Author Archives: jmarkowski
A few months ago I attempted to create analogies between certain plants and actors/actresses. Looking back, some of my comparisons may have been a stretch, but one that really worked was comparing a peony to Meryl Streep. Peonies are reliable performers each and every year and Ms.Streep continues to astound with each of her performances (although I vow to never watch Mamma Mia). Peonies are classics, never go out of style and the same can be said for Mary Louise Streep (have you seen Doubt? A performance like no other). Have I lost you? Sorry about that … we move on.
Each and every spring, I can be found on my hands and knees desperately searching for the emerging “fingers” of the peonies:
I know they’ll be there but it is still exciting and means the spring is on it’s merry way.
My personal favorite is peony Bowl of Beauty. The pink blooms with their creamy white center are otherworldly:
Some facts for peony Bowl of Beauty because I’m that kind of guy, even if it was all lifted from other web sites (at least I’m doing the heavy lifting, right?):
- Survives in zones 3-8, although I have read that it can survive to zone 2
- Prefers full sun but I’ve been successful in the past growing these in partial sun
- Peony Bowl of Beauty (or BOB) matures to a size of 3′ x 3′
- BOB blooms for only 2-3 weeks in late spring but what a display it is.
- When planting, and especially if bare root, make sure to plant in the fall if possible – this allows the plant to send out feeder roots, even during the winter, to help it get established. Spring plantings may encounter stress if they’ve missed the chance to establish these all important roots.
- When planted in the ground, the highest crown bud should be no more than 2 inches below the ground. This makes it easier for the plant to go dormant, which is a must for all peonies. Also, like with most plants, do not cover the crown with mulch as it can cause root rot rather easily.
- Peony Bowl of Beauty is one tough, maintenance free plant once it is established. They totally dig being neglected (a specialty of mine) and there are many on record that have survived for more than 100 years
- Peonies Bowl of Beauty prefers well draining soil but mine are in heavy clay that does not drain all that well and they still thrive.
- While peonies are easy to care for, they do require some patience since they may not bloom for the first few years after they’ve been planted. Mine have taken about two years on average – but hot damn it’s worth the wait.
- I’m not a big cut flower guy (although I’ve cut peony Bowl of Beauty for my wife on numerous occasions), but from what I’ve researched, you shouldn’t cut the blooms on plants 3 years old or younger. When cutting, do so in the early morning and choose those where the petals are just starting to separate from the bud. Like the ones seen below:
- The cut stem should be at least 18 inches long and submerged into cold water immediately. Then, only  the leaves near the bud should be kept on the stem.
- Good companions for peony Bowl of Beauty are those plants that bloom both before and after the peonies do. These include hellebores, campanula, daylillies and ornamental grasses. Bulbs planted at the base work real well as they cover up the emerging foliage in the earlier part of spring. I’ve got my peony Bowl of Beauty plants next to Campanula ‘Joan Elliot’ and in front of a large Panicum:
- There is a belief, old wives tale, that in order for peony blooms to open, they must first be covered with ants as they are responsible for initiating the bud to open. I put my detective hat on and from all that I’ve read, it is believed that the ants are drawn to the nectar secreted by the buds but do not have any impact on whether or not the bud actually opens. Personally, I enjoy the “about to open” buds almost as much as the flowers themselves. It is like a promise of what is yet to come:
I hope to add some additional cultivars next season (as always, where is the question) and may even invest in a large sized tree peony. We’ll see. Until then, I’ll drool over my peony Bowl of Beauty.
For now, I’ll just continue to dream about better days as we’re inundated with rain and wind.
Stay thirsty my friends.
ONG
After a fantastic and relaxing Thanksgiving weekend, I expected to be one miserable SOB on Monday morning. Like a kid who doesn’t want to go back to school, I contemplated pretending to be ill. Maybe food poisoning? My work would never question that, right?
