Late April in the gardens

It's basically crab and lilac season here at Oak Lawn just now. Many of the crab apples bloomed so heavily last year that their output is less this year, especially those that tend to be alternate year bloomers. The trees on the west end of the gardens are quite nice however, along with the lilacs that reside there... here are a few photos...

japanese flowering crab (floribunda)

Tina... pink buds just opening to white blooms

We have had daffodils in bloom for a full five weeks now and the later bloomers are still going strong with some varieties just starting to bloom... here are a few that we are enjoying this week...

Here are a few other things blooming at what is such a prolific time of the year... by the way we are not past covering for frosts... in fact the next three to four nights will probably be below freezing temperatures. It has gotten a bit old hat, and because of the thicker canopies on the trees, we don't need to cover as many plants as earlier in the season.

Pinellia tripartita atropurpurea

Trillium grandiflorum

dwarf iris in rockery

Newly installed Hoopla Rhododendron

Newly installed Ken Janeck Rhododendron

path down to the rockery

I am in the midst of several redos in the gardens just now and my concept for several areas is starting to take shape in my imagination as herbaceous plants start to develop and I get a feel for where I'm heading... the first is an area that I didn't want to redo, but had to because of the needle drop that has been occurring so heavily due to a fungal disease on more mature spruces throughout the midwest because of recent wet and cold seasons.


Here is a photo from two years ago of what was a lush and fully foliated area of the gardens that offered a lot of privacy and quiet...

Rather than entirely remove these spruce trees and several in other areas of the gardens, I elected to limb them up and make use of the shade they provide. It also gives a sense of age to the gardens. I will discuss these changes in more detail in an upcoming post, but suffice to say I am designing this particular area around plants that appreciate shade, including evergreen azaleas (new to me), shrubs, woodland ephemerals, ferns, and 13 varieties of Primula sieboldii...

There is considerable work left to be completed in this area and areas to its south... many changes, including fences and rock work are taking place as well as new plantings. Basically it will all come together as one large 'woodland' garden of perhaps a half to three quarters of an acre rather than smaller self enclosed spaces.


That's about it for this Fertilizer Friday... Take care, Larry

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