Have a better landscape with less work

The other day I happened upon a  bumblebee making a racket inside a newly opened rose blossom. I bent down for a closer look...only to discover that the little bugger was in great distress! The rose petals had opened, but not wide enough for the bumble, anxious to get at the sweet nectar in the bud's center. As a result, his round, fuzzy body became trapped in the lush flower, imprisoning him in the very place he most desired to be!

As I gently pulled back a few petals with my index fingers, and watched him buzz away from his plush prison, I thought about his predicament--a universal one, to be sure. I realized that, at one time or another, we're all caught up in situations of our own making, but not necessarily of our choosing. This is a common conundrum for garden lovers. We yearn for outdoor spaces worthy of the glossy magazine covers--and often spend tremendous amounts of money and effort to achieve the effect--only to discover that we need to hire full-time gardening help or carve out an extra forty hours a week to devote to flowerbed upkeep. We made those landscaping decisions, but miscalculated a bit. We sure didn't choose to spend all our free time working in the yard.

Fortunately, you can have a lovely landscape and a life outside the garden gate. How to achieve this? With groundcovers. These subtle layers of greenery act like a canvas to a great painting, outlining garden beds, highlighting hard-scaped areas, and providing the cohesion needed to pull together other plantings for a pleasing, unified look.

Groundcovers define the different "rooms" in your outdoor living space--and they do it effortlessly. Below, I've listed my favorite groundcovers--and the reasons I think they are so good. Read through this list and try to find some that might work in your garden:

* Pachysandra: Whether you choose to go with the traditional shiny-leafed Pachysandra terminalis  (Japanese Spurge), the creamy tipped Pachysandra variegata or the native Pachysandra procumbens (whose leaves have a more matte finish), this plant is perfect in areas of part- or even deep shade. All forms grow rapidly in average soil and spread quickly through rhizomes; a perfect plant for covering large areas.

*Wild ginger: technically called Asarum canadense, is indigenous to the northeast United States, so is pretty much guaranteed to thrive in my little area of paradise. The heart-shaped leaves add interest to shady spaces. It doesn't spread as quickly as other groundcovers (each clump grows about 6-8 inches in all directions per year), so incorporate a few extra plants into flowerbeds at their inception and in just a few years you'll have a healthy, heart-shaped crop of bright green underfoot.

*Artemisia: this large and diverse genus of 200-400 species spreads very much like the wild daisies of the fields. The results are just as delightful. The most common form, called Artemisia absinthium (common name: wormwood) makes an excellent groundcover in sunny and shady spots (see photo, above). It rapidly coats the ground in delightful spikes of grayish green--a perfect complement to just about any flower color planted near it. Although it grows 2-3 feet, I cut mine back before it hits a foot high, which helps spread the seed heads (this plant is usually wind-pollinated) and keeps it looking like a groundcover. Another plus: it's highly aromatic, which discourages wildlife foraging on and around it.

*Phlox subulata: this divine plant--one of my favorites--spends 90% of its time as a thick, highly textured groundcover, but come Spring, it has a surprise for anyone who grows it: masses of long-lasting flowers of lavender, magenta, and even white. It thrives in sunny spots, but will get along in shadier spaces (just don't expect as much flowering). Here's a well-kept secret: if you mow the plant after flowers fade (just like you'd mow grass), you just may spur the plant into flowering again!

Any one of these groundcovers can replace your lawn. Over the years I've given mine permission to grow and expand. Each year I have a bit more groundcover and a little less grass and, let me tell you, it makes for a much more interesting effect in the yard!

Everything's coming up roses

There's a reason so many females long to be "June Brides." June is that magical month when the roses bloom. Who doesn't want to surround themselves in that aura? The intricate layers of delicate petals, the magnificent scent that triggers a thousand happy summer memories?

Like nearly everyone on the planet, I've always been fascinated by the rose. Even if you're not a fan of Mother Nature, you can't deny her creative charms, exemplified in the complex design of this floral phenomenon.  My attempts throughout the years to grow roses have always been thwarted due to one key factor: I don't get full sun--six consecutive hours per day--in any part of my yard.

If you're a rose aficionado, it's a good time to be alive and gardening. Advances in "rose technology" have kept pace with every other aspect of modern life, and today there are a number of rose hybrids and cultivars that require less sunlight in order to flourish--with the added benefit of supreme disease resistance and less need to water!

