Early spring: what to do now in the garden

Crocus are a good sign that spring in Connecticut is finally on its way. Photo © Cheryl Pedemonti for HTNP.com ----------

Spring offers eternal hope to the gardener each year.  After surviving another cold and dreary winter, the garden always amazes me when I see the green shoots of daffodil foliage begin to poke their heads through the cold ground.  Snowdrops and crocus are already blooming and give us our first dose of color in the garden.  I love the early morning song from the birds and enjoy watching their activity as they flit excitedly from the trees and shrubs or scratch around in the garden beds.

With this early spring activity in mind, I wrote my garden column thinking of ways to help you jump-start your own spring celebration in the garden.

Forcing Spring Blooms Indoors

One of the easiest ways to celebrate Spring is to force branches of forsythia into bloom, right now.  It is quite simple to do and once the branches are brought into the warmth of the house, the buds will begin to swell in a week or so.

One way to bring early spring into your home is to force some forsythia into bloom. Photo © Cheryl Pedemonti for HTNP.com

I like to fill a tall ceramic pitcher with ten or more stems of forsythia and watch with anticipation as the green buds open to bright, cheery, yellow flowers on my kitchen counter.

When you start clipping the branches for forcing, keep the shape of the forsythia shrub in mind and make well thought out cuts.

Young thin stems will have the most flower buds, so I will start by cutting off some of the longest whips.  Then I will look for some of the older branches that have crossed into the center of the shrub and will cut a few of these to be forced.

You may have read or heard that you need to smash the ends of the stems with a hammer before placing them in water, but it’s not necessary. Once the stems are cut, immediately place them into water and keep the branches in a cool location.  After 5-7 days, you can move the container of stems into the living space of the home to enjoy the bright blooms.

Forsythia is one of the easiest shrubs to force into bloom so I recommend starting with this one – but if you are brave , you might try forcing stems from ornamental trees such as Cherry, Dogwood or Bradford pear.  Count back six weeks from their usual bloom time, and this is the ideal time to force the branches into early bloom.

Tread Lightly on the Soil

With the recent warm weather, you might be tempted to head out to the garden and start working the soil.  It’s still a bit early for that and your soil structure will be healthier if you wait another 2 weeks. The soil needs to completely thaw and ease back into place as the days grow longer and warmer.

Greenery begins to push up through last fall's leaves. Photo © Cheryl Pedemonti for HTNP.com

If you step into your garden now, be it a flower bed or vegetable garden, you will compress the soil and compact the layers.  Stay on the paths or step lightly in the garden for now and your plants will do much better when their roots begin to awaken and start growing.

Cut Back Ornamental Grasses

One thing you can do in the garden is to cut back any ornamental grasses that were left intact for winter interest.

If the clump of grass is large, the easiest way to perform this task is to tie rope or heavy twine around the center of the grass.  Use an electric hedge trimmer to cut the grass at the base of the clump.  The entire clump will stay together and can be easily carried to the compost pile.

For smaller clumps of grass such as Blue Fescue or Fountain Grass, I use my manual hedge trimmers and clip away at the clump.

Cutting back ornamental grasses now is one less garden chore for the busy weeks to come. Photo © Cheryl Pedemonti for HTNP.com

For taller grasses, I leave a 4-6″ high base of grass and for smaller grasses, I leave a 2-3″ high base of grass.

Rake out any leaves that might be stuck within the remaining clump of grass.

The ornamental grass won’t put out new growth for another few weeks, but this will be one less garden chore to do in the coming weeks.

Prune Summer Blooming Shrubs

Another pruning chore you can do right now includes cutting back the summer blooming shrubs such as Hypericum (St. Johnswort), Potentilla, PeeGee Hydrangea, Bumald Spirea and Japanese Spirea.

Don’t prune your roses until the Forsythia shrubs are in bloom.

I don’t heavily prune Butterfly Bushes, Japanese Beautyberry or the Bluemist Shrub until I see the buds start to push out new growth.  The same goes for woody perennials such as Russian Sage.

We still have danger of heavy frost or late spring freezes and if you cut these stems too severely right now, you may not have anything left if they are damaged in early spring.

