Spring is finally here

It's been a long, LONG winter...

And because winter is all white and beige,
I want to see color in the spring and have planned accordingly.

No need to fear color...here I have a Japanese maple next to a lilac tree...stunning isn't it?

Though there are many types of Spirea, I thought this Spirea "Gold Mound" was the perfect foil for this Japanese maple.

I love the contrast of the bronze Sedge grass, black Mondo grass and Tradescantia "blue and gold". The purple iris in the background is just the icing on the cake. As the Sedge grows it will become nearly copper colored.

Even this Primrose looks colorful with it's creamy flower and yellow eye. This one is planted in a spot that even weeds won't grow, just a crevice alongside a path and yet it thrives...Primrose are perfect for such spots as in a rock garden.

I also love this Solomon's Seal, growing deep in the shade,
it seems to glow with it's variegated foliage and white drop flowers.

Worth the mention, now's the time to tie up your daffodil foliage...you never want to cut it down...the foliage needs to completely ripen to produce next years flowers. However it takes a while and I find it becomes floppy and can crush surrounding plants and makes the garden look messy, so I simply gather it up, fold it over and secure with a piece of twine...feel free to be creative with what color of twine you use. When it turns all brown, you can just yank on the bunch and it will pop out and you can throw the entire thing on your compost pile...you DO have a compost pile right?

Happy Gardening!

Great Gardens

Bateman's

Perhaps not a GREAT garden but a magnificent property nevertheless. Bateman's does have lovely gardens, though the focus is the house. Bateman's, was the home of the great Rudyard Kipling and is located near the village of Burwash in Sussex. It was built by a Wealden ironmaster in local sandstone, at a time when the Sussex Weald, with its forests for charcoal, was a flourishing centre of the ancient English iron industry. The date over the porch is 1634.



Rudyard Kipling settled in the house in 1902, and lived there for over thirty years, until his death, rejoicing in its seclusion under the Sussex downs, and in the evidence all around of thousands of years of English history.

..it was the heartbreaking Locomobile that brought us to the house called 'Bateman's', he wrote in Something of Myself. We had seen an advertisement of her, and we reached her down an enlarged rabbit-hole of a lane. At very first sight the Committee of Ways and Means [Mrs Kipling and himself] said 'That's her! The only She! Make an honest woman of her - quick!'. We entered and felt her Spirit - her Feng Shui - to be good. We went through every room and found no shadow of ancient regrets, stifled miseries, nor any menace though the 'new' end of her was three hundred years old...

The house is now held by the National Trust as a memorial to Rudyard Kipling, and can be visited between April and October. It is one of over a thousand historic buildings in Britain protected by the Trust.

Planting Bulbs part two

Forcing Bulbs

Planting bulbs for forcing is so easy and you’ll have fresh flowers in your home by February or March.

1) Select a pot, large enough to plant the bulbs. Traditional bulb pots tend to be shallow and wide but you could plant them in any container, making sure the container has good drainage. Plant the bulbs, in whatever combination you choose...you could have all of one type or a combination of many. I find a combination of Tulips, Daffodils and Grape Hyacinths are very effective. Add a good potting soil until the container is about 3/4 full. Moisten with water, but keep the soil loose, not compacted.

2) Taking care not to pack the soil down, place each bulb into the soil with the pointed end up and the bulb’s flattened side against the wall of the pot so when the first leaves emerge they will grow over the edge of the pot, for an attractive appearance. If you use Grape Hyacinths, place them on the outer edge and higher than the depth of the Tulips and/or Daffodils. 

3) Sprinkle more potting mix over the bulbs, until the main body of the bulbs is buried about 1/2 inch below the surface. The bulbs tip will be just peeking out of the soil. Place the bulbs close but not touching each other. The bulbs should be watered immediately upon planting and thereafter the soil should never be allowed to dry out. I have found when I place mine in the refrigerator, I really don’t water them again until they are brought out to flower.

4) When finished planting, place the pot in a plastic bag, tie the top in a knot and that’s all it takes. Place the pot in a refrigerator or other cool, dark place with temperatures of 32F to 45F degrees. A basement, garage or cool attic or a cold frame, if you have one, will work. After 12 weeks and weekly thereafter, check the pot and when the roots protrude through the drain holes and shoots emerge, the time has come to place the pot in a moderately warm, bright spot to encourage growth. A temperature of 50F to 60F degrees is preferred for the first week or until the shoots and leaves begin to expand. Then, they can be moved to warmer locations such as the living room. Avoid direct sunlight.

5) Mark your calendar to remind yourself when the first pots can be removed from storage for forcing to begin. If planted October 1, bring the first pots into the home right after Christmas. If planting more than one pot, bring them in at weekly intervals for continuous blooms. On the average the bulbs will flower in three to four weeks. Closer to spring, they flower more rapidly. The cooler the location, the longer lasting the blooms will be. And don’t be intimidated by the process, it’s really easy...have fun with it.
The following fall, you can plant the bulbs you used into the garden. You always want to use fresh bulbs for forcing.

