FREE for the Taking

In case you haven't noticed, free stuff for your garden is falling from those big plants that do such a great job of regulating life on this planet. Autumn Leaves, they're not just eye candy. For the past 10 years my Township has not had to collect my leaves....my flower beds get every one. I use my leaves as fertilizer, compost, compost tea, a good soil enhancement, and mulch to control weeds. As the leaves fall I vacuum them up with my gas powered walk behind leaf shredder. The shredded leaves are dumped into temporary make shift bins to be used in the spring. The leaves don't have to be shredded into fine powder, just chopped up a bit. The heat of the Winter composting will break them down even more than the 8 to 1 bag ratio of my shredder/vac. It's important to chop those leaves up or that big 'ole pile of non-shredded leaves could take years to break down. Even if you use your lawn mower to shred your leaves that's better than nothin'. I never seem to have enough leaves from my own trees and my neighbors are always willing to let me have as many of there leaves as I want. I sometimes wonder what they must be thinking. Do they know I'm helping my sandy soil hold more water and the flowers get a boost of organic fertilizer. Do they realize that my leaves are not gonna end up in an already over crowded land fill. Do they see the the money I'm saving by using my shredded leaves as a mulch. I don't have to buy 9 or 10 cubic yards of hardwood mulch for my flower beds every year. Do they take notice all winter long of the wire and burlap cages filled with shredded leaves that keep my Banana trees warm and cozy here in zone 7. Do they see me thanking all those big beautiful trees for the many many ways they help us. Or do they think I'm just some crazy fool. Either way when I look up to a tree I'm never lookin' down on 'em.

Hydrangea, Hydrangea, Hydrangea. oh in case I forgot to mention them by name, Hydrangea.
The first thing I'd like to say about this amazing plant is what often goes unsaid in countless write ups. This plant needs requires and demands plenty of H2O, thus the root name 'hydro' as in water. Anyone who grows this plant in Full/sun, or part /sun learns very quickly how much it loves water. So for the plants sake, plant it where it's the happiest, part shade to full shade. Although some varieties of Hydrangea will tolerate more sun than others it's still a good idea to put them in the shade. You don't have to search very hard to find plants that love the sun. On the other hand the variety of plants that grow best in the shade are few in number compared to sun loving plants.
Of the 5 types of Hydrangea that I'm familiar with, I can honestly say I have no favorite. I love them all. I've never met a Hydrangea I didn't love and want to take home and develope an intimate relationship with. The things these plants do for people far out way the care we give them. Which makes them top on my list as easy to care for plants. Oh sure, if you want you can fuss with the soil of Big Leaf Hydrangea 'h. macrophylla' [ includes lace-tops and mop-tops] by adding Aluminum Sulfate to aquire the coveted Blue or Purple colored flowers, but I perfer to let the plant help me by telling me if my soil PH has changed. Again Hydrangea helping people.
For the WOW effect in your flower beds you can't beat the east coast native 'h. arborescens' this baby wants to make us swoon with excitement when it blooms in the late spring [zone 7] with giant white flowers. The cultivar "Annabelle" was a PHS gold medal winner in 2000.
So keep an eye out for this one when you're at the nursery or garden center.
As a spicies, Hydrangea has a plant for all occations. If you've ever seen a mature 'h. panaculata' [ aka.. Pee Gee. short for panaculata grandiflora] in July, in full bloom. You understand the term "eye candy". This sweetheart of a plant puts on quite a show growing as a sort of small 10 x 10 foot pendant tree with snow white blooms that get so weighted down by their sheer number that the branches touch the ground. Be careful where you place this plant, it'll turn heads and stop traffic.
If you need a durable vine that needs no trellis or support, is not messy like grape vines, not as invasive as Wisteria, can climb up the side of a building with out harming the surface like Ivy, is deciduous, revealing a cinnamon colored exfoliating bark all winter long, can grow to 40 or 50 feet and has scented off white blooms then a 'h. anomala' "petiolaris", common name- climbing hydrangea can help you out. I might also add the 'h. anomala' is a very long lived plant. A plant that you can rely on for years to come.
If you aren't convinced yet that Hydrangeas are the next best thing to heaven on earth then maybe if you're lucky, while on a hike in the woods, you see the great and beautiful native 'h. quercifolia or Oakleaf Hydrangea in it's natural setting. If it's autumn this 8 to 10 foot rambling plant will have beautiful burgundy colored leaves shaped like oak leaves. Make sure you return in late June early July because the air will be scented with white upright blooms, offten as long as 12 inches.
I think it's important to mention a new cultivar of 'h. macrophylla' called "Endless Summer" I must admit this plant is not in my garden yet but soon will be. It blooms on both old and new wood which should make this baby almost maintainance free. My other 'h. macrophylla' bloom on new wood so I never prune until after flowering and never ever after September. Every few years I'll thin out my macros in the early spring. I might lose a few blooms but the plants will have bigger and showier flowers.
So remember when you're searching for a plant for a partial to shady area of your garden remember the Hydrangea. You will come to rely on this plant to be dependable and never let you down, just like a best friend.

