Landscape Challenges: Puttering in Friends' Yards

Yesterday, we visited dear friends of ours who have a new house in the suburbs.  They have maybe been there six months, but with a new baby and a toddler, have been pretty busy.  My friends have long realized that I love to putter around their property and will pretty much help garden in any way possible.  They understand that I can talk plants for days, weeks, months, etc. 

I spent a happy hour or two wandering around and looking at all the plants in the yard and talking ideas.  The house was built in the 60s and still retains a lot of the landscape characteristics, as you can see.

My friend (let's call her Sally) isn't crazy about the very horizontal look to the front bed under the windows.  The good news is that the two crabapples are healthy and well pruned.  They will be gorgeous this spring.

They have already had three big yews taken out along the front walk and the rest are not long for this world. 

They aren't crazy about the two huge burning bushes framing the windows either.  The downspout by the front door empties into the bed, so it's going to need to be buried before planting too much there.

The boxwoods are very very healthy!  I think we're going to move them around the yard and let them be their natural shape.  Sally prefers a more naturalistic look and really hates manicured bushes.  At this point, she'll pull the bed out and give it a more curvy shape, keeping the stone edging.  It's a mix of sun and shade as the house faces east, but the crabs and the parkway tree will shade it somewhat during the growing season.  We are playing with perennial ideas.

What you can't see so well on that pear tree in the left corner is that it is planted too high.  The soil has been mounded up over the root ball, and after a little digging I found the root flare six inches below the soil line.  I also found the wire basket!!  It is coming up through the soil and the loops are a major tripping hazard for an active toddler.  So, we know that pear tree will not be a forever tree, which is OK as the flowers smell like dog urine to most folks.

Sally has a wedge shape backyard, but what is going to come down this year is this diseased and dying crabapple.  It's also dropping fruit on the roof of the sun room, which the homeowners don't like. 

The other fab 60s landscape features are this dynamite red rock mulch and the incredibly healthy wintercreeper groundcover, not to mention more yews!  This corner has the potential to be sunny enough for veggies once the tree and the bushes are gone since it faces the southwest.  Removing rock mulch is a back breaking process, though.  They will keep the rest of the wintercreeper as the dog can romp through it with minimal damage.  The six hydrangeas, however, will get redistributed through the backyard. 

Sally and I only pruned a little bit off the pear and a boxwood.  I can happily prune any and everything, so believe me, I was showing great restraint.  This yard has delightful possibilities and it will be lots of fun to see how Sally and her family build their garden through the next few years. 

Siren Songs of Spring

The birds are returning and the frogs have thawed out.

Skeins of sandhill cranes have been flying overhead for almost two weeks.  Sometimes they are so low, you can swear you can see the red of their heads.  Other days all you can hear is their distinctive cry and a scattering of tiny dots moving swiftly between the clouds.  It's one of my favorite sounds of spring and the heart lifts to hear them.  They are huge, graceful, amazing birds and you can hear some of their calls at the International Crane Foundation site.

Now we are treated to bird-loud mornings.  No longer the edged quiet of winter snow and ice.  The weather has warmed and it's quite the avian singles bar out there.  The robins have arrived and are busy scarfing down the neighbors crabapples.  They aren't flying so straight, and I suspect the crabapples have become tinged with apple jack from freezing and thawing.  Nothing says spring like drunken robins on the prowl.

More than birds, though, another signifier of spring are frogs.  The spring peepers and chorus frogs are singing lustily in the wetlands and ephemeral ponds at the Arboretum.  It is one of my spring rituals to hike to as many as possible on a sunny March day and fill my ears with amphibian love. 

Can't you feel the sap rising?

Spring is in the Air!

Finally. 

It smells like spring.  The fragrances of soil, leaf mold, and waking plants are in the air.  Gone is the crisp knife edge of snow and the hard tang of frost.  The air is like wine and I'm prowling the garden daily to see what's happening.

Plants are awakening and one of the first are snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis).  I have them dotted throughout the beds, but one patch in particular always blooms first. These self-seeded from a clump across the way, and every year they save my sanity.  You'll also notice the wee rabbit turd. They are everywhere and although I hate the bunnies, they do produce nice fertilizer.

The witch hazel (Hamamelis vernalis) buds are just cracking open.  Hopefully they will fully unfurl in the next couple of days.  It will be in the 50s this week, but with steady rain.  The early daffodils are up and the early crocus.  I can see the geraniums and the heucheras popping up tiny leaves and the sedum are hard clusters of buds.  Even Gladys the rhubarb is starting to make an appearance.

What's starting to appear in your garden?

What Gardeners Do in Winter: Part 3

We go on vacation.

In our case, it was Old San Juan, Puerto Rico for some sun, heat, and maybe a fruity drink with an umbrella in it.  We aren't beach people.  We're museum, gallery, historic sites, funky shop people.  And botanic gardens.  It isn't a trip without a garden included.  My husband is very patient and understanding about this.  I am patient and understanding about climbing around old forts with tons of stairs in 85 degrees and 100% humidity.  It's a good marriage.

So, off we go to the botanic garden of the University of Puerto Rico armed with a backpack filled with water, cameras, and Deep Woods Off wipes.  I've never been to Puerto Rico before, they might have huge jungle bugs, you never know.  At any rate, no bug repellent required and we only saw a handful of people.  The gardens are a fair piece out of town proper and being university property, are pretty limited in services.  For example, both the Visitor Center and the cafe were closed.  In fact, we're still not sure if the cafe is ever in operation as it seems to be converted into a daycare center.  Oh, well.  I was here for plants.

