Noteworthy Plants and Updates

Early Spring Garden Maintenance

Posted on March 26, 2024 Filed Under: Garden Advice

Gardening Tasks to Complete Now

Early spring is the time to get the garden back in shape in anticipation of the warmer weather soon to come (we hope!). Now is the ideal time for performing certain housekeeping tasks such as pruning, removing old foliage and fertilizing.

We begin our spring housekeeping by pruning our Hydrangea paniculata. These plants only bloom on new growth, so pruning is required each spring to encourage a hearty, thick- stemmed plant while also increasing the number of flowering blooms you will enjoy all season long. Each stem cut will produce two new stems, which will in turn, produce two blooms. If you don’t prune back the stems they will become weak and elongated this will cause the blooms to flop to the ground and cause the plant to look like an umbrella.

Prune just above the first or second node on each branch. you will be pruning off a large portion of the plant but remember they grow a good 4 feet each year! The node are the points on the stems where the buds, leaves and branching twigs originate. A node is a knob-like slight thickening of the wood and looks like a joint in the stem.

We prune ours back to either knee, or waist high, depending on the plants age. We want to encourage overall mature growth while still controlling the size as much as possible.

Another task we are completing is pruning our Helleborus orientalis – Lenten Rose.

By removing the marred, unsightly foliage it will also allow beautiful new flowers to bloom this spring.

Be careful however, to not to prune the flower buds which you will find emerging close to the soil.

A final step we take here at Linden Hill is to clear all the debris from the garden beds. Leaves, sticks and any weeds that somehow managed to overwinter need to all be removed. We recommend a top dressing of a slow release organic fertilizer such as Plant Tone. Broadcast the fertilizer evenly over the garden beds. Once the ground is sufficiently dry it is also a good time to begin edging your beds, this will create a fresh, crisp appearance and greatly improve the overall appearance of the garden

By taking the time now to clean up the garden it will ensure a healthy start for new plant growth and make for more lush foliage and blooms in the months to come.

Hellebores for Your Garden

Posted on March 26, 2024 Filed Under: Garden Advice

Hellebores for Your Early Spring Garden

After the long cold winter, I can’t think of a more wonderful plant to see emerging in the spring than Helleborus orientalis.

Fun Facts and Attributes:

– Despite names such as Lenten Rose, Christmas Rose and Winter Rose, they are not related to the rose family at all, but it’s bloom does closely resemble a rose. They are actually members of the buttercup family.

– It is one of the four classic poisons, together with nightshade, hemlock, and aconite. In fact, the name hellebore comes from the Greek “elein” meaning to injure, and “bora” meaning food. It is poisonous if consumed.

– Hellebores are native to southern and central Europe. They are often found in mountains, and on stony clay soils

– Valued for their winter and early spring flowering period, the plants are frost-resistant and many are evergreen.

-Hellebores tolerate shade very well and it is a perfect plant for naturalizing in a woodland garden.

– On a practical matter, which is important in our area, they are deer resistant.

– The most popular Hellebores for garden use are undoubtedly Helleborus Orientalis and the colorful hybrids (Helleborus x hybridus)

I like to weave them through plantings of hydrangeas because the hellebores will offer evergreen foliage during winter months and then flower early – before the hydrangeas leaf-out. When the hydrangeas do leaf-out they provide cover and shade for the hellebores. Try also planting daffodils in the mix for additional spring color.

The wide range of colors add to the versatility of hellebores – making these plants true early spring gems for your garden.

A-peeling Bark

Posted on October 19, 2023 Filed Under: Garden Design

Pale, peeling trunks add yet another element of interest to the multi-season features of seven sons tree (*Heptacodium miconoides*).

Deciduous trees and shrubs have a lot to offer in the landscape, with features such as showy blooms, lovely leaves, bright berries, and fabulous fall color. One benefit that’s often overlooked is the beauty of their bark. Beyond the typical dark grays and deep browns, bark can add eye-catching color to gardens from late fall to early spring, just when we most need something pretty to look at.

