The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Category Archives: Foliage

Peony foliage – DGP

Posted on by Posted in Foliage .

It takes a lot for me to allow something so hideous to hang around for so long. It’s been months now and yet she persists. I’ve been close to eradication only to hold off at the last moment. So the peony foliage remains.

peony foliage

I don’t necessarily know this to be true but I’ll run with it anyway: we need to allow peonies to die off without interference. The decaying foliage feeds the plant. And after providing f’n breathtaking blooms in spring, why wouldn’t I allow the peony foliage to remain, ugliness be damned.

She’s earned it.

Foliage over flowers

Posted on by Posted in Foliage, My garden, Perennials, Spring .

It was Portland outside here today or at least how I imagine Portland to be most of the year. I’ve only visited the city twice in my life and both times it bucked the trend of typical northwest weather. It was sunny and dry but still an incredible city and one I’m anxious to revisit. While I may prefer the sun and the extreme warmth of summer here in the northeast, there is no comparison when it comes to the perfect garden conditions of the northwest.

Today was overcast with a relentless mist and a layer of fog that slowly looked to envelope the entire town. But hot damn if it didn’t perfectly highlight and saturate the colors of the garden and aid in it looking healthier than it’s ever been. I’m no professional photographer but I have to assume this was close to the ideal day for capturing the great outdoors in all her glory.

So this amateur shutterbug made it a point to not miss this golden opportunity before the bright sun returns and washes out all of the color. As soon as I walked through the front door and into Seattle, my eye was immediately drawn towards the soon to be blooming mass of Trollius (Globeflowers). The orange buds were radiant and glistening after being misted for like 51 hours straight.

As I settled into my plant-photo-taking-stance, I surveyed this little section of the garden and realized how much it was being taken over by the bee balm I had planted there only last year.

orange flower bee balm

The best part of the quick takeover? The crowding out of any weeds. Not one could be found and that is all sorts of awesome. But not my point, at least for today.

I snapped a ton of pics of this section of the garden and after reviewing them and trying to determine which were blog worthy, I noticed something that only affirms what I’ve always known.

Here is one of the soon to be blooming Trollius flowers captured as the dominant element with the bee balm stems more faded in the background.

orange flower

Nice shot, right? But I prefer this next one, where the bee balm takes the lead.

orange flower bee balm 2

Give me foliage over flowers any day of the week. In this case, I love the reddish/purple outlining of each bee balm leaf, the texture of the leaves covered in moisture and even the shape of the square stems. Flowers are great and special and all because of their usually short stay, but it is the foliage that makes the statement. It is the foliage that works hard to look good all year round. It is the foliage that defines your garden and your style.

As exciting as it is to witness the first Geranium bloom (‘Espresso’) of the spring.

espresso

Nothing compares to the statement made by Lady’s Mantle on a cool and wet spring morning.

lady's mantle

 

One flower, one foliage and one fail

Posted on by Posted in Blooms, Critters, Foliage, Garden problems .

THE FLOWER – nothing carries a more powerful scent in the garden right now than the flowers of Viburnum carlesii ‘Aurora’ (Koreanspice viburnum). When people knock at my door, I take my time answering just so I can watch their nose twitch a bit, see them turn around and try to locate the origin of the smell and then eventually ask “What smells so good out here?” 

viburnum aurora

 

THE FOLIAGE – This is my first year with Sambucus racemosa ‘Lemony Lace’ (Elderberry) planted in the garden (was in a container last year) and it was the quickest of all the deciduous shrubs to emerge this spring. I’m in love with it even at only a foot in height right now.

elderberrry

 

THE FAIL – The Eastern Tent Caterpillars are back on the Crabapple tree for a second consecutive year. Last year I simply slashed open the “nests” and let the birds have their way with the caterpillars and the tree seemed unaffected by it all. Will do more of the same this year.

bag of bugs

An early spring garden tour

Posted on by Posted in Bulbs, Foliage, Spring .

