It’s late August and, honestly, what a long summer. The record heat and frequent downpours have most likely turned your garden into a jungle. Healthy perennials also mean vigorous weeds. Flourishing green lawns require too-frequent mowing. And while normally you wouldn’t complain because you haven’t spent hours hauling hoses around, the ample rainfall has been tough on herbs, annual geraniums and other plants that like drier soils. Fungal diseases have appeared on normally carefree plants.
Are you ready to throw in the trowel? Or, perhaps, did you think you were done in the garden?
…fall—not spring—is the great planting season for woody things. If, in other words, you had thought of lolling in the warm weekends admiring the chrysanthemums and the dogwoods turning red…let me cheerfully remind you that you should be exhausted (not lolling) since this is the busiest of all garden seasons…The very idea of just sitting about in the sun! ~ Henry Mitchell, The Essential Earthman
Autumn is a busy time but the cool temperatures and clear skies make being in the garden a joy. Here are three extremely pleasant fall projects: bulbs, bargains and container gardens.
Bulbs. No matter the size or style of the garden, or even the talents of the gardener, no garden should be without bulbs. Spring-flowering bulbs seem miraculous after a northern winter and, in addition, they are economical and somewhat low maintenance.
The four pleasurable steps for having a bulb garden are: 1) design the space; 2) buy the bulbs; 3) prepare the site; 4) plant the bulbs.
For complete information on design tips, bulb planting depths and spacing, click on the I Love Bulbs category.
Bargains. Many nurseries have excellent sales this time of year which solves two business problems—lures customers back in to shop and reduces inventory carry over. Besides, fall is a wonderful season to plant woody plants.
Remember these two crucial rules. • Plant the right plant in the right spot. Know sun requirements, moisture needs and mature size. • Dig a $100 hole for that $10 bargain. Understand terms like root collar and soil ball. Click on Just the Facts category and scroll down to the entry “How to plant woody plants” dated May 1, 2010.
Fall container gardens. Colors associated with autumn usually are rich and jewel-bright—ruby, emerald, amethyst, sapphire and topaz—which makes designing a container garden a blast. Newly planted pots should last well into November.
Here are design ideas for fall container gardens. • Plant frost-tolerant herbs like thyme and rosemary. • Consider small-sized woody trees and shrubs (any of the hydrangea cultivars) and perhaps try marginally hardy plants like purple beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma), nandina (Nandina cvs.) and Japanese maple (Acer palmatum cvs.). • Choose an evergreen which easily transitions to a winter container garden such as a graceful false cypress with bright foliage, ‘King’s Gold’ (Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘King’s Gold’). Silvery-blue foliage is a gorgeous foil for fall’s exuberance. Check out Welchii juniper (Juniperus scopulorum ‘Welchii’) and dwarf globe blue spruce (Picea pungens ‘Glauca Globosa’). • Use berried branches. Look for rose hips, cranberrybush viburnum, crab apple (love the cultivars with golden fruit), bayberry, glossy black chokeberry or bittersweet.
This also appears in the Askov American, Askov, Minnesota.
When shopping at the nursery in the spring, who can resist all those darling little plants in their cute little pots…especially when they look like a nifty new cultivar?
Some things work, of course; others don’t. Here is a short list of plants I’d grow again.
SunPatiens Spreading White Variegated Impatiens (Impatiens ‘SunPatiens Spreading White Variegated’ ) This plant has a lot going on—bright white flowers grow at the tips of stems with vivid yellow and green variegated foliage. When seen on a sunny summer day, the effect is bedazzling. It seems to thrive in its terra cotta container on our south-facing deck and has been fun and easy to grow. The plant requires lots of water and, luckily for me, it rebounds well when wilted. (See photo above.) Sun: full sun to part shade Moisture: likes and needs lots of water Size: 24 – 36” tall and 24 – 36” wide
‘Sweet Georgia Bronze’ Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Georgia Bronze’) Two of these plants are part of huge hanging baskets on my covered front porch. They are surrounded by white New Guinea impatiens, ‘Rustic Orange’ coleus, Swedish ivy and bright ‘Xtreme Utopia Mix’ impatiens. The plants are vigorous, full and self-branching. New growth is bright spring green and matures to coppery maroon/bronze. Gorgeous! Light: tag says full sun but mine is very happy with an eastern exposure Moisture: keep evenly moist Size: 6 – 8” tall before trailing
