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Ilona's Garden Journal




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2014 Garden Retrospective

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American Meadows had sent me some seeds. They bloomed well, but I didn’t get many pictures of them. I was neglectful of the garden, while visiting family for almost 2 months.

In many ways, the garden season of 2014 was challenging. The losses were probably the result of cumulative stresses, but I am sure that the very hard winter contributed to the vulnerability and subsequent losses.

I hope my Hinoki cypress survives another year, but it lost its top portion to disease.

I lost an Arborvitae to the worst bagworm infestation I have ever seen. Nothing I did stemmed the ultimate denuding and death of the young tree.
On the plus side of my year, the cucumber crop was spectacular.

Flowers planted in the vegetable garden flourished, and my herbs did well. I learned that Cilantro springs up readily, reseeding itself.

This time, I’ll let some photos tell their own story.

Little Princess Spirea, blooms reliably every year. Looks best at the beginning of the season, then stays in the background.

 

One of my pink peonies.

 

I loved these geraniums and Swedish ivy on the porch. Trying to keep them alive through the winter.

 

Last winter was so long and so cold. Here, the garden has scant snow cover.
My cucumbers were delicious, thanks to regular rain throughout the summer.

This summer was unusual,too. I wonder if Ohio has “normal” anymore! Our grass stayed green and needed mowing clear through to fall, none of the usual dormant, dried brown period that we usually experience in late summer. This may have contributed to fungal disease on the Chamecyparis obtusa.

The Beauty Bush, ‘Dreamcatcher’ bloomed in keeping with its name this year.
Some pink petunias in a pot by the driveway.

 

Surprised by the self seeded black “sweet potato” vine.

My purple leaved fennel reseeds every year, and it comes up strongly in the areas where it has established itself, but the burnished leaves of the Sweet potato vine were a surprise. Perhaps snow cover made the difference?

I picked up some pink petunias and put them in a broken pot with Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix. They bloomed like crazy all summer. We had more rain than usual and I didn’t have to water the pot at all. I wouldn’t normally expect to get away with that, but this year was different. Even though I had bought some “Flexable” hoses that made watering a cinch. I loved them.

Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ begins to look tatty later in the season

I love variegated leaves- to a fault, but in the semi-shade, Jack Frost Brunnera gives a good show, long after the forget-me-not blue flowers are gone.

As I look forward to the coming year, I hope to divide some of my favorite plants, like this one, and make a few more.

Looking forward to the spring and a new gardening year.

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Visit Ilona’s Garden Journal on facebook: Click here
© 2014 written for Ilona’s Garden Journal by Ilona E. An excellent blog.

We Went South …and now I’m wondering

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South, as in the state of Georgia, and so you won’t hear me complaining about the interminable reappearance of cold in Ohio. Staying with my son who has a nice property right within Atlanta, he is like many young professionals, who just doesn’t feel the desire for lots of yardwork.

Yet, he likes the idea of a nice looking yard. So he talked with me about bulbs. I had him help a lot with our yard when he grew up, but he seemed to miss the notation on when we plant bulbs- or thought the rules changed when crossing the Mason-Dixon.

Rule # 1 for spring blooming bulbs: they are planted in the fall because they need a cold period to bloom.

We see them now in their glory in Spring, but we had to take a bit of forethought to buy those unprepossessing bulbs and put them in the ground last October or so.  Taking notes on which flowers you like, what the bulb varieties and names are, where the best places to put them are all things we can do in the springtime, but the actual planting has to take place in the autumn.

Mailbox space

What Else Is Different?

However, there are some things that change when gardening in the South from my practices in the North, and I was wondering what bulbs do best in Atlanta’s gardens.  I will be doing some research, but if any readers from these warmer climes have suggestions I’d love to have them.

Bulbs are ideal for “no gardening” people who own houses. The only caveat is to allow their foliage to age and wither, so they need to be in spaces that don’t require mowing to keep the neighbors happy. For my son, that means the area around the mailbox, the space between the walk and the house and the wooded verge beside the creek. I could visualize Glory of the Snow, Daffodils, Scillas, and some specie Tulips.

During summer a simple stand of annuals, or daylilies with geraniums would provide an attractive flowering cover for this bed that already has some ornamental grass ( I just cut it down for the new season), liriope, hostas, and small shrubs. A few hours work in spring and occasional maintenance that even a mulched area requires is all that is needed.

The Back Yard

Can’t you picture some cheery spring bulbs when looking into this photo?

But then, I’m the one that loves plants and gardening and becomes excited at the idea of what a property with trees and a small stream could look like with some wildflowers, irises (oooo- Iris ensata!)….

Well, you know.

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Visit Ilona’s Garden Journal on facebook: Click here
© 2013 written for Ilona’s Garden Journal by Ilona E. An excellent blog.

Garden Chores For March, No Digging Yet

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Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn‘ buds on ice

No real attempts at garden chores yet, but not everyone is like Ohio, still in the throes of winter. There were some blue skies, yesterday, however!

I will likely remember this winter for a long time to come.

On Ilona’s Garden some new pages were posted (1) a chores reminder for this month, along with (2) a new page on daffodils. 

I love daffodils, they are so easy for me to grow and propagate. And nothing bothers them! ( Unlike the tulips, which deer nip off, or crocus which suffer attrition to the fattening rodent population).

Today I plan to make the rounds in the garden, checking on things: to see if bulbs are pushing up through the ground, still snow smacked, or how the viburnums bud look. Such activities rejuvenate my mind, and it feels quite mothballed after being cocooned inside all winter long (this was not the best season for my health, and I hope time spent outdoors this spring will restore me).

As always, spring and hope go hand in hand.

Normally I would be viewing this, but not in 2014

When spring is crowded, it was my experience that we had a veritable burst of bloom as everything seemed to be spring-loaded to flower. Maybe we will have such a celebratory entrance of spring this year, once it finally decides to arrive.

At least something will drag me away from pinning. Being cooped up all winter has done wonders for my inspiration lists.

What’s it like in your garden right now?

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Visit Ilona’s Garden Journal on facebook: Click here
© 2015 written for Ilona’s Garden Journal by Ilona E. An excellent blog.

June Flowers

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A sampling of some flowers that bloom in June, here in my Central Ohio garden.

I had plenty of deep blue larkspur and mammoth-sized dill that came up in the vegetable garden.

The heat caused most things to go by all too quickly, and we have now entered a seasonal lull in which the container plantings fill in with their annuals.

The heavy storm last night blew over the top heavy Annabelle hydrangeas. I was surprised to see them splayed most awkwardly- this type usually has sturdy legs.

before the storm