Even with temperatures dipping into the 40’s here in Central New Jersey and wind gusts of up to 40 mph, I still managed to spend a good deal of time in the great outdoors garden on Sunday. There was still dead perennial foliage to be removed, a first wave of weeds to eradicate and the never ending task of cutting down all of the ornamental grasses. When there is an available window of time for garden chores, you take it, no questions asked.

After the “tasks” were completed for the day, I grabbed the camera and did my best to capture what’s going on. Things seem to have slowed down a bit in the garden after the colder weather arrived this past week but there are still signs that we are in fact moving forward. And that is a good thing.

Bud break on the Viburnum ‘Amber Jubilee’ promises stellar foliage is coming in the very near future.

viburnum emerging

 

Same goes for the Sambucus ‘Lemony Lace’ which lived comfortably in a container last season but has now made the jump to the big leagues and is in a very prominent spot in the garden.

emerging foliage

 

Variegated Siberian Iris will enjoy it’s first spring in my garden and here’s hoping it enjoys it’s stay.

emerging iris

 

Bee Balm rosettes threaten to take over all other perennials and I’m OK with sitting back and watching how it will all play out.

emerging bee balm

 

Daylilies … um … are green or whatever.

daylily emerging

 

The cool season ornamental grasses are showing signs of life as seen here with Calamagrostis ‘El Dorado’.

grass emerging

 

The buds on Viburnum carlesii ‘Aurora’ have turned to their usual pre-blooming pinkish hue and it won’t be long before that killer scent is wafting in my front windows and carrying me away to my happy place.

viburnum bud

 

I couldn’t bring myself to cut down the Panicum ‘Northwind’ yet. With nothing but cold temps and wind on the horizon, I still need to watch them dance a bit more before I can bid them goodbye.

northwind blowing

 

And on to the bulbs.

Daffodils, not the most original and unique of blooms but it is still color and they come back without fail year after year after year. An underrated attribute I do not take for granted.

daffodil

 

More Narcissus not too far away.

daffodil buds

 

daffodil buds 2

 

Leucojum aestivum (Summer Snowflake) is starting to bloom and is one of the few bulbs that can withstand wet soil conditions over the winter. Hence, I have got a lot of it. Loved how the back lit sun was captured here.

leucojum

 

leucojum 2

 

The Hyacinth blooms are mini in stature but I’m just psyched that they came back at all again this year. It is the first time I’ve had repeat bloomers. It’s the little things that make me happy.

hyacinth

 

Rainy day garden photos

Posted on by Posted in Fall color, Foliage, Ornamental grass .

Two straight days of nothing but rain here in central NJ and so I did what every warm blooded middle aged man would do … I took rainy day garden photos. Always a fun time and proof positive that my garden writing/photography days are still hanging around.

Here’s how things are looking outside right now, all sorts of wonderfully brown and dreary and upliftingly depressing.

late fall garden 6

late fall garden

buckthorn fall

late fall garden 3

late fall garden 9

rainy day garden photos

late fall garden 5

grass rain droplets

crabapple fall

late fall garden 7

grass rain droplets 2

late fall garden 2

 

Frost photos from out in the garden

3 Photos

Posted on by Posted in Blooms, Foliage .

Just three pics today.

They all make me happy for different reasons.

1)Relentless pruning can prolong color all summer and march you happily into fall.

front bed

 

2)Foliage is your friend.

ninebark karl foerster

 

3)Just let nature spread its wings and stay the hell out of the way.

milkweed

 

Transitional period

Posted on by Posted in Blooms, Foliage .

By my count, there are only 26 days of summer remaining.

Ouch, that was hard to type.

As much as I may enjoy the fall – the more temperate climate, football season, apple picking, phenomenal foliage changes, pumpkin beer – I kind of hate it too.

Not so much for what it provides, but for what it foreshadows. Just the thought of winter makes me physically ill.

Trapped in the house.

The blinding glare of snow.

Frozen nose hairs.

No thank you.

In an interesting and ironic twist, if the pipeline makes its way to my property, there will be a warmer swath of land that I can lay on throughout the winter and keep my tuckus warm. Maybe it is time to rethink this thing.