Many of the latest, greatest rose offerings requiring partial sun (4-5 hours per day) can be found in shrub form, which are most closely related to species native to forest or thicket habitats. Once-blooming varieties (many old garden roses) require less light. Unlike most hybrid tea roses, which require more sun, many roses of the shrub variety add delicious scent to the garden. Some shady showstoppers include David Austin and Griffith Buck roses, which produce spectacular flushes in partial shade. Particularly good: Sophy's Rose, a bright magenta repeat bloomer, resistant to disease and Molineux, with gold center and creamy outer petals and semi-glossy foliage.

These rose varieties are less prolific than their sun-drenched cousins, the floribundas, grandifloras and hybrid teas, but are less likely to develop rose spot in shade, are often more fragrant, and have longer-lasting blooming times. Follow the tips below to keep your partially shaded roses looking their best:

• Choose pale or pastel blooms that “pop” in shady areas.
• Supply adequate water with good drainage.
• Apply sufficient fertilizer.
• Prune periodically, as shaded roses tend to grow taller.
• Plant away from tree trunks to avoid root competition

The armchair gardener

I think the most devoted gardeners tend to be daydreamers: those who like to let their minds wander, and gladly follow the meanderings. Daydreamers don't generally appreciate the instant-gratification, had-to-be-done-yesterday world, where most people proclaim (proudly) that their cell phones are like appendages. Dreamers tend to tune into a broader range of signals, prompted by the distant call of the mourning dove or the gentle buzz of a passing bumble bee.

In the early-morning birdsong, I seek out my armchair, coffee in hand, and take in nature's symphony. The babbling stream provides the bass to a harmony of nature's wonders--from the whisper of hummingbird wings to the lusty stirring of leaves in the breeze overhead, my greatest gardening feats--those in my mind--are accomplished right in my sturdy wicker chair. In my head I create visions of floral loveliness from my front curb to the woods far behind the house. I can usually retain the remnants of these mental imaginings long enough to scribble a few notes in my gardening journal. These are often the thoughts, scribbled hastily between the lines, that provide the inspiration for my favorite plant pairings.

Let's face it, we're a society of goal-oriented overachievers. We want to do what we do, quickly, and then be on to the next task. That's how we assure ourselves that we matter. Each day I challenge myself to take a few moments to just be me, in all my unremarkable glory. The garden setting soothes me, the sounds settling around me like a lullaby. In the serenity I realize that the things humans value are often skewed. Pride, prestige, power, wealth. Not evil values in and of themselves, but not important to the tiny tufted titmouse balancing on my birdfeeder. Even the most vital things in our world--love and life itself--don't hold sway with the chickadee swishing her tail feathers in the birdbath on my patio. She'll sing to her heart's content, then take flight, flapping her tiny wings ever upward, and soaring through the sky--oblivious to my human struggles.

I glance at the glorious peony blooming beside my bearded iris and crimson poppy. In a few days the blossoms will have faded away, but that doesn't diminish the immeasurable pleasure the blooms give me right now. Nature teaches us about patience and purpose., and that all things in this world are of utmost importance at some point in time--even if just for the 24-hour lifespan of a daylily blossom.

Today, be a dreamer. And dream big.               

Plant for the "trill" of it this Memorial Day

Every gardener delights in the Memorial Day weekend because it's the kickoff to summer, and who doesn't revel in an extra day off to play in the garden? For me, the weekend is always tempered by the solemn nature of the holiday. We are reminded that freedom isn't free, and we owe it to those who laid down their lives for our liberty to honor them. Unfurl your flags, folks! Nothing says "thank you" like the proud display of our stars and stripes.

Anyone familiar with my posts knows that I planted a red, white, and blue garden near my side door a few years back. Each year I switch it up a bit, incorporating new plants into the patriotic theme. When I step out onto my driveway it's the first garden I see, and it always makes me smile.  At one point I decided to try my hand at a growing a Trillium grandiflorum, AKA great white trillium. I chose this plant for two reasons. First, it's a native of the woodlands of northeastern North America, and it's important to preserve the nature of established species indigenous to our area. Second, it's a magnificent plant of jurassic proportions which I have placed in the center of the flowerbed--a place of honor. Fitting for this space, right?

Trilliums are not easy to grow. They can be tricky to transplant, and they take years to flower. The one in my front yard, below, is on year three now, and I've yet to see it bloom. I'm not discouraged. Gardeners are nothing if not patient. I appreciate the plant for what it is, and wait serenely for whatever is to come. The plant will take anywhere between 3 to 10 years to flower.

Don't feel you have the time to wait? Study the oversized leaves, growing in a whorl around the gargantuan stem. It's worth it to have this beauty in the garden for its proportion and foliage alone. It doesn't scream "look at me" with a riot of color or overpowering spread. It stands tall and stately, proclaiming its status by simply being. In short, it's a sight to see.

