Witch-Hazel’s Blooming in the White Landscape
By Margaret Gilmour
This winter the branches of my Witch-hazel (Hamamelis x. intermedia) are covered in snow. There are a couple limbs reaching out above the mound, with a few blooms trying desperately to show off their spiked flowers, but for the most part I thought this was just a bad year for winter blossoms.
Then, yesterday, I took a walk at Longwood Gardens, where a group of Witch-hazel surprised me as I rounded the corner. Their bright colors a brilliant show against the white background. It was quite a contrast from what I saw last year at this time in the same spot: sun and grass. (Click here for that story.)
Thanks Witch-hazel, for reminding us that spring is so near.
A Hillside Garden Adds to Outdoor Living
By Margaret Gilmour
For Edythe Joines, eight years retired, and Ronal Fenstermacher, an interior designer who will undoubtedly never retire, expanding their living quarters meant adding 600 square-feet.
That gave them a total of 1,200 square-feet of interior space.
Building small made sense to Joines and Fenstermacher, whose children had left the nest years ago. What the couple needed more than square footage, they decided, was to take their tiny house and give it some character. Knock down walls to create an open living area, and spend as much time possible outdoors where they were cultivating a garden with rooms of its own.
“We tried to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear,” Joines says. “And we’ve been working on this house for over twenty years, completing projects as money became available.”
Originally a modest tenant residence for a larger house up the road, the couple’s twenty-two year evolution transformed the ho-hum structure into a light-filled, contemporary dwelling. For them, small-scale living makes for less stress and less work, and leaves plenty of time for travel.
“It’s a great size for a couple on the go,” Joines says, adding that bigger isn’t necessarily better. “I’ve lived in bigger homes. And there were rooms I didn’t even visit.” (more…)
Plant a Rain Garden
By Margaret Gilmour
What exactly is a rain garden?
It’s a shallow garden with a natural or dug depression, or sometimes it’s plantings installed at the bottom of the downslide of a slope. The rain garden is designed to capture rainwater and, in turn, help reduce storm water runoff and erosion.
These gardens allow about 30% more water to soak into the earth compared to conventional lawns. And because they are created to drain within 12-48 hours, there’s no threat of turning them into mosquito habitats. (more…)
8 Water-Saving Tips for your Landscape
By Margaret Gilmour
The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
We love the idea of celebrating Earth Day each year to promote global awareness, even if it’s just for one day. The hope is that this day will inspire and remind each of us to make little changes that benefit our planet. (more…)
Rain Barrel Special
By Margaret Gilmour
Last year the Chester County Conservation District received a grant to purchase 350 rain barrels.
They sold most of them at a reduced price to community members who attended a public education event on rain barrels and native plants.
The idea of selling rain barrels, of course, was to raise awareness for basic conservation techniques homeowners could practice in their own backyards. (more…)
How Are Your Seedlings Growing?
By Margaret Gilmour
I planted my seeds on March 8th, which I just realized, is exactly nine weeks to Mother’s day on May 10th, the official “plant your garden day” for our region.
You Bet Your Garden’s host Mike McGrath suggests allowing eight weeks for your seeds to grow, then waiting at least until June 1st before planting the warm-weather-loving plants like tomatoes.
So, according to McGrath, I actually started a week early, which it seems I do most years actually, because it makes me feel as if I’m pushing spring along.
By planting early I will need to transplant my seedlings into larger peat pots at least once, and by May 10th they will be bursting from their containers and ready to get in the ground.
But, if you’re just starting your seeds around now, there is still plenty of time to grow them to a good size and strength before taking your spade to the dirt and placing them in the ground.
In fact, if you do wait until McGrath’s June 1st plant date, you still have eight weeks left to grow your seeds.
I can’t wait until June 1st to plant, though. I’m ready to put my plants in on Mother’s Day, unless, of course, the weather is really cold and there’s threat of frost that following week.
And by then they are big enough anyway. By then I am also tired of faithfully tending to them, spritzing them with water, managing grow-light time and plucking off dainty brown or yellowed leaves.
My seed-growing set-up is never fancy. I don’t even have a heat mat although I plan to get one each year. I have one grow light (I need two), and for a couple of months, the floor of my office becomes a green house.
So, when it’s finally time to plant, there is little floor space left. I will have transplanted all my expanding peat pellets into larger pots and gotten into a routine of rotating grow-light time so that the sprouts all get about eight hours of light a day (I really must get another light next year).
Then, right about the time tip-toeing over my plantings to access my desk starts getting to me, I begin transitioning my pots from house to garden with a slow introduction to their new environment.
Even though I’d love to toss the seedlings outside just to get my office back, I know sudden exposure to the outdoors would risk giving them a shock. So, considering that we’ve gotten this far, my seedlings and I, I’m not willing to chance losing even one.
As a matter of fact, by mid-May, I can hardly wait to see my annuals in bloom or my vegetables hanging with ripe produce.
It’s a lot of work walking all the trays and baskets of peat pots outside, then bringing them all back indoors to warm up. But, then again, I’ve already spent eight weeks caring for them and watching them flourish, so these last few steps will just make them stronger once they are released to thrive on their own with very little help from me.
Anyway, aren’t all youngsters a lot of work until they start moving toward more independence?
The more time you spend attending to their needs, helping them progress while pushing them in the right direction, the stronger, and more dazzling they become.
All good traits, actually, for building a healthy garden community.
So, how are your seedlings growing?
Have you seen the Witch-hazel?
By Margaret Gilmour
I saw it from my window last weekend: the copper blossoms of the small Jelena Witch-hazel (Hamamelis x. intermedia) adding much-needed color to my yard.
Actually, it’s blooming throughout our region now, sprinkling spots of orange, yellow and red on our countryside.
You can see some of the best specimens over at Longwood Gardens, where Witch-hazel (Hamamelis) is clustered in groups of different hues flaunting its spiked flowers and contoured limbs.
The low-growing trees (also available as shrubs) have a rather involved background, with myths and superstitions ranging from the health benefits of its leaves (think tea), to how the branches were used to locate water.
But here are some facts: Its horticultural name means “together with fruit.” This is because its fruit, flowers, and next year’s leaf buds appear on its branches simultaneously. It also has many other common names including hazel nut, snapping hazel, spotted alder and winterbloom.
And various folklore describe how Witch-hazel got its name, but probably the most accepted explanation is that “witch” is a derivative from word “wych,” which means flexible. Being extremely flexible, Witch-hazel’s branches were used by Native Americans to make bows for hunting.
Here’s an another interesting fact you may already know: Which-hazel’s bark is used for its medicinal properties, with so many applications that natural medicine authority, Andrew Weil, M.D., says it’s “an ideal, all-around astringent.”
Weil recommends applying Witch-hazel on insect stings, sun and wind burn, poison ivy blisters, disinfectant for minor cuts and abrasions. He also uses it for other skin care, such as cleansing, toning and refreshing.
I’ve never sipped Witch-hazel tea, or rubbed Witch-hazel-infused oils on my skin. I just like seeing it at this time of year since as soon as it bursts into bloom, I know spring isn’t far behind.
Source: www.drweil.com