Before I could plan out my work abandonment, Casey, our labrador retriever of 11 years, was up and barking at exactly 6:42 AM. I kid you not, it has been exactly that time each morning for maybe the past 8 years. Girl has a routine and she sticks to it.
I opened the front door to let her out to do her “thang” and was immediately drawn to the frost filled yard. It was stunning. I completely lost track of feeding the dog, waking up the kids and getting ready for work. I ran in to get the camera and headed outside without any shoes. Even Casey was way confused:
I just starting snapping off photos and couldn’t have been happier. For one day at least, I forgot how much I hated the cold. The photos:
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| Eupatorium ‘Gateway’ and Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’ |
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| Ilex ‘Blue Princess’ |
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| Barberry ‘Crimson Pygmy’ |
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| Carex Buchananii ‘Cappuccino’ |
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| Hydrangea ‘Endless Summer’ |
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| Ajuga ‘Chocolate Chip’ |
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| Euonymus ‘Silver King’ |
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| Miscanthus ‘Gracillimus’ |
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| Chasmanthium Latifolium’ |
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| Boxwood ‘cultivar unknown’ |
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| Hypericum ‘Albury Purple’ |
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| Yucca ‘Golden Sword’ |
I am longing for the heat of summer today, so selfishly, I am posting photos of my favorite Panicum in chronological order from spring through current day. The friggin spring cannot come soon enough. Enjoy:
Yes, we are coming up on that time of year.
ESPN will show their top ten plays of the year. VH1 will have their top ten craziest acts of the year committed by a former child actor who is now a wanna-be reality star. Nancy Grace will have her top ten moments of acting as judge and jury on some poor sap on her TV show. Jon Stewart could have his top ten moments of having his finger on the pulse more than our own government.
But I digress …
It’s looking back on 2010 time and I’m ready to play too. Today, it’s ten things I still can’t believe I actually said in 2010:
- “I can’t make it to your house for the opening weekend in the NFL, I’ll be in Dallas for the Garden Writer’s conference.”
- “When is Oprah’s ‘Favorite Things’ going to air?”
- “I’ll be right back, don’t let the kids know I am going to pee on the compost”
- “I really like using this Yucca as a focal point in my front bed”
- “I really need to focus more on SEO and use more keywords in the anchor text but not forgetting the value of backlinks.”
- “I’ll be right back, I’m going to head out to the back deck and cut us some lettuce for our salad”
- “I find Twitter very difficult to use, I don’t see myself using it very often.”
- “I really think this is the year the Mets put it all together”
- “I can’t imagine I’ll have the time or patience to take photos of any wildlife out in the yard.”
- “It’s a garden blog. I’m just going to dabble in it a bit and maybe take a few pictures here and there. I can’t imagine I’ll work real hard on it or obsess over it.”
Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.
These quotes are my rallying cry from now until the first green appears again in the spring. I have made the same mistakes over the years and dammit I am too smart and informed to be doing so. It is time to practice what I preach and do this right. No more excuses, no more laziness and I need to remember why patience is such a crucial part of the gardening experience.
Here are the photos not only to demonstrate my ineptitude, but to also light a fire under my ass to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Here goes:
What happens when you plant a shrub in the heat of summer and do not keep up with the watering as required:
Do not leave a shrub out of the soil for a long period of time when transplanting to another location and expect it to just recover in no time. Needless to say, she’s a goner:
Deer do not take a year off from dining al fresco and crossing your fingers is not really a good deterrent:
The soil you use in containers is kind of a big deal, especially if it doesn’t drain real well. Hello blossom end rot:
When taking photos of your beloved plants, it makes them a little more appealing when there isn’t a distracting or unappealing background:
You might want to consider the quality of the photo before exposing it to the world, even if it helps tell a pretty funny story:
Roses and soil that doesn’t drain well do not mix. Even the so-called fool proof knockout roses:
Mint is sort of aggressive and all precaution should be taken to control it:
“No seriously, I’ll find room for those 25 plants. I’ll keep them in the garage for now.”