Woody plants with exfoliating, or peeling, bark tend to be particularly valuable, because they contribute interesting textural effects as well as striking horizontal or vertical striping on their stems. Some also add the element of movement, as their loose bark strips or peels flutter in the slightest breeze.

As seven sons tree (*Heptacodium miconioides*) matures, the bark develops intriguing rippling as well as even more dramatic vertical striping.

Careful placement is the key to getting the most pleasure from peeling bark. The tree or shrub needs to be fairly close by, so you can easily see the stems without going out of your way: near a parking area, perhaps, or next to a path, or outside a ground-level window. Surrounding the base of the tree or shrub with a low ground cover is a great idea, but don’t clutter the space around it with other shrubs that may cover up the beautiful bark.

Think about the background, too. A light-colored background, such as a house wall, makes an ideal backdrop for trees that have darker peeling bark, while lighter trunks tend to show off best against a dark fence or evergreen background. Vibrant green turf works well for showing off pretty much any tree with attractive bark.

The pale brown trunks of this multi-stemmed river birch (*Betula nigra*) show up well against the rich green grass and the dark colors of our cottage and office.

Outstanding deciduous trees with peeling bark that are well suited to our area include paperbark maple (Acer griseum), seven sons tree (Heptacodium miconioides), river birch (Betula nigra), and stewartias (Stewartia spp.), to name just a few worth searching for.

Blooms and Berries for Fall

Posted on September 15, 2023 Filed Under: Our Favorite Plants

DSCF5458 — Golden lace (*Patrinia scabiosifolia*) with New York ironweed (*Vernonia noveboracensis*)

September is finally here and after the summer some fresh color in the garden is a welcome sight. Sure, there are autumn standards for beds and borders–asters, goldenrods, and the like–but if you want to set your garden apart, it’s worth hunting for some of the lesser known gems. Read on to discover two of our favorites for color, texture, and yes, even deer resistance!

Golden lace (Patrinia scabiosifolia) is a standout for late-season interest for beds and borders. Typically reaching 5 to 6 feet in bloom, it starts flowering around mid-August and is stunning through September, at least. Earlier in the growing season, you hardly notice its wide rosette of lobed green leaves, but once it begins flowering, it never fails to grab attention.

Golden lace with cobalt-blue ‘Black and Bloom’ anise sage (*Salvia guaranitica*), soft purple Russian sage (*Perovskia*), and white woodland tobacco (*Nicotiana sylvestris*) in the Formal Garden at Linden Hill

The slender but sturdy stems branch toward the top, carrying many tiny blooms in a bright lemon yellow color that makes a pleasing change from the usual brassy yellows of other fall bloomers.

Golden lace combines easily with a wide range of other bloom colors and is a wonderful partner for shrub and tree partners that have showy fall foliage.

Golden lace against ‘Grace’ smokebush (*Cotinus*)

Golden lace also produces colorful fall foliage of its own, usually in brilliant reds but shades of orange and deep red to maroon are also possible. That’s a lot of impact from one perennial! Golden lace is easy to grow but not easy to find, so make a note to check with us for plants next spring. (They settle in best if you move them fairly early in the growing season.) Golden lace thrives in rich, moist soil but can adapt to average garden conditions too, in full sun to light shade.

Purple beautyberry (*Callicarpa dichotoma*)

Beautyberries (Callicarpa) are another excellent addition for an autumn spectacle. The clustered fruits of these deciduous shrubs are so intensely purple that they hardly look real! Purple beautyberry (C. dichotoma) flowers on new growth, with clusters of purplish pink flowers in early to midsummer. Cutting it back to about 6 inches in early spring each year will produce a densely branched, 3- to 4-foot-tall and -wide mound that fits easily into a bed, border, or foundation planting.

The fruits start to color up along the gently arching stems in September, while the leaves are still green. As the weather gets cooler, the leaves take on a greenish yellow to light yellow hue that adds to the spectacle.

The leaves eventually drop, but the berries remain for an additional month or two, at least, extending the show through late fall into winter.