We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
If you plant some now (in the northern hemisphere, temperate zone or above), you will have their foliage and purty flowers busting through the snow in Feb or March. Lenten Rose. Happy with deep shade. The more the better. Too bad they are expensive, but good things often are.
On a warm day, you can smell its sweetness 10 yards away. A good thing about this tough vine is that it does not spread undereground, which is why I had to destroy the yellow Trumpet Vine I had there before.
Many of our posts here are simply topics we research a bit, and then share the info with you. The assumption is that whatever we feel curious about is something somebody else might too.
Fall is the best planting season for shrubs and trees, hence this post on exposure. (Generally, I would never advise planting anything without an overall plan. I have learned from many landscape errors and I wish I had the money back from all of them. Learning is expensive.)
Plants do not thrive without a climate (of course), a soil they prefer, an exposure they prefer, the duration of sunlight they prefer, or the amount of moisture they prefer.
"Exposure" means the amount and direction of direct sunlight, or the lack thereof, on a given spot during growing season. Only a plant in the middle of a large field or large lawn has no limiting exposure. That is known as "Full Sun," 7+ hours of direct sunlight. Full sun is what is needed for vegetable gardens, hayfields and other farm crops, most trees, and many perennial plantings.
In most of the US, trees and buildings determine the exposure of a planting site. Before you plant anything or put in a garden, you need to determine the exposure and the hours of direct sun the spot gets. For example, an Eastern Exposure location gets direct morning sun for maybe 4-5 hrs. That is known as "Partial Sun" aka "Partial Shade." Many plants love that eastern exposure such as Dogwoods, Hydrangeas, Rhododendrons. Such plants hate the afternoon intensity of a Western Exposure so their Partial Sun needs to be morning.
OK. Before planting something, we need to determine the exposure and the amount of direct sunlight. There's another sun consideration too, though. As this site notes:
Remember that the sun changes position in the sky throughout the year, so an area that is mostly shade in spring and fall may get more intense sun during the summer when the sun is high. This could lead to your sensitive shade plants being burned by the sun in July and August. You don’t want that so be sure to take this into consideration when planning a garden area.
As you move towards more northern latitudes, the angle of sun varies seasonally, expanding and contracting exposure. A couple of my Western Exposure rhododendrons only get afternoon sun for several weeks in midsummer, and even that is too much for them. They survive but do not thrive. If they had afternoon "Dappled Shade," they would be fine. Which brings us to Dappled Shade and other definitions. Some good definitions from here:
A young friend recently asked, while on a lovely July walk, how plants got the energy to grow. It is high school bio, but I forgot some of it. I recalled the rough outlines of the Calvin Cycle, then began wondering whether plants had mitochondria because they use solar energy. Well, plant cells are eukaryotes just as are animals, so of course they have mitochondria.
The mitochondria of plant cells are somewhat different and are more variable than those of animal cells (meaning everything from the paramecium to humans). But why do plants need mitochondria at all?
For photosynthesis, they don't need mitochondria much. Light waves provide the energy to split water into the Hs and the O, and to attach those Hs to ADP onto ATP - the main energy source of most living things. Thus oxygen is produced by plants from water.
The second step of photosynthesis is to use the ATP to produce glucose (sugar) from CO2. Technically, triose phosphates are produced, which the cell combines to construct glucose. Simple sugar is the main building block for plant structure (eg cellulose, etc).
That whole thing is called the Calvin Cycle and it is one fancy mini-machine.
However, for night functioning and for extra needs, plants can also burn sugar (that's called respiration) just as animal cells do. Mitochondria do that job. In the respiration of plants and animals, glucose is metabolized to CO2 and water to produce ATP - the energy for cell life and growth. Thus plants are CO2 emitters and oxygen emitters.
Animal life requires plants, but not vice versa. Only plants can produce glucose which is the building block for many things including carbs.
I will not get into the topic of how plants and animals construct proteins now. It is all a miracle.
Unless you have a nice big greenhouse (which I would have if I were rich), growing backyard tomatoes north of Zone 7 is a waste of time, money, and effort. If you calculate the value of those things, your tomatoes come out to over $20/lb depending on how you value your time. I value mine highly, because life is short and my Wanna-Do List is long.
