek - time to get started on all those long-postponed projects!