Deadhead daffodils when the blooms die but leave the foliage to feed the bulbs for next year's blooms. Photo © Cheryl Pedemonti for HTNP.com

You can remove some of the top growth to get rid of the dead stems or lanky growth, but wait another couple of weeks to cut them back completely.

Deadhead Daffodils and Tulips

When your daffodils and tulips are done blooming in April, you should promptly remove the spent flower bud so the bulb does not waste energy producing seeds.

Remove the flower head but keep the stem and leaves intact to feed the bulb.  Don’t remove the leaves until they turn completely brown.  If the bulb is not allowed to feed itself properly, you run the risk of having no flowers the following spring.  You can also apply a bit of bulb fertilizer to the soil now and this will help to feed the bulb for next spring’s show.

The smaller bulbs such as Crocus, Snowdrops, Grape Hyacinths, and similar don’t need to deadheaded as they easily go to seed and will multiply in your garden year after year.

Chionodoxa bulbs after a rain shower. Photo © Cheryl Pedemonti for HTNP.com

Do take stock of your garden right now and make note of the areas that could use some early color in the spring from bulbs.

Bulbs are planted in the fall, so you tend to forget about the lack of spring color.  That’s why I make my “bulb planting list” in the spring.  Taking photos this time of year will also be a good reference for areas that need bulbs planted in the fall.

I really like using the small bulbs as a carpet under the deciduous shrubs, as they get plenty of sun before these shrubs leaf out.  And when the shrubs leaf out, you barely notice the shriveling foliage on these tiny bulbs.  It is a perfect plant combination to give your garden color in every season.

Rake Up The Leaves

It’s safe to remove any leaves that may have collected in the garden beds, but I usually do this on an overcast day.  The foliage that was buried under the leaves may be tender and a bit yellow from the leaf cover and will need to be protected from bright sunlight. A recent weekend was perfect due to the cloud cover on Saturday and the misty weather on Sunday.

Don’t apply new mulch to your beds just yet, as the soil is just starting to warm up.  Mulch applied to the soil now will hold in the cold and delay your spring bloomers.  I like to wait until I have finished all my pruning and cutting back of spent perennial foliage before I place new mulch in the garden.

Watch for my next article, which will include information about early spring blooming perennials.  And if you have any questions or suggestions for future columns, send them to me in an email addressed to multiphaseconst@comcast.net

Posted April 4, 2009

How to have a green – and safe – yard

As it starts to feel something like spring, thoughts are turning to the outdoors – including getting our lawns and gardens back into shape.

To help local residents with that task, the town is offering an Organic Land Care Workshop series that will address safer ways to have a nice green lawn, how to take care of our gardens and lawns in ways that conserve water (and how to use a rain barrel), and making our household waste work for us as free fertilizer.

Mansfield Recycling Coordinator Virginia Walton.Photo © Brenda Sullivan

Even when we try to make good choices, it can be confusing trying to figure out what kinds of products to use on our lawns and gardens and then, how to apply them.  “People usually don’t realize that a lot of our fertilizers already have pesticides and herbicides in them,” said Virginia Walton, the town’s recycling coordinator and organizer of this workshop series.

People often are unaware of the hazards of misapplied landscaping products. “Pet cancer is on the rise and some of it is being attributed to what we put on our lawns,” Walton said. She added that children playing in the yard and especially infants that are crawling in the grass, also face risks.

Property owners also should be aware of the possible contamination of drinking water sources when they misapply a product. “If you’re using chemical fertilizers and put them on at the wrong time, or use too much, you can pollute water sources,” Walton noted.

Organic lawncare

The first workshop in the series, “Organic Lawncare,” will be led by Bettylou Sandy – owner of Bettylou’s Gardening.  She is accredited by the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) as an organic land-care professional.

Those interested in attending should sign up as soon as possible in order to secure a place in the workshop, which will be held on Saturday, April 4 from 9 a.m. to noon in the council chambers of the Audrey P. Beck Municipal Building (town hall), located at 4 South Eagleville Road. The registration fee is $10. Registration deadline is March 31 – reserve your spot by calling Walton at 429-3333 during office hours. (Town Hall closes at noon on Fridays.)

