heirloom gardener

Links to Some Great European Gardening Blogs

2008-09-04T22:00:00.005-04:00

One of the really fun things about garden blogs is that you can peak into others' gardens all around the world. This list in no way is exhaustive, but just some of the European gardening blogs that I have discovered and enjoyed. If you have suggestions of others, let me know.

A Garden Diary (Budapest)
Bliss (Netherlands)
Carrots and Kids (UK)
Down on the Allotment (UK)
Ewa in the Garden (Poland)
Garden Dreams (Sweden)
Garden Hopping (UK)
Jardin Miranda (France)
Lady Greenthumb's Garden (Croatia)
Roses and Stuff (Sweden)
Roses in Gardens (Denmark)
The Constant Gardener (UK)
Victoria's Backyard (UK)

Pictures of Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) Caterpillars on Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) and Chrysalis on the Deck

2008-09-03T22:19:00.005-04:00

The children love counting the dozens of Monarch Butterfly caterpillars growing and crawling all over the Butterfly Weed.
The chrysalis of the Monarch Butterfly is something beautiful to behold. A photograph cannot capture the shiny translucence of it, which is truly breathtaking.

Heirloom Lilies for Fall Planting

2008-09-02T22:10:00.000-04:00

As a follow-up to my prior post about some of my favorite lilies this year, Anne Raver at The New York Times also had some heirloom suggestions for fall planting. Like me, she highlighted Excelsior as one of her favorites:

"Up in my own garden, a few heirloom lilies have thrived on plenty of compost, sun and the protection offered by stone walls: Black Beauty, a tall hybrid Turk’s-cap with dark raspberry flowers; Citronella, a shorter lemon-yellow, freckled Turk’s-cap; Excelsior, a fragrant white trumpet speckled with red; and White Henryi, a trumpet lily with swept-back ivory petals and an apricot throat. But the voles and mice have eaten a lot of the bulbs — rodents love lilies as much as tulips — so it’s time to order more for fall planting."

Heirloom Pairing for Heirloom Roses: Picture of a Pretty Pink Perennial Sweet Pea in the Cutting Garden

2008-08-20T21:12:00.001-04:00

As a follow-up to my June 5, 2008 post on Roses Blooming, here is a picture of the perennial sweet pea that I noted. It has pretty little flowers that bloom for me from late July to late August, but no fragrance. I purchased it from Perennial Pleasures Nursery which specializes in heirloom plants. In my Cutting Garden, it grows in full sun, but can also grow in part shade. It is a natural pairing for roses given that--as part of the legume family--it fixes nitrogen in the soil. It requires no maintenance. After the frost, simply cut it to the ground. You can compost the cuttings or simply bury them in your beds.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day August 2008 - My Collection of Fragrant Phlox

2008-08-14T21:18:00.001-04:00

In anticipation of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day on May Dreams Gardens tomorrow, here are some of the phlox that have been blooming throughout my garden over the last few weeks. Most are heirloom, some are new, and almost all of them are fragrant.

Two New Summer Favorites: Double Tiger Lily and Excelsior Lily

2008-08-08T21:34:00.001-04:00

My two favorite new lilies this year were the double tiger lily and the Excelsior lily both from Old House Gardens.

The double tiger lily bloomed over a four week period in part shade. The flowers are definitely interesting and far more attractive than the catalog picture is able to capture.

Since tiger lilies rapidly reproduce from the small bulblets that form along the stem, I am hoping that they will take over the open space next to the fort in the Walled Garden.

For fragrance, the Excelsior lily is phenomenal. The fragrance is rich and unlike any of the other lilies I grow. In addition, they came at a time when my other lilies were finished except for yet to bloom Rubrum Lily.

The colors are a beautiful and vibrant mix of yellow, cream, and peach. I will be ordering more of these for my cutting garden next year.

