So much color! (part one)

You have heard me go on and on about the wonderful year-round color that conifers provide for the garden. From time to time I have even discussed non-coniferous plants with exciting characteristics including, but not limited to, the great color they add to the garden. Today, I thought it might be fun to take a look at some of the most color-saturated plants in my garden and shortly after I began I realized that this will be the first part in a series on intense garden color.

Red is a color that conifers generally add to the garden in small doses. There is Picea abies ‘Rubra Spicata’ with its blood red new foliage push in spring, but it is a rather quick display lasting only a week or two. Many conifers put on a spring-time show with their colorful, and sometimes, bright red cones. Some of these will persist in their colorful stage for several weeks to a few months while others have a shorter duration. For the longest lasting and most intense red color in my garden, I look to broad-leaved trees and shrubs.

Acer palmatum dissectum ‘Crimson Queen’ is a shapely Red Laceleaf Japanese Maple that holds its red color fairly well, even in the heat of summer.

Without a doubt, some of the best reds in my garden are provided by Japanese Maples and there are two which have become favorites of mine. First, Acer palmatum dissectum ‘Crimson Queen’ (Crimson Queen Laceleaf Maple), is an older selection that has been used in gardens since it was introduced in 1965. Rich, purple-red leaves emerge in spring, slowly covering the weeping branch-work with deeply cut, lace-leaf foliage. There is a graceful delicacy to the way each individual leaf is held on the stem which gives ‘Crimson Queen’ its delightful good looks.

As the temperatures rise in summer, many red-leaf Japanese maples begin to lose their color and fade to a muddy green as the red pigment becomes an undertone to the green. ‘Crimson Queen’ holds up particularly well to summer heat – especially if planted in a location which will provide some afternoon shade. With the onset of autumn’s crisp, cooler temperatures, ‘Crimson Queen’ becomes a bright scarlet red exhibitionist drawing many eyes before she finally disrobes, showing off her internal structure.

Acer palmatum dissectum ‘Red Dragon’ retains amazing color through the heat of summer. Both shot were captured during our current local hot spell.

Second, there is a newer Red Laceleaf Maple in town, one which has earned a tremendous reputation for unbeatable, dark, rich, reddish-purple leaves with color that just won’t quit! Holding its dark, rich color all summer long, ‘Red Dragon’ just brightens up in autumn before finally exposing its attractive branch structure through the winter months. Acer palmatum dissectum ‘Red Dragon’ has a neat and tidy, dome-shaped, habit similar to ‘Crimson Queen’, but without the same delicate grace. That’s not to say that ‘Red Dragon’ lacks any beauty, in fact it is one of the most attractive Red Laceleaf Maples available today!

Adding these two Red Laceleaf Japanese Maples to your conifer garden will bring a pleasing addition of red color to complement the array of blues, greens and yellows available in today’s colorful conifer selections. Don’t just imagine your garden full of year-round color, make it your reality with amazing conifers and other exciting garden plants!

Ed-
Conifer Lover

The beauty of the sea

My wife and I absolutely love the Oregon coast. Yes, I am referring to the entire 363 mile length from the Columbia River to the California border. We might even love the Oregon coast as much as we love conifers!

A few years ago we decided it was time to travel the entire length of the coast and stop at all the lighthouses along the way. We had a wonderful time and we met some great people along the way – we even met the daughter of one of our Mid-western friend’s elementary-aged child’s teacher!

Yaquina Head Lighthouse at the central Oregon coast.

Two of our very favorite destinations on the Oregon coast are the Oregon Coast Aquarium and the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. The Oregon Coast Aquarium is a very large indoor and outdoor venue with great displays of our local coastal creatures. One of our favorite displays is the giant column shaped tank filled with jellyfish. We would sit and watch them for hours if we were allowed to set up our lawn chairs right there. The gentle, constant movements of these amazing creatures is very enjoyable to watch – much like a lava-lamp, but cooler!

You can capture your very own Pinus strobus ‘Sea Urchin’ at your favorite independent garden center.

The lighthouse itself at Yaquina Head is great, but some of the best times have been when we have timed our visit to the low tide, which reveals hundreds of tide pools, and the sea creatures that dwell within them. We will find sea stars, a few different species of Anemone, Mussels and one of my favorites, the Purple Sea Urchin, among many other fascinating sea critters. Perhaps coincidentally, one of my very favorite, dwarf, Eastern White Pines is also called ‘Sea Urchin.’

Pinus strobus ‘Sea Urchin’ was the first, dwarf, five-needle pine planted in one of my first conifer gardens, many years ago. I would love to see that old specimen today! ‘Sea Urchin’ appears somewhat like its namesake growing in a small, dense, globe-shaped form with spiky looking needles held out in all directions around the plant. With a growth rate of approximately one inch per year, this soft-needled, bluish-green pine will remain small in the garden for many, many years. This slow growing pine loves full sun and a very well-drained soil and is ideal for growing in a container on the patio, deck or balcony.