Smart water use

The second workshop in the series – this one is free – will be “Backyard Water Wise Workshop,” to be held on Saturday, May 2, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., again at town hall.

This workshop explores the water resources on your property – and interesting ways to use them – including the benefits of rain barrels and how to create a landscaped rain garden.

The instructor for this workshop will be Jean Pillo, coordinator for the Thames River Basin Partnership.

The registration deadline for this workshop is April 27. Please register early, to ensure there are enough participants to hold the workshop. Call the Mansfield Recycling Coordinator at 429-3333.

Putting those potato peels to good use

A third workshop, “Backyard Composting,” will be held on Saturday, May 16 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., again at the town hall. This is another freebie.

In this workshop, you will:

• learn about the inner workings of a compost pile and how it is an integral part of organic land care

• compare different styles of composting set-ups

• help you get started or improve they system you’re already using

Again, early registration is encouraged. This workshop will be led by Virginia Walton, Mansfield Recycling Coordinator. Call her at 429-3333 to sign up. Registration deadline is 429-3333.

Bonus! rain barrel sale

Rain barrels are being sold through the New England Rain Barrel Company for $85 total. To take advantage of this program, orders must be placed by Friday, June 12, 2009.

The pickup for all orders is Saturday, June 20, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Mansfield Town Hall parking lot.

To view the rain barrel and place an order, log onto http://www.Nerainbarrel.com/Mansfield.html or call 877-977-3135.

Posted March 26, 2009

2009 CT Flower & Garden Show: a spring break in full bloom

Hillside Landscaping – inspired by a trip to Pikes Peak in 1893 when Katharine Bates penned the lyrics to “America the Beautiful” – display of natural stone and rock outcroppings. Photo © Cheryl Pedemonti.

The Connecticut Flower and Garden Show, which ran from Feb. 19-22,  couldn’t have arrived at a better time. The month of January was icy and bitterly cold, and February hasn’t been much better, with the groundhog predicting six more weeks of winter.

This year’s 28^th annual flower show was a breath of fresh spring air. The minute I walked through the doors of the Convention Center in Hartford, I felt the weight of winter lift from my shoulders. Visions of spring lay out in front of me with daffodils, tulips and rhododendrons in full bloom! With my camera in hand, I took off to discover the wonderful landscape exhibits that welcomed my weary soul.

‘America the Beautiful’

In keeping with the “America the Beautiful” theme for this year’s show, many of the landscape exhibits included the American flag or used red, white and blue in their designs.

Supreme Landscapes – a colonial New England setting with a rustic dwelling. Photo © Cheryl Pedemonti.

The variety of landscapes represented America’s heritage throughout the years. A log cabin reminiscent of Abe Lincoln was included in one display. The Old Glory flag from 1776 was included in an urban garden exhibit. Earth friendly exhibits mingled with the historic displays.

The Connecticut Horticultural Society’s display demonstrated the contrast between a neglected city building and one that had been renewed with earth-friendly materials and flowers.

Federated Garden Club – herb garden display for the “Happy Days” division Photo © Cheryl Pedemonti.

Many exhibiters were keen to educate the homeowner about the importance of using native plants but also avoiding the use of invasive species that harm our wetlands and forests.

The secondary theme represented in the landscape exhibits demonstrated how important it is to make the landscape an extension of the home.

Most exhibits included a stone or paver patio with a fire pit or outdoor fireplace and a water feature placed nearby. A pergola or gazebo created an area to take cover from the sun. Retaining walls or boulder-strewn berms were used to show off landscaping or to create terraced areas for structures within the exhibits.

StoneBridge Craftsmen – recreation of an 18th century farmhouse with herb garden. Photo © Cheryl Pedemonti.

From a behind-the-scenes observation as a landscaper myself, I could also appreciate the physical work that went into building these incredible exhibits; most of the landscapers I spoke with said it took them four to five days to build their exhibits.

And as a designer, I can tell you that many hours of planning took place before these gardens were built under the roof of the Convention Center. Let’s not forget the time it took to force the trees, shrubs, and flowers into bloom and add unseasonable color to these displays.

