A "Mash-Up" of Seasons

Hyacinthoides hispanica

I think this year in the garden will be filled with many unexpected events and surprises.  Just a few weeks ago, we had unseasonably warm temps in the area nearly reaching 90 degrees.  Now it's blustery and cool.  Some plants look a bit stunted while others are fully leafed out.  If you watch the TV show Glee, you may be familiar with their "mash-up" of songs. A mash-up is when the vocals and instrumentals of two or more songs are seamlessly blended together. Maybe we should use the term mash-up to describe the seamless blending of garden seasons.

Just yesterday, I noticed roses blooming in the back garden while Spanish hyacinths were just hitting their prime along the side of the house. Redbuds trees (Cercis canadensis) have yet to drop their blossoms and the doublefile viburnums (Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum) are ready to flower about a month early.

As a seasoned gardener, you learn to take all these changes (good and bad) into stride and realize that while you may be the stage manager, Mother Nature is the director of your garden show. And this year she's experimenting with some new seasonal mash-ups.

Rosa 'Purezza'

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.

A Fall Flush

'Basye's Blueberry'

The cooler weather has reenergized my roses.  Before dormancy, they are reminding me of their beautiful colors and intoxicating scents that filled my garden all summer long.

I have a passion for roses, but my Hamptons garden has limited sun.  So wherever I can find a little sun, I try to plant at least one rose bush.  This past year, a large tree near the house died and was cut down.  I was sad about losing the tree, but happy to have the new sunny spot to add more roses.

When it comes to choosing rose cultivars, I tend to look for those with less formal blooms.  I feel this allows them to blend better into my natural planting style.  But sometimes I throw in a more formal bloomer if its color or scent seduces my addiction.

With a long winter ahead,  I'm so happy for this autumn rose retrospective.  Thanks for the memories!

'Joe Woodard'

'

'The Mayflower'

'New Dawn' on the backdoor arbor

Beautiful, but unknown, rambler mailed by mistake and now taking over 

Nearly Wild

One of my best performing roses is Nearly Wild, a single flower rose that repeat blooms starting in late May or early June. It blooms into fall. I've even had roses on the shrubs at Halloween. I like the single flowers that give it a more natural, wild look. There is no real scent, but Nearly Wild is very hardy modern shrub rose with few problems so it's a keeper.