Posts made in April, 2011

Hydrangea Row

Posted by on Apr 27, 2011 | 0 comments

Today after a walk on our Nature trail I took a stroll down what we call Hydrangea row on the east side of our house. I fertilized last week all seventeen hydrangeas (6 different varieties) with a soil acidifier, and today I was pleased to see buds on each and every one of the hydrangeas. They add a lot of color ( white, pink, and blue) to the garden beds of perennials they accent. I was also pleased to see our pulmonaria (lungwort) in bloom with its delicate blue flowers. Spring has arrived on our landscape, and treats me new blooms each and every day.

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Bloodroot

Posted by on Apr 24, 2011 | 0 comments

I just transplanted some Bloodroot ‘Sanguinaria canadensis’ to a new bed that I have created this Spring. I enjoy seeing the cheerful white flowers in a woodland setting. They bloom in April/May so even on a misty or rainy day in Spring they add cheer to a not so sunny day. Over time they will tend to naturalize in my new bed and take care of transition from Spring to Summer. Bloodroot gets its name from its bright red root that oozes a crimson, blood-like juice that was often used by Native American Indians as a body paint and by American and French cloth dyers as a red dye.

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Nature Trail

Posted by on Apr 22, 2011 | 0 comments

Today I was saddened as I was walking our Nature Trail that we created for exercise and the joy of sharing Nature. Four of the lots are ours, however, I asked permission to incorporate three adjoining lots into the trail; one on one side and two on the other side. On the farthest lot from ours it seems garlic mustard is over taking trillium and snowdrops which are native to our northwest area of Illinois. Garlic mustard, when left unchecked, can be devastating to our native Spring bloomers. I am saddened that I do not have time or energy to control all the lots, but must with a sad heart accept I can only do so much. Since garlic mustard is not a native and brought in...

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Arbors

Posted by on Apr 12, 2011 | 0 comments

This harsh winter and the recent heavy winds caused havoc on our Arbors that create interest at entries and as accents in the gardens. So yesterday I replaced/repaired a arbor that supports a porcelain vine and clematis vine that leads one to and fro the back landscape on our east side. Then today I completely rebuilt a Arbor that supports a honeysuckle vine surrounding a park bench in our butterfly/humming bird garden. Just recently we had strong winds during the night, and as I was brewing my morning coffee I looked out the kitchen window to sadly see the Arbor on the ground.   Since the honeysuckle vine and the forsythia in garden are one of first food sources...

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Garden Gold

Posted by on Apr 10, 2011 | 0 comments

Yesterday I carried in to show Janet a handful of ground up leaves that my chipper had created in my compost pile. I declared that I had precious ‘Garden Gold’, for this was spread about 1-2″ thick in many of my garden beds. The woodland plants and evergreens will put on a happy face for the season. I like leaf mulch because it decomposes quickly to supply nitrogen for new growth while retaining moisture for the plants. I feel it is my way to ‘recycle’ mother natures beauty.     I also gave my over 125 year old peonies a generous sprinkle of bone meal and crumbled egg shells to promote bountiful blooms for season 2011. These peonies have been...

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