Fresh Blooms

I can't believe it has been almost an entire year since I last posted!  Time sure passes quickly when you are busy!  This spring was a little later then normal and has been quite cool up until now.  I don't mind the cool temperatures (even though it makes everything a little slower to grow) as it makes it more comfortable to work.  This spring has been full of edging, dividing, transplanting, mulching, composting, and plenty of weeding!  Out on a job site today in Cape Elizabeth I took a few photos of some really pretty blooms right now, the first is a 'Shasta' Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum var. tomentosum).  This heavy late spring bloomer fills it's lateral branches with lovely flower heads.  In the fall the leaves turn a nice dark red-maroon.

 

 

 

The 'Firewitch' Dianthus (Dianthus gratianopolitanus) is another bloomer right now with amazing hot pink flowers.  The silver-blue foliage and subtle fragrance make this a good choice for a spreading groundcover along a walkway or at the front of a garden bed.



Summer is only a few weeks away and I'm really looking forward to some warm days for canoeing, bike riding, and swimming.  I have a few small design projects I will be working on as well as many ongoing maintenance projects.  In addition I've started up another small business growing organic soil-grown microgreens for restaurants called Chickadee Greens.  I've had my first two customers so far and it is very exciting!  You can get more information about it by checking out the new website here (www.chickadeegreens.com).

Butterfly Gardens

I recently went to up to Bar Harbor for the first time and visited the Charlotte Rhoades Butterfly Garden, http://www.rhoadesbutterflygarden.org/index.html.  There were plenty of both blooms and butterflies, like the monarch I saw above on a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii).  I highly recommend visiting if you are in the area and enjoy seeing beautiful flowers and/or butterflies!  There were some great planting combinations throughout of perennial and annual flowers.  I really liked the echinacea and liatris combo below.

Below is an updated picture of a "Bird & Butterfly" garden I installed a few years ago in Cape Elizabeth (you can see earlier pictures in the gardens section of the website, here).

I love to plant and work in gardens created especially to attract wildlife and insects.  They are not only beneficial to all of these critters by supplying a natural habitat for them to grow and reproduce but to the plants and you as well.  They help to pollinate flowers, keep pests at bay and you get to observe their beauty!

Early Summer Blooms

With temperatures hovering right around 90 the past few days it definitely feels like summer has begun.  The cool spring we had seemed to drag on for too long and slowed the growth a little bit on some plants.  This time of year sees many flowers coming into bloom including one of my favorites, the peony.  A large and stately perennial with gigantic blossoms, some of which smell so good!

Geraniums are another staple of the late spring/early summer.  There are so many varieties to choose from and can be used throughout the garden but are especially lovely along the border.  The geranium sanguineum mounds almost perfectly and is covered with pinkish-purple blooms.

Another of my favorites is Nepeta, or catmint.  The sweet smelling foliage and long lasting purple blooms are loved by both bees and cats.

I am also looking forward to getting some local strawberries too!  I've been seeing the pick-your-own signs out at a few farms in Cape Elizabeth and hope to pick some up soon, they are another one of my favorites this time of year.

Spring has arrived!

It took its sweet time, but it is finally here!  Daffodils and tulips have been blooming and the tips of many perennials have started to show themselves with all of the glorious sun we have had lately.  Luckily, later this week we will get some much needed rain.  Weeding, edging, mulching, composting and spring pruning will be taking up all of my time over the next month or so, along with a few new garden installations I am excited about planting next week.  I'll be sure to post some pictures once they are complete!

Fall Colors

Fall is my favorite time of year.  The air is crisp and cooler and the colors are spectacular.  Wonderful weather to be working outside in, although the days are getting shorter which in turn means winter is one step closer.
Thought I would share a few of my favorite colors this time of year....
Smokebush (Cotinus coggygria) has beautiful maroon foliage all summer but when fall sets in it's leaves brighten to a lovely red, which becomes even more striking when against a backdrop of White Pine.

Another fall favorite of mine is the Dawn Redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides).  A unique and graceful conifer tree that also happens to be deciduous.  Its green needles turn a lovely yellow-orange this time of year.  It is rare here in Maine but similar to larch trees (Larix sp.), another one of my favorites, in the respect that they are both deciduous conifers.

A real bright spot when mixed with evergreens is the Summersweet or Sweet Pepper Bush (Clethra alnifolia).  I know I have mentioned this shrub several times, but it really is fantastic!  Look at how amazing the bright yellow fall foliage looks when up against a Rhododendron and Pachysandra.

 

The next few weeks I'll be finishing up in a few more gardens.  Cutting back perennials and wrapping tender, exposed shrubs with burlap to protect them from harsh winter winds and piles of snow.  I am hoping for lots this winter (snow that is)!

