Garden of the Month: April 2012

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826 Holly Street-
It’s daffodil time! If you are eager for a touch of spring stop by 826 Holly Street (on the corner of Liberty) and you’ll find the home and garden of Carol Walker. If you’re lucky enough to catch the sun shining, the view will be all the more golden, but just a hint of what’s to come as more buds unfold. (The pictures don’t do it justice.)

Beginning in 1994, when Carol purchased the home, there were few daffodils to be seen, only lawn and the occasional grazing deer – regretfully, now more often than occasionally. Looking for drought and deer resistant plants, Carol began with 250 daffodil bulbs ordered from White Flower Farm in Connecticut. The lawn was removed, the daffodils planted and the front yard saw the first of many improvements.

Today the yard is filled with daffodils – many different varieties to assure blooms from February into May. In addition, Carol’s front yard is planted with other deer resistant plants – lavender, rosemary (seen cascading over a small retaining wall) crocus, grape hyacinth and sage. Interspersed among these are Japanese maples, kwanzan cherry, blue spruce and a giant douglas fir ringed in Oregon grape. Pathways meander throughout inviting a closer look.

Carol, originally from Sussex England, inherited her love of gardening from her father. “Their” touch can be seen throughout, including Carol’s “Garden Art” – bits and pieces found here and there, adding charm and interest everywhere one looks.

In the back and side yards, protected from the deer by a high, elegant fence, can be found even more to make a true gardener smile – poppies, tulips, cowslip (most waiting to bloom) surround an antique bird bath, a beautifully shaped aspen and more cherry trees. The highlight – as soon as our spring warms up – is an amazing wisteria covered arbor. Carol has done nearly all of the work herself, adding more daffodils each year from local sources. No chemical sprays are ever used and water is conserved as much as possible.

You may view the front yard at any time. In addition, Carol has agreed to show her side and back gardens to AGC members on Saturday, April 14th from 11:00 to 2:00. Seeing all of this loveliness will be a great reminder that warmer, more colorful garden days are just around the corner.

by Kaaren Anderson

Blue False Indigo

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Baptisia australis (Blue False Indigo)

This North American prairie native is long lived but slow growing, so it can take up to 3 years to bloom. It is an easy to care for plant which tolerates both clay and sandy soils. Blue False Indigo is excellent for cut flowers and attracting butterflies.

Form: Spiky architectural vase shaped: 3-4 feet high, 1½ -3 feet wide

Exposure: Full sun

Color: Striking pea-like purple flower stalks, blue-green foliage

Bloom Time: June – July

Attributes: Drought tolerant, suitable for xeriscaping, deer resistant (Note: Parts of the plant are poisonous if ingested!) Average Water Needs, water regularly but do not over water.

USDA Hardiness Zone: 3A – 10B

Bigroot Geranium

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Bigroot Geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum)

Geranium macrorrhizum is a hardy perennial that blooms prolifically in the spring. Some varieties also present outstanding leaf color in the fall.Bigroot Geranium is deer- resistant, so “typically” deer leave it alone. Plant your geranium in full sun or partial shade. It’s not too picky about growing conditions, except it doesn’t like wet boggy areas, so plant in well-draining soil. It grows 1 to 3 feet high and 2 to 3 feet wide. Geranium makes a good groundcover at the base of trees, shrubs and taller perennials. Geranium macrorrhizum varieties include: Album which produces white flowers, Ingwersen flowers in pink, and Variegatum, with white-variegated leaves, which produce purple & pink blossoms. Note: Variegatum likes richer soil and keep it out of full sun. USDA Hardiness Zone: Zones 4-8

Crocuses & Daffodils on Display

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There is a spectacular display of crocuses and daffodils at 692 “B” Street which is worth walking by. The crocuses are probably at or just past their peak, but the daffodils are only just getting started. This garden was Garden of the Month back in April 2005 and they always has a wonderful display.

Ruth Sloan
G.O.M. Chair

Bulbs for all-year color

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Plant bulbs this spring and summer for all-year color
By Judy Scott,
Oregon State University Extension Service

CORVALLIS, Ore. – After the spring show of crocus, daffodils, hyacinth and tulips, flower gardeners may be at a loss on how to top the early vibrant color.