‘Kent Beauty’ Oregano (Origanum ‘Kent Beauty’) This cultivar has been around for years but I still feel compelled to mention it. ‘Kent Beauty’ is a true oregano—with that intriguing pungent fragrance—but pendulous in growth habit. The flowers are spectacular! Dainty, purple-pink blossoms peak out from celery green bracts that are reminiscent of hops fruit. Like most reliable herbs, this plant prefers dry conditions and the excessive rainfall this summer has been hard on it. Sun: full sun Moisture: let soil dry slightly between waterings Size: 6 – 10” tall
‘Hip Hop’ Euphorbia (Euphorbia ‘Hip Hop’) The four-inch pots of this plant were indistinguishable from its famous cousin, ‘Diamond Frost,’ on the greenhouse bench. But, yikes, does it flower! Dainty white flowers absolutely smother the foliage. It’s growing in a stone container on the screen porch and I adore the juxtaposition of delicate and rustic. Light: full sun Moisture: dry Size: 12 - 24” tall
‘Heart of the Jungle’ West Indian Kale (Colocasia ‘Heart of the Jungle’) Colocasia have been the rage for several years now and, before this season, I had successfully resisted. The whole tropical look just wasn’t for me. But I had a perfect spot in a big turquoise container garden planted with pink dipladenia and ‘Crystal Palace Gem’ pelargonium. I’m glad I relented. This Proven Selections cultivar continually sends up new shoots and has spread nicely. I’m completely taken with the big floppy leaves that wave like fan blades in the slightest breeze. The foliage does get damaged in windier weather but that can be easily solved by using in a more protected location (not to self for next year). Light: full to part sun Moisture: normal to wet Size: 3 – 5’ by 3’ wide
A huge hanging basket grows just outside our home’s north door. Fortunately or un, we use that entrance most of the time. My husband, Jerry, is usually tolerant of my plants but he has commented a time or two about the size and placement of this basket—especially if he’s just bumped his head. But I love those plants in that exact spot.
The basket is full of beautiful annuals—lobelia, heliotrope, two coleuses, ‘Marguerite’ sweet potato vine, purple calitunia, ‘Summer Cream’ lophospermum. But my favorite plant is a purple ‘Wave’ petunia.
Why? Fragrance. The smell is sweet but not too strong.
Perhaps I’m partial, also, for the sensory memories brought to mind by petunias. My grandparents weren’t avid gardeners but I remember simple gardens with mass plantings of fragrant petunias.
It’s utterly sad to me that fragrance, as an attribute, is not highly regarded by ornamental plant breeders. They seem completely focused on visual characteristics. For example: • color variation on flowers and foliage: noticed the Heuchera genus lately? • blossom size and shape: the venerable Clematis genus is truly in danger with the dreadful ‘Josephine.’ • fruit size, shape and color…and fruitless. • plant size and shape: miniature, midget, compact, dwarf, pygmy, prostrate, pyramidal, columnar, weeping, spreading, fastigiated, globe, upright and, finally, how about ‘Little Giant’ Dwarf Arborvitae? • re-bloom: Encore azaleas and Boomerang lilacs are an abomination.
So perhaps my petunias are a remarkable stroke of luck. In the 50 years since my grandparents gardened, the simple purple petunia has retained its fragrance.
This also appears in the Askov American, Askov, Minnesota.
Purple coneflower is, in my opinion, a so-so prairie plant.....whether considering our Minnesota native, Echinacea angustifolia, or the species native to the prairies of Iowa, Illinois and Michigan, E. purpurea. I rarely think a flower is unattractive but in the case of the purple coneflower, it's unappealing because the droopy ray flowers are, well, droopy.
In addition, purple coneflower is problematic when designing gardens. I agree with Don Engebretson, who wrote in the July/August 2010 issue of Northern Gardener, about "their gross overuse in the great 'Every Suburban Yard Needs a Prairie Garden.'"
Engebretson is referring to a style of gardening made popular by James van Sweden and Wolfgang Oehme. They are principles in a highly successful, Washington, D.C.-based landscape design firm who brought their novel idea to the nation in 1990 with the publication of Bold Romantic Gardens. Suddenly, broad swaths of purple coneflower, liatris, sedum and grasses were in vogue. The look was suitable in large installations or in prairie settings but seemed positively silly in typical city gardens.
Then, as usual, plant breeders started fiddling with the coneflower genus and now, according to a feature story by Stephanie Cohen in Fine Gardening August 2010, there are 34 cultivars of Echinacea.
But even I'm swayed by the pretty, non-droopy 'Pixie Meadowbright' and, better yet, can recommend it for smaller gardens. Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, North Carolina, describes it as "a charming 18" tall x 2' wide compact clump, composed of sturdy flowering stems that end in mid-sized, flat-petaled pink flowers that rebloom all summer...a real winner!"
This also appeared in the Askov American, Askov, Minnesota. Photo courtesy of Affordable Home and Garden Store.
