Hoping for a very happy Thanksgiving

I love the vintage look of this special poster created by artist, Tom Whalen.

I am so thankful for the friends and family that my wife and I have enjoyed over the years. Though friends and family to come and go over a lifetime, it is the special memories that we carry of them that can bring us times of happiness when we can no longer be near.

One thing that always seems to bring back many happy memories of family events, from times long ago and family members many years past, is the T.V. holiday special, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. It seems that one way or another, this special found its way to be on the T.V. during the holiday weekend. It’s interesting how something as silly as an animated feature based on a comic strip can conjure so many happy memories.

I hope that you and your family will be creating many happy memories this holiday season!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Have I mentioned…?

Have I mentioned recently that I love gardening? I love getting out in the garden and on my hands and knees digging in the soil. Admittedly, the getting back up part is not as easy as it used to be, but while I’m down there, with plants of varying shapes and sizes and colors and textures and scents all around me, my hands in the soil feeling that warm, moist, crumbly stuff that harbors millions of microscopic critters going about their business giving the soil life – and creating nutritious conditions for my plants – is simply exhilarating!

One recent sunny morning I woke up early and full of energy so I thought it would be a great time to enjoy my morning tea out in the conifer garden. The morning was quiet, the sun had just risen high enough to begin to shine its life-giving rays through the filter of many Douglas fir branches causing patterns of light and shadow across the garden. It was a very quiet time, the morning songbirds had completed their job of announcing the day and the squirrels hadn’t begun to attend to their daily affairs of collecting food or planting crops for the future. There was just me and the occasional far-off sound of a dog barking and the rumble of a car or two.

Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Chirimen’ is an excellent dwarf conifer with tiny, coarse textured foliage and a sculptural form that reminds me of something we might find under the sea.

I sipped my tea as I strolled quietly through the garden while I listened to the quiet and breathed in the fresh scent of the new day. Noticing a few weeds near the birdbath, I kneeled to remove them, and before long I was contentedly pulling weeds, pinching the soft and sweetly scented new growth of one of my lavender plants and marveling at the tiny, scale-like, coarsely textured foliage of my Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Chirimen’. Finishing my cup of tea, I moved myself into a sunny patch of the small area of lawn and laid back, looking up into the sky and the taller trees, just enjoying the peace and quiet of this most magnificent morning.

What I didn’t know is that my wife had not remained in bed long after I arose. By this time she had prepared her coffee and was sitting with the cat near one of our windows which overlook the garden. Apparently, she had spotted me sprawled out on the ground, and thinking the worst she came bounding out of the house and ran screaming toward me. Of course this startled me and I jumped to my feet (well, you might imagine that my definition of jumping to my feet is something more like a strenuous series of maneuvers to get myself upright) just about the time she made it to my location.

Now, I shouldn’t complain since once I was upright and she was near we exchanged a rather warm and refreshing embrace. She, of course, had presumed that I had had a heart attack or – well, who knows what. I reassured her that all was well as we strolled back to the house still holding one another close.

Yes, I love gardening, and what I discovered that day, was that gardening can lead to other enjoyable activities.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

The colors of peace and harmony

I’ve been thinking about colors in nature and how color has an effect on the human psyche or spirit. Two of the most prominent colors found in our natural world are blue and green. For most of the day, when the sky is clear, it is a vast ever-changing gradient of blues. Then, when we are able to remove ourselves from the confines of large buildings, we can be surrounded by green. From large forest trees towering overhead to small blades of grass, at least for part of the year, we can be engulfed in a world of blue and green hues.

I’ve noticed that I feel much better when the sky is clear and blue and I am surrounded by plants. I began to wonder if color itself may have anything to do with those feelings of peace, harmony, kindness, etc. so I decided to see what I could find online. Sure enough, there is quite an abundance of information that suggests the colors we perceive have an effect on our overall health and mood.

It turns out that blue and green are rather healing in their nature. Green is said to support balance, harmony, love, and acceptance while blue increases a sense of calmness, love, peace, honesty, and devotion.

Abies procera 'Glauca Prostrata' not only makes a stunning statement in the garden, but may also provide a sense of peace and love.

No wonder I love conifers!

