Fashionably Late

Crisp white against the dark green leaves

I had meant to blog weeks ago about my favorite late-blooming hydrangea, Hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva', but I, like this shrub, am a bit tardy.  Actually, my Tardivas began blooming in mid-August (and still a few presentable blossoms a week ago).  Just as the garden was winding down and the other hydrangeas were past their prime, Hydrangea 'Tardiva' provided fresh, white color opposite the pool.  Blended among my mixed shrub hedge, this bush's vegetation helps create privacy and a lush background for ferns and anemones well before the blooms appear to steal the show.

This species and particularly this cultivar is easy to grow with limited maintenance.  Since they bloom on new wood, I did read that you should prune these in winter to remove old blooms, improve structure and open up plant.  Unfortunately, I did this after their first season with poor results.  The new branches that popped out the following spring were weak and contorted into wildly crooked shapes.  I have since limited my pruning to cutting out only the most odd-growing limbs.  I would suggest holding off on any pruning (except deadheading) for a season or two. My shrubs are now about 6 feet high with mostly straight branches.

A colorful addition to the privacy screen around the pool

In my Hamptons garden, the Hydrangea 'Tardiva' bloom with partial sun, but they supposedly are more floriferous with full sun.  They are pretty drought tolerant once they are established.  I've noticed that limbs touching the soil root easily so you could propagate these easily.

And while I'm a little late sharing my adoration for this late summer shrub, now is a perfect time to plant some for next year.  In fact, I added several more to my collection this autumn so they will be well acclimated by next summer.  The added benefit to late season planting is that most shrubs are heavily discounted at the local nurseries.  Just goes to show you that being late isn't always that bad.

Ostrich ferns fill in at the base

The Perfect Fit

Compact Korean Azalea

Last year, I needed a filler plant for a small area in the back garden.  I had extended a planting bed into the adjacent shady area where grass was too challenged to grow.  This bed is backed by a large Rhododendrons.  Since I liked how my native azaleas (Rhododendron viscosum) had grown into another large-leafed evergreen rhododendron nearby, I though adding a deciduous azalea here would work too.  But I also wanted spring color. (My native azaleas bloom in summer.) 


The new space was small.  So when I found a Korean azalea labeled "compact", I thought I'd give it a try.  Its mature size will only be four feet wide and two feet tall.  When I bought this small cultivar (Azalea poukhanense 'Compacta'), it was out of bloom, but the picture on the attached label showed a rosy-purple flower. 


When it bloomed this spring, it looked a bit more purple which I actually prefer.  Combined with a bright green hosta in front, this new addition really adds a bright punch to this once forgotten corner of my garden. 

More purple than pink blooms

Let It All Hang Out

Long, unpruned braches curve gracefully downward

As the last flowers of my forsythia fall to the ground, I thought how shapely my shrub has become in bloom and out.  Unlike some of my hollies and boxwoods, I prefer to leave forsythia in its natural state.  Its long slender branches rise up and curve downward with such a graceful form.  I do occasionally prune out extremely vertical limbs, but for the most part I leave it alone.

I drive by so many houses where the forsythia have been pruned severely into unnatural shapes like globes and squares.  Extreme pruning or pruning too late eliminates most of the beautiful yellow spring blooms.  So during bloom time, you will see these clipped shrubs with only tufts of yellow on the top or on the sides where pruning didn't cut as deeply into old growth.  These sparse clusters of blooms remind of a child who tried to cut his own hair.

I say, "let it all hang out".  Put your forsythias in beds and borders where they can take on a more natural shape.  Save your topiary skills for your evergreens.

Aloha from the Philly Flower Show

Prize-winning orchid

This week, I went to my first big flower show,  the Philadelphia International Flower Show managed by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.  With the theme "Hawaii: Islands of Aloha",  I wasn't sure what to expect.  Attending this famous winter flower show had been on my to-do list for years.

The show included many rather elaborate garden displays, recreating lush tropical landscape designs that celebrated the flora of the Hawaiian islands.  Tons of orchids, bromeliads, birds-of-paradise, palms, warm-weather grasses were planted among lava rocks, logs and sand.  Some exhibits had towering waterfalls while others had small lagoons.  A colorful departure from the Northeast winter landscape outside the convention center.  But like a trip to Hawaii, I would have to leave most of these plants and designs behind when I returned to my USDA Zone 7a.

