Landscaping
- Deer-resistant Flowering Plants
- Cercis canadensis
- Kilowatt Ours
- Vernal Equinox and Spring Flowers
- Ireland's Gardens and Plants
- Wave® Petunias
- Leap Day and Spring Flowers
- Spring Arrives in Plant Zone 7
- Landscapes of Love
- 2008 Plant Conferences in CT
Deer-resistant Flowering Plants
Posted by
Georgene A. Bramlage
Georgene A. Bramlage
It is possible for landscape gardeners in eastern North America to outwit large populations of white-tail deer by carefully choosing plants for their designs.
Each growing season landscapes become buffet tables for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). And questions about deer-resistant plants start coming ito me.
Yes, it is possible for landscape gardeners in eastern North America to outwit large populations of white-tail deer by carefully choosing plants for their designs.
Lists of deer-resistant plants flourish on the Internet. Now, I'm adding to these numbers! What makes my lists different?
Experience shows that at times Viburnum quercifolia (goosefoot / Oakleaf hydrangea) and Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum) 'Blue Muffin' are little more than tasty snacks for really hungry white-tail deer.
Yes, it is possible for landscape gardeners in eastern North America to outwit large populations of white-tail deer by carefully choosing plants for their designs.
Lists of deer-resistant plants flourish on the Internet. Now, I'm adding to these numbers! What makes my lists different?
- I don't choose lists from unverified sources. I assemble my own based on my personal experience and on interviews and discussions with respected experts in each plant category. So far, I've posted two lists – one showing shrubs and the other, small flowering trees. Ones still to come list annuals, perennials, and spring-flowering bulbs. Landscape Gardening with Native N. A. Plants is an index of my articles about deer-resistant and non-resistant native plants.
- Personal experience has taught me that plants native to a location are usually more than likely to be deer-resistant. However, this is not always a workable solution! My sad experiences and those of many readers lead to a strict caveat:
Experience shows that at times Viburnum quercifolia (goosefoot / Oakleaf hydrangea) and Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum) 'Blue Muffin' are little more than tasty snacks for really hungry white-tail deer.
- Now, it is easier than ever for readers to add to my lists. Faithful observant readers may leave anecdotes of their experiences by using Suite101's new "Comment" option. Find this option after each article. I read and carefully consider each comment. However, while I can't respond to individual comments, I can use comments as a base for a Blog entry or amend an article.
Posted by
Georgene A. Bramlage
Georgene A. Bramlage
Why this writer chose Cercis as her nom de plume (pen name). Trials and errors of growing Cercis canadensis in severeal residential landscapes.
Cercis has been my nom de plume (pen name) since I first started using the world wide web and writing landscape gardening articles. Readers of my landscaping articles here at Suite101 usually recognize Cercis as the eastern redbud, native to eastern North America.
However, those friends and readers not familar with native species of eastern N.A. always ask, 'Why do you use such a strange nom de plume (pen name)?'
There were no eastern redbuds where I grew up in Cleveland, OH. My first introduction to Cercis canadensis came when I was a botany student at Miami University (OH). I fell in love with these trees. They are as wisps of red-purple smoke in understories of acidic woodlands.
I have consistently tried to grow eastern redbud trees in my garden landscapes. However, there has been little success.
In Eastern Redbud Trees in the Landscape, I write about Cercis canadensis, its cultivars and its place in landscape gardens. Professor Michael Dirr's comments about seed source selection affecting redbud hardiness verifies my attempts to grow southern selections in my northern landscapes.
However, those friends and readers not familar with native species of eastern N.A. always ask, 'Why do you use such a strange nom de plume (pen name)?'
There were no eastern redbuds where I grew up in Cleveland, OH. My first introduction to Cercis canadensis came when I was a botany student at Miami University (OH). I fell in love with these trees. They are as wisps of red-purple smoke in understories of acidic woodlands.
I have consistently tried to grow eastern redbud trees in my garden landscapes. However, there has been little success.
- Seedlings were collected from southern OH woods and transplanted to amended clay soil in Cleveland, OH. They grew, but never became very large or flowered vigorously.
- Seedlings were collected from a vigorous landscape planting on the University of MA (Amherst) campus and transplanted a dozen miles north and higher in elevation. Soils in this garden were acidic and fertile. One redbud survived, despite early winter dieback and splitting from snow.
