 |
| Syringa Ludwig Spaeth |
 |
| Syringa 'Lilac Sunday' |
It seems that lots of songs are swarming about my mind this morning... "it ain't gonna freeze no mo, no mo" joins the Barry Manilow lyrics in the post title. There comes a time every spring that I never seem to think about or recall until it actually happens. This year it took an overnight warmish rain... as I went into the gardens this morning, they were transformed into a lushness not seen previously seen this season. It's as if the gardens had an injection of a quick acting steroid that has caused them to explode overnight. |
| Picea pungens 'Montgomery' |
Yes I am very pleased with overnight temperatures being predicted in the high forties through the fifties over the next ten days. There were days when I thought to myself that I simply could not bear to cover another plant... but cover we did, and in many cases it has paid a wonderful dividend. Generally, around the forgotten season of "Lushness" is when the new growth on the evergreens occurs... one of my most favorite developments of the garden season. As you look down this row of Montgomery spruces, it is obvious that I've procrastinated long enough and need to transplant out that ground layer of Royal Star magnolia that I started a few years back.
 |
| Dawn's Early Light |
For every frost damaged hosta that I fretted over, there are twenty that look perfectly fine... growing midst passing tulips above is Dawn's Early Light... these three plants need to be moved soon before they get too large. In fact, I now can get busy reorganizing more of the gardens with the many hours saved now that I no longer have to do the 'protection' routine for so many plants. I have about 100 plants that I've never grown before just waiting for their proper positioning in the gardens. This is an exciting aspect of gardening for me... researching a plant's requirements and then applying them as best I am able in my own soil.
The Conifer Rock Garden and Hyper-tuffa containers
One of my goals this week is to cover the ground in the miniature conifer rock garden with a number of interesting alpines in particular. I've actually picked up about thirty varieties, many of them amazing miniature dianthus selections. Pictured below are a few of my choices...
 |
| Androsace primuloides- yunnanensis... has amazing foliage |
 |
| Dianthus hybrida La Bourboule... the fragrance will knock your socks off! |
In the hyper-tuffa pictured below, I've included a Lewisia at the back right that has several flowering stems developing. From the left are a variegated Arabis sturii with white blooms (also known as creeping wall cress), Arabis kellereri that also blooms white and likes a scree situation (I've provided a thick layer of pea gravel under these plants), Sedum crassula alpina that blooms white in July, and Dianthus frenyii which creates a tiny mound of thick dainty foliage, up to a foot wide. All appreciate the good drainage that can be provided by a trough and I will protect them from winter wet by moving the trough into an unheated building.
Pink and white bleeding hearts bloom and seed about the gardens prolifically each year. We've decided to add a third color with Lamprocapnos 'Valentine' pictured below...
 |
| Lamprocapnos 'Valentine'... a red bleeding heart |
As you may know, all my magnolias suffered bloom loss due to frost this year... that is all except one. It is Rose Marie and I have been babying its buds and covering them with multiple layers of baggies each night for several weeks. The photo below is the first ever bud on either of my two Rose Maries and I am very anxious to see this flower open...
After the rain... elsewhere in the gardens
 |
| The lilac border |
 |
| Site where a number of trees were removed last fall |
 |
| Aesculus carnea Briotti coming into bloom with hosta Sagae & Picea ormorica Nana |
 |
| Tina flowering crab is one of latest to bloom this year |
 |
| Malus sargentii |
 |
| late tulips |
 |
| Muscari Valeri Fiinnis |
 |
| variegated Norway maple |
 |
| A nosey neighbor |
 |
| Anemone sylvestris |
 |
| rockery |
 |
| tree peonies |
 |
| 6' White lights azalea in bud one month early |
 |
| Fagus sylvatica River's Purple coming into leaf |
Covering the japanese maples night after night has paid of with most looking pretty good despite all the freezes.
 |
| Acer palmatum Sango Kaku (Coral Bark maple) |
Despite spending much of the day in the glass studio, some progress was made in the gardens as well. We picked up a new "easy start" chainsaw (I gave my old saw to my son after my shoulder surgery made it impossible for me to start it) and its first project was to remove a multistemmed seven foot Rheingold arborvitae from the new woodland bed I've been working on. This gave me an excellent spot to install a 30" Ken Janeck Rhodie that I found this past week. It will get lots of east light and shade from the mid-day sun and is planted next to a nice Ginko Princeton Sentry. The soil in this bed is perfection as it was originally about 25 yards of my compost...
Today's other addition was this Cornus alternifolia Golden Shadows which I positioned beneath the Bur and Scarlet oaks, hoping that this will bring a little light and warmth into this area...
That's about it for today from Oak Lawn... take care, Larry
Socializer Widget By Blogger Yard
Related Posts:
Spring bloom
0 nhận xét:
Đăng nhận xét