I love my ‘Sea Urchin’ at least as much as the real things that I see at the aquarium!

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

Hooray for mulch!

I recently added a layer of Yard Debris Compost mulch to my garden beds with the help of two energetic young men – I surely could not have done the job without them. My strategy in applying mulch is to first give all the beds a good weeding, followed by a healthy soaking of the soil. Once those two tasks were complete, we spread a one to two inch thick layer of this dark, crumbly, grayish-black mulch over all the empty spaces, being careful not to allow it to pile up high near the crown of any plant (the crown being the place where roots and main stem meet). Most woody plants do not like to be buried too deep.

Now, over the next few years, this compost mulch will help reduce weed growth, the soil will retain moisture during the hot and dry days of summer and healthful nutrients will slowly release into the soil. In a few years when most of this mulch has decomposed further, I’ll lightly fork it into the top layer of soil and apply new mulch. The organic matter tends to keep the soil acidic (which conifers love), adds some moisture retentive qualities to the soil, increases soil health by working to make nutrients readily available to plant roots – plus it looks great!

The dark color of the Yard Debris Compost that I purchased from my local independent garden center really sets off the colors of all my plants. The yellows and golds in my garden like, Picea orientalis ‘Tom Thumb’ and Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Verdoni’ seem brighter while the greens of my Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana’ and Pinus mugo ‘Sherwood Compact’ appear richer and darker, all the blues seem to pop out like they haven’t in years – even my wife’s flowers seem more showy with this dark colored mulch. I really do prefer it to the bright reddish orange color of our locally available ground bark.

If you are planning to invest in mulch for your garden this year, it is important to remember that more is not better. It is possible to apply too much mulch which can have an adverse effect on your plants. If the mulch is applied too thick, it can actually prevent a summer rainfall from getting down into the soil where the roots can use it. Plus, plants need a gaseous exchange and too much mulch can prevent the roots from being able to breathe. A two inch average is a good goal, being careful not to apply your mulch thicker than three to four inches is very important.

Now, I do believe it is time for a freshly brewed iced tea and a stroll through my newly mulched garden – what a difference a little hard work can make!

Ed-
Conifer Lover

The taller the better

“Whatcha doin’ up there, Ed” my little neighbor called out as he walked down the lane along the front of my property.

“I’m building a waterfall” I called back from the tippy-top of my tallest three-legged ladder.

The thought of me building a waterfall from the top of a ladder while doing something to a ‘funny-looking’ tree in my garden was all it took to distract him from continuing down the lane with his baseball bat over his shoulder and mitt in hand. My young friend made a detour, turning to proceed onto one of my garden paths, which intersects the lane leading to my house and connecting with his back yard.

“How are you going to build a waterfall from there?” he asked.

When staked as tall as possible, Pinus strobus ‘Angel Falls’ takes on the appearance of the famous waterfall for which it was named.

Of course his question was perfectly reasonable; how could I possibly build a waterfall from the top of a tall, narrow tree?

“Well, I suppose that it’s not a real waterfall – you do have an imagination don’t you?” I asked. At this point I finished tying the leader of my Pinus strobus ‘Angel Falls’ to the top of the 15 foot stake that I have used to train this beautiful tree as tall as I can manage, and I began my decent down the ladder.

I asked my young friend if he had ever heard of the South American country called Venezuela. I then began to describe to him that there is an amazingly tall waterfall there that had been named Angel Falls – in fact, it was the world’s tallest. I explained that the tree I was working on, when staked as tall as possible, actually looks quite a lot like this famous waterfall with its tall narrow form and long, weeping branches that turn slightly outward here and there giving the appearance of water splashing and fanning out as it approaches the ground. In fact, the tree had been named after that waterfall.

My young friend stood listening and looking from the tree and back at me for several minutes. “Yeah, guess so.” he said, “Gotta go!” and off he ran back out the path where he entered my garden and on down the lane to the main road.

“Google it later” I hollered as he trotted out of sight.

When staked as tall as possible, this is one of the most beautiful trees one may ever desire for their garden. It will take up a rather narrow footprint for many years as it is encouraged to grow skyward. It will, however, eventually begin to fill out when the central leader is allowed to fall over and weep and flop and flow on its own. I think I may try removing the leader next year – since my tree is as tall as I can manage now – preventing significant further upward growth, while allowing the lateral branches to continue to weep down, layer upon layer, reaching the ground and spreading like a river flowing below my very own replica of the Angel Falls waterfall.

Ed-
Conifer Lover