Recent Blooms

The middle of July is a bright and colorful time in the garden.  So many plants are blooming right now, giving an abundance of colors, textures, and scents to enjoy.  Here are some pictures of a few of my favorites....

Shasta Daisies (Leucanthemum) are a classic, cheery July bloom that make excellent cut flowers.

Lavender flowers have such a wonderful smell and pretty color, and the bees love them too!

Astilbe are one of my favorite shade-loving perennials.  There are so many varieties, offering a number of colors, bloom times, and some even have a lovely subtle scent.  They make a great cut flower or can be dried for everlasting arrangements.

I have been busy lately dead heading old blooms on perennials like nepeta and coreopsis, some of which will bloom again later in August.  Lots of pruning and trimming to do as well.  Spiraea shrubs are finishing up their blooms now and need a good cut, as well as many evergreen shrubs like boxwood and yews.  There is always plenty to do this time of year!

Lots of work!

The month of May flew right by!  Weeding, edging, transplanting, dividing, and mulching filled the entire month for me.  Everything seemed to be about a week or two ahead of schedule due to the early, warm spring we had.  Even now, many things are flowering that normally wouldn't do so until the end of June.
I thought I would share a few photos of a garden in Cape Elizabeth I did a clean-up on a couple weeks back.  Below is before.......

After several hours of edging, weeding, and transplanting to fill in this is how the garden looks now.

 

Beautiful Blooms

Thought I would share a few pictures of some tree and perennial blooms that are really stunning right now.  Above is a Bradford Pear tree (Pyrus calleryana) which is grown mainly for it's blooms, as it produces no fruit.

Creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) is a great early blooming perennial.  It is a quick spreader and looks best in a rock garden or creeping over a rock wall.

This weeping cherry tree (Prunus subhirtella 'Pendula') is one of my favorites this time of year.

The warm weather we had early on in March has put everything a week or two ahead of schedule, depending on location.  I've been keeping busy pulling spring weeds, dividing overgrown perennials, edging, mulching, and composting.  This work will continue through the first couple weeks of May.

Welcome Spring!

Although yesterday was the first day of spring, the temperatures here this week are more like mid-summer.  While I have been enjoying the sun and warmth it is a bit confusing, not only to me but the plants.  Bulbs are popping up and blooming just about everywhere, even in places that are normally covered in snow this time of year.

I am happy to get outside and back to work.  These next few weeks will be filled with plenty of spring pruning and weeding.  I pruned this row of beach roses (Rosa rugosa) yesterday, and I am still pulling the tiny thorns from my knuckles.  These roses are prolific around here on the coast and can be well regulated with a good spring cut.  To achieve the height you want, prune them 2-3 feet below where you would like them to be at the end of the summer (they can even handle being chopped to an inch or two above the soil line).  This row will reach about 6 inches above the fence by August.

Last steps

I only have a few more projects left to finish up the season.  Just a couple more days of removing the last of the fallen leaves and trimming a few branches before the long winter sets in.  I am looking forward to the snow and colder temperatures!
I thought I would share a couple of the photos from my work these past few weeks...

This flowering kale I pulled while doing a fall clean-up was still showing some amazing color and seemed to ignore the few hard frosts we had recently.

Planting the last of the bulbs!  These crocus were part of a larger grouping I planted along with Chionodoxa (Glory of the Snow) and Galanthus (Snowdrops) and were a mix of purple and white varieties.  I always plant bulbs with a healthy sprinkling of Bulb-tone, a natural and organic 3-5-3 fertilizer made by Epsoma.

Signs of Fall

I'm not quite sure where the month has gone.  Time gets away from me this time of year as I hustle to prepare gardens for the long winter ahead.  We had our first frost this morning in the Portland area, which seems quite late.  Inland areas have had a few frosts at this point going back to several weeks ago.  I will spend the next couple of weeks continuing to cut perennials back, planting bulbs for next spring, wrapping shrubs, and pulling the last remaining weeds of the season.

Sweet Autumn Clematis

As fall sets in here in Maine there aren't too many shrubs and vines left flowering.  Yes, there are plenty of hydrangea blooms and some lingering Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) around, but now is the time of year that the Sweet Autumn Clematis really shines.  The small white blooms exude a fantastic fragrance that even Monarch butterflies seem to love (one stopped by to sample some nectar right as I pulled my camera out). 

Clematis paniculata is a quick climber and can grow up to 30 feet.  It is best to plant is an area where it can spread freely, up a large trellis or arbor, along a fence, or even up a tree.