Lava rock garden

There were several displays showcasing vegetable gardens.  One that stood out was a vertical garden of lettuce growing on the side of a shed.  Wouldn't this be wonderful if this really worked?  I could finally have a vegetable garden without sacrificing perennials.

Seven varieties of lettuce growing on a 40-foot wall

Another highlight was the "Store Window" exhibits.  Very inventive designers used tropical plants to create eye-catching displays, celebrating the Hawaiian theme.

"Eye-catching" store window display

A fun way to display plants indoors

VERY colorful spring display

I did find a few exhibits with more familiar plantings, including azaleas, spring bulbs and dogwoods forced into bloom.  And from some of these displays,  I did get some new and relevant ideas for my Hamptons garden.

Like a big state fair, there were many contests for outstanding plants, including orchids, begonias, hanging baskets, succulents, bonsai trees, and bulbs.  The number and variety of orchids was incredible. (I'm not sure I'll be satisfied with the King Kullen grocery's $29.99 Phalaenopsis any longer.)

There were quite a few displays of floral arrangements.  Some left me wondering what these designers would think of my simple, garden-inspired compositions.  Like Crayola drawings compared to Picasso sketches.

Simply dramatic floral arrangement

With a tropical show theme,  I hadn't expected to buy anything from the huge marketplace of garden vendors.  That turned out not to be the case.  I returned to my car with bags filled with gorgeous orchids, violets, vegetable seeds, and porcelain vases.  I might have bought more, but it became increasingly difficult to navigate the aisles with big bags as the crowds increased.

Begonia candidates ready for their close-up

A nice day trip and really close to New York City.  The show runs through tomorrow, March 11th.  If your looking for a Sunday activity, check it out: www.theflowershow.com.

A hui hou (Good-bye, until we meet again)!

Another Must-Have for Your Bookshelf (and iPhone)

Recently, I proclaimed my adoration for The Well-Tended Perennial Garden by Tracy DiSabato-Aust.  Today, I'd like to share with you my go-to book for trees and shrubs.  Dirr's Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopediaby Michael Dirr was one of the most useful birthday gifts that I've ever received.

When I was given this tome, I was just beginning my garden (click here for a look back at my blank canvas).  I desired trees and shrubs that looked natural but also added some drama.  Of course, I also needed them to be suitable for my specific climate and growing conditions.

Each Saturday morning at the breakfast table, I would start flipping through this book filled with hundreds of landscape and close-up shots of woody plants.  When a tree or shrub caught my eye,  I would stop and read Dirr's personal comments about the candidate, allowing me to judge its suitability.  Along with his personal experiences, Dirr shares the plant's potential size, appropriate growth zones and origins (very helpful when trying to choose native plants).  He also lists well-known cultivars and varieties.  After shopping through this book, I would then visit local nurseries trying to find my chosen specimen—often with book in hand.

Dirr also wrote a companion book, Manual of Woody Landscape Plants.  This was included with my initial gift.  This manual gives much more detailed information on each plant's growing requirements, complete descriptions of leaf/flower shapes and colors, line drawings to help identify leaves and buds, and thorough descriptions of cultivars. I've learned that both of these earlier books are now merged in a revised edition, Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs.


Sometimes, I can be a bit old-fashioned.  I still like printed books.  However, Dirr's Tree & Shrub Finder app for the iPhone is truly amazing! (At $14.99 it's the most expensive app I've purchased thus far, but I know it will get a lot of use.)

You can search for plants by common name or scientific name.

Don't know the exact plant you want or need?  You can search by light demands, moisture requirements, hardiness zones, plant size, growth rate, foliage type, flower color, blooming season, etc.

It's filled with photos so you can hold it up to your garden and see how a plant might look there.  You can also leave the big books at home. Take the app to the nursery.  How convenient!

Whether you're a print book person or a digital person (or both like me), Michael Dirr makes it easy and fun to choose the best trees and shrubs for your garden.  However, you're still stuck with the hard work of planting.

Season of the Witch

Great shrub.  This post has moved to my new and expanded website.  See the original post by clicking on the link below:

Witch Hazel

Just Call Me Minnie Pearl

"How-w-w-DEE-E-E-E!"