I have it paired with plants that don't try to compete for attention, but complement the monumental marvel. Pulmonaria (lungwort) and ferns behind it, ajuga, and the annual begonia in front, and variegated bergenia (which gets a blue flower) and carex (sedge) to its side. All these plants prefer the shelter of the rhododendron, which shields them from the harsh rays of afternoon sun.

In the second shot below, I tried to capture the growing habit of this cool colossus. Note the new, striped leaf just unfurling at one stem. When this plant eventually blooms--offering three massive bracts of creamy white, the size of a dinner plate--it will be to much fanfare! I plan to dedicate an entire post to it, so stay tuned....

Creating a monochromatic garden

When first learning how to plan a flowerbed, I think the desire is often to wow the senses with color. People want a plethora of rich hues all around the yard, forgetting other factors that make for really interesting plant compositions: texture, foliage, height and growth habit.

We've all seen magnificent landscapes with multiple colors, which makes us long for similar plantings in our own outdoor spaces. What most of us don't initially pick up on is the fact that in order for color to be perceived properly, all those other factors have to be in place.

Back in school, a professor once made each student plan an entire garden space using only two colors--and they had to be hues that we thought would work poorly together.  I went with pink and orange, which, surprisingly, looked fabulous. One woman chose yellow and black, and, I gotta tell you, they paired brilliantly. My orange tiger lilies and pink stargazer lilies gave way to orange butterfly weed and soft pink roses in the front yard. This has become one of my favorite color combinations. The student who opted for the yellow/black combo edged her property with black mondo grass and filled in flower beds with yellow daisies, lilies, leopard's bane, coreopsis (tickseed) and buttercups. Week after week, her landscape was a study in successful color coordination.

As the years go by, I find myself preferring monochromatic flowerbeds. Take the one pictured above: Blossoms are all, basically, one color--with a range in tone: from soft-as-a-blush pink tulips and dogwood buds to magenta and deep crimson (in background) azalea. What keeps the composition from being boring are the other elements. Varying tones of green in foliage plants (from light green pachysandra and lysimachia to mid-range hosta, gray-green artemisia, to left, and the deep green of boxwood and privet hedge in far background). The variety in texture and growth habit also adds interest. The mounding habit of the hosta echoes the same bouquet shape of the dogwood, providing a unity of form. When shot through with little surprise, like the bright pachysandra, rounded boxwood and azalea forms, and spiky artemisia, the effect is natural and unstudied.

Height plays a role in the presentation as well. Groundcovers and smaller plants line the perimeter of the area, while medium-sized bushes fill in the middle of the flowerbed, and the dogwood tree in the center provides the vertical space needed to assume a basic pyramid shape. Two planters (with mini cypress) beyond the bed--although purposely not matching--offer balance, and the privet hedge running along the entire length of the area in back defines the space.

The elements in this landscape complement each other rather than competing for attention. The idea is to make the eye move easily from one component to the next, enjoying the end result without even realizing what it is, exactly, that makes you feel good in the space.

Skeeter beater

I live in a neighborhood of hardworking, friendly people. I can't say that it's like the one I grew up in. Back then, people from all walks of life beat a path to the annual Memorial Day Picnic thrown by my next-door neighbors. While I feel nostalgic for those days, and the easy comradery of both the adults and kids back then, I understand we live in a different era. People are caught up in busy jobs, and spend the bulk of their socializing on local fields watching their kids play sports.

I don't throw an annual picnic, but I make an attempt to get to know the folks who live around me. I wave at everyone when I'm walking my dogs, and have, subsequently, gotten to know most of the people who live on my street. I met the police officer down the road who is training a German shepherd for the canine unit, I admired the tree peonies of the across-the-street neighbor, welcomed my new neighbors who just moved in next-door, and thanked the fellow behind me who offered to run my tree branches through his mulcher.

It makes me proud to say we look out for each other in this neighborhood. With that happy thought in my mind, I realized the best way I could be a good neighbor was to share some knowledge I've acquired from years spent in my garden. During this time of year, pest control is vital, so I've made the effort to educate folks in order to reduce the mosquito population in my area. This information will help everyone, no matter where you live:

Standing water is a safety risk. From a stagnant pond to a tiny puddle, water that isn't flowing is bound to be breeding mosquito larvae. As we all know from paying attention to numerous news stories, mosquitos carry deadly viruses, like West Nile, and the new-to-our area Zika--a particularly scary strain for pregnant women (due to the link with birth defects) and the immune-compromised. My neighborhood is in transition, with many new families moving in. There are a number of newborns and pregnant ladies in the area, so this is a particular concern of mine. Fortunately, it's a quick and simple fix to get rid of the pests without harming people, pets or wildlife.

