A Place for Happy Robins

Day 63

The Daily DuBrule

I had a few hours between the end of my last garden consultation of the day and my evening volunteering to choose the next scholarship recipient for the CT Nursery and Landscape Association, an annual job I love. I decided to pay a visit to the cemetery where my parents and grandparents are buried. It is a beautiful place, filled with large trees and vast expanses of lawn as all of the grave markers are at ground level. The sun was shining, the air was sweet, and I easily found my special spot. 

After weeding around the markers and dusting off the winter's dirt, I sat down and relaxed in the sunshine, letting memories pour over me. It was then that I noticed the birds. Happy birdsong came from every tree and hedgerow, enough to drown out the sound of cars on the road nearby. But it was the flocks of robins that really enchanted me.

They were everywhere, flitting about the grounds, hundreds of them. Digging worms. How do the do that, knowing just where to poke their beaks in the soil to find a worm. I am sure somebody knows what signals they get that says "poke here!". What made me extra specially happy was that as I sat on the grass I saw weeds everywhere. Fernleaf yarrow. Clover, Dandelions. Ground Ivy. Sorrel. Every common lawn weed was apparent to me as I looked around. Aha. This cemetery doesn't use poisons on their lawns. As I sat there on the ground, feeling incredibly tiny in this immense sacred space, I tried to imagine what it would cost, and the labor it would take, to spread weed killers and pesticides on this lawn. I shuddered. Then I thought about just the few people I had seen in my hour there, people kneeling on the ground, sitting, engaging with the earth, and consequently the lawn. What a relief.

Lucky robins. They have found a safe place to live and, as drove in and surveyed the scene, it was clear that nobody was worse off because of it. 

Lily Leaf Beetles Spotted in Northford, Ct.

Day 62
The Daily DuBrule

Today was a day of great celebration. Natureworks opened for its 29th year! If I really set my mind to thinking about it, I feel old, blessed, and so fortunate to have made it to this point currently surrounded by amazing, and I mean truly amazing people helping me run this crazy business. So it's the first day of spring, the first week of spring, and it feels a bit like the middle of May. Hot, sweaty, intense. Towards the end of the day, as I was working with some of my landscape staff training our our new computer system, one of them happened to drop the bomb: "I saw red leaf lily beetles today.". Heads snapped to attention all over the shop. Customers and staff were like...What?! So early? I am not surprised. I usually get a call around the first of April from my neighbor Carol D. up the street from Natureworks. I go tromping out to the garden and scout for these nasty red beetles on my Frittilarias. That is the first plant it eats. The stinky but dramatic bulbs that come up about the same time as the daffodils. So its time to drag out the Neem and the Spinosad and the Pyrethrum. My crews sprays these organic bug killers on the plants and sprinkles Sluggo Plus (which contains Spinosad, which just might kill some of the beetles that hide in the soil) at the base of the Liliums, Tricyrtis, Fritillarias, and Polygonatums, all plants that this dreaded bright red pest will feed on. I, on the other hand, start my intensive, focused scouting for beetles and beetle eggs on every emerging lily and Fritillaria shoot in my gardens. I am a squisher at heart. I seek out the tiny red clusters of eggs on the undersides of the leaves and squish them. If I see an actual red lily leaf beetle, I hunt it down until I find it. If it thinks it can drop to the ground and bury itself in the mulch: WRONG. Last year, it was my routine every morning and every evening to do this. It worked great and I had fabulous lilies.

If this nasty, red, dreaded menace has been a problem in your yard in the past, I urge you, don't ignore this early scouting report. Nip the problem in the bud now. Get out there and find these nasty creatures, get rid of them in March before they can begin their repeated breading cycles.

Don't let this happen to you. Lily lovers, unite!

Open Pruning

Day 61

The Daily DuBrule

I have been moving around my yard working on all my roses. The goal is to open prune them, removing growth that is heading inside the plant and pruning to an outside facing bud. Since new rose shoots head in the direction of the bud you prune to, it makes sense to prune to outside facing buds. Why? Because you want the plant to be very open in the middle, increasing air circulation and decreasing the frequency of fungus. This morning I noticed that I planted crocuses in the heart of my 'Chuckles' rose. These help to show what open pruning is all about!

 Last week I worked on my 'Moje Hammarberg' rose. This is a little harder to see in the picture but look close and you will see what I am talking about. You can see through the plant. After making many major cuts in the center, I then top the plant, removing about 1/3 of the growth.