Still, most people do tomatoes anyway. We do it because for 5 or, with luck, 6 weeks we get to pick and eat truly delicious tomatoes. Farmer's Market tomatoes are mediocre, and supermarket tomatoes are terrible. Nothing to do with health - just flavor and juiciness.
Two of my sisters in Massachusetts quit tomatoes years ago. Not worth the effort, and they both have such active and busy professional, social, and athletic lives that they have no time for relatively-unrewarding pursuits. Sensible priorities. Let others grow them. Division of labor.
So I am the stupid one. It is late July, and I have harvested just a single cherry tomato. Chipmunks ate the other two that ripened thus far. The plants themselves are large and lush and laden with swelling greenies. Fried green tomatoes? I do like them.
When I consider the illusion or delusion of the imaginary productivity of some things I do such as hunting, gardening, and fishing I am forced to conclude that the only thing that would be truly cost-effective might be shooting and storing a couple of backyard Bambis in the freezer. (I maybe could add fruit tree gardening to that short list because it is close to effortless, but store fruit is cheap and excellent and I don't like fruit anyway except maybe ripe pears, and peach jam.)
Every other activity belongs in the "hobby" category. That is tomatoes - it's fun to eat home-grown and to pretend it's a worthwhile accomplishment but "It is illogical, Captain".
Homo economicus is just a sliver of human nature once survival is assured. Most of us do lots of things that feel good but make no logical sense. With our free time we rarely calculate cost-effectiveness or opportunity cost. Editing Maggie's Farm might be a prime example...but your readership is our thin reward.
I have tried any number of times and man, are they picky. I place them on the list of plants that only thrive where they feel like it. If they aren't happy, there ain't nothin you can do about it.
You just have to admit defeat.
Even if you have some modest success, without netting I would lose all of the berries to the Robins and Catbirds.
On the farm where I spent my weekends growing up, wild blueberries grew all along the hayfield edges, reaching out from the woods over the barbed-wire fences. They grew up to 8' high, so every age had his own level to pick. They were so productive that it was no problem sharing with the birds. My Mom took coffee cans, made two holes with a nail and strung a string through them to hang around your neck, and painted our names on them with blue paint spots to indicate "berry can." Those cans hung in the barn for years.
I have seen similar wonderful areas of wild highbush blueberries on Cape Cod, but was never there much during blueberry season. Despite what is said about growing them, the wild bushes seem to like boggy edges, or at least lowlands. There is no doubt that they need acidic soil. Not being a Maine guy except during grouse season, I have no experience with the Lowbush Blueberry.
After a picking, my Mom would always make a Blueberry flat cake with hard sauce. Wow. Such memories. It's too bad there are no wild Blueberries on Maggie's Farm, but there are none.
The Blueberry is not a true fruit. Furthermore, it's in the Rhodadendron family. It's in the (marketing) category of "superfruits" because they are supposed to be "good for you," whatever the heck that means (nothing).
With some new full-sun garden space, I was considering trying again with a row of around 6 Blueberry bushes. Problem is, I want the small dark wild ones that look more black than blue with the intense wild tang, and not the fancy, fat, overly-sweet hybrids that you can get at the store anyway. Plus I don't want to bother with netting.
Also, in the NYT, a little story about a family of Scarlet Tanagers - a splendid bird - getting caught under bird netting. The netting has to be very well-secured to the ground unless you want to build a bird trap.
These Tanagers are not rare in Eastern deciduous woodlands, but they aren't seen often because they tend to forage high and quiet. Here's the CLO bit on them.
Thanks for identifying that tree yesterday. It indeed does turn out to be an Ashe Magnolia, a wild magnolia seen mostly in southern woodlands but which can be found as far north as Ohio. They seem quite happy in NYC.
Purple pansies in a big pot - they do not mind cold nights
Planted a pack of Sugar Snap peas in the garden. Soil still cool and damp, but whatever.
Planted the 3 new dwarf hydrangeas in the front garden - they should be swell by July. A garden border is never done.
Moved some perennials around. Now is the time. A border is never done.
Planted my new hardy Chicago Fig in the back garden. Sturdy plant, hardly budded out yet. Counting on a modest crop this summer.
Put 2 new tires on my wheelbarrow - solid tires this time, from Home Depot. Got sick of the inflatable ones.
