We’re visiting with Lilli Hazard today in southern Indiana.
21.07.2023 - 22:49 / awaytogarden.com
JULY STARTS OUT as Throw In the Trowel Month here, with June’s cutbacks still looking pretty rough, but then summer shapes up and the heat-lovers have their day. All is forgiven! Keeping up with watering and weeds tops the to-do list, with planting and other more macho tasks (other than mowing my steep hillside) at a minimum.FIRST, THE HAIRCUTS: If you were squeamish about cutbacks as spring faded, you may be regretting it now, and facing floppy, exhausted plants in certain spots. Some things (like certain perennial Geraniums, for instance) do better if cut back hard. Go for it. Others need just deadheading of spent blooms. Annuals that grow leggy can often benefit from a chop job, too. Do some experiments. Sometimes a plant can’t look worse, and you probably won’t kill it. :-)
MAKE A PASS through each bed each week, since weeds are not just unsightly but steal moisture, nutrients and light from desired plants. Top up mulch in all garden beds if washed or worn away to help in the plight.
LOOK WHILE WEEDING: Try to remember what’s done well (and not so well) so far in each bed. Make notes, to plan for fall reworking of problem spots, or a bed redesign.
IF YOU ARE IN JAPANESE BEETLE territory, handpick (as with other obvious pests like tomato hornworms) in early morning and drown in a can of water to reduce infestation. Plan to try to reduce grub population with nematodes or perhaps Milky Spore inoculation. This mole-eradication post is also related, as it’s grubs that moles are after.
GARDENS NEED an inch of water a week from you or the heavens. Check your rain gauge to make sure they get it, and remember: soak deeply in the root zone, don’t spritz things with a sprayer now and again like you’re washing the car. That’s a
We’re visiting with Lilli Hazard today in southern Indiana.
Features to Expect in a Japanese Garden
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.
This summer has been damp and the plants have grown lush. In some way this has contributed to a dramatic cut in the number of greenfly on my roses and other plants (perhaps they found other feeding grounds or did not mate as prolifically).
Lilacs are members of the Syringia family and are named for the colour. There are deep lilacs verging on violet and light pinkish lilacs even some pretty floriferous white flowering Lilacs.
London Holland Park’s water feature in Kyoto Garden.
Also known as the Japanese rose, Kerria Japonica it is a cottage-garden regular that grows dependably almost anywhere. The flowers are a distinctive single or double yellow flowers in April and May. The arching stems are thin and the leaves serrated.
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.
My name is John Rohde. My garden is located 15 miles north of Baltimore in Towson, Maryland, in Zone 7b. This is the second full year for this pandemic garden. I enjoy mixing annuals and perennials with trees and tropicals in containers. There is a water feature, tubs of lotus, a patio, and a vegetable garden at the rear of my house.
Everyone is familiar with the potted greenhouse mums offered at many garden centers that end up in the trash after the flowers fade, but are you acquainted with old-fashioned garden mums? These hardy heirloom mums have been shared by gardeners for generations. Blooming in the fall, they are excellent garden perennials that also provide food sources for pollinating insects.
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.