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN......SEED TIME
By now everyone who's a gardener, and a lot of those who are not, have been found by the SEED COMPANIES. Those annual purveyors of dreams of beautiful gardens, photogenic flowers, tomatoes like "back in the day" or pumpkins the size of VW beetles. The catalogs have arrived. So get your pencils, blank paper, Hi-liters or what ever you use and compile an order. And get to work, it's what you do, it's a big part of the horticulture experience. I don't bother trying to comparison shop, it's a waste of time, most of the major seed companies are about the same as far as price, quality and quantity goes,. After all we're not buying a major appliance here so saving a few pennies is really not worth the time. If you see a plant you like, order the seeds. Whatever the price of seeds, it's always far cheaper than buying the plant and you get to chose the variety of the plant, not the nursery or garden store. Plowing through the catalogs, compiling the order, and making a final decision on what new friends are gonna be introduced to your other friends already in your flower beds, fulfills a possible, primal need....to sow a seed and continue the life of a plant. Call me crazy, but of all the gardening chores a gardener can do, the anticipation of waiting for a seed to germinate is the hardest element of the gardening experience. And I love it, and I'm ready. My seed orders have been arriving about every other day, my seed starting mix [see "Let's talk dirt....March 2006] is ready, my containers are washed and ready and all systems are go to sow.
Time to Germinate.....
All seeds have requirements that have to be met in order for the magic of germination to occur. Dormancy is possibly the biggest obstacle, patience runs a close second. Most good seed catalogs will tell you what the seeds need to germinate and grow to maturity. There are a plethora of books on Plant Propagation, some good and some not so good. Observing what Mother Nature does in your area is worth the time and effort. Look in your own or other peoples flower beds. What did you plant last year that's reseeding it self this year? You might be able to just replant the new seedlings instead of buying and sowing seeds again. Most times temperature plays a big part in breaking dormancy, other techniques are, scarifying [freeze-thaw], exposure to cold temperatures, moisture, darkness, exposing seeds to light, a good journal and above all patience. SO GET GOING.....NOW!!!!!! and don't forget to slowly harden off the lil' seedlings, they've been in your warm house and they need to gradually be exposed to the colder outside temperatures before going into the ground.

Psst!!! I heard a rumor....... Spring is coming.

If composting isn't the number one thought in that part of your brain that controls the gardening impulse it better get there soon, ask most any gardener and they'll probably go on and on about how important compost is to their life as a gardener. If you don't have a composting system......shame on you. Build one, buy one, just get one. It can be a simple pile, an expensive compost tumbler with a crank that you turn every other day, a 3 compartment bin system made out red wood 2x4's or just an inexpensive chicken wire enclosure. The key words here are Nitrogen and Fertilizer- au natural. These things are the magic that is gardening. So if you don't have some sort of compost pile get started soon, your garden is gonna love you for it.

remember...........

RULE #1 no meat,bones, processed left-over foods like pasta, fats, oils, grease,
diseased plants, infested plants or herbicide/pesticide treated grass clippings. I think it goes w/out saying....no kitty or doggie stuff in there, okay? okay.
RULE #2 do use, untreated grass clippings, kitchen vegetable and fruit waste, coffee grounds
and egg shells. Throw in some of last falls shredded leaves. Your pile will need some brown matter to go with all that green stuff.
RULE #3 turn your pile..... The little organisms that are responsible for breaking the
compost down need oxygen to breathe and a little H2O never hurts.

A word about animal waste and Temps-- if you use the droppings from an animal that
doesn't eat meat you should be okay. A good pile should reach at least 105*F, however 115*F-120*F is even better because there are beneficial bacteria that don't come out to play in your pile till the temps get to at least 105*F. Fresh manures can supply your pile with much needed heat to burn up the weed seeds and decompose all that good green matter. If you know someone with a horse or cow or two,offer to take the droppings, your garden will reward you for your effort, it's a small sacrifice you must be willing to make for healthy plants. Besides, if given a choice wouldn't you much rather be behind a horse than a city bus? And don't fret if you can't be the world's best compost maker, Mother Nature will do the job for you, it'll just take her longer.

Before we all hear the call of the wild and are drawn to our gardens I highly recommend reading Michael Pollan's book "The Botany of Desire" a plant's-eye view of the world. It's been on the National Bestseller list but some how I missed it.....probably because I've been stuck in reference manuals or weedin' and waterin' in the garden. It's a very interesting read about the reciprocal relationship between plants and people. He shines light on the question, Did we domesticate plants or did they domesticate us?

Wisteria..... to tame the savage beast
Yes we've all heard the nightmares, yet this plant can be controlled with as little as 2 prunings per year. Just like a bad kid, this tough guy cries out for attention and if it doesn't get it.....well we know the troubles of Wisteria. Before starting, there's a few things you have to know, Wisteria is very hard to kill by improper pruning, so if you make a major faux pas your plant will forgive you by sending up new shoots. Even the suckers can be trained to form a new vine.If you're not very experienced with pruning this is the best plant I know to make a lot of mistakes on, after all this plant grows like it's on steroids so as I say "don't sweat da small stuff". Your foray into the world of pruning starts after the plant has flowered. What you want to do first is look at the vines with new eyes and from different directions if possible. Determine the direction you want it to grow and establish what shoots you want to be the boss, this usually is the thickest shoots, the main framework of the plant. Now get your clippers in hand and get in there and start thinning out a lot of stuff especially if your plant is old and overgrown. You want to leave a proportionate number of new shoots about 6 inches long on the vine[s] 'cause this is where you'll get blooms in the Spring. When you got this guy lookin thin and naked that's when you're finished part one of the taming of the Wisteria. Part two is my favorite part and it should be done at this time of year. Again you'll see your wisteria is rather unruly, but it's easier to see what you're doing 'cause the plant is naked and the framework is exposed. Get your trusty clippers and cut those long shoots that have grown since the summer, pruning down to 3-5 buds. Now your plant is ready to do it's best, to put on a show. With out all that vegetative growth the plant will put more energy into flower production and "that's what it's all about".