The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Monthly Archives: November 2013

Red Twig dogwood ‘Arctic Fire’

Posted on by Posted in Shrubs .

Winter interest.

Oh that elusive winter interest.

It is in the single digits here today so winter is clearly front of mind.

With four long months of fall/winter here in the NJ, and as good as the browns and greens may look, anything that can lend a unique color to the landscape is something worth investing in. And after four years of “investing” in a redtwig dogwood (‘Arctic Fire’ to be exact), I am proud to announce that I have successfully kept one alive and thriving, browsing deer be damned.

More details on ‘Arctic Fire’ (Cornus stolonifera):
*Typical size is 4′ x 4′
*Survives in zones 3-7
*Blooms in May-June (though I have yet to witness, no biggie)
*Works in full to partial sun
*Tolerant of most soils, including my almost boggy conditions

Here she is current state:

 

And from a few weeks ago:

Just about bare, and ready to carry me through the winter with her glistening red stems.
While this shrub puts on its best show during the winter, it looks “nice” in spring/summer with its clean foliage, reddish stems and leaf shape:
Of course it took me years to get to this point. I have had it chewed down to the ground many, many times and just about had given up on it. But then I took a chance and placed it in a partial shade spot hoping the deer would be dumb enough to miss it.

I am proud to announce the deer were indeed dumb and have not touched it since. Here are some of the old pics as the dogwood struggled to find its footing:

As dumb and counterproductive as it sounds, I plan on pruning this shrub back severely in spring to maintain that bright red stem color and will be sure to track its success/failure. Until then, bank on way too many photos of the stems covered in snow.
UPDATE: To see how I’ve handled pruning this shrub each winter/spring, read here.  

The Great Indoors

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The blooms are gone.
The lawn has been cut for the last time.
The transplanting has ended.
All of the bulbs have been planted (well almost).
Now what the hell do I do? 
I’ll tell you what I do. I garden … inside. 
Full disclosure – I have virtually no idea what I am doing when it comes to houseplants. Or growing anything indoors. Zero. If you read my recent post about trying to keep a Meyer Lemon tree alive, well, the proof is in those photos. That thing is hurting big time.
But it all changes this year. I need something to hold me over during the winter months beyond catalog reading/planning. I need to tend to something that doesn’t include bickering children. 
So I’ve taken some first steps and while they may seem small to you, I’m pretty fired up.
As you’ll see in the photo below, I have a few plants that are resting comfortably in a southern exposure outside my back windows/sliding door:

On the left is a Norfolk Island Pine that I’ve tried to keep alive and thriving in the past but was not successful. I like it as a mini X-mas tree and dig its shiny green color and texture. It will definitely need sufficient light and I am up to the task of making that happen.

In the middle is a rosemary plant that I brought in from outside. Only once have I been able to overwinter one of these plants outdoors so why not give it a whirl indoors. I love its scent and I am not above rubbing a branch under my arms and calling it “natural” deodorant.

On the right is the aforementioned Meyer Lemon. I am supplementing the natural light with a grow light:

and took a chance and fertilized it a week ago. I am going to baby this sucker all winter because I MUST have lemons soon:

But does it end here? Hell to the friggin “no”.

A sprig of mint is sitting on the window sill by the kitchen sink (and yes this giant container is awkwardly overhanging the sink):  

How about some bulbs being grown indoors? Amaryllis and Paper Whites (Narcissus papyraceus) are on their way already. I timed their expected blooming for Christmas because I am that skilled:

What’s that you say? People have been doing this for centuries and it is the easiest task of all time. Next …

This last one is the one I am most proud of. I have had this terrarium ever since it was given to me by the people at H Potter over three years ago. I finally took the initiative and filled it with six different ferns:

I actually researched it and planted it appropriately with charcoal, moss, potting soil and river rocks. We’ll see how it goes.

My next task is to purchase some mini succulents online. I’ll be sure to share the results with you.

All of this non-outdoor work is occupying my time nicely and I vow to continue to educate myself more and more on these plants. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on what you cold weather people do with indoor plants. And please provide very specific and detailed instructions as I’m a little slow to grasp this stuff.      

Podcast – “Rapid fire questions for three awesome gardeners”

Posted on by Posted in Podcasts .

My guests this evening were:

Janet – “The Queen of Seaford”

Mia – “Modern Mia Gardening”

Julie – “Growing Days”

I had a really great time with these fine gardeners/bloggers. I had my pen and notebook out the entire time as there were some pretty phenomenal tips and ideas doled out.   

So with that in mind, hurry up and listen to the podcast in its entirety here:

Podcast #4 – Rapid fire questions for three awesome gardeners

Spirea ‘Snowmound’

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I had no idea that Spirea nipponica ‘Snowmound’ had such great fall color. I hadn’t even noticed it once in the past: 

Now I have to find a away to enjoy it the other 358 1/4 days.

Waking up to winter

Posted on by Posted in Family, Winter interest .
Guess who made an appearance today?

Old lady winter revealed herself overnight and with authority. While the snowfall was insignificant, it did make for a nice, albeit short, display:  

But it wasn’t really about the snow at all. It was all about the frigid temps and the severe winds. 
I raced to bring the rosemary and a small plug of mint into the garage so they could be saved from the harsh conditions, knowing they would ultimately end up indoors for the winter. By the time I was done with that task, I couldn’t feel my hands and had a sweet snot moustache. Good times.
Once what little snow we had melted, the winds took hold and have yet to stop. As bad as the winds are, I find myself entertained by the dancing ornamental grasses:

When we say grasses provide movement in the garden, this is the extreme.