Started a tranche of Mouse Melon seeds indoors. Last year, I started them too late. Need more containers for more Mouse Melon seeds. Really do enjoy those little buggers and most people up here have never seen 'em. Need enuf seedlings to share with my gardening pals.
Limed the lawn. It works. Rule of thumb: Fertilize things before green or buds emerge cuz the roots have already started growing. I did the delightful Milorganite 3 weeks ago. Thanks, Milwaukee. I like strong grass that can take abuse. In early June I will aerate it with a rented plugger. A mess for a week, but trodden turf loves it and so do the worms. Lawn is a stupid thing, but...
Hydrangeas are popular in New England, but you have to know what you are doing in order to have happy plants. As summer-flowering shrubs go, they are fairly easy. Summer-through-Sept bloomers. We have lots of them, even a climbing one.
- South of the New Jersey latitude, Hydrangeas can handle filtered light. North of that, they need more hours of full sun to be vigorous and to produce impressive bloom.
- As their name implies, many varieties like water, mist, and fog. Good mulching prevents summer wilt if that's a problem.
- A new or transplanted Hydrangea wants plenty of water the first year. They like rich soil too. Not hard clay.
- As we have said before, for good bloom you have to know the difference between your Macrophylla and your Paniculata. It's not rocket science. I think my favorites are the Lacecaps, which are Macrophyllas.
- There are so many varietals, it is difficult to keep track of them all. GMO hybrids.
- The Oakleaf varieties seem to be the toughest, least fragile. Big white blooms, late summer.
- Many or even most varietals never want to be pruned and just want space to grow. It does not work to try to control a varietal that wants to be 15' high and 20' wide. Those big ones create their own cool, moist microclimate underneath.
When asked "When is the best time to prune a (fill in the type) shrub or tree?" my horticulturalist friend replies "When your blade is sharp."
His point is that, even if there are optimal times to do it (ie late winter for most things), it's more important that it just get done sometime. Poor-pruning or neglected ornamental shrubs are not only unhealthy for these hybridized plants but also makes for an eyesore: leggy shrubs, overly-dense shrubs, and hedge-trimmer buzz-cut shrubs. (Hedge-trimmers are for hedges.)
Beware of pruning anything before 2 growing seasons.
Up here, probably the most common errors are made in neglected or wrongly-pruned hydrangea, lilac, and forsythia.
And I almost forgot to mention Privet. Here's the way to keep a Privet hedge going forever.
Here's a good primer on pruning lilacs. I advise people to Google "shrub name + pruning" before taking a blade to a plant. Rejuvenating a long-neglected or wrongly-pruned shrub can take years because drastic correction can kill the plant. Sometimes better to get rid of it and start anew, or leave it alone.
The reason to care about the timing of your pruning is because some ornamentals bloom on the previous year's growth, and some on new growth. For example, the Macrophylla types of hydrangeas bloom on last year's, but Paniculata types bloom on new growth (a good hydrangea pruning site here.) If you prune at the wrong time, you will have no flowers.
This good pruning summary from Texas A&M says this:
Pruning recommendations for most deciduous shrubs consist of thinning out, gradual renewal and rejuvenation pruning. In thinning out, a branch or twig is cut off at its point of origin from either the parent stem or ground level (Figure 8). This pruning method results in a more open plant; it does not stimulate excessive new growth, but does allow room for growth of side branches. Considerable growth can be cut off without changing the plant's natural appearance or growth habit . Plants can be maintained at a given height and width for years by thinning out. This method is best done with hand pruning shears, loppers or a saw, but not with hedge shears. Thin out the oldest and tallest stems first.
In gradual renewal pruning, a few of the oldest and tallest branches are removed at or slightly above ground level on an annual basis (Figure 8). Some thinning may be necessary to shorten long branches or maintain a symmetrical shape.
To rejuvenate an old, overgrown shrub, remove one-third of the oldest, tallest branches at or slightly above ground level before new growth starts.
The general pruning procedure shown for crape myrtle (Figure 9, applies to many large shrubs and small tree species. If a shrub is grown for its flowers, time the pruning to minimize disruption of blooming. Spring flowering shrubs bloom on last season's growth and should be pruned soon after they bloom. This allows for vigorous summertime growth and results in plenty of flower buds the following year.