In Eastern Redbud Trees in the Landscape, I write about Cercis canadensis, its cultivars and its place in landscape gardens. Professor Michael Dirr's comments about seed source selection affecting redbud hardiness verifies my attempts to grow southern selections in my northern landscapes.
Posted by
Georgene A. Bramlage
Georgene A. Bramlage
Review of a presentation and film about climate change at a recent chapter meeting of the Virginia Native Plant Society. Change energy consumption habits or lose plants.
I recently attended a chapter meeting of the VA Native Plant Society that at first seemed to have nothing to do with plants or landscaping. However, the messages presented by Mark McClain, from the Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition, and the Film Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America by Jeff Barrie were loud and clear.
McClain emphasized that unless energy consumers - most of us - change direction in how we obtain that energy there will not be any plants, gardens or landscapes about which to worry.
One surprising fact stressed by McClain and empasized by the film is that the southeastern states of the United States use more electricity than any other section of the country.
McClain emphasized that unless energy consumers - most of us - change direction in how we obtain that energy there will not be any plants, gardens or landscapes about which to worry.
One surprising fact stressed by McClain and empasized by the film is that the southeastern states of the United States use more electricity than any other section of the country.
Vernal Equinox and Spring Flowers
Posted by
Georgene A. Bramlage
Georgene A. Bramlage
The Vernal Equinox and a mild weather forecast for southwest VA mean blooms from spring-flowering bulbs and blossoms from ornamental trees and shrubs for Easter Sunday.
Vernal Equinox, Full Moon and Easter
Each year, the synchronous occurrences of the Vernal Equinox and Easter bring to my mind a chant I've taught to students and my own children to answer the question, "How do we determine the date of Easter?" The traditional formulaic response says, "Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox."
The date and time for the Vernal Equinox - 2008 is, according to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, March 20 at 5:49 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). On this day, the sun shines directly on the equator, and the length of day and night are nearly equal in all parts of the world. The first full moon on or after the Vernal Equinox is March 21 at 18:41 UTC. So, Easter Sunday is March 23 - the earliest Easter I'll see in my lifetime.
Date and Time Facts
Today's temperatures here in southwest VA are in the high 60s reaching toward the low 70s, but with wind, dark clouds and rain. The forecast for Easter Sunday's sunrise services, egg hunts and family walks promises moderate temperatures in the 32 to 55° range with modest sunshine.
Easter Sunday Blooms
Each year, the synchronous occurrences of the Vernal Equinox and Easter bring to my mind a chant I've taught to students and my own children to answer the question, "How do we determine the date of Easter?" The traditional formulaic response says, "Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox."
The date and time for the Vernal Equinox - 2008 is, according to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, March 20 at 5:49 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). On this day, the sun shines directly on the equator, and the length of day and night are nearly equal in all parts of the world. The first full moon on or after the Vernal Equinox is March 21 at 18:41 UTC. So, Easter Sunday is March 23 - the earliest Easter I'll see in my lifetime.
Date and Time Facts
- The last time Easter celebration on March 23rd was 95 years ago in 1913.
- Easter will not be this early again until the year 2228.
- In 2285, Easter will be one day earlier, March 22nd, the earliest it can ever take place.
Today's temperatures here in southwest VA are in the high 60s reaching toward the low 70s, but with wind, dark clouds and rain. The forecast for Easter Sunday's sunrise services, egg hunts and family walks promises moderate temperatures in the 32 to 55° range with modest sunshine.
Easter Sunday Blooms
- Daffodils, hyacinths and crocus
- Viola x wittrockiana (pansies)
- Helleborus niger and H. orientalis cultivars
- Rosmarinus officinale (rosemary)
- Vinca minor and V. minor 'Sterling Silver'
- Forsythia cultivars
- Magnolia stellata (star magnolia) and M. soulangiana (saucer magnolia)
- Pyrus calleryana (callery pear / 'Bradford')
- Prunus cerasifera cultivars (purple-leaf plums) and P. x cistena (purple-leaf sand cherry)
- Salix caprea 'Pendula' (weeping goat willow) and S. melanostachys (black pussy willow).
Posted by
Georgene A. Bramlage
Georgene A. Bramlage
Ireland's great houses, castles, plants and gardens are part of Irish history, heritage and cultural uniqueness.
I fell in love with the plants and gardens of Ireland during an Irish garden tour five years ago. Irish gardens, due to vicissitudes of Irish history, are pages in a garden history book. They are firmly interwoven with Ireland's manor houses, historic castles and ancient ruins.