Follow-up: Heirloom Lilies for Fall Planting

Gardening Blogs are Growing in Chatham, New Jersey

2008-08-07T07:54:00.003-04:00

I'm pleased to announce that there are two new gardening blogs from fellow gardeners in Chatham, New Jersey:

Marta McDowell, "a blog about digging in the dirt, growing flowers and vegetables, garden history, horticulture and nature."

Visual Thinking in a Fairmount Garden, "A textile designer among the weeds of her mind."

Covered Containers for Propagation: GardenTalk.com's Bell Boys

2008-08-06T22:58:00.004-04:00

As a follow-up to my post on How to Propagate Hydrangeas, Part I: Taking Cuttings of Sister Theresa, I received several questions about the covered containers that I was using to propagate the cuttings. In response, I am re-posting the pictures of the containers with the information about where I purchased them.

They are from Walt Nicke's GardenTalk: A Catalog of Fine Tools for Gardeners. You can find them under the section Potting and Propagators under the name Bell Boys. They come in two sizes in packages of six.

You can use them to propagate cuttings of other plants too, not just hydrangeas. In fact, I am also propagating the rose Frau Dagmar Harstropp, in another set of these containers just now.

Nan Ondra, Garden Writer/Blogger, Featured in The New York Times

2008-08-06T07:56:00.003-04:00

Nan Ondra, one of my favorite garden bloggers, the genius behind both Gardening Gone Wild (a blogging consortium and host of the Garden Bloggers' Design Workshop) and Hayefield (her personal blog), was featured in last week's New York Times. In the article, "Where Foliage Eclipses Flowers," journalist Anne Raver talks with Nan about her life, her garden, and her books (Nan just published her twelfth).

Caterpillars that Sting: Pictures of Saddleback Caterpillars (Acharia stimulea)

2008-08-05T23:19:00.005-04:00

I was picking up some rose pruning clippings today when I felt a stinging sensation on my hand. I have never seen this little creature before, but my daughter identified it as the Saddleback Caterpillar, which she had previously seen in one of her science books. Unknown to me, these little creatures can actually sting you from their four distinctive spines. The first picture includes three caterpillars. The second picture includes one of the unhatched eggs. The caterpillar matures into an unremarkable brown moth, that you can see on bugguide.net.

"Children have lost touch with the natural world and are unable to identify common animals and plants," according to a UK survey

2008-08-05T07:06:00.004-04:00

As a follow-up to my prior post on Richard Louv's book, Last Child in the Woods - Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, the UK newspaker, The Independent, ran an article about a UK survey on the subject. Sadly, the journalist Sarah Cassidy reports:

"Half of youngsters aged nine to 11 were unable to identify a daddy-long-legs, oak tree...or bluebell, in the poll by BBC Wildlife Magazine. The study also found that playing in the countryside was children's least popular way of spending their spare time, and that they would rather see friends or play on their computer than go for a walk or play outdoors."

"Experts blamed the widening gulf between children and nature on over-protective parents and the hostility to children among some conservationists, who fear that they will damage the environment. They said that this lack of exposure to outdoor play in natural environments was vital for children's social and emotional development."

"Dr Martin Maudsley, play development officer for Playwork Partnerships, at the University of Gloucestershire, said that adults had become too protective of wild places: 'Environmental sensitivities should not be prioritised over children.'"

"He said: 'Play is the primary mechanism through which children engage and connect with the world, and natural environments are particularly attractive, inspiring and satisfying for kids. Something magical occurs when children and wild spaces mix.'"

Picture of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Pterourus glaucus) on a Butteryfly Bush (Buddleia)

2008-08-03T22:00:00.004-04:00

More Pictures of This Year's Beautiful Hydrangeas

2008-08-02T11:03:00.004-04:00

I'm really enjoying the hydrangeas in my garden this year. Hydrangeas are great because they take so little work and get better year after year. The blooms on hydrangeas are fascinating to watch as their colors mature and change as the blooms age. Below are some pictures of some of the hydrangea in my garden that were not in my Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post for July.