And there were plants!  None of them really labeled, but heck, it's warm, and there are flowers and palm trees.  I must say my regular trips to the conservatories came in handy as I could at least recognize some things.  We also met some very lively turtles, ducks, egrets, lizards, and a couple of very large iguanas.  The fauna rather outshown the flora. 

Norfolk pine (Araucaria heterophylla) when left to grow in its appropriate climate.

Isn't it lovely?

Huge bamboo stands dotted everywhere.

Bamboo graffiti

That humble clump of tall grass in the distance is sugar cane here at the Bacardi distillery.  It was all in the interest of research, honest.

Delicious Indecision

We finally did it.  The Dr. Seuss spruce is gone.  Well, almost gone.  When we bought the house, we inherited a Colorado spruce (Picea pungens) planted strategically between us and the neighbors for privacy.  Unfortunately it is directly under power lines and it wanted to be a 60 foot tree.  The poor thing has been topped by ComEd many times so it was pretty much as wide as it was high.  It looked ridiculous.  Yet, it was winter roosting for birds and a great screen between us and our very nice neighbors.  They had a company out recently do so some pruning and the foreman and I made a deal.  So, no more spruce.

This leads to a rather lovely bit of indecision - what to plant in its place.  We love our neighbors, but we don't exactly want to wave at each other through our respective kitchen windows.  Whatever goes in will need to top out at 15 feet tall, be relatively narrow to fit between driveways, handle full sun and pretty alkaline soil, and be dense enough to screen.  Working at a nursery means I have tons and tons of ideas.  I have a soft spot for junipers.  I like their texture and the berries feed the birds.  I'm growing attached to Western arborvitae (Thuja plicata) because it has a more feathery texture and maybe even Techny arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis 'Techny') because I like its purply winter color.  Then there are columnar trees and shrubs.  So many possibilities!! 

What are some of your favorite screening plants?

No more spruce!  Almost 30 feet of space to fill.

The remains of the dearly departed.

What Gardeners Do in Winter: Part 2

I'm just home from my annual winter foray to a couple of our wonderful conservatories - Garfield Park and Oak Park.  We are also spoiled in Chicago with Lincoln Park conservatory and a teensy, very cute Wilder Park conservatory in Elmhurst near the college.  There's even the Mitchell Park Conservatory, or in my family the Milwaukee Domes.  

It was a bustling crowd at Garfield Park on this sunny January day.  We have long ago figured out to leave the coats in the car and make a mad dash for the door.  It's too much of a burden to lug our big winter parkas along and we tough Northerners can handle a few minutes of frozen air.  My husband and I love to take pictures, so it always takes a few minutes for the cameras to adjust to the wonderful moist air of the Palm Room.  Walking into the huge haystacks of glass and breathing all that hyper-oxygenated air is a beautiful thing!  I can feel my skin relax in the dense humidity.  Not to mention the incredible plants.

I will be the first person to tell you I specialize in zone 5 outdoor flora.  Don't ask me about how to care for your houseplants.  I can give you a general answer.  Ask me about the differences between all the hydrangeas, and I'm yours for an hour.  Yet, come January/February, I need to be in a conservatory.  It reminds me that there are bright flowers, green leaves, and growing things somewhere.  I can plop myself down in the Fern Room and pretend it's Brazil.  The Oak Park conservatory has live birds and the most extraordinary Ponderosa lemon tree.  It also has a coat rack!

Here are a few pictures from the couple hundred I took today.

The Palm Room at Garfield Park

The azalea show just started.

The Fern Room at Garfield Park and some of the folks hanging out on the steps.

Oak Park Conservatory.

Datura in full bloom.

The Ponderosa lemon is flowering and fruiting.  The lemons are about the size of softballs, but I understand from the staff that they don't taste like much.

Sustainable Gardening?

I'm fresh back from the Mid-Am Horticultural Trade Show and it was a great experience!  I managed to sit in on quite a few classes, which was helpful for the 'Going Green in the Garden' class I just taught at the park district.

'Sustainable' seems to be the catch word for anything environmental or 'green' nowadays.  I think it is quickly getting overused.  However, the Green Industry (growers, landscapers, garden centers, tree companies, etc.) isn't exactly a 'green' industry.  It changing slowly, though.  Big box retailers are putting pressure on suppliers to use more eco-friendly pots and materials.  Customers are more and more concerned about plants that are grown locally. It does make me ponder, how do we become more conscious of our carbon footprint and yet still maintain profitable business practices? 

Education seems to be the biggest opportunity and biggest hurdle.  The Chicago area is ahead of the rest of the country on sustainable landscapes.  Why?  Because we have so little of our original ecosystems.  Daniel Burnham's plan called for saving the lakeshore for the people.  We have the forest preserves, parks, and natural areas but only a few hundred acres of original prairie and savannah.  People here are working to restore our native ecosystems on public and private lands.  Yet, I come across folks who insist on spraying for any and every insect pest.  Plants should be clean, perfect, and colorful.  Well, folks, plants are certainly NOT perfect. Neither are people or animals.  You can't have a butterfly garden without caterpillars eating your leaves. 

I urge you to get to know your plants, both the ones in your yard and the ones in your neighborhood or workplace.  Is it worth the headache of planting a rhododendron if you have to fertilize, water, screen it from winter winds, and prune it year after year?  Wouldn't a native viburnum be happier there?  So what if there's a few holes in the leaves or you get little red galls on the maple?  Insects feed birds.  One red oak tree feeds 525 species.  Norway maples, not nearly as many.