Inspiration can come from different places. Reading, talking with friends, taking a class, a new experience. There are also opportunities like daydreaming and meditation.
Photographs work best for me. When I see something I like in a book, magazine or newspaper, I save it. I've cut photos from myriad publications and made color copies from book pages. I've even asked permission to cut while in waiting rooms—whether doctor, dentist or veterinarian—if there's one particular photo I have to have.
This method has proved successful. Designing and building our house was made far simpler because, for many years, I had been saving photos of my dream kitchen, the ultimate dog/laundry room and even cool light fixtures and cabinet hardware. When our builder and his contractors had a question, I simply whipped out a photo and they knew exactly what I envisioned. The result? Our house is, quite literally, a dream come true.
Dream herb garden. While sorting through file folders last winter, I discovered a photograph I had saved of an herb garden in a rustic cedar window box. It was lush with herbs and colorful with bright annuals. There was even a cute cherry tomato plant. I could do this!
So this spring, I hauled out my big, long window box and placed it on our south-facing deck. I filled it with good soil and planted plenty of herbs—thyme, rosemary, tarragon, basil, dill, sage, Italian parsley, chives and lemon verbena. I also placed two 'Whirlybird' nasturtiums to tumble over the edge of the box (and to eat) and a diminutive Nemesia fruticans with fragrant pink flowers. Unfortunately, I couldn't fit in the cute cherry tomato.
Not much happened for several weeks...and I fretted. This wasn't my vision at all. Just lately, though, temperatures warmed and rains abated and my herb garden burgeoned.
Another dream came true.
Not everything works. Nothing is as refreshing as a gardener admitting, "That's a weed" or "I killed it..." Even the greatest of gardeners screws up from time to time. It's nothing to be ashamed of—it's just gardening. ~ Steve Aitken, Fine Gardening Editor
The backdrop to the herb garden is a large cedar trellis that was built last fall. My dream for this project has been a disaster. Again, I had photographs—lush vines of complementary colors all happily twining together. I'd choose several clematis cultivars and plant a longtime favorite—porcelain berry vine (Ampelopsis brevipendunculata 'Elegans').
A 'Henryii' clematis died soon after planting (a victim of the reviled clematis wilt?). Another clematis cultivar, this one a gorgeous 'Princess Diana' texensis with rose-colored, bell-shaped blossoms, was cut off at the ground (by some critter?). The sapphire blue blossoms of 'Rhapsody' clematis were beautiful but the plant itself is barely hanging in there.
Thankfully, two tough vines, sweet autumn clematis (Clematis paniculata or C. terniflora) and porcelain berry vine, are thriving.
This also appears in the Askov American, Askov, Minnesota.
The crocuses in the amur cherry planting are in full bloom today. This shouldn't be a surprise, after all, for our region of the country has enjoyed a record-breaking March with no snow (!) and temperatures a good 20 degrees above normal.
In the first phase of what will be a large, gorgeous perennial bed (in my dreams, one to rival Vita Sackville-West's at Sissinghurst Castle), I placed an amur cherry tree as the focal point. Scattered in groups at the base, I planted hellebores, crocuses and daffodils.
My vision for this early spring garden was soft, soft, soft. Nothing bright or flashy. Instead, misty, sherbet colors to ease passage from late winter. And nothing to clash with the dreamy feeling and gentle look of the emerging growth in the woods and pastures surrounding our place.
Here's the plant list...so far.
Amur Cherry (Prunus maackii) has bark which is rich, bronze-y/cinnamon-y in color and exhibits a peeling look similar to river birch. The foliage is fine-textured and turns yellow in fall. White, cherry-like blossoms flower in spring and turn to blackish fruit in late summer.
'Blue Pearl' Crocus (Crocus chrysanthus 'Blue Pearl') has distinctive petals that are soft periwinkle blue on the outside and clear white inside. The gold at the base of the petals sets off the yellow stamens and orange pistil.
'Katie Heath' Daffodil (Narcissus 'Katie Heath') is a Triandrus daffodil named after Brent's (of Brent and Becky's Bulbs, a favorite source) mom. Creamy white petals surround a rose pink trumpet.
'Tropical Sunset' Daffodil (Narcissus 'Tropical Sunset') is a Trumpet type, again with creamy white petals. The cup is pretty shade of orange/gold/yellow and reminiscent, to me, of a good, fresh egg yolk.
Hellebores (Helleborus, Hybrid Mixture) are an entrancing group of perennials. (See the Hellebores piece below, dated March 2, 2010.) Their sophisticated stature and coy, nodding blossoms are the piece de resistance in this garden.
