Present to Myself

I bought myself a present from Bluestone Perennials. The box came packed full of all the goodies that I had suffered over in the catalog for several weeks. UPS doesn't seem to share my tender feelings for little plants. One side of the box had been dropped kicked, and most of the dirt had been throw out into the bottom of the box but luckily Bluestone packs the plants with this treatment in mind. 

Here they all are not really any worse for the wear. A hydrangea for the White Garden, a free plant called Echina Ritro or something like that, looked like an alium in the catalog; two salvia, and three agastache for the Sunny Border.

 Below is Agastache Blue Fortune, long and leggy - I did end up pinching them to thicken them up.

 Salvia May Night below, a dark purple flower that looked too good to pass up.

Fianlly Hydrangea Wedding Gown is an all white, repeat blooming lacecap. I have high hopes for this one. The dark corner of the White Garden stays shady all day, so I hope the hydrangea makes it out there in the hot shade.

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day May 2013

 Clematis in the White Garden

The White Garden is beginning to take shape, more about that later. 

 This is the first year the white peony has bloomed. It smells divine. 

Red peony Karl Lagerfeld just outside the White Garden.

 Blue salvia pinched to thicken it up, budding and ready to bloom. 

Double Pink Knockout Rose in the Sunny Border. Loaded with buds. 

Junior Prom comes to Pinewood Cottage

 Grace Anne

April 12, 2013

Junior Year

 at home

 gathering at the Burt Stark House

 my daughter with her best friends

 yes Miriam, it really is Grace Anne

into the limo and off they go

Uh, somebody is getting old and I don't think it is me.

This has nothing to do with gardening

     You may or may not know that my Mama lives with us. I have sole responibility for her care. She's 85 and beginning to fade away. She has collapsed several times in the last couple of weeks, and we spent the day in the ER last week to have everything checked out.
     As a follow up to the ER trip the doctor asked us to come in for an office visit. So it was scheduled for today 4 o'clock. 85 years old. Weak. Passes out. Today... thunderstorms... wind... rain... 85 years old. You get the idea?
     We get seated in the office - I go to sign her in, and the girl says "oh, somebody made a mistake, we have you scheduled for March 7th. I am so sorry." She was actually going to let me go out the door and drag my 85 year old Mama back home in a thunderstorm.
     I am old enough that I have learned my lessons in life. I did show out - bad - but she was wrong! We did get in to see the doctor within about 10 minutes. I shouldn't have had to show out. In the 12 years or so that I have been helping Mama run her life I have NEVER had anyone that wasn't understanding and helpful. People will hold doors so we can crawl though them, they let us go ahead of them in lines, I could go on and on telling how people are so kind.
     This poor girl deals with the general public, and I know that is not easy but come on gal! Some day you'll be old.

I love old houses

My wife asked me to help decorate the Boy Scout Troop House for the annual Christmas Party this Tuesday. My son is in the troop and really loves it. I have been in the house before but never have been up the stairs. The house was built in 1904 according the scout master and was donated to the troop when the local mill closed several years ago. This house sits 50 yards from the mill entrance so I guess this was a supervisor's house.

This picture is looking to the right on the landing and where the landing is open to the floor below. Sloppy painters have messed up the dark wood floors but could easily be brought back to a deep luster. Everything is solid and well built. The picture below is looking to the left and shows the panel details and the ceilings. Where I am standing is an upper landing with two doors to the right and the left leading into two smallish bedrooms each with a double window in the end wall.

I love old houses and the architectural details. What a great surprise. I had no idea that any of this was up there.

Camellia Season has begun

 Camellia Japonica Professor Sargent

Camellia Japonica Pink Perfection

Have you had success propagating camellias?

This year I had an 85% success rate! That's better than the 0% I get with clippings. I spent one afternoon in the late Spring air layering as many camellia branches as possible. I was even able to try a couple of red maple branches that needed to be pruned away anyway. Now in late October I was able to spend another afternoon clipping and potting up my new air layered camellias. I tried 26 branches, 4 died, 22 sprouted roots and are nicely potted up waiting for a rainy Winter to develop their root systems. Of all the gardening tasks I have learned - this is the most satisfying.

 Supplies and tables - check.

 Clippings clipped and ready.

 Success!

 Bursting with roots!

 Yes!

 I always clip off everything underneath the new roots.

 Potted up and ready to water in.

2 red maple trees 22 new camellia plants. I hope to have enough to create a hedge down my fence line. My neighbors to the left are getting older and have retired. I know that some time soon they will be selling that house and I want to be ready for some privacy screening.

 One of these red maple starts has a robust root system but the other doesn't,
I expect to have only one left by Spring.

 All placed on cardboard and ready to ride out Fall and Winter.

 The mother plant after everything has been clipped. No worse for the wear and pruned and ready for Spring. Can you see all those buds waiting to bloom this Winter?

This is why I do all this air layering. camellia japonica Pink Perfection. Imagine an entire hedge!

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day

 White Mandevilla is still blooming and growing like crazy. We have not had any frost, and probably won't for at least another month.

The Sunny Knockout Roses near the driveway are blooming right along. They get the early morning and the late evening sun so they are pretty happy. 

 The blue Salvia in the Sunny Border is still wowwing me. These plants were in the backyard and did nothing for several years. I decides to try some out front in the sun and have been so glad I did. The humming birds were pretty happy I moved them too. I think they have moved on South.

The Double Pink Knockout Roses are still blooming since the weather has cooled down. This is my favorite Knockout of all. I love the color and the cabbage rose shape. They will go until out first frost also, which will take place in the next few weeks. 

(Here is the uncropped photo from above. I thought you might enjoy seeing the roof line of my neighbor's house. The gingerbread is exquisite. That house (1882?)has been on that spot longer than our house has been on ours, but our house is older (1879) than the neighbor's house. Our house was rolled here from a block away in 1887 on logs. The town let school out that day so that the kids could come watch the house being moved.) Picture me in my tshirt, shorts and clogs freezing at 8:02am with the camera held way over my head because these camelias are about 8 feet off the ground. 

I really cannot believe that the camelias are already blooming. This is an unnamed camelia japonica near the Water Garden.

This is a camelia japonica Pink Perfection blooming in the center of the bush.

Miniature Rose

Pickeral Rush is still blooming in the goldfish pond. I don't show this garden much because it is such a neglected mess. 

Here you can see the Sunny Border and the annual Rye Grass in the front yard. Our soil here is extremely acidic (5.1) or something like that - years of ivy in the yard hurt the soil. We can't grow beautiful grass during the Summer, but rye grass doesn't seem to mind the acid so I will be cutting grass this Winter but we enjoy the look of a green yard for part of the year.

Have a Great GBBD!