With copper-colored wings and an emerald head, the Japanese beetle is pretty, but devastating.
21.07.2023 - 22:48 / awaytogarden.com
THIS HAS NOT BEEN MY FAVORITE GARDEN SEASON SO FAR, I’ll confess. Too many bouts of heat, far too little rain. One side benefit: It has been too hot to even be outside some days, let alone work outside, so I’ve been inside reading about topics ranging from Japanese beetle-control advances to setting up a water-collection system with rain barrels and more. My latest links worth browsing on the next day the weather finds you inside:I HAVE SEEN FEWER JAPANESE BEETLES so far this season, one of the only side benefits of a dry spring and summer, since eggs and young grubs fare worse in dry turf. Permanent beetle decline would be a great thing, so I’m thrilled to read of advances in infecting beetles with a pathogen called Ovavesicula that may someday lead to better chemical-free control throughout the pest’s range.
The latest bright moment: Entomologist Dr. David Smitley and others at Michigan State University are actually having a Japanese Beetle Biocontrol Field Day July 28, where gardeners can take home infected beetles to release in their yards where they will in turn infect other beetles. I first read about it here.
How the pathogen works: Infected beetles grubs don’t survive the winters as well (populations were reduced 25 to 50 percent per year, reports Smitley), and infected females lay fewer eggs.
Now don’t get in the car to drive to that field day just yet to get; at least not unless you’re a Michigander. The one current drawback: Infected beetles can’t be transported across state lines. But help is coming. The MSU team has proposals out to extend the program.
NEXT YEAR I PLAN A GIANT RENOVATION of my aging self, er, garden. It figures to be a lot of work—but not as much work as Descanso Gardens, the long-beloved refugeWith copper-colored wings and an emerald head, the Japanese beetle is pretty, but devastating.
We’re visiting with Lilli Hazard today in southern Indiana.
The Japanese poetic work, ‘Manyoshu’ published in 759 AD but written 300-400 years prior selected 7 flowers for Autumn. This corresponds to the 7 Herbs of spring reported on an earlier post.
Ornamental Japanese Maples are widely available for planting in your garden. The autumn colouring makes these trees spectacular when planted en mass in a woodland or Japanese garden setting.
Despite my garden being full to overflowing after the spring rain I have decided to create a new area for a Japanese Garden. When starting a new project I was advised to have a name that may colour the end result. I opted for the grand title of ‘Japan Land’Â This will be a long term project and I won’t rush it as I have on other projects in the past.
London Holland Park’s water feature in Kyoto Garden.
The Japanese have a long and detailed affair with fruit tree blossom. Apricots, Prunus armenaica and Plums, Prunus salicina are well known to western gardeners but what of Mumes.
Japanese maple or Acer palmatum are popular trees and small shrubs. They are grown for an attractive habit and dramatic foliage.
Read Japanese Maple root and branch review
Holland Park has some Zen like features but fails my Zen test. The classic elements of a successful Zen are stone, sand or gravel, water, plants and space. Then there is a question of balance between yin and yang. Cramped or cluttered gardens inhibit the flow of spirit so space is potentially the key ingredient of a Zen garden.
I will use Shangri-la as an all encompassing name for spiritually based gardens and areas of harmonious natural beauty stealing a name from James Hilton in his novel Lost Horizon.
A recent visit to Maplewood Gardens in East Flat Rock, NC where there is an incredible collection of Japanese maples. The Mr. Maple nursery specializes in these beautiful maples.