In fact, check this out if you like watching grasses dance:

Think the grasses are scared? Hell to the “no”. They’ll bounce back. 

One last thing. And let’s step back into fall for a minute.

We spent this past weekend in Connecticut with family (with hospitality like no other from J&N) and had a chance to visit my wife’s cousin at Quinnipiac University. There is absolutely nothing like a New England autumn and nothing like a New England college in autumn.

Here are a few pics I snapped along the way.

While I may have put the family in danger by taking this photo on a narrow side road near the school, with cars flying by in all directions, it was definitely worth it:

The tree colors on campus were off the charts:

Consider me a new fan of all Quinnipiac sports based solely on their use of grasses: 

The views from all over the campus are extraordinary:

And coming from someone who has so few mature trees on their property,  I have severe leaf envy: 

Oh the compostable possibilities.

We are expected to get back into the 60’s next week so I’m sure I’ll be all autumn-loving again real soon.

John  

The grasses are still keeping things interesting

The end of the line for a plant

Posted on by Posted in Uncategorized .

I would love to discuss a perennial that performed well this year or share photos of an ornamental grass that is putting on a show right now.

But that is not happening today.

Today I am notifying you of a plant that I will be eradicating. Yeah you heard me, eradicating. It’s not enough to transplant it elsewhere or chuck it on the compost heap. We are in full eradication mode. Operation Eradication if you will.

Chasmanthium latifolium, commonly referred to as Northern Sea Oats or NSO if you are on a character limit, has pushed me to the brink and I’m ready to end our relationship.

I  loved this plant /grass at first and even sang its praises in a post from a few years back.

Then after witnessing its love of reseeding, I attempted to control them by cutting them down in the fall.

Well, that didn’t curb NSO’s desire to spread its wings so I am done with it. NSO should stand for:

No one
Should
Own

Sure, the “oats” are fantastic from summer into fall:

And I’ve managed to hide the mess these have been making since early spring, but with the leaves now falling off of the shrubs and perennials it has become even more evident that the party needs to end.

Case in point:  

Reseeding in front of the more mature NSO’s:

Hiding within Itea ‘Henry’s Garnet’:

Getting way too comfortable under Astilbe:

Trying to battle Amsonia:

I’m not anti “pull every individual weed by hand”, but it is impossible to grab these and get the entire root system. A trowel is required for each and every one. Not happening.

So within the next week, I plan on pulling all of these out, lighting them on fire, stomping on them with my shit-kicking boots and then lighting them on fire again. I realize I’ll be doing more of the same in the spring, but at least I’ll know I am on my way to a permanent cure.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

John   

Podcast – “Talking grasses and pop culture with Scott Weber (Rhone Street Gardens)”

Zombies, an evil owl, enjoying poison ivy and fall color

Posted on by Posted in Fall color .

As I start to type this post, it is 12:48 A.M.

I had finished watching the TV show “The Walking Dead” and had faded into my dreams of zombies and how I would survive in the zombie apocalypse (“with flying colors” for those of you interested and I could write a nice little dissertation on it too). A typical Sunday night for me.

But then I awoke to sound of some creature howling in agony right in our front yard. It sounds (and I use the present tense because it is going on live as I write this) like the combination of a wounded owl and a rabid dingo. Or maybe a rabid dingo eating an owl. Or possibly an owl trying to notify us all that there is a rabid dingo on the loose. Whatever it is, it started out as terrifying (especially when zombies are fresh on the mind) and now is beyond irritating. I cannot sleep so I’m writing a post hoping it will help me tune out the hybrid creature.

So with that as a backdrop, here we go.

It had been a few days since I paid attention to anything out in the garden, so I took some time out on Sunday afternoon to catch up. My football team, the Oakland Raiders, were embarrassing themselves yet again so it was time to put the NFL to bed for the day. There were plants to review, analyze and coddle so off I went.

The first stop was a pleasant one as I looked upon my Clethra ‘Hummingbird’ lovingly as it is showing the best fall color in its history:  

The yellow colors have never shined brighter and it actually stands out right now like it never had in previous years. Sweet.

The colors on the Barberry shrubs are also fantastic right now and may make me rethink the option of chucking these next year:  

I am not the biggest Barberry fan but the deer do leave them alone. We’ll see if I change my mind come next spring. For now, I’ll enjoy the fleeting unique hues.

The fall color on the various geraniums has been tremendous this year and has held up longer than it has in previous years. The color on ‘Espresso’ has been phenomenal in year two and I’m leaning towards adding some more next year:   

My Viburnum ‘Aurora’ finally came into its own this year as I managed to successfully hide it from the deer. That includes its wonderful autumn color which is at its peak right now:

Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’ continues to provide bloom color into November thanks to my decision to pinch them back severely back in June:   

More solid fall color with the Hypericum ‘Albury Purple’:

While it pains me to say it, the Poison Ivy color is fantastic. I have plans to eradicate this very soon (rash be damned) but I can still enjoy it while I hate it:  

It was a super windy day, so the ornamental grasses were dancing away:

And the Butterfly Weed was spreading its seed to parts unknown:

Well that was a nice distraction. The creature is still carrying on but I am going to attempt to go back to sleep and ignore its whimpers.

Wish me luck.

John