Planting Bulbs

Fall is here...

 

 

...and that means it’s time to start planting bulbs. Here is a sampling of bulbs that will look wonderful in your spring garden. Although there are dozens of types of bulbs, some classified as corms, tubers and rhizomes, I’m only going to concentrate here on the most popular and easiest to grow bulbs. Also I would suggest before you pop that bulb in it’s hole that you toss in a small handful of a “Bulb Booster” which you can find at most hardware stores. It’s certainly not required but as the name implies, it’ll give your bulbs a boost in the spring. A helpful hint...if you want that "natural" look of a mass of any bulb...toss a handful in the air and plant where they fall.

Daffodils (Narcissus) - Always a favorite and as with most bulbs, they multiply year after year, which is called naturalizing. Deer don’t like Daffodils so that’s a plus too. The negatives of Daffodils to me, is their foliage...in the spring after they finish blooming, their foliage lingers on for a long time and that can make your garden look messy. What I suggest is planting Daffodils near plants whose foliage will come up after the Daffodils have bloomed and hide the foliage... hostas, astilbes, ferns and peonies are great to hide the foliage. If that’s not possible, I suggest you draw up the foliage and tie it off, either with a rubber band, piece of string or by tying the foliage into a knot. It’s important, with any bulb, not to trim off their foliage before it ripens and dies...that foliage is key to what feeds and nourishes the bulb for the next season. Plant 6 to 7 inches deep pointed side up, 1 to 3 inches apart.

Tulips (Tulipa)- Also known as deer candy,  if deer are present in your yard, I don’t suggest Tulips, unless you spray because they LOVE them. I take a chance and plant some but closer to the house and in the back of a garden where it’s harder to reach. If you do plant Tulips, look for varieties that bloom at different times during the spring so you have a long lasting display. Plant 8 inches deep, pointed side up. Tulips can be thickly planted with no ill effect on bloom size and close spacing enhances their impact.

Allium (Flowering onion) - Allium are lovely in the spring garden, producing showy 2 to 12 inch in diameter flower clusters rising on a single stalk. Alliums are sun lovers and most critters avoid this group, so you can plant with no worries. Plant to a depth of 6 to 8 inches depending on size of bulb.

Crocus (Crocus) - Delicate bowls of color in an otherwise drab landscape, these are the heralds of spring, one of the first plants to bloom in the garden. They are a sure sign that spring is on the way. Technically these are corms not bulbs but don’t worry about that. Plant them 3 to 4 inches deep in small groups.

Snowdrops (Galanthus) - Along with Crocuses nothing is more anticipated than the appearance of the first Snowdrops. Sometimes fragrant, these appear to be tiny bells on a graceful arching grass-like stem. Perfect for naturalizing in both sunny and shady locations. Plant these 4 inches deep, they do best when left undisturbed to form large clumps. I love them at the base of a stone wall.

Grape Hyacinths (Muscari) - Best when used as an edging plant, these are one of my favorites...like Crocuses, they are the staple for any spring garden. Small and compact, they thrive in sun or shade and tolerate practically any soil. Ideal partners with taller bulbs like daffodils and tulips. Most commonly, the color is in various shades of  blue, they are also available in white. I think nothing is more charming than a bunch of Grape Hyacinths in a small vase. Their grass-like foliage disappears during the summer and reappears in the fall, making them the perfect plant to mark where you’ve planted other bulbs. Plant the bulbs to a depth of 2 to 3 inches deep.

Reliable resources to order bulbs:
    www.whiteflowerfarm.com
    www.vanengelen.com
    www.johnscheepers.com

Great Gardens

Sissinghurst Castle

One of my very favorite gardens has to be the great Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, England. It was once the private home of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson in the 1930s and has been in the care of the National Trust since 1967. Sissinghurst found it's name with a first mention in 1180 as the home of Stephen de Saxingherste. It had a long storied history until Sackville-West and Nicolson found it in 1930 in a state of ruin. Over the years they transformed it into one of the foremost gardens in England. I was first privileged to visit it in 2001. I was staying in London and to get there I had to take first the subway, then a train, then a bus and finally had to walk the final mile to the castle. I met a woman on the bus who showed me a short cut through some hop fields to avoid the roads. Unfortunately that year was one of the wettest in England's history (and THAT'S saying something) and to get through the hop fields we had to wade through ankle deep mud at times...so thick that I'm convinced if we hesitated at any point we would have never been able to extricate ourselves from the ooze. Just when I was wondering if this was all worth it, we came out to the entrance of Sissinghurst and saw the looming and famous tower in the distance.

The Tower was the domain of Vita Sackville-West, a renown author and poet of her day,  she immortalized her tower in a sonnet, Absence, written in 1931:

"No lights are burning in the ivory tower

Like a tall lily in the moonlight risen"

The entrance arch to the courtyard is covered with red roses (Allen Chandler) and pink roses (Gloire de Dijon)

No matter where you go in the gardens, the tower is always a looming presence.