I do this pruning twice a year. Now, as the new growth is emerging, and again in July. Once the pruning is done, I add three or four shovels full of compost and Pro Gro organic fertilizer to jump start the roses. They LOVE organic compost and fertilizer!

Finally, you just might enjoy a couple of pretty closeups of the flowers in bloom in my yard. The purple crocuses, of course, that have stolen the show in my courtyard this week as the 'Arnold's Promise' witch hazel has finally dropped all its flower petals like yellow shredded snowflakes. And, one of the best harbingers of spring, Azalea mucronulatum. So much is blooming so quickly this week, I can barely keep up!

My Next New Plant

Day 60

The Daily DuBrule

It's not even April yet and I have already discovered a plant that I must have immediately. I was down in Guilford for a social function this afternoon. Late, as usual, I had to park quite far away from the house. Lucky me, I got to park my car right next to this amazing, fragrant, pink flowering shrub in full bloom. From a distance I though it was Azalea mucronulatum 'Cornell Pink' as they are starting to open already. It is a deciduous shrub, open in habit, absolutely covered with the prettiest flowers. On closer inspection the following words came into my head: Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn'. I learned about this plant many years ago but have to admit I have never seen it in real life, growing in the ground. I had a few in pots at the garden center, but they hung around all season and finally got adopted by a savvy horticulturalist at one of our clearance sales. I didn't sell because I didn't know how fabulous it was and so I didn't make a sign for it or talk about or anything. Now I know better.


This plant normally blooms in late March and early April in CT. Since we are having such a warm spring, I am not surprised to see it in flower today. It grows 8-10' tall and 6-8' wide. The plant I saw was loose and open, but I know I could tighten it up with careful pruning right after flowering. I stuck my nose in the blossoms and they were very sweet. Not nearly as intoxicating as Viburnum carlesii, but sweet nonetheless. I imagine in arching over a pair of Abeliophyllums as they would both bloom at the same time and the Abeliophyllums would fill in the base. 

I also now have a new plant I can force for fragrant flowers indoors. I am really excited. This bodes well for the season ahead that I am already coveting completely new plants a few days before our retail shop even opens. I just checked the availability list of one of my growers and wouldn't you know it, they have it. Add one on for me please, as their trucks are loading up and rolling in any day now.

Scents of Spring

Day 59
The Daily DuBrule

I was pulling out of the Natureworks driveway this evening after two fun-filled yet exhausting classes. As I was about to put up the chain, I looked down to see the entire shade garden in full bloom with daffodil flowers. Happy St. Patrick's Day world, this is a first in my book! I treated myself to a huge bouquet to take home. As I gathered the flowers together, I plunged my nose into the giant yellow trumpets and smelled, for the first time a year, the intoxicating scent of narcissus blossoms. Ah yes. It's all coming back to me now. Spring. The feeling of new life rushing through my veins. I must admit, it got to me. 

I came home and couldn't go in the house. The glow in the sky was gorgeous. The peepers were so loud I couldn't believe it. The evening bird song joined the chorus. The setting sun made my gardens glow. I just sat on my deck and relaxed and realized: spring is truly here.

I then wandered around the yard, checking the progress of my emerging plants. The bleeding heart is currently exploding out of the ground. The monkshood is already in leaf. The Iris reticulata and snowdrops are finished. The Lonicera fragrantissima continues to flower, impressing me to no end with it's long blooming season and sweet scent. Tons of tulips have appeared in the last couple of days.

More fun than a barrel of monkeys is my garlic patch. Last fall I tried a creative planting experiment. I love purple tulips but I am not crystal clear on the differences between the varieties. So, I planted a row of garlic, then a row a tulips, a row of garlic, etc. all the way across one of my raise beds. I labeled both the tulips and the garlic. They have both emerged in the last 24 hours. It makes me smile to see this.

Next week is supposed to be in the 70's. What happens if the cherry trees and star magnolias open 3 weeks early and then we have a cold spell? Well, they will probably freeze. If you hear that may happen, pick tons of branches and put them in vases and bring them into work and share them with everyone you know. It may not be the best case scenario, but at least they won't go to waste and the folks that don't have these trees in their yards to enjoy will be thrilled.

We are living in crazy times. We can't change the extreme weather we experience. All we can do is go with the flow, enjoy every drop of color that we are given, and not worry too much about it. The only thing constant in life as change. I guess we might as well get used to it.  
 

Cornus mas in bloom in Durham!