Rainy Day Field Trip

While we are in the midst of several wet and dreary days here in the northeast (the remnants of Tropical storm Lee), my friend and I decided it was the perfect weather for a field trip to a greenhouse.  We took a half hour drive north to New Gloucester, Maine to visit Wood Sprite Orchids.

This quaint little spot is a real hidden gem.  The very knowledgeable owner (who lives right next door to the greenhouse) has the largest collection of tropical orchids in Maine.  The blooms were fascinating and beautiful.

Besides the orchids he also had a few Staghorn Ferns growing and some wonderful specimen plants, like this large Jade (below on the right).

Wood Sprite Orchids is open year round at 43 Depot Rd. in New Gloucester.  Orchids from seedling to blooming size plants are for sale.  Their website is:   http://www.woodspriteorchids.com/enter02/

Irene's Damage

While most of the Casco Bay region of Maine didn’t experience much damage from Hurricane Irene, the plants at the Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth sure did!  The 40+ mile per hour winds combined with salt spray from the ocean created damage like I have never seen before.  

 

It was amazing to see how the plants (shrubs, perennials, and annuals alike) directly in the path of the strong southeast winds were brown and black while others seemed unscathed.

Can you tell which way the wind way blowing?

These Rosa rugosas were heavily damaged on the southeast side, while right around the corner they remained lush and green.

After cutting back all the dead leaves, branches, and flowers the gardens looked very sparse, almost like spring!  I am going to go back and fill in with some late bloomers like yarrow, crocosmia, asters, a few more mums, and some flowering kale.

Native Clethra

While on a canoe trip yesterday at Bunganut Pond in Lyman I saw quite a bit of Clethra alnifolia growing along the water’s edge.  I thought I would share a few pictures of it in its "wild" state, as I had just shared some photos of landscape specimens in my last blog entry.  This native variety forms dense patches and thrives in sandy, wet soils.  The smell was amazing!  After flowering, the dried fruiting capsules remain through the winter and make it easy to identify.

 

There were also several wild blueberry bushes growing right along the bank that were perfectly ripe, and delicious!

More Favorite Flowers...

 

Clethra alnifolia, commonly referred to as Sweet Pepperbush or Summersweet, is one of my favorite flowering shrubs.  The fragrant flower spikes are in full bloom here in Maine and are intoxicating!  This is a great shrub to use in shade to part-shade gardens and is available in white or pink shades.  The common variety can grow to 6 feet, while there are a few compact varieties for smaller spaces that get to about 3 feet.  Most varieties prefer moist soils and blooms last for about three weeks.

Annual Flowers

The sweet peas I started from seed are all starting to bloom over at the Lobster Shack.  I attached some bird netting (used to protect fruiting bushes, like blueberries) to the picket fence to help them climb.  It works great and from a few feet away you can barely notice it.  The mixed variety I planted has a nice blend of pink, purple, white and salmon blooms, they smell great too!

The calendula that volunteers every year is just starting to bloom as well.  Annual flowers like these are great to add constant color in the garden, as perennial flowers come and go.

Favorite Flowers

One of my favorite flowering trees is the Cornus kousa or Dogwood.  They are in full bloom here in Maine right now and they are spectacular!  This morning I was doing a little pruning on one at a client's house in Portland to separate it out from a Hydrangea tree it was starting to overtake.  I snagged a few branches before off-loading my truck at the dump and created a nice vase for my kitchen table.

Flowering Dogwoods do well in full sun, but I think they look best when used in partially shady areas.  Many nurseries around here will not guarantee them as certain varieties are not generally hardy here in Maine (especially inland areas).  Closer to the coast however you'll find some really nice specimens that do very well when planted in protected locations.

Plants in Pots

These window boxes of pansies that I planted back in May for a client in Cape Elizabeth have filled in nicely and add a bright spot to an otherwise shady backyard.

Whether it is a pot full of herbs right next to a kitchen window or a hanging basket of flowers on a porch, I love using plants in pots.   For me they are great because I have limited outdoor space at my apartment in Portland so I like to have a few pots filled with herbs, one for tomatoes, and another for annual flowers.

A few other benefits of plants in pots….

-Pots can be moved as needed.  To coincide with the trees filling out or the angle of the sun, you control how much sunlight and water your plants receive.

-You control the soil that goes in so if you are eating from your pots (herbs or veggies) you know it is safe and that Fido hasn’t relieved himself in it!

-When the temperatures drop you can moves your plants indoors to protect from frosts.  Some herbs do well all winter long (like rosemary) on a sunny window sill.

Have fun and experiment!  Containers, potting soil, and plants from your local nursery, farm stand, or farmers market are fairly inexpensive and can really add a lot to your outdoor space.