Gardeners, horticulturists, botanists, foresters and naturalists should feel sick or heart-broken, or both, about the outbreak of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) across the Midwest and Upper Midwest. Minnesota's 940 million ash trees will probably succumb. Sadly, this scenario has been played out in the past by different pests–Dutch Elm Disease, Chestnut Blight and Dogwood Anthracnose–and, no doubt, will be repeated in the future.
Unfortunately for wholesale and retail nurseries that have inventories, an ash is a poor choice for a new tree purchase. Unless Minnesota is extremely lucky and escapes the fate of many states to our east, all three species of our ash trees are targets and could die.
But because I'm a "glass is half-full" kind of person, let's look at alternatives to ash trees. Here are my seven favorites.
Amur cherry (Prunus maackii) This is the only non-native tree on my list. It's often overlooked but should be planted more often. I first saw one about 15 years ago at a peony nursery where I bought some 'Freckles' violets. The bark is a rich, bronze-cinnamon in color which exhibits a peeling look similar to River Birch. The foliage is fine-textured and turns a bright yellow in fall. If that's not enough, white, cherry-like blossoms flower in spring and turn to blackish fruit in late summer. The tree is native to China and hardy to Zone 3.
Basswood (Tilia americana) Have loved this tree since a mature specimen graced my first garden and dwarfed our little white cottage. I'll always remember the fragrant blossoms, friendly heart-shaped leaves and many suckers!
Some years I can't bear to rip out a geranium or gorgeous coleus that grew faithfully for me all summer. Somehow it doesn't seem fair. Instead of composting favorites this year, grab a pretty vase (I especially like antique aqua canning jars), fill with water and root cuttings.
It's a breeze. Snip about 4" – 6" off the tip. Remove foliage that will be under water and place the jar in an east window or bright, indirect light. Soon, cute white roots will form and the cuttings can then be transplanted into small pots.
In addition to geraniums and coleus, try impatiens, fuchsias, wax begonias, annual vinca vines, lemon verbena, oregano and sage.
Have you heard of this ingenious, sophisticated and very cool Native American planting scheme?
Hundreds of years ago, the Iroquois Confederacy in the northeastern part of the country developed a beneficial system of growing three plants in close proximity to each other.
The three plants–Three Sisters–are corn, pole beans and winter squash.
The corn stalk provided a sturdy trellis for the beans to climb. Pole beans are members of the Legume family of plants, many of which have special root nodules that take nitrogen from the air and convert it to a form plants can use. (This uncanny process is called nitrogen fixation.) Winter squash crawled along the ground and provided the wonderful qualities of mulch–moisture retention and weed suppression.
In addition, plant residue was incorporated back into the site and provided organic matter to ensure soil fertility and sustainability.
If that's not enough, these three vegetables provided Native Americans with complete and complementary nutritional needs: carbohydrates, protein, amino acids, oil and vitamins.
The Three Sisters spread to other Native American nations across the country. Adaptations were made and, according to some ethnobotanists, Southwestern tribes added pepper plants to the mix and updated the name to "Three Sisters and Their Spicy Brother."
What is a Dog Bar, you might ask? A bar where dogs are welcome?
Good answer. Pubs in the British Isles certainly embrace the notion. Is it genial to be in a cozy, fire-lit bar in Scotland because of pints or pooches–or both? Dogs in pubs are usually in various stages of contentment…happy to be at ease and near their owners. Some might be resting under a bench while others might be curled up on the seat of a wooden booth.
But this is a bar where dogs drink, not owners.
The Dog Bar is located outside one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Lucia's, in the Uptown section of Minneapolis.
The Dog Bar is as dazzling as it is functional. It's covered with colorful, translucent glass tiles in a charming and suitable design. Notice the red food bowl, green ball and stylized cattails. The proportions seem just right for most dog sizes. And the beverage–fresh from the bright blue faucet–is the drink of choice for dogs: fresh, cold water.
All dogs are welcome, no reservations required and no fighting allowed.
Plan now to incorporate landscape lighting into your garden. I dislike the closed-in feeling of drawn curtains and much prefer an open view to the outdoors. (Wouldn't it be awful to miss the beauty of that first gentle snowfall?)
By adding landscape lighting to a particular garden feature, whether that is the unique bark of a birch, the distinguished form of a magnolia or an antique stone bird bath, you're providing another level of appreciation for an outside garden focal point (Design Principle #1) from inside your house.
‘Sweet Georgia Bronze’ Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Georgia Bronze’)
Then, as usual, plant breeders started fiddling with the coneflower genus and now, according to a feature story by Stephanie Cohen in Fine Gardening August 2010, there are 34 cultivars of Echinacea. 