Here are some of my articles for Landscaping at Suite101:
Here are some of my articles for Landscaping at Suite101:
- Ireland's Oldest Garden, located in Bray, county Wicklow, demonstrates this historical allure. The Brabazon family (Earls of Meath) has continuously owned Killruddery Estate since 1618. Killruddery contains Ireland's oldest garden features. In recent years the house and garden have provided shooting locations for many films and TV series.
- Ireland's Oldest Garden – Part II is a virtual exploration of some existing 17th and 18th century landscape features existing at Killruddery. Twin canals and a turfed amphitheater are the most distinctive design constructions.
- Killruddery Gardens' Victoriana demonstrates renovations, begun about 1840 and shaped by popular tastes. These features persist alongside of Killruddery Gardens' original 17th- 18th- and 19th - century garden features.
- Killruddery Gardens' 19th Century shows that early 19th century maintenance was ongoing. The owners purchased contemporary cast-iron statues and installed more features. However,Killruddery Gardens retained their original 17th- and 18th- century garden features.
- Shamrocks for the Home Landscape explains why you probably need look no further than your lawn or nearest pasture for a shamrock. The lovely book, Shamrock: Botany and History of an Irish Myth, by E. Charles Nelson, explains why.
- Druids, Saints and Trees tells how author Niall Mac Coitir assembles folklore of native Irish trees. His book Irish Trees: Myths, Legends & Folklore shares with us druids, saints and common folk and their love and use of plants.
Posted by
Georgene A. Bramlage
Georgene A. Bramlage
Wave® Petunias provide garden landscape color and design solutions. They are relatively inexpensive, easy-to-grow, and low maintenance. Perfect for beginning gardeners.
Certain of my relatives always, within my knowledge, planted petunias. And they loved to talk about them, extol their virtues, and draw onlookers into the circle of admiration. In those early days, petunias were not my cup-of-tea. There were too many other plant pleasures for me to enjoy.
Petunias, according to University of GA Professor Allan M. Armitage, were the number-one-selling annual from the 1950s through the 1980s. By the 2000s, they were in second place, with annual impatiens now number-one-sellers.
However, high-performance hybid types like Wave® Petunias continue and extend petunia popularity because they are relatively inexpensive, easy-to-grow and low maintenance. They are available in trendy new colors that make landscape focal points.
Gradually I became a petunia convert , putting them in full-sun hanging baskets and tucked into small beds that cried for a bit of the dramatic. There was no success, however, when I forgot or ignored petunias' love for full sun and well-drained soil. I am looking forward to more experiments this year!
Here are four recent articles in which I enjoy telling readers about one of my favorites, the Wave® Petunias.
Petunias, according to University of GA Professor Allan M. Armitage, were the number-one-selling annual from the 1950s through the 1980s. By the 2000s, they were in second place, with annual impatiens now number-one-sellers.
However, high-performance hybid types like Wave® Petunias continue and extend petunia popularity because they are relatively inexpensive, easy-to-grow and low maintenance. They are available in trendy new colors that make landscape focal points.
Gradually I became a petunia convert , putting them in full-sun hanging baskets and tucked into small beds that cried for a bit of the dramatic. There was no success, however, when I forgot or ignored petunias' love for full sun and well-drained soil. I am looking forward to more experiments this year!
Here are four recent articles in which I enjoy telling readers about one of my favorites, the Wave® Petunias.
- Wave® Petunias in Built Landscapes: Growth Specifics, Care Requirement, and Garden Landscape Design Use
- Wave® Petunia Landscape Designs: Garden Landscape Color and Design Solutions
- Wave® Petunias Design Solutions: Design and Complete One Weekend Projects
- Construct a Wave® Petunia Tree: Handyman Garden Project Generates Creative Landscape Displays
Posted by
Georgene A. Bramlage
Georgene A. Bramlage
Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) and Crocus Tomasianus, reminders of Sissinghurst Gardens and Vita Sackville-West, surprise us here in Zone 7 at the end of February.
A front garden crowded with Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis), a N.A. native, and Crocus Tomasianus surprised us last week during a drive through Salem, VA. Two of my favorite "small / minor bulbs," they remind me of the year I spent living near Sissinghurst Castle Garden (Kent, UK) and time spent in this remarkable garden.