Award-winning landscape exhibits

Although every landscape exhibit included in the garden show was amazing, I did have two favorite displays.

One exhibit was inspired by Katharine Bates’ trip to Pike’s Peak and featured natural stone retaining walls and rock outcroppings. The large display also featured a white pergola on a raised stone patio. Rocking chairs placed on the patio underneath the pergola offered a place to sit and relax while looking down onto a secondary bluestone patio with a fire pit and dining area.

Shoreline Stone Supply – exhibit of pavers and retaining wall – a really nice design with a large patio as an outdoor dining area. Photo © Cheryl Pedemonti.

The exhibit included large trees and evergreen specimens, rhododendrons, azaleas and winterberry placed among rock outcroppings on large berms.

A Dawn Redwood tree caught my attention, due to its bright green emerging foliage that glowed beneath the spotlights. White and red tulips were planted along the edge of the exhibit and echoed the colors of the pergola and winterberry. This display was clearly a favorite of the judges and its awards included “Best Horticulture,” “Best Cultural Perfection” and “Best Outdoor Living Space.”

My second favorite exhibit was a recreation of an 18^th Century farmhouse depicting life during simple times.

This patriotic display included a white clapboard home with a blue door and red curtains in the windows. The house was set atop a stone retaining wall with a brick sidewalk and granite steps leading up to the brightly colored door where the American flag was proudly displayed. An herb garden was located to the left side of the cottage, and it included a star pattern created with cut bluestone in the center of the herbs. White wicker furniture was set up on the lawn for enjoying the sights and scents of the herb garden.

Dietters Water Gardens – 100% native plant material in their display – koi fish were in the pond and the patio and bench looked over the pond. Photo © Cheryl Pedemonti

Information available for gardeners

Seminars are one of the reasons that gardeners pay the $14 admission to enter the doors of the flower show. Well-known presenters this year included Tovah Martin, Roger Swain [of the PBS Victory Garden], Heather Poire, Virginia Small and Sydney Eddison.

There were many other knowledgeable presenters who spoke on a wide variety of topics such as garden design and maintenance, plant choices and landscape construction techniques.

The Connecticut Green Industries display included a stepping stone path leading between our native trees, shrubs and flowers. A representative handed out the CT Garden & Landscape Trail brochure that maps directions to nurseries, garden centers, greenhouses and landscapers found in our state. If you would like more information, call 800-562-0610 or visit www.CTGardenTrail.com for a copy of the brochure.

Pondering Creations – exhibit featured natural stone including custom mosaics built from stone, pond, fountain, stone patio, and naturalistic plantings to attract birds Photo © Cheryl Pedemonti.

Right next door, was a native plant display by Pride’s Corner, a wholesale nursery located in Lebanon. I shared an interesting chat with Ben Zotter and Len Giddix about the organic pre-emergent herbicides available to gardeners.

I had known that corn gluten was an earth-friendly weed preventative, but Len educated me about the fact that the mixture must include the proper ratio of nitrogen. It is the bacterial by-product that creates the pre-emergent herbicide and I was told the product should be applied to the garden bed while the forsythia is in bloom. It can even be applied at this time of year, if your garden bed is not hidden by snow!

They recommend using a product by Jonathan’s Green Organics, if you want to give it a try. Preen also has an organic product, if you have used this product in the past. By the way, Len is one of the speakers on the WTIC 1080 radio show called “Garden Talk with Len and Lisa.”

Advanced-Standard Flower Show

The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut is an integral part of the flower and garden show each year. Members from garden clubs across Connecticut display their creative talents in the form of floral arrangements, from large displays using unusual material to miniature displays within a box.

Beautiful table settings are on display; mailboxes and birdhouses are decorated; bulbs are forced into bloom; and every type of horticulture is exhibited including cacti, herbs, flowers and evergreens.

CT Horticulture Society – Make America Beautiful – neglect vs. renewal in the cityscape. Photo © Cheryl Pedemonti.

“Of Thee I Sing” was this year’s flower show theme, as a celebration of our great country and its horticultural diversity.

The garden club members also volunteer their time as judges and hostesses, and sell books during the show.