Our amazing world of conifers is made up of year-round therapeutic color. From the wide range of green tones through the vast assortment of blues, conifers could single-handedly transform your garden into a private wellness center. Even in the dead of winter, when the blue sky is often blocked from view by a thick layer of clouds and other plant life has dropped its foliage or withered away until spring, the conifer garden can provide a sense of well-being and inner peace.

When spring does arrive, the color of the conifers is renewed as fresh new foliage appears. Plus, with the addition of the yellows, orange, violet and red of various deciduous trees and flowers, the garden can inspire fun, humor, creativity, optimism, enthusiasm, imagination, intuition, vitality, stamina and passion!

No wonder I love gardening!

One really great conifer with a stunning blue color is Abies procera ‘Glauca Prostrata’. This is one bright blue conifer – it is a real stand-out in the garden. Plus, it tends to be a low spreading form that can cover a wide horizontal space. Probably not a true prostrate form, ‘Glauca Prostrata’ does like to send up the occasional upward growing branch which can be easily removed to encourage its flat form. If an irregular, sculptural form is desired, one might choose to allow one or two of these upright stems to grow, but keep a close watch because in time those small upright stems could become dominant and revert the form of your low spreader into a large upright tree. Either way, the color will remain an extraordinary blue.

Until next time, may your garden be a tranquil respite from the stresses of 21st century life.

Ed-
Conifer Lover

See you next year!

Just quick note to wish you all a Happy and Joy-filled Christmas Holiday Season! Pop on over to the Facebook page and say “Hi” to one another there until I return!

See you in 2011!

Ed-
Conifer Lover

Feelin’ the love

This has been a fantastic summer for enjoying our fire pit. Some summers are so hot that at nine or ten o’clock at night, when we feel like sitting around a campfire, it is still 80 degrees outside. Not this year. This year, not only do I wear a sweatshirt, but I actually enjoy the warmth of the fire.

Pinus parviflora ‘Bergman’ is an elegant specimen in the garden.

Last night as my wife and I were snuggled in our Adirondack love seat near the fire pit, out of nowhere my wife mentioned how much she liked the Pinus parviflora ‘Bergman’ just across the pit from where we sat. Now, hearing this from my wife was quite a surprise because she has always made it crystal clear that she does not like pines.  (Actually, there are a few pines in the garden that she has admired over the years – and now that I am thinking about it, they have all been cultivars of Pinus parviflora (the Japanese white pine).

Pinus parviflora ‘Goldilocks’ appears as a bright golden yellow small tree. Closer inspection of the foliage reveals beautiful two-toned needles.

In my last post I mentioned one of our favored variegated conifers, Pinus parviflora ‘Ogon janome’. My wife loves its soft foliage and variegated needles. Pinus parviflora ‘Goldilocks’ is another brightly colored cultivar that my wife absolutely loves. ‘Goldilocks’ is one the brightest yellows you will see in a pine.  Depending on culture, Goldilocks can be trained as a very straight tree or be allowed to follow the beat of its own drummer and mature into a wonderful specimen with gentle curves that add striking character to this small tree.

Pinus parviflora ‘Catherine Elizabeth’ is a delightful garden additon – I encourage you to invite her into your garden today.

Another Japanese white pine that has won the admiration of my wife is Pinus parviflora ‘Catherine Elizabeth’. This delightful little beauty is soft textured with short bluish green needles and a compact rounded form. Growing just a few inches a year, ‘Catherine Elizabeth’ will fill her space in the garden relatively slowly. She responds well to a little candle pruning in spring/early summer if you desire a tighter, more compact plant.

This seedling of Pinus parviflora ‘Glauca Nana’ has quite the character. Tiny needles and miniature habit make this one to watch for in the future.

The last time my wife joined me for a walk around the display gardens at Iseli, she honed right in on one of the smallest Japanese white pines I have ever seen. This is one of Iseli’s seedlings under evaluation. With new growth of two or three centimeters and tiny curled needles, this irregularly formed miniature captured both our imaginations. I don’t expect to see this little fella in the local garden center anytime soon, but it sure is something to look forward to.

I’m excited that my wife is beginning to move past her dislike of pines in general and is finding joy in a broader group of conifers. Go team conifer!

Ed-
Conifer Lover