Vita Sackville-West, writer, poet, and maker of Sissinghurst, along with her husband Harold Nicolson, writes of the yellow winter aconite and diminutive light purple Crocus Tomasianus in her long poem The Garden, published in 1946 and set against the backdrop of WWII. Winner of the Heineman Prize, this poem is very personal and symbolic. The seasons in the garden represent, to Sackville-West, the seasons of life.
"...consider too Crocus Tomasianus, small, so pale,
Lavender cups of tiny crockery;
The winter aconite with mint of gold
Like new-struck coins that shame the spectral sun
Hung in our jaundiced Heaven, - these are frail,
So frail it seems they scarcely could endure
One touch of horrid life and life's fierce wind."
Sackville-West also writes of these two tiny spring plants, especially the crocus, in Country Notes in Wartime (1940): "...The little lavender crocus, Tomasianus, is another wanderer, and some of the finest lilies of the valley I have ever seen..."
© Text by Georgene A. Bramlage. 2008. Reproduction without permission prohibited.
Vita Sackville-West, writer, poet, and maker of Sissinghurst, along with her husband Harold Nicolson, writes of the yellow winter aconite and diminutive light purple Crocus Tomasianus in her long poem The Garden, published in 1946 and set against the backdrop of WWII. Winner of the Heineman Prize, this poem is very personal and symbolic. The seasons in the garden represent, to Sackville-West, the seasons of life.
"...consider too Crocus Tomasianus, small, so pale,
Lavender cups of tiny crockery;
The winter aconite with mint of gold
Like new-struck coins that shame the spectral sun
Hung in our jaundiced Heaven, - these are frail,
So frail it seems they scarcely could endure
One touch of horrid life and life's fierce wind."
Sackville-West also writes of these two tiny spring plants, especially the crocus, in Country Notes in Wartime (1940): "...The little lavender crocus, Tomasianus, is another wanderer, and some of the finest lilies of the valley I have ever seen..."
© Text by Georgene A. Bramlage. 2008. Reproduction without permission prohibited.
Spring Arrives in Plant Zone 7
Posted by
Georgene A. Bramlage
Georgene A. Bramlage
Early spring in Virginia (USA) arrives with the blooming of snow drops (Galanthus nivalis) and winter jasmine (Jasminium nudiflorum).
I've watched the nude green stems of winter jasmine (Jasminium nudiflorum) for several weeks now waiting for what I expected as an explosion of yellow blossoms. I've seen no explosion, but each day the arching stems show a few more blossoms. They are still, for me a snowbird from New England, an exciting harbinger of spring. I bring home a few blossoms to float in a glass saucer - distilled sunshine!
Winter jasmine is so plentifully planted on soil banks in my residential community, that I don't need to even think about planting even one near my little cottage. Now the snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) are a different story! A garden landscape can never have too many snowdrops!
I saw my first large patch of snow drops driving home from church yesterday (Sunday, February 3rd). They were nestled next to the road under some pine trees and fully emerged. This was the sort of irregular spontaneous-looking patch that probably arose over the years from a chance seedling or two. It was a temptation to throw on the brakes so I could run back and delight in them at eye-level.
Now that I know approximately when snowdrops bloom in my corner of VA, I can plant some of these little beauties where I can appreciate them the most from inside! In the U.K. there are many cultivars (cultivated varieties) of snowdrop plants that are sold "green" in the spring. Planting this way, really transplanting, supposedly ensures healthy and robust patches. Unfortunately, most of us here in the USA order dry bulbs from catalogs to plant in the autumn. There are also fewer cultivar choices for us.
For more about early-spring bulbs check out:
©Text by Georgene A. Bramlage. 2008. Reproduction without permission prohibited.
Winter jasmine is so plentifully planted on soil banks in my residential community, that I don't need to even think about planting even one near my little cottage. Now the snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) are a different story! A garden landscape can never have too many snowdrops!
I saw my first large patch of snow drops driving home from church yesterday (Sunday, February 3rd). They were nestled next to the road under some pine trees and fully emerged. This was the sort of irregular spontaneous-looking patch that probably arose over the years from a chance seedling or two. It was a temptation to throw on the brakes so I could run back and delight in them at eye-level.
Now that I know approximately when snowdrops bloom in my corner of VA, I can plant some of these little beauties where I can appreciate them the most from inside! In the U.K. there are many cultivars (cultivated varieties) of snowdrop plants that are sold "green" in the spring. Planting this way, really transplanting, supposedly ensures healthy and robust patches. Unfortunately, most of us here in the USA order dry bulbs from catalogs to plant in the autumn. There are also fewer cultivar choices for us.