If you plant summer-flowering bulbs, corms and tubers in the spring, you’ll carry color through the summer, said Ross Penhallegon, horticulturalist with the Oregon State University Extension Service.

montbretia
A wide variety of ililies, dahlias, gladiolus and tuberous begonias are available from catalogs and garden shops. If you love bolder flower gardens, plant more out-of-the-ordinary bulbs, including summer hyacinths, Peruvian-daffodils, fragrant tuberoses, shell flowers and montbretia for striking summer garden accents.

sternbergia candida

For stunning color all the way through the growing season, plant fall-blooming bulbs in late summer and early autumn. Later-flowering species that bloom in the fall include colchicums, autumn flowering crocus, magic lilies of Japan, sternbergia and fairy lilies, to name a few. These are available in summer to early fall at nurseries and from bulb catalogs.

When it’s time to plant, Penhallegon recommends planting each bulb as deep as the diameter of the bulb; if the diameter is one inch, plant the bulb one inch deep. “The soil needs to be well-drained and mulchy, with lots of organic materials,” he said. “Apply a small amount of general purpose fertilizer, organic or conventional, after the bulb emerges from the soil.”
Don’t forget to check with your local nurseries. Each year they offer a new array of plant varieties.

This article is also online at: http://bit.ly/OSU_Gardening1564
Judy Scott, Public Service Comm Specialist , Oregon State University Extension Service
Source: Ross Penhallegon, Ag, Horticulture , Oregon State University Extension Service

Prune to keep ornamental shrubs healthy

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As winter moves toward spring, pruning jumps to the top of the gardening “to-do” list. Pruning keeps ornamental shrubs healthy by removing dead, dying and diseased wood and encourages the natural and sturdy growth of the plant.

“Pruning is one of the most important tasks to keep shrubs and bushes healthy,” explained Ross Penhallegon, horticulturalist and pruning expert with the Oregon State University Extension Service. “Yet pruning often gets neglected or forgotten.”
Basic pruning guidelines deal with the many sizes, shapes and growth forms of ornamental shrubs. Most gardeners should do some pruning each spring and/or summer if they have spring or summer bloomers, Penhallegon said. Shrubs that bloom in the early spring, such as forsythia, rhododendrons and azaleas, should be pruned when they finish blooming. Then they have the rest of the growing season to form new branches and flower buds.

Shrubs that flower in the summer and fall are blooming on this year’s growth. They should be pruned early in the dormant period or very early spring so there’s plenty of time for new growth to form and bloom.
“Sometimes it’s worth it to prune out of season and sacrifice a year of blooms,” Penhallegon said. This is the case when the bush is overgrown, has gangly branches or has been neglected for years. This type of pruning should be done in the dormant or winter time.
Light pruning can be done in the summer, when it’s easy to spot dead, dying, diseased, or weak branches with few leaves. Pruning in the winter allows you to see how the branches grow in relation to one another. Branches growing toward the center of the plant or crossing or rubbing other branches are good candidates for removal. This kind of maintenance pruning in itself reduces the size of the plant if it is too large.
If you prune regularly every year, you never need to prune too severely. Yearly pruning keeps the plant in good condition with new and old branches and some in between. If the plant grows too tall or large from lack of pruning, it can overwhelm neighboring plants and surroundings.
“A little pruning each year helps to keep the plant in bounds, keeps it healthy, allows good light penetration and encourages blooms every year,” Penhallegon said.

Shrubs can be pruned drastically if they get out of hand and need rejuvenation. Multi-stemmed species such as spirea and forsythia can be heavily pruned by removing the older stems or branches, lowering the height of the plant. Rhodies and azaleas can be heavily pruned to 12-14 inches or just above buds that are on the lower part of the plant.

An overgrown shrub with a single lead or trunk growth form needing rejuvenation should be gradually pruned down or brought under control to maintain the natural form of the plant. Don’t be tempted to shear off the top of this kind of plant. Always cut back to a good side branch. Shearing may be faster, but it will produce a leggy plant with brushy growth at the stem ends. Each cut will often produce two more branches. Some large shrubs, like laurel, will sprout from bare wood even when they’re cut back nearly to the ground. Evergreen shrubs, both broad-leafed and needled, should not be pruned back to bare wood.

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About Garden News from OSU Extension Service: The Extension Service Gardening web page, http://extension.oregonstate.edu/community/gardening, links to a broad spectrum of information on Oregon gardening, such as tips, monthly calendars, how-to publications, audio programs, the Master Gardener program and “Northwest Gardeners e-News.”

By Judy Scott, O.S.U., Corvallis Ore
Source: Ross Penhallegon, O.S.U.Extension Service