First of all, keep all fountains and ponds flowing. Make sure those pumps are cycling water through the day. I turn mine off at night, but start it right back up when daylight hits. Moving water is hard for pests to settle in. Other eco-friendly tips: dump a few minnows in your pond. Minnows are natural predators to the larvae that becomes hazardous insects. If your pond is less than three feet deep, minnows need to be scooped out and kept in a basement during the winter so they don't freeze. If that seems like too much work, encourage frogs to populate your pond. As we all know, adult frogs eat insects, but did you know that tadpoles eat larvae?

If you can't coax the horny ones to your yard, you can opt for mosquito dunks: small, compressed discs containing the naturally occurring bacteria bacillus thuringiensis israelensis  (AKA bti), which naturally inhibits mosquito populations by poisoning them. I know it sounds toxic, and it is--to mosquitos. Yet this treatment, in use since the 1920's, is actually eco-friendly. Here's how it works:

Bti, a naturally occurring bacteria, is harvested from soil and packed into the briquettes which float on water surfaces, and are eaten by mosquito larvae (which ever-so-conveniently hatch from eggs also deposited on top of the water). The toxic crystals that the larvae ingest explode only the cells of mosquito and black fly stomachs, forcing them to stop eating and starve to death. It's as simple as that.

What isn't so easy is ensuring that the dunks (or smaller pellets for tinier spaces) are in all your landscape's nooks and crannies. You really have to scout out areas that allow water to gather: gutters, old pails, flowerpots, wagons and wheelbarrows--even poorly draining areas and dips in your lawn. Larvae can survive in just a teaspoon of water!

Time is also a factor. These dangerous insects are breeding and hatching now, so there truly is no time to lose. Since no other species are harmed by the dunks--including wildlife like birds and tadpoles, pets and people--there's no reason not to protect your friends, family and neighbors right now. I've spread these potentially lifesaving discs around my yard--just in time to consider reinstating that time-honored tradition of my childhood: the neighborhood Memorial Day Picnic. 

What to plant now

We're heading into the second week of May, prime planting season! If you're like me, you step out into the warmish weather, noting the balmy breeze nudging the buds on nearby tree branches, and feel a heady sensation of renewal and endless landscape possibilities. Others may look around sparse spaces with a rising sense of panic, wondering what to plant in the yards of barren soil spread before them. Whether you view the Spring season with anticipation or dread, it's comforting to know there are literally hundreds of plants ready, willing and able to adapt to your outdoor spaces.

Where to start? By asking the experts, of course. It's always about this time of year that I put a call in to my favorite local wholesaler to ask him what's growing really well this year. This week's telephone conversation yielded the following: pulmonaria (AKA lungwort) is strutting its stuff in the shady spaces of his garden. Its deep green leaves, speckled with white polka dots, makes a perfect foil to the deep purple and magenta flowers. The hosta have popped as well, and reside next to the oakleaf hydrangea, happily taking cover under sprouting tree leaves.

Of course tulips, daffodils and crocus are winding down, as are the snowball white blooms on the viburnum, but lilacs are on the upswing just now, along with some varieties of magnolia and dogwood. Lavender is popping up, and The redbud tree isn't far behind.

For sunny spots, catmint, yarrow, hibiscus and hydrangea (paniculata--the white flowers, not the macrophylla, the blue- or pink-blossomed variety that prefers shade) are all sending out leafy shoots, like arms laden in heavy green sleeves reaching toward the sun. It will be a while before their blooms pop, but you can plant them now. Also making a great show of things are, daylily leaves, daisy greenery,  the hopeful red shoots of peony, bachelor button (an early bloomer, just a few weeks away), and garden anchors like artemesia, heuchera (coral bells), carex (sedge), allium (ornamental onion), alchemilla mollis (lady's mantle) and grasses and ferns of all varieties. Get them all going now since there's very little chance of a cold snap snuffing their effort to grow and flourish.

For garden shaping, line the perimeter of flowerbeds with evergreens now. Boxwood, yew, and arborvitae (to name just a few) provide the canvas for the splash of festive bloomers all around them. If you don't know where to plant them, check out magazines (I like Veranda) and the web for design ideas. Drive around your neighborhood and look at other people's landscapes. Don't let your pride keep you from going with a garden design that looks similar to a neighbor's: if certain plantings look great in other beds around the region, chances are they'll look fabulous in your spaces too. Remember, imitation is the highest form of flattery. And the planting process will spark your own imagination and creativity, helping you plant a garden that is all your own.