For more about early-spring bulbs check out:
©Text by Georgene A. Bramlage. 2008. Reproduction without permission prohibited.
Posted by
Georgene A. Bramlage
Georgene A. Bramlage
Five Historic Landscapes Symbolize Five Extraordinary Couples - two in England, one in the U.S., one in France and one in India.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things; believes all things; hopes all things; endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7.
In honor of the great Saint(s) Valentine associated with love on February 14th, one of my recent articles - Landscapes of Love - presents five historic landscapes that symbolize five extraordinary historic couples.
I have been impressed, or even smitten, with these five couples and the landscapes that symbolize their relationships. It took me longer than usual to write this article because I wanted to get it "just right." I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
There is still time to vote in my Landscape of Love poll at the bottom of the Landscaping topic page. Today, February 12, shows these results:
Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things; believes all things; hopes all things; endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7.
In honor of the great Saint(s) Valentine associated with love on February 14th, one of my recent articles - Landscapes of Love - presents five historic landscapes that symbolize five extraordinary historic couples.
I have been impressed, or even smitten, with these five couples and the landscapes that symbolize their relationships. It took me longer than usual to write this article because I wanted to get it "just right." I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
There is still time to vote in my Landscape of Love poll at the bottom of the Landscaping topic page. Today, February 12, shows these results:
- Taj Mahal - Ultimate Epitome of Love with 50% of the votes,
- Adams National Historical Park - Abigail & John Adams with 30%,
- Sissinghurst Garden - Kept Sackville-West & Nicholson Together with 10%,
- and both Hever Castle, Kent - Backdrop for Courtship of Anne B. & Henry and the Petit Trianon - Louis XV & Madame de Pompadour with 5% each.
Posted by
Georgene A. Bramlage
Georgene A. Bramlage
Perennial Plant Conference for professional horticulturalists and Garden Conference for home gardeners sponsored by the University of CT Cooperative Extension System.
There is still snow on the ground in New England, but anticipation for spring and the growing season is like a fever in the blood of horticulturalists. This is, I believe, the best time of the year for plant conferences. Below is information on two of my favorites sponsored by the University of CT Cooperative Extension System.
2008 Perennial Plant Conference
This Conference for professional horticulturalists presented by the Ornamental Plant Extension Team is March 13, with early registration by March 6. The one-day conference draws 350 to 400 attendees each year. The conference targets wholesale growers, retailers, landscape designers, and landscape installation/maintenance specialists.
The 2008 Perennial Plant Conference hosts 10 speakers discussing the latest horticultural topics from green roofs and native design to making money. Pesticide Recertification credits are available for attendees from CT, MA, RI, NH, VT., and ME.
2008 Conference for the Home Gardeners
This Conference is gardeners is scheduled for March 14 with early registration by March 7. The one-day conference is suitable for all levels of home gardeners and all interest levels from beginners to master gardeners.
The 2008 Home Gardeners Conference includes five speakers discussing the latest information about the Green Revolution and our changing environment to gardening in deer country and maintenance shortcuts
UConn Certified Master Gardeners can receive two (2) Advanced Master Gardener classroom hours for attending the Garden Conference.
©Text by Georgene A. Bramlage. 2008. Reproduction without permission prohibited.
2008 Perennial Plant Conference
This Conference for professional horticulturalists presented by the Ornamental Plant Extension Team is March 13, with early registration by March 6. The one-day conference draws 350 to 400 attendees each year. The conference targets wholesale growers, retailers, landscape designers, and landscape installation/maintenance specialists.
The 2008 Perennial Plant Conference hosts 10 speakers discussing the latest horticultural topics from green roofs and native design to making money. Pesticide Recertification credits are available for attendees from CT, MA, RI, NH, VT., and ME.
2008 Conference for the Home Gardeners
This Conference is gardeners is scheduled for March 14 with early registration by March 7. The one-day conference is suitable for all levels of home gardeners and all interest levels from beginners to master gardeners.
The 2008 Home Gardeners Conference includes five speakers discussing the latest information about the Green Revolution and our changing environment to gardening in deer country and maintenance shortcuts
UConn Certified Master Gardeners can receive two (2) Advanced Master Gardener classroom hours for attending the Garden Conference.
©Text by Georgene A. Bramlage. 2008. Reproduction without permission prohibited.
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