Wrong Time, Right Thing

 

On this last day of April, Rose questions have been coming in fast and furious. But first, a couple of tips a tad more imperative during this turning point of spring. Don’t worry. Tomorrow the ‘Corner’ will go from wordless Wednesday to a Rose post you won’t want to miss. 

So back to today’s topic - the wrong time, the right thing. Are your fruit trees already in bloom? Noticed some pests that you want to remove? Do not apply any insecticidal treatments while a fruit tree is in bloom. Any application for insects applied during bloom time can potentially kill or eradicate any pollinators. We all know the importance of pollination. 

During the wake-up and growth season of spring, it’s important to use common sense. But it (common sense) often gets forgotten when we notice a problem. If your fruit trees are on a regular spray program, all insecticidal treatments should be applied just before bloom and/or immediately after petal drop. For example, a very problematic pest, plum curculio, (which hits more than just a Plum) can cause great havoc to a crop by piercing the tissue of the newly formed fruit, causing deformity. That’s not good. 

So think roses for tomorrow because what’s a garden without a few roses or better yet, a rose garden. But let’s wrap up today’s post with some sound advice from Joshua Harris. “The right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing.” How true that statement is, even as it applies to our own gardens.

P.S. One last tip in the spring clean-up category unrelated to fruit trees. For your deciduous plant material, before it flushes out, make sure you prune out the dead or damaged wood.

Image of a Peach tree in bloom by Ann Bilowz© 

If you like this blog, hope you check in daily. Like our fan page https://www.facebook.com/abilowz follow on twitter https://twitter.com/annbilowz or subscribe to the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Contact me direct at annbilowz@gmail.com You can now follow with visuals on Pinterest, too! http://pinterest.com/bilowzassoc/

The Epic of Epimediums

 

As we near the end of April on this beautiful Monday, it’s time to catch our breath from spring clean-up and ask that typical garden question, “What plants can I add to my perennial gardens?” Startling enough, there are still too many garden folks who don’t use or even know about Epimediums.

So would you like to venture into trying beyond the typical perennials? Do you wonder the best way to find out about a plant? My recommendation is to always test it, get to know it and like all good things, fall in love with it. For me, Epimediums don’t fall under the ‘infatuation’ category. It’s not that perennial where I plant one and lose interest the following year. Just look at its fine attributes –easy to grow, long-lived, can handle some rather cold temperatures, act as a weed smothering groundcover and drought-tolerant once established, deer-resistant and did I say these unusual perennials like the shade? I can’t forget the delicate flowers and the lovely intricate leaves.

But what’s the most exciting is that if you are a local, you can visit the Queen of the Epimediums – Karen Perkins at Garden Vision’s Open Nursery weekends coming up this Friday-Sunday and the following weekend as well. Here’s the link for those who are interested http://www.epimediums.com/garden-vision-holds-open-nursery-weekends/ in seeing these plants up close and in display. But if you can’t make it due to location, she also visits some other Northeast regional locations http://www.epimediums.com/visit-garden-vision-at-these-plant-sales/ where you can purchase her wide and unusual collection of Epimediums. You won’t find them anywhere else. As I said, she is the Queen of Epimediums. For everyone else, you can purchase your collection via mail order. She is not taking online orders so it’s mail or fax (the old fashion way) but what’s not to love about old-fashion these days?

So if you’re past the spring clean-up mode asking what you can add or change in your perennial gardens, my recommendation is to find those plants that are long-lived and can handle some adverse conditions. As Joseph Addison pointed out, “Admiration is a very short-lived passion that immediately decays upon growing familiar with its object.” So don’t just admire a plant. Look for its long-term possibilities if you want success in your perennial garden. 

Image of an Epimedium in bloom by Ann Bilowz©  

You can also check out our Facebook albums that show some additional images of Epimediums in our gardens. If you don’t follow us on FB, hope you’ll join us there for these extra tidbits that often get shared. https://www.facebook.com/abilowz/photos_albums  


If you like this blog, check in for your daily share's worth of garden inspiration, landscape architecture and design tips; always original, not cookie cutter and copied. Just like our design work, we strive for unique! We invite you to contact Bilowz Associates, Inc., or to browse our portfolios. Like our Facebook follow on Twitter or subscribe to the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. You can follow with visuals on Pinterest and find us on LinkedIn and Houzz, too.  And you can also find us back on our Google+ Business Page. (Landscape architects/Landscape Design/serving Massachusetts and New England.)

Snap and Sheen



Snap with a natural sheen - two tools in the garden box today. It seems everyone’s attention span has been somewhere in garden limbo this week. Here’s an easy remedy – let’s point out what is naturally coming into its own in the garden with some snappy imports brought in to assist.  



This Snapdragon (with purple Pansies in the background) will add some quick wakeup color to a colorless bed but not too soon. If you recall the April 11th post, you want to protect any plant materials that were forced in greenhouses, protected from the weather or came from warmer climates. You must transition them into your flower beds. It’s just too darn soon to get these annuals planted in the ground quite yet. But you can still bring your choices in now and stockpile them in a protected place. http://blog.bilowzassociates.com/2013/04/forcing-bloom.html

Now for the natural sheen of that colorful green - Pachysandra terminalis 'Green Sheen' is one of the most sun-tolerant of the Pachysandras. Its green leaves are glossy and makes all your surrounding plants pop. It is deer-resistant and if given the right conditions, it can act as a weed smothering groundcover. Here it is in the spring garden showing off more than its glossy green leaves with its petite white flower.

As Pablo Picasso once said, “Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing? Can one really explain this? No, just as one can never learn how to paint.” Time to start thinking color combinations; it’s that snap and sheen part of spring!

Images by Ann Bilowz©  

If you like this blog, hope you check in daily. Like our fan page https://www.facebook.com/abilowz follow on twitter https://twitter.com/annbilowz or subscribe to the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Contact me direct at annbilowz@gmail.com You can now follow with visuals on Pinterest, too! http://pinterest.com/bilowzassoc/