The first two pictures are of an unnamed lace cap hydrangea at the top of Goldberry Hill. Two winters ago this hydrangea was completely killed to the ground. Last summer it grew beautifully, but did not bloom. This year, its unbelievable--loaded with blossoms from head to toe. [Related post: the same lace cap hydrangea in the dead of winter.]

This annabelle hydrangea has been in bloom since June. The blossoms started green, turned white, and recently began turning back to green again. [Related posts: in the winter when it was brown and two weeks ago when it was white.]
This beautiful variegated hydrangea was a new addition to my Front Border last summer. I bought it out of flower for the leaves. I wasn't expecting much out of the flowers and actually thought they would take away from the leaves. But, I was wrong. I love the flowers too.

The pee gee hydrangea, which I posted about pruning back in late winter, is now just starting to bloom, though it is still a week or so away from its peak.

How to Propagate Hydrangea, Part II: Layering Marechal Foch

2008-08-01T23:08:00.010-04:00

In completing my expanded Front Border, I wanted to repeat some of the plants that existed in some of the neighboring beds. This first picture is a large, mature hydrangea, which I think is Marechal Foch, across the driveway on Goldberry Hill.

As you see in the close up of the mature specimen, the leaves are thick and shiny. The mopheads change a lot over the course of the summer. Two weeks ago, in the the last picture on my Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post, the blooms were various shades of pink.

The third picture is the baby of Marechal Foch in the Front Border which I propagated last year by layering my mother plant.

Layering is one of the easiest ways to increase your number of hydrangea. Simply choose a low growing branch. Place it in contact with the soil by burying it a bit or putting a rock on top of it. Leave the branch alone, yet check every month or so to see if it has begun to form roots in the area touching the ground. Once roots are developed, sever it from the mother plant. The baby hydrangea can be then left in place to grow a bit more or moved to a new location, as I did with this one.

How to Propagate Hydrangeas, Part I: Taking Cuttings of Sister Theresa

2008-07-29T22:05:00.009-04:00

I just planted a hedge of southern magnolias. To cover up the space between each, I thought I would plant more of my favorite hydrangea: Sister Theresa. I love this hydrangea for its large pure white mopheads.

The purity of the white is stunning: it has no of pink or cream. The flowers are quite large and the individual sepals are very big making the blooms more striking. In addition, Sister Theresa performs beautifully in full shade and part shade which makes her a good choice for interplanting in my hedge.

This week I took cuttings from my Sister Theresa of non-blooming wood. I want about seven new plants, so I took two stems. I cut the stems into three or four parts with very sharp pruners.

I trimmed the leaves by cutting half or more of the leaf surface away. The easiest way to do that is to fold the leave at its midrib and cut half off. After which, I cut the stem which will be rooting at an angle and dipped it into rooting hormone.

Garden Bloggers' Design Workshop on Garden Whimsy: Guard Frogs and Garden Names

2008-07-25T21:37:00.012-04:00

I missed last month's Garden Bloggers' Design Workshop on Porches and Decks because I was just too busy gardening! This month's Garden Bloggers' Design Workshop at Gardening Gone Wild is Garden Whimsy. The truth is I don't think I have too many whimsical elements in my garden, but then two ideas came to mind: the entrance to the Children's Garden and the names of my garden rooms.

Guard Frogs. Just like the lions Patience and Fortitude that stand at attention in front of the entrance to the New York Public Library, the children placed these two stone frogs in front of the entrance to their garden.

The stone frogs are a couple of inches tall and wide--large enough to notice, but not too large to take away from the plants. Also, they are a representation of an animal we like, as I have prohibited statuary of all garden pests--rabbits, squirrels, etc.

Garden Names. In a prior post, I included a map of my garden. For planning purposes, I name each of the garden rooms, which is not whimsical in and of itself. The whimsy, which is more of an inside joke than an external display, is that the garden rooms have names that are aspirational to a much larger or grander property, such as the Long Border that is not too long, the Great Lawn that is modest in size, and the Walled Garden that lacks a proper wall but is rather made up of stones that I dug up from the beds. While I do take my gardening seriously, it's good not to take it too seriously.