I've been called worse.  While growing up down South, if you wore new clothes neglecting to remove the price tag, you might be called "Minnie Pearl". Minnie was the popular Southern comedienne, starring on the long-running television show Hee Haw,  who was famous for wearing a new hat with the price tag proudly visible.

My "Minnie" moment occurred recently as I inspected my Hamptons garden.  I observed quite a few new shrubs that I planted in 2011 with their price/ID tags now prominently visible among the leafless branches.  For me, it doesn't reflect boasting, but my usual eagerness to get everything planted. Stopping to take off the tags before planting might actually slow me down a few seconds.

The plastic tags are pretty harmless, but the metal wired tags can eventually bind into a shrub's bark as it grows.  So it's a good practice to remove them all before the shrubs really start growing.

$22.99 for a healthy Rosa 'Blanc Double De Coubert'

The leafless months are a perfect time to find and remove those forgotten tags.  But don't throw them away.  I save all my plant tags that list plant names and/or growing information.  I just drop them in a folder for future reference. They come in handy when I'm confused over the exact cultivar planted years before. In addition, the listed growing info may give me some idea why a plant doesn't perform as expected.  It's also interesting to see how prices have risen over the years.  The price of a Rudbeckia a few years ago was $9.99 compared to $11.99 last year. (20% increases add up!)

My folder of tags is quite full these days so I need to come up with a more organized way to save these.  If you have an idea, PLEASE share.

And if you're curious, the price tag on that beautiful hat above with its everlasting flowers was just $1.98.   Less than the cost of a four-pack of annuals today.

Late Bloomer

Bee enjoying newly-opened bloom

Planted eight years ago along the property perimeter for screening,  the Rosebay Rhododendrons (Rhododendron maximum) have gone pretty unnoticed in my Hamptons garden.  Each season they grew a bit,  but didn't bloom. However, about a week ago, they ALL started blooming. 

I have no clear explanations.  The cold winter seems to have reset the flowering clocks for a lot of my plants.  Some are blooming earlier, some are blooming later, and some, like the Rosebay Rhododendrons, are blooming for the first time.

Their summer buds and blooms are beautiful.  And I have always enjoyed their big-leaf evergreen vegetation. They do have an ugly side in winter.  Freezing weather makes their leaves curl to prevent desiccation.  Like a thermometer, the colder it gets, the more they droop. (That's when I'm happy they're along the perimeter.)

Exotic-looking leaves frame blooms

I'm happy that this late bloomer has decided to no longer take a secondary role in my garden.  Welcome to the party. 

Have You Seen My Neighbors?

Hydrangeas add color to the hedge.

Hope not.  I have nothing personal against my neighbors (well, maybe one).  However, when I'm in my garden, I enjoy a sense of being in a secluded wilderness.

So when it came time to plant a privacy screen down by the swimming pool,  I forgo the ubiquitous privet hedge that has become a Hampton's status symbol.  Instead, I created a more natural looking mixed planting of trees, shrubs, and perennials.  This design mimics Mother Nature's woodland layout of trees overhead, shrubs forming an understory, and wildflowers and grasses edging towards the sunny clearings.

Views of neighboring houses completely blocked.

The project began by removing some of the scrub oaks and limbing up the remaining trees to let in more light.  Eastern white pines were dotted along the fence perimeter in a zigzag pattern.  The spaces between these were filled with a variety of shrubs, including big leaf rhododendrons, witch hazels, hollies, viburnums, junipers and hydrangeas.  Perennials, ferns and grasses edged the front.

Trees, shrubs and perennials provide a natural looking screen.

It took a few years to complete the plantings and some time for everything to grow together.  The result is a very dense privacy screen that also provides colorful foliage and flowers throughout the year.

With a number of deciduous plants among the evergreens,  it doesn't offer as much privacy in winter. That's fine with me.  I'm not much for winter swimming.

Southern Transplant

Years ago I took a division of a shrub from my father's garden at my childhood home in Little Rock, Arkansas. This was just before he and my mother moved to a new house. He called it a dogwood, but I have yet to find a dogwood like it. It looks like a Mock Orange to me, but doesn't have a scent. It gets partial sun in my garden by the lower dining patio and as you can see it still blooms profusely. It has also grown to seven feet. He used to prune it down, but I have left mine to grow up and curve gracefully downward. Regardless of what it is, I'm happy to have it in my Northern garden now that my father is gone. It's a beautiful remembrance of the man from whom I inherited my green thumb.