*Sarcasm – harsh or bitter derision or irony 

Couldn’t resist.

As I stood out in the garden today, two emotions stood out: the last remnants of summer and the first signs of autumn.

Allow me to present the evidence:

Summer fading – The blooms of summer have transitioned to seedheads.

m7

m11

 

Fall arriving – Sedum blooms showing their first signs of color.

m16

 

Summer fading – Blooms half way spent on Cardinal Flower and Switch Grass starting to look a tad bit worn.

m20

 

Fall arriving – First signs of stems turning red on Red Twig Dogwood. 

m17

 

Summer fading – The vibrant combo of Purple Coneflower and Russian Sage looks, well … tired.

m15

 

Fall arriving – The golden hues of Amsonia draws the eye in from afar.

m18

 

Summer fading – The blooms on Hydrangea fading to blush.

m13

 

Fall arriving – Miscanthus in full bloom.

m1

Oh yeah, the garden

Posted on by Posted in Blooms, Foliage, Ornamental grass .

It’s been three straight days of research, meetings, writing, stressing and presenting to boards on all things pipeline. I’m sure I’ll be writing about it all real soon (lucky you) but for now, I’m falling back on my comfort zone – my garden.

Here is the latest:

All of my spring planted Sneezeweed (Mariachi series) are blooming already and I had no idea until today.

l10

 

l6

 

l9

 

l8

 

Speaking of not knowing about blooming, same goes for Eupatorium ‘Wayside’ (Hardy Ageratum).

l4

 

All of the Lobelia are in full bloom. This is ‘Vedrariensis’.

l3

 

And Lobelia siphilitica.

l1

 

Chelone lyonii (Turtlehead) just started to bloom and fortunately they have nearly doubled in count over the past few years.

l5

 

The only surviving Boltonia is blooming and has yet to topple over. Maybe this one represents the survival of the fittest.

l11

 

I completely missed all of the blooming Clethra (Summersweet) the past few weeks and this is all that remains.

l13

 

What more can I say about Panicum ‘Northwind’?

l19

 

Great color on Panicum ‘Rots’ right now.

l21

 

Miscanthus purpurascens (Flame Grass) has got the silver blooming thing going on right now.

l18

 

A Grass Menagerie … cool or a mess? Don’t answer.

l16

 

Blooms fading on Pennisetum ‘Desert Plains’.

l14

 

Northern Sea Oats ‘River Mist’ looks nice and thankfully has yet to reseed.

l12

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dog Days of Summer

Posted on by Posted in Blooms, Foliage, Ornamental grass .

I forced myself out of bed this morning (translation – wife kicked me) to finally spend some time outside in the garden. It had been a long time since we hung out and the excessive weed population proved it.

Between vacation, soaring temps, the day job, child transportation to and fro and self exile from all of this pipeline nonsense,  I’ve been negligent in my garden upkeep and enjoyment.

And here is what I quickly learned … the summer has flown by.

Not only are we now in the dog days of summer, but so are the plants. The vibrancy of summer blooms have faded and we are now in that awkward phase between the sweetheart of summer and when autumn kicks it in to high gear.

Nowhere is this more evident then with one my personal faves, the Bee Balm. I love me some Bee Balm (Monarda), even the current day spent/faded Bee Balm.

j5

It reflects the time of year beautifully. Still some signs of that fantastic flower color, even from afar, yet worn from the pounding of the sun and the brutal heat.

j8

Without realizing it, I’ve allowed the Monarda to spread to its heart content and it is still behaving well with others. True garden interest for months on end.

With Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium).

j7

And with the ornamental grass.

j1

j4

Apparently the butterflies are still willing visitors.

090

While we are at it, let’s throw the Joe Pye Weed into the fading-summer-yet-enjoyable mix as well.

Those pink blooms aren’t as vivid as a few weeks ago, but are still holding up well.

101

093

Again, the critters aren’t holding any grudges.

089

I’m cool with staying in this well worn yet mellow phase for a few more weeks. I’m nowhere near ready for the fall yet and so this is the last I will discuss of it for at least another month or so.

Enjoy your weekend.