Yes, for most things you prune from the bottom. Make sure you feed them afterwards and remember that roots get hungry before swelling buds appear. To keep well-established shrubs healthy, take out 1/4 to 1/3 of the oldest base shoots each late winter and thus, like lawn mowing, you keep them youthful instead of letting them attain their mature form. For many ornamental plants, we have to fool them into thinking that they are young.
Photo on top: A row of hydrangeas on the bella Isola Bella, with a little rain blurring my lens. Those Italian gardeners prune the heck out of everything, and they do it right.
Brown Turkey used to be the toughest, but even it sometimes died here with a bad winter. With the Chicago Hardy, worst case is it dies to the ground but recovers rapidly from the roots and produces that summer. Hardy to Zone 5
Up north, figs tend to grow as shrubs rather than trees, reason being winter die-back. It doesn't matter. They produce a lot of fruit all summer given good loam, a little fertilizer, and plenty of sun. Mulch and water, especially the first year.
When ripe, pick 'em and eat them when hot from the sun.
As the last snows mostly melt, the soil defrosts a bit, and the blackbirds return, it's time to fertilize flowering shrubs and trees and perennial beds in Yankeeland. Any further snows will be short-lived.
Remember that roots of grasses, perennials, shrubs, and trees begin growing long before green shoots appear. By the time growth appears, it's sort-of too late for plants' spring feeding - especially woody plants. It takes a while for the food to get into the soil, and even longer to get down to the roots and then up into the plant.
Rain is required. I cheat and put Preen on the perennial beds. It's not perfect, but it helps. For shrubs and roses, I use a stick to poke a 6-10" hole near the drip line, and pour some all-purpose fertilizer in there. Just like Jesus' fig tree parable.
If you got too busy to do it in the fall, now is the time. I did my shrubs, roses, gardens, boxwoods, and lawns yesterday, and used up an old bag of Hollytone and an old left-over bag of lawn dolomite (lime) too. I have hollies and hybrid Rhodies in sheltered spots and a few Azaleas too where they are well-protected from winter winds even though we are north of the hybrid Rhodie and Azalea happy zone. North of the Holly zone too, but I love my hollies and the birds do, too.
Heck, I can even get good hardy Crepe Myrtles to thrive here if they are well-sheltered and against the house. Green thumb, or dumb luck? They are well-sheltered, and close to walls and foundations. When they are in bloom up here in August, people wonder what the heck they are because they are a southern shrub/tree.
Need to remember to get my lawns plugged in early June, but I will probably forget to do it because it makes for a week of muddy dog paws on the beds and couches. A hard-packed lawn is an unhappy lawn, and our local tool-rental place rents lawn-pluggers. Fortunately, I decrease our lawn size every time we add a new garden. That's good - but weeding and mulching new gardens is bad. Too hard. In a while I will mulch the heck out of the gardens and let summer do what it will.
Some varieties bloom in the snow, long before spring bulbs.
Here's how to take care of your Hellebores. Seems like a good idea to plant them in bunches. (In our view here at the farm, there are only two types of planting plans - massed - all of one species - and specimen plants. Random mixes are just a mess, we believe, most of the time. I violate the rule often)
I am going to get me some and see how they do.
(I wonder about the impact of online plant sellers on local nurseries and the old standard plant mail-order catalogues. Must be like the impact of Amazon on booksellers. Nurseries cannot compete with the online selections. Just look at Hosta Patch - 500 varieties of Hostas.)
George Washington is said to have loved a chilled Paw Paw. No doubt, he had summer ice imported from the New England ice houses for his Mint Julips. Paw Paws grow wild in the Eastern US, but I don't think I have ever seen one growing.
Remember this?
Where, oh where is dear little Nellie? Where, oh where is dear little Nellie? Where, oh where is dear little Nellie? Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch
Pickin' up pawpaws, puttin' 'em in your pocket Pickin' up pawpaws, puttin' 'em in your pocket Pickin' up pawpaws, puttin' 'em in your pocket Way down yonder in the pawpaw patch.
This custardy native North American fruit cannot be commercialized because it deteriorates so quickly after picking.
My pals and I get a kick out of growing unlikely things in the chilly Northeast like fig, paw paw, and peach. It takes a green thumb. (Brown Turkey Fig can survive New England winters if properly protected. Just one plant can produce hundreds of fresh figs. The above-ground branches sometimes die back in winter here, but it comes back with a vengeance from the root in Spring.)