Sweet Bay Magnolia

2008-07-18T23:13:00.005-04:00

If you love flowering trees, why limit yourself to the spring blooming varieties? This lovely sweet bay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) flowers in my zone (6b) in July. It blossoms over long period with fragrant, creamy white flowers. The leaves are beautiful green with grayish white underside that is wonderful in the wind.

The only thing that I haven't liked is that although it is evergreen, by the end of the winter it looks very battered until new leaves push out in late spring. If our climate were a bit warmer the leaves would come through the winter in better condition; or, if our climate was colder the sweet bay magnolia would be deciduous. This spring I moved this magnolia from a more prominent location in the Walled Garden to a less prominent whiskey barrel in the back of the children's playground.

The sweet bay is also sometimes called the swamp magnolia because as well as growing in ordinary garden soil it also grows well in wet soils or swampy areas. It also tolerates shade.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day: Hydrangeas in New Jersey (Zone 6b)

2008-07-14T21:19:00.008-04:00

In anticipation of Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day on May Dreams Gardens tomorrow, here are some of the hydrangeas blooming in my garden right now.

Picture of a Spotted Jewelweed or Jewel Weed (Impatiens capensis) Flower

2008-07-13T23:13:00.004-04:00

For more information about this beautiful wildflower with an unfortunate name, including its all natural, organic medicinal applications for mosquito bites, poison ivy, etc., check out:

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Jewelweed.html

A Book Worth Talking About: Last Child in the Woods - Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv

2008-07-10T22:52:00.004-04:00

First published in 2005 and re-published in 2008, I first heard about Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv from another book, A Child's Garden by Molly Dannenmaier, which I read and enthusiastically reviewed last year. I'm reading it right now and would highly recommend it to anyone with children. From the introduction:

"Within the space of a few decades, the way children understand and experience nature has changed radically...Today, kids are aware of the global threats to the environment--but their physical contact, their intimacy with nature, is fading...

...This book explores the increasing divide between the young and the natural world, and the environmental, social, psychological, and spiritual implications of that change. It also describes the accumulating research that reveals the necessity of contact with nature for healthy child--and adult--development...

...Our society is teaching young people to avoid direct experience in nature. That lesson is delivered in schools, families, even organizations devoted to the outdoors, and codified into the legal and regulatory structures of many of our communities..."

An absurd example of this was written about in today's New York Times in the article "Build a Wiffle Ball Field and Lawyers Will Come," which reports on the local Greenwich, Connecticut backlash against a group of teenagers who turned an empty, town-owned lot into a miniature Fenway Park. The saddest quote comes from Jeff Currivan, 17: “They think we’re a cult...People think we should be home playing ‘Grand Theft Auto.’ ”

Pictures of More Heirloom Clematis

2008-07-09T20:55:00.003-04:00

Picture of a Pretty Pink Breadseed Poppy and Seedhead on Lilac Hill

2008-07-05T22:59:00.003-04:00

Pictures of the Beautiful Japanese Irises Blooming in my Long Border

2008-07-04T13:34:00.004-04:00

Pictures of Heirloom Clematis Throughout my Garden

2008-06-22T16:14:00.006-04:00

Swamp Darner Dragonfly among the Roses and Clematis

2008-06-19T22:36:00.004-04:00

Earlier this week, I saw an amazing dragonfly resting among the roses and clematis. I see a lot of dragonflies in the garden, but I've never seen one this large before. It was huge--almost four inches long, though I haven't figured out exactly which one it is yet. I'm working my way through the New Jersey Odanata Enthusiasts' website to try to determine which it is--perhaps some sort of Darner. If someone can identify it for me, let me know!

Follow-up: I sent a picture of my dragonfly to the good people at the New Jersey Odanta Enthusiasts and they were able to identify my dragonfly as a Swamp Darner (Epiaeschna heros). Description: Huge. The size makes it almost unmistakable, but just in case, the blue eyes, prominent green thoracic stripes and brown abdomen ringed in green should remove all doubt.