Your Custom Text Here
Better late than never, right? I’m JUST now getting around to planting my containers with annuals. I love to challenge myself each year with new plants and colors which I don’t often use. This year is no exception. Here’s a preview of things to come.
Stay tuned for plant names and the finished container arrangements.
It’s been a dazzling fall at Sutherland; mornings crisp and clear, the daylight golden and foliage brilliant. Autumn is by far the most interesting time of year around this place with so many things in various states of decay, others hanging on for a final encore. Shadows are long and low, silhouettes revealed and trees sing out with the familiar rustle of parched leaves as they give way to the earth. It’s the sound of summer saying goodbye. Or is it winter saying hello?
As customary with a blogging gardener, I present you my fall as captured between chores and strolls at Sutherland.
Don’t worry! This isn’t the post where I rant and rave about sustainability and recycling. Instead, I simply want to celebrate summer’s arrival and celebrate the color green. Please enjoy the images that I captured today after mowing the lawn for the 13th time (yes, I’m counting).
A view of the backyard after mowing. For some odd reason, there were no mature trees on the East side of the back yard when we moved to Sutherland. We’ve added four new trees this spring and two of them are visible (barely) on the right side of this image. The northernmost tree is a Golden Dawn Redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides Ogon. Below that is ‘O isami’ Full Moon Maple, Acer japonicum ‘O isami’.
I love the giant heart-shaped leaves of the old Catalpa tree. The leaves remind me of Hosta leaf forms. Sitting beneath its canopy always transports me and I am transfixed for the duration.
This is a ‘borrowed view’ of the Catalpa as its trunk sits just over the property line. The tree has a strong lean to the South and receives quite a bit of attention from visitors because of its impressive form and stature. The extremely large leaves provide very dark shade.
The Hostas are sporting wonderful shades of green. The excessive rainfall and mild climate has kept them lush and growing. Hopefully the temperature will remain balmy. Hot temperatures combined with humidity and moisture are a recipe for Crown Rot Disease which can destroy the entire plant and contaminate the soil. For more information on this fungal disease, click here to read a publication by Iowa State University Extension.
A detail of a dwarf Japanese Juniper, Juniperus procumbens ‘Nana’. The new foliage is bright green and turns to a bluish green as it matures. Travels to Asia during my corporate career really ignited an appreciation for all plants native to Asia.
We’re very excited to introduce this new groundcover to Sutherland. Over the past 6 months I’ve become very interested in Epimedium, also known as Barrenwort. Some people call it Horny Goat Weed, but I can’t say that without smirking. A large majority of Epimedium are native to southern China. We specifically chose a variety recommended for it’s ability to survive in dry shade, but in all our excitement, we failed to notice that not one of the 3 flats purchased had tags in them. Not to worry. We now have a great excuse to go back to Arrowhead Alpines to solve the mystery and get more!
Even the herbs are in on the green act. The luscious leaves of this Chervil plant are great with vegetables as well as salad, soup, chicken, white fish, and egg dishes. It has a lovely parsley-like flavor with a hint of aniseed. Personally, I love it on new potatoes with butter. Grown outside and positioned in semishade, it is a “cut and come again” herb.
I can see no beds or borders! That means I can shift my focus to the great indoors for a while. Thank goodness I have a good little winter elf that handles the shoveling, salting, and snow blowing.
The season’s first snows are always exciting at Sutherland. This shot of the house and front yard was especially nice because the sun was shining.
I admire the neighbor’s crabapple tree from the front porch all year-long. Soon, the fruit on the branches will be all gone. That’s my cue to get the bird feeders filled and hung.
The rail on the balcony is always a good visual indicator of how much snow has fallen.
I love how visible the creek is when there is no foliage on the trees. Although unseen in this photo, there are several sets of tracks from all the wildlife scurrying about.
The main Hosta garden was designed to not be seen until you lowered all the stairs from the upper level. It’s usually hidden from view behind all the branches of the maple tree in the foreground. I added about 20 new plants this fall. Can’t wait to see how they do.
It’s no secret. I’m fastidious about certain things. I’ve been gardening about 4 years now and from the beginning, I instinctively started documenting where and when I planted things. At first, my ‘maps’ were simple black and white drawings from hand. As the garden grew and changed, I became more and more obsessed about how I could accurately keep records of everything that was going on. It’s a work in progress, but I think I have the mapping part down.
Throughout the growing season, I make notes and draw on plain paper with a pen or pencil. Less obsessive gardeners can stop there. Since I have a graphic design background, I utilize some fancier tools to finalize the hand drawn maps. Adobe Illustrator is my program of choice because it allows me to work in layers. I can easily turn layers off and on with the click of the mouse to focus on particular aspects of the map. Sometimes I need to zero in on utility lines. Sometimes I only want to see the trees and shrubs, or maybe the hardscape only. If you’re inclined to use a computer, I suspect that any basic drawing program would do just fine. Just remember to save early and save often.
Just use circles to signify a plant on the map. I try to chart in the approximate size of full mature spread. ‘Mature Spread’ simply means how wide the plant is expected to be at full maturity. The circles will help you plan for size and quantity as you begin to plan for new additions. Other great reasons for mapping include:
Locate Individual Plants and Structures Ever forget the name of something? Chart it on your map and you’ll always have a record of it. Chart where the gas or water line is before the backhoe digs in, etc.
Chart and Compare Growth Keep notes in the margins or in a separate document to compare changes from year to year.
Document Color Grouping Color in the circles can signify foliage or bloom colors. This is particularly useful for grouping by color which helps provide visual continuity.
Plan for Future Additions Know where you have blank space and designate proper quantities. Not sure what to plant? Take your map with you to the garden center or nursery so they can fully understand your site.
Consider Space Limitations Be familiar with mature height and spread before you plant. Draw it on the map first and see if it fits. It’s easier to move a circle around than it is a Dogwood tree.
Locate and Mark Problematic Areas Document areas where plants don’t thrive and mark this on your map. Investigate the reasons and keep records of your amendments.
These are just a few reasons I find it useful to draw maps of the garden. If the task seems daunting and you don’t know quite where to start, here’s a tip: capture an image of your property with Google Earth and use it as a guideline. Oh, and if you ever move, be sure to leave a version with any of the plants you leave behind charted on it. I wish someone had done so for us when we moved in!