To get a feel for the length and breath of the gardens at Sissinghurst, you must climb the tower and see them from above...well worth the climb because the views are breathtaking. To the right you can see the White Garden, this was taken in June, before the canopy of Rosa mulliganii had come into bloom.

This gives you just a glimmer of the lushness of the White Garden...and I loved having this older British lady in the picture, she just fits.

Looking to the south is the view of the Rondel circle, designed and named to reflect the traditional name and shape of Kentish oasthouse floors, where hops would lie in mounds.

The view of the Orchard from the Tower. In spring the Orchard is filled with daffodils, that must be some sight.

Seen here is the Rose Garden. From the beginning the Nicolson's insisted Sissinghurst to be filled with roses. The curved wall to the right is called Powys Wall after it's designer A.R. Powys.

As important as the selection of the roses in the garden are the companion plants, chosen both to complement the roses and to extend the season of the display.

From the Rose Garden you can see the South Cottage.

The South Cottage is picturesque and tiny, and was considered the Nicolsons' private sitting-room. It was at the South Cottage that the gardening day for Vita and Harold, began and ended. The chair Harold Nicolson used to sit in, still remains where it was in his day. 

Outside the South Cottage was a cottage garden, small and intimate and filled with all the plants you'd expect in an English cottage garden.

The Lime Walk: the lime trees were originally planted in 1932 but were replaced in 1974 when the original common limes became too troublesome to maintain. Tilia x euchlora was chosen as a suitable alternative to the common lime because of it's lack of suckers, glossy leaves and a more moderate growth pattern.

Of all the beautiful gardens present at Sissinghurst, this little spot, tucked into a corner of the Cottage Garden is my favorite. This particular area is damp and shady and has been much patched and roughly mortared over the years. The lead tank with it's pattern of Tudor roses, is filled with Fuschsia tryphylla.

Sadly Sissinghurst Castle's success has also been to it's detriment. When I first visited in 2001 there were a moderate amount of people and no congestion whatsoever. On my last visit in 2003 the difference was overwhelming...very congested, lots of people milling about and certainly not as enjoyable because of the crowds. I have heard since that visiting days have now been limited because the crowds have led to damage and the villagers have complained because of all the traffic. I am just thankful that I was able to visit before it became TOO popular.

The Theme Garden

The White Garden

Among theme gardens the white garden is the most popular. White gardens were made popular by the work of famous garden designers such as Gertrude Jekyll and Vita Sackville-West. The white garden at Sissinghurst Castle in England, home of Sackville-West is long considered THE white garden. At night a white garden becomes a moon garden because the white will light up the dark. When white flowers are combined with silver or blue toned foliage the overall effect can be quite magical. Originally the Sissinghurst garden was planted as a rose garden in 1931, it was converted to a white garden in 1950. The centerpiece of the white garden at Sissinghurst is the rose covered canopy, covered with a profusion of Rose Mulliganii flowers in early July. I've never been lucky enough to see the canopy in bloom since my first visit to Sissinghurst was in March of 2001 and the last time was in June of 2003. The garden is a maze of low cut yew and boxwood hedges with various white flowers in the middle, all enclosed within a walled garden.

The White Garden at Sissinghurst is highly designed and both formal and casual and has set the standard for white gardens.

There are many elements that make a white garden successful. Enclosure: enclose your white garden with a picket fence, hedge or wall, or place it in a corner and the sense of enclosure will heighten the quality of the garden. Dark background: a dark background will make any white blossoms stand out even more, especially in a moon garden. Formal or Informal: the use of clipped hedges filled with white blooms such as at Sissinghurst is very formal and very effective. The blossoms simply pop out against the dark green frame of the hedges. However you can mix white flowers together in one bed and the use of blue, silver or variegated foliage can be quite effective.

Annuals suitable for a white garden are nicotiana, impatiens, cosmos, sweet alyssum, petunia and cleome among others.

 
Perennials for the white garden are many and can include peonies, candytuft,
dianthus, iris, Shasta daisies, foxglove, phlox, lupine, hydrangea
and of course, roses.

 No need to limit yourself to flowers in your white garden, there are many variegated shrubs and trees such as this Cornus Controversa Variegata that look stunning in a white garden.

 This is a very unusual formal white garden at Penhurst Place in England.

This wasn't part of a white garden but calla lilies could be
a beautiful addition to one.

 My own white garden is evolving, and is at the entrance to my backyard, in a dark corner and is filled with white astilbe, hydrangea, variegated hostas and white impatiens.

When researching plants for a white garden, the word "alba" within the botanical name is an indicator of a white plant or flower. There are many white plants to choose from, and don't forget bulbs, tubers and rhizomes. For a moon garden, try using fragrant plants such as jasmine since most fragrant plants are at their most scented at night. Many white gardens also use cream and pale yellow, it's all up to you as to what you want.