Day 58
The Daily DuBrule

Cornus mas. Cornelian Cherry dogwood. Ever heard of it? If you live in Durham, or if you drive through Durham (CT) every day, you will at least recognize the pictures. This is a really cool tree that blooms REALLY early, usually the end of March. It's been flowering for a couple of days now.

 Anyone who knows plants, when they see these pictures (taken today, I must add, at 6 p.m) will know why this is unusual. So I pull into a parking lot of a strip mall and walk over to this tree. A guy is sitting in a car in the parking lot. I notice him. I think to myself "he must be wondering what I am doing with a camera standing inches from the rather insignificant flowers of this tree and snapping photos for 5 minutes."  Obviously, he is not a horticulturalist, fascinated with the concept of this flowering tree, used as a street tree in Durham, blooming at lest 2-3 weeks early! Amazing!

Anyway, I got that out of my system. According to Michael Dirr, the expert in all woody plants, "few dogwoods are as durable as this underutilized, yellow-flowered, red fruited species." He goes on to say "Bright yellow flowers open on naked branches in March (where he lives, which is much further south than here I must add) and are the only show in town. The 5/8" long, ovoid, bright cherry-red fruit ripen in June and July. They serve as snacks for birds or can be used for preserves and syrup."

Lee Reich, who literally wrote the book on edible fruiting trees for the landscape, writes and teaches about this very interesting tree. The fruit is tart, but quite edible, and has been eaten by humans for centuries. I admit I have never tried the fruit of the Cornelian cherry, but I am thrilled to see these trees in bloom the day before St. Patrick's Day here in central Ct. Together with the star magnolia I saw cracking flowers in Madison, the drifts of daffodils in the shade gardens at Natureworks, and the countless other normally April bloomers that have turned my head in the past few days, all I can say is "damn the torpedoes". Bring it on! For everyone that is worried about what will happen if things bloom and then it gets cold I say ENJOY IT. Be Here Now. Live in the moment. We deserve an insanely early and delicious spring season. Remember last year? Don't we have enough toil and trouble in our lives? Let's just smile gigantic happy smiles and say "Thank you Mother Nature". Que sera sera. I'll take what comes, but give me a warm March anyday and I am a happy gal.

Grow Food

Day 57

The Daily DuBrule

As I drove to work this morning, I just kept thinking about what a great time I had last night talking about growing food with a very excited group of gardeners at Elizabeth Park. A mantra ran through my head. I wouldn't leave me all day, and BOY what a jam packed, busy, intense day I had. I kept thinking about the final question I got from someone who said that my gardens that I talked about and showed on the screen were amazing, but they were overwhelming. Where should she start?

Grow food. Grow your OWN food. It doesn't matter what it is or how little you actually end up harvesting. Just start by growing SOMETHING that you will then eat. In a pot. In a hanging basket. In a tiny bed outside of your condominium. In a small patch that you dig up in your yard. Steal a corner from your flower garden or shrub border. Start with something easy. Parsley. Lettuce. Swiss chard because the red and yellow rainbow varieties are so pretty and can be added to the center of a pot of annuals. Try one tomato plant or one pepper plant in a great big pot on the deck. Plant a blueberry bush. Grow some peppermint for tea. I remember my first peppermint plant, it grew like a weed and I thought "man, plants are fun and easy". Little did I know that it would later take over my world. But it gave me confidence and it was peppermint, one of my favorite herbs for tea, and I never had to buy it again!

I also told everyone to try one new thing that they've never tried before. A few years ago I started growing 'Ruby Streaks' mustard because I saw Rosalind Creasy (author of Edible Landscaping and Edible Flowers) give a talk and she said to just pick the mustard leaves and put them in sandwiches whenever you would spread mustard from a jar. I like zippy greens and, wouldn't you know it, she was right on! Last year I tried a new summer spinach and it worked. I picked spinach for months and added it to so many dishes. This year I am determined to grow parsnips. I just love these sweet root vegetables in the winter. I hear the seeds are hard to sprout. I'm going to give it a try anyway. All I have to lose is a tiny bit of time and the price of a packet of seeds.

So, the mantra is:

Grow food. Any kind of food. Grow it in the ground. Grow it in a pot. Grow it from seed. Buy already started seedlings. Just give it a try. Even if you live in a condominium or an apartment or a tiny cottage by the sea with no sun and rocky, acidic soil (like I did for over 10 years) grow it anyway.  Find something that interests you and plant it. It is our birthright. It is our legacy. Once you start, you will never go back.