Something for everyone

The garden show offers something of interest for everyone. There are numerous small vendors and artists who sell plants, birdhouses, paintings, jewelry, tools, and anything else related to gardening or horticulture.

Our new columnist shares tips on 'Creating color in the winter garden'

To use conifers as accent plants or specimens in the landscape, look for an interesting shape or colorful foliage. Colors can range from dark green to light green, blue-green, gray or silvery-blue, and into the brighter color of golden yellows or creamy white hues.

[Editor's note: Please welcome our new columnist, Cheryl Pedemonti, who will contribute items periodically in which she shares her expertise and her passion for gardening. You'll also see she's a wonderful photographer- Brenda Sullivan ]

Most people think the gardening season ends with the first freeze here in New England, but I disagree. With careful planning, your landscape can include a colorful garden throughout the winter months.

We spend the cold winter days inside the house, looking out at the garden through the window. I suggest you begin your winter garden design from the inside looking out and place your garden where it can be seen from strategic windows, such as the family room or dining areas.

And entry areas should always include plants that offer four seasons of interest.

What makes a good candidate for the winter garden? There are many plant attributes to consider, such as colorful stems and bark; ornamental grasses in a variety of heights; persistent fruit; and trees or shrubs with interesting branching patterns or shapes.

Evergreens with colorful foliage add interest to the garden year round, but will become especially important during winter.

If your garden looks good during the barren winter months, you know it will look exceptional the rest of the year when everything is in bloom!

Evergreens serve many uses in the garden

When planning your garden, it is important to have a 50/50 mix of evergreens and deciduous plants (those that lose their leaves in winter).

The deciduous plants will offer flowers and colorful foliage, fruit and stems throughout the different seasons.

Evergreens serve a utilitarian role such as creating backdrops, windbreaks, hedges or using them as “filler” plants between deciduous shrubs in the foundation planting.

You can use a mix of broadleaf evergreens (Mountain Laurel, Rhododendron, Holly, etc.) and needle-leaf evergreens (conifers) to complete the 50 percent ratio of evergreens in the landscape.

The term “conifer” refers to a needle-leaf evergreen that produces cones such as Pine, Spruce and Hemlock.

If you want to use conifers as accent plants or specimens in the landscape, look for something with an interesting shape or colorful foliage. Colors can range from dark green to light green, blue-green, gray or silvery-blue, and into the brighter color of golden yellows or creamy white hues.

The foliage color may change with cooler temperatures and may darken to shades of bronze, maroon, orange or yellowish green.

Junipers are useful for their alternating foliage color depending on seasonal temperatures.

Shape can be as interesting as color

Evergreens come in a variety of sizes and shapes to fit every purpose, thereby creating a lot of interest in the winter garden. When snow covers the evergreen foliage, it will amplify the shape of the plant or create additional textures in the garden.

Use small, mound shaped evergreens near entryways or patios to better appreciate their shape when blanketed with snow.

Low growing, prostrate shrubs can be used as groundcovers or to add interest to hillside plantings or draped over the top of a retaining wall to soften the edges.

Upright pyramidal evergreens become accents in the mixed border or use these shrubs on the corners of the house foundation.

You will find many ideas for your own garden by looking at photos in gardening books and magazines, or by visiting public or private gardens.

A fountain of grass

Don’t forget to leave room in your garden for ornamental grasses. They come in different colors and sizes, so you are sure to find one you really enjoy. A few favorites include ‘Yaku Jima’ Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis) and ‘Hameln’ Fountain Grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides).

Ornamental grasses create movement in the garden and make a rustling noise with the slightest breeze. They will turn a warm wheat color in cold weather and makes a nice contrast to the evergreens in the landscape.

Thank you for reading my gardening column! I look forward to offering you inspiration to create a four-season garden that will look wonderful all year long.

Upcoming articles will give you ideas for low-maintenance landscapes and plant profiles on my favorite perennials, shrubs, and trees for the four-season garden.

If you would like to read about something in particular, please send email to cheryl.pedemonti@yahoo.com or leave your suggestion in the comment section below my article.

Happy gardening!

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