October  4, 2016 – Bulb Planting – session No. 2 -  Going to Plan B.

          This is a sequel to yesterday.  All was not as easy as expected.  The area along the walk way at the back of the house is bordered by the house and the sidewalk.  It is a 6 foot by 15 feet oblong of gardening space.  It is lined with Liriope on the sidewalk side and at the entrance end from the driveway is a maple tree.  I pulled the dead, dried flower stems on the Liriope to make them look neater.

          The issue – I hate that word – so politically correct – the PROBLEM – is the 8 year old Maple is now close to 20 years old and the roots have simply sucked the daylights out of that 6 x 15 foot oblong.  So, my daydream of a full blown spring bulb garden is NOT going to happen.  However, plan B kicks in.

          The Liriope is still fine – looking good.  I moved the cement cupid birdbath towards the base of the maple tree – heck – the ground is full of tree roots – let us just put the birdbath where the tree roots are.

          The Elephant ears succumbed to tree root interference – not the drought.  I hacked out the elephant ears and discovered that they had little if any bulb worth saving.

          Last spring I noticed when I was weeding this garden when the crocus leaves had dried – that the bulbs were on top of the ground due to such a hard downpour of winter and spring rains which had washed the soil off.

          First I sheared off the top soil to locate the crocus bulbs; and believe me, I got more than the 25 bulbs I planted several years ago.  I filed an 8 oz. plastic tub the kind that you purchase mushrooms in from the market.  The crocus had multiplied triple fold.  So, I took advantage of that.

          I hogged out 6 holes in the area – leaving the rest of it to the tenacious maple tree roots.   Along the front directly behind the edging of the Liriope I hogged out a ditch to replant the largest of the crocus bulbs.  Next in the 5 to 6 inch deep holes, I planted three holes with Blue Jacket hyacinths in the foreground and three holes of the Thalia Daffodils in the background.  

          I finished with topdressing the area with a rotted pine needle bale and then a fresh pine needle bale on top.  This winter I believe the feral cat will be curled up there when it is cold, as it gets morning sun and is out of the wind.  It all looks neat and in the spring I will have some color.  Not sure how many years this will last with the tree root problem.  But, we will see. 

          That is the best that I can do with this garden at this point – we are now dealing with tree roots.  Future color will need to come forth from potted plants strategically placed. Not a problem – I am good at pot culture and it is a heck of a lot easier than digging in the ground!  I must say – I am pooped from taking the pick axe to the ground!!

          I then directed my attention to the LOLLIPOP Hollies along the front of the house.

          A few years ago I got wild and crazy - - the Nellie Stevens Holly bushes had grown too large for the front of our house. We are about 18 years in this house and the typical shrubs have a realistic life span of 7 to 10 years. [My husband does not want to re-shrub this house – he thinks they are fine – meanwhile I could hardly see out of any windows.]  In order to give them a second wind, [and my being able to see out a window], I did a lollipop on them for sheer fun and interest.  On the Nellie Stevens Holly bushes, I cut the branches from the ground to halfway up the bush to bare center trunks and then topped them so they would grow out – like a lollipop.

It gave them new life, new garden interest, and an interesting statement to passersby.  Meanwhile the small leaved holly bushes in front of them – I cut to 4 inches from the ground hoping that they would come back.  AND surprise, surprise – they did come back.  This was in early Fall one year.  Four out of the five small leaved holly bushes came back nicely and all of the lollipops look pretty good.  Now the Nellie Stevens holly bushes sort of look like little tree trunks with round green tops.

          We are about four or five years into this “lollipop” thing and they don’t look half bad.  Eventually, I will have to re-shrub the front of the house in order to get it back into some symmetry – but at the moment – The lollipop thing will do – because it is so unusual and no one else has them on my street.

          However, the lollipops now shoot up in the center with new growth that is astounding.  Every two to three months these shrubs send up four to five foot center growth limbs that have to be cut.  So, after my second wind, I asked my dear husband to hold onto the waistband of my gardening pants [in order to keep my balance] as I stood on a two-step stepladder and cut the long branches.  It took less time than balancing on my own without a spotter.

          There is a wonderful book – however, I cannot find it right now - one of my best friends gave it to me - remember me, the Pack-rat . . . [Reminder to self – make a list of all books on all the upper shelves of all closets so that you can find something . . .] – but it discussed that every seven years you have to re-do your gardens – because of the growth factor of trees, shrubs, sun, and shade or excess or lack of either.  At this house I am already on the second 7-year cycle and almost into the third!

It is a lovely book that tells you about how you have to re-work your garden as the march of time moves on at your residence.   When I unearth it, I will discuss it in more detail in a future blog.

          But, believe me, you have to embrace the “moving” target of the growing landscape and you have to evolve as the gardens evolve.  Nothing stays exactly the same; you have to bend with the flow – or bend like a tree, whichever you feel works for you.  Remember, there is nothing ‘static’ in the garden.  You are working with nature as your palate and basis of your work of art.  You’ve got to learn how to go with the flow!

          Happy gardening to you all – Oh, wicked me – I bought a whole flat of ruby red pansies . . . more notes to come your way.