Tip: Since we are approaching ideal fruit tree planting season, that Mutsu Apple is delicious, bears heavily, has large fruit. My neighbor has kept us well-supplied with his over-abundant crop this fall.
The Wisteria which shades our pergola and makes such a fine display in May sent runners around the porch and attacked our porch furniture like a Strangler Fig. Mind you, we cut the heck out of the thing back in early July but for 2 months it has been on an imperialist rampage.
Where can I buy some Agent Orange? Fighting this thing becomes tiresome. It wants to take over the world.
The problem with growing fruit is that it all ripens at once. The reward is the emotional satisfaction of walking outside and harvesting with friends and family.
Canning etc is a foolish, uneconomic, messy, mindless, homey chore. We all do some of that anyway because it feels good and is a link to the past.
Peach trees to plant this fall (most trees prefer fall planting): Stark Bros.
I have to remember to prune the heck out of my peaches this late winter. My Seckel Pears are still too youthful to bear fruit. My fig shrub died last winter due to global cooling but they often can survive northern winters if wrapped in sheets of polyurethane or garbage bags.
Peaches ripen late up here in New England. Yes, there are peach varieties which thrive in the North.
As of now, I have had five friends over to pick grocery-bags full and have delivered bags to others. I'll ask a daughter to take a bag home to NYC today. And I have made substantial batches of peach jam, peach chutney, and canned spiced peaches. I am close to peached out with God and nature's abbondanza.
Still, this is a pic of the tree yesterday after all that. Plus the windfall from yesterday's thunderstorm. The local deer do not seem to like peaches. Neither do the turkeys. Squirrels like them, but it's more of a crop than they can make a dent in.
I use no sprays, no fertilizer - out of laziness as much as anything else. These peaches are as sweet as honey. I guess I'll make more jam, but let's consider peach pie, peach crumble, and peach buckle (that's old-fashioned).
Problem is that Mrs. BD and I are currently on low-carb, high protein heavy-work-out diet plans in an effort to delay the discouraging and ennervating effects of age and entropy.
Anyway, there are two types of peach pie: a custardy one and the classic plain one. I like both but maybe prefer the more custardy one. There are many variations on both themes.
Now Peach Crumble. Dynamite with some vanilla ice cream or heavy cream. I salivate as I write this.
If you plant some now (in the northern hemisphere, temperate zone or above), you will have their foliage and purty flowers busting through the snow in Feb or March. Lenten Rose. Happy with deep shade. The more the better. Too bad they are expensive, but good things often are. 
Many of our posts here are simply topics we research a bit, and then share the info with you. The assumption is that whatever we feel curious about is something somebody else might too.
A young friend recently asked, while on a lovely July walk, how plants got the energy to grow. It is high school bio, but I forgot some of it. I recalled the rough outlines of the Calvin Cycle, then began wondering whether plants had mitochondria because they use solar energy. Well, plant cells are eukaryotes just as are animals, so of course they have mitochondria. 
Unless you have a nice big greenhouse (which I would have if I were rich), growing backyard tomatoes north of Zone 7 is a waste of time, money, and effort. If you calculate the value of those things, your tomatoes come out to over $20/lb depending on how you value your time. I value mine highly, because life is short and my Wanna-Do List is long.
Ever tried growing Blueberries?
Around here the hydrangeas come into bloom now, just after the roses' first blooms have faded.
It's time to plant bare-root fruit trees. A free ad for
Hydrangeas are popular in New England, but you have to know what you are doing in order to have happy plants. As summer-flowering shrubs go, they are fairly easy. Summer-through-Sept bloomers. We have lots of them, even a climbing one.
There is a new hardy Fig available nowadays. 
As the last snows mostly melt, the soil defrosts a bit, and the blackbirds return, it's time to fertilize flowering shrubs and trees and perennial beds in Yankeeland. Any further snows will be short-lived.
d to have loved a chilled 
I posted about 
The problem with growing fruit is that it all ripens at once. The reward is the emotional satisfaction of walking outside and harvesting with friends and family. 
Peaches ripen late up here in New England. Yes, there are peach varieties which thrive in the North.