“Oh, you mean I should make plans to keep the containers watered while we are on vacation for a week in the dead of summer”:
Remind me again what a plant looks like when it requires division. I’m not familiar with that phenomenon:
This might be my greatest sin of all. I am well read on pruning and size control for almost all perennials. How I let this happen is beyond me. I hang my head in shame.
Have a great weekend.
ONG
My last entry touched on those plants that are still holding up this far into the Fall. One of those that is still standing with pride is Catmint (Nepeta) ‘Walker’s Low’.
This perennial has been a reliable and maintenance free performer since I planted a bunch of them a few years ago. I’m sure many of you are already familiar with this gem, but if not, some factoids for you:
- The typical size is about 30″ x 36″ so make sure it is given enough room to mature as often the tags on these indicate they are smaller. Each spring I consider moving mine closer together as there appears to be too much space between them
Only to see them fill in completely later in the season
- Here in zone 6B, it starts blooming in late spring and will bloom into October if pruned/sheared appropriately. Speaking of which …
- If sheared by about 2/3 in early summer, ‘Walker’s Low’ will bloom again in late August and the foliage will come back cleaner as well.
- The blooms are a beautiful blue/violet color
- The foliage is a grey/green color and is aromatic if you brush against it. And because of that …
- It is both deer and rabbit resistant. Mine have never been touched and that is saying something.
- Nepeta prefers sunny and hot conditions and therefore well draining soil. Fortunately for me, I have mine in the only spot in my entire yard where the soil drains exceptionally well.They are planted in the sandy soil that was added when my walkway was constructed. I have tried these in other not so well draining areas and they have never survived the winter.
- Was named the Perennial Plant of the Year in 2007 by the PPA.
- The cultivar name ‘Walker’s Low’ comes from the name of a garden in England. Do not expect this tough performer to stay “low”.
- Was introduced to the public in England in 1988.
- Prefers full sun but can handle partial shade. I have mine in partial shade and they have performed amazingly well.
- It is a magnet for bees and the collective humming sound in the summer can’t be topped
- Survives in zones 3-8.
- For design purposes, it looks great if planted underneath rose bushes not only because of the color/texture contrast, but because the foliage conveniently covers the not so great looking lower foliage on the roses. Of course, I swore of roses earlier this summer, so this doesn’t apply to me.
- For my design purposes, I use these as a ground cover to soften the edges of my front walkway.
- Walker’s Low’ mixes and matches well with other shrubs/perennials
You like? Me too.
ONG
My apologies for yesterday’s “sarcastic” post. I think I confused many of you and gave off the impression that I actually still had peonies blooming in November. If you couldn’t tell by now, my sense of humor skews very high on the immaturity scale. It was a nostalgic look back to the spring and denial that the gardening season is coming to a quick close. I may need to make better use of the mental “edit” button.
But we push on to today’s entry.
This time of year you really appreciate those plants that continue to push on through the colder temps and adverse conditions. I walk around the yard grading each and every plant and their survival capabilities even yanking out some of the weaker performers in a fit of rage. It is truly survival of the fittest.
So here is a photo graphical journey (how’s that for hyperbole?) of the current state of my botanical beauties:
The ornamental grasses are all in different stages of development:
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| Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’ |
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| Miscanthus ‘Gracillimus’ |
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| Panicum ‘Rostrahlbusch’ |
Beautiful fall color that keeps on keeping on:
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| Itea ‘Henry’s Garnet’ |
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| Thuja ‘Rheingold’ |
More subtle happy foliage:
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| Achillea basal foliage |
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| Hypericum ‘Albury Purple’ |
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| Ajuga ‘Chocolate Chip’ |
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| Spirea ‘Goldmound’ |
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| Carex ‘Kaga Nishiki’ |
An interesting random bud/bloom out of nowhere:
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| Campanula ‘Joan Elliot’ |
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| Hemerocallis ‘Joan Senior’ |