Picture Perfect

Yellow flags blooming on left Golden Standard hosta in front right

I've talked about my rain garden before, but this weekend I weeded, planted, and mulched with cocoa bean hulls so it is picture perfect right now.  The blooms are at their peak or just past so it has been a stunning show. With our early warmth followed by cooler temperatures bloom time was lengthened on just about everything this year.  

Blue flag in center, very small Japanese maple on right

I added a Japanese maple to add some future height in the back ground.  We also added some new river stone to the downspout  areas to refresh the old ones which also adds a bit more water break for the rushing rains we tend to get.  I also found a couple of perennials to fill here and there.  

Dwarf Alberta spruce near center with Amsonia in upper left

I was able to put in some of my annuals over the weekend, petunias for one, but will hold off on the coleus and impatiens until the traditional Memorial Day weekend planting.  My dwarf Alberta spruce enjoyed the mild winter.  I did not leave it up to nature to water with so little snow.  I put the hose out twice during the mild temperatures of February and March to get moisture around the roots.  I also piled snow around it to add some winter protection each time we got a fleeting amount.  It came through beautifully with no winter burn.  After three years in the ground, it seems to be taking off this year.

I used some salvaged netting from a tree shipment to train the sweet Autumn clematis away from the hand rail this year.  I love the way individual leaves have poked through and expanded on the opposite side making the netting a bit more organic looking.

Lined area of rain garden, ferns, reeds, native irises, and trollius fill the bottom

The ferns have found their roots this year and are rooting in other areas.  The sensitive fern has completely left its original spot and is coming in through the field stone lining the rain garden.  The hostas were happy to lose the competition the Aruncus was providing as I moved it to the "dry berm".  I did not have much luck growing coleus in this spot without having to water frequently.  The Aruncus seems to be thriving in this spot quite well.  
A perennial garden can be planned, but there is always room for improvement.  Things die and there is always something that catches my eye and I really have to have it.  I always add a few annuals into the perennial beds to give it continuous color throughout the summer.  The few woody plants that I have in this area provide anchors for the vegetative plants that dominate the spot during summer, but add nothing during the dormant months.  Size does matter, so I always keep in mind what the potential size is for a plant.  I'd rather leave room for annuals while the perennials are getting established and reduce those each year as the permanent planting get larger.  
Weeding is a must.  I have seeds from maples, box elders, buck thorn and a whole host of annual weeds that blow in.  A perennial garden is never care free.  Even with edging, grass finds its way in with self sowing seed heads.  Mulch helps keep the amount down but it is not fool-proof.  I will not use weed barrier cloths especially in an area that I will be moving and digging on an annual basis.  The cloth will not allow the mulch to decompose and become part of the soil around the plants.  Years ago, my husband and I removed some over-grown shrubs around the school property.  The mulch added year after year was decomposing on top the cloth while the gray clay soils underneath remained unchanged.  Weeds managed to grow on top the cloth and we had to pull and rip it out of the shrub roots.  A tree of heaven had grown on top the cloth and pushed roots down through the cloth making it very interesting to remove.  Nix the weed barrier cloth in the planting beds, use it around your tomato plants instead (to reduce soil splash and related fungal problems).  It is also good under rock paths and the like.
Get out the camera on those days when you are all done doing the hard work so you have lasting memories of how good it looks when you put the time in.  I really enjoy looking back at the garden throughout the season and from year to year.  With digital, even an amateur can do some amazing picture taking.

blue flag iris

Rain and watering and the first harvest of summer

We finally got a welcome drink of rain after a long spell of heat with no precipitation.  I was out watering my rain garden with the hose last night after 4 days of waiting.  Watering ahead of a rain is not always a bad thing.  When the ground gets hard and dry it tends to repel water rather than soak it in.  Pre-watering will loosen up the structure (we have heavy, clay soils in our area that take lots of additional organic material to amend it) so it will absorb rather than repel the water from the rain.  Slow watering is always better than a quick watering.  Deep watering occassionally is better than frequent, shallow watering.  Using each of these techniques will help your plants to develop a deeper root system which makes it more drought resistant.  Early morining watering is also better so the leaves can dry off during the day to minimize disease problems.  Avoid the heat of the day when the water tends to evaporate faster than it can soak in.  Sun scald can also occur on some of your more sensitive plants. 
I am using soaker hoses around the roots of my tomatoes this year.  Right after planting I looped the hoses back and forth close to the root zones of the plants and held them in place where needed with the wide landscape fabic pins.  We mulched around the plants with grass clippings which is helping to reduce soil splash from rain on the plants and to help retain moisture around the plants.  I have a great spot on the south side of the house that used to be in the basketball zone in was home to spireas until they were removed (a friend took them for another landscaping project) this spring.  Lots of compost was added to the soil here and the plants are thriving!  I am eagerly awaiting the first tomatoes.  I have a Sungold cherry tomato which is in the front running but the Romas are not far behind.  The Celebrity tomatoes will be coming in for salsa and blt's soon enough.  Basketball is now a movable hoop which is no longer welcome in this area. 
We made it through the heat wave in Wisconsin and now look forward to the harvest of veggies.  I picked my first pole and bush beans yesterday and will cook those up for tonight's supper.  The dog was excited about the beans as they are his garden favorite.  He whines outside the garden gate while I am picking so he gets his share.  I hope to gather one more crop of lettuce from my early crop that I shaded with row cover from the heat.  I only plant it on the north side of the raised beds now because of the heat factor and it seems to have paid off.  The soy beans are going to be ready for fresh picking soon.  I hope to beat the field mice to the punch this year as they can strip the plants in short order.  They really are best cooked in the pods and salted with a cold beer to chase them.  I have not been able to find them at the farm market.  Even the Asian farmers in our area harvest them as dried beans. 
Stay cool and keep enjoying those evenings of friends and fireflies.