My Garden Archives - Page 4 of 5

Rhododendrons and Azaleas- Classification

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Mary AhernNovember 9, 2010

This is an outline of a ten minute talk I gave to the Centerport Garden Club on November 9, 2010

Botanical Classification

Rhododendrons and azaleas belong to the genus Rhododendron of the heath family (Ericaceae).

The heath family includes the heaths and heathers, blueberries, mountain laurels and several other ornamental plant groups. Most members of this family require acid soil and good drainage.

This is a selection of the Rhododendrons submitted to the judging of the Spring Flower Show at the NY Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society at Planting Fields Arboretum

Where are Rhododendron’s from?

Some are native to the US.

The British became the first explorers to seek out new additions.

Collecting has brought plants, seeds & cuttings from Japan, China & the Himalayas.

New species are still being collected in central China.

In the 1800’s they were so expensive & were considered a rich person’s plant. They appeared on estates and in arboretums.

Most of the Rhodi’s we know today are hybrids created from the parents of the plants collected by these plant explorers.

Azaleas blooming in May in my garden in Northport NY

Common Types

Large leaf evergreen Rhodi’s: Great for screening and as a backdrop behind the flower garden, Catawbiense, English Roseum, Scintillation, Maximum
Small leaf evergreen Rhodi’s: some sport beautiful mahogany leaves during the winter months, Aglo, Dora Amateus, Mary Fleming, the PJM’s
Yakushimanum hybrids: usually 3’wx3’h with woolly indumentum on dark green leaves. Have wonderful winter interest, Crete, Fantastica, Ken Janek, Percy Wiseman, Prince & Princess
Species Rhododendrons, can present well in a mixed flower, shrub border. There is a species rhododendron garden in DC.
Azaleas-Evergreen: Michael Dirr begins his Azalea Cultivar & Hybrid Group section with:

“In some respects, it is paralyzingly frightening to attempt to present the cultivars of azaleas.”

There are so many but you can begin to study them realizing that some are named for their hybridizers: i.e. Girard Hybrids, Glen Dale Hybrids, Polly Hill’s North Tisbury Hybrids. Others by their location: i.e. Linwood Hybrids, Karume Hybrids of Japan.

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Propagating Plectranthus

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Mary AhernJanuary 26, 2018

Plectranthus and other members of the Lamiaceae family, like Coleus, are easy to propagate. These tender perennials are not hardy in my Zone 6 garden so before frost I bring in a few of my favorite plants as stock plants. If the plants are small enough I overwinter them in a pot with soil and towards the end of winter I begin propagation. If the plants are too big outside in the fall I proceed to take cuttings and begin propagation at that time.

: An apical cutting of Plectranthus ciliatus ‘Zulu Wonder’

Whether I begin this process in the fall or late winter, this is how I propagate my square stemmed plectranthus and coleus. I prefer to begin the process later rather than sooner since it makes the house less cluttered.

: I use my fingers rather than scissors to pinch off the leaves because that gives me more control over how close I can get to the stem

I cut sections off the host plant making sure that I have at about 5-7 leaf nodes. Then I pinch off most of the remaining leaves right to the stem taking care not to tear stips. Since the leave nodes are opposite, I leave only 2-4 nodes depending on the spacing between them on the stem.

: Once I cleanly remove the excess leaves I discard them

I take off so many leaves since I want the energy of the plant to got towards root production rather than transpiration. I cut the stem to a length of 4-6 inches, making sure that I cut the stem just below my final node.

: I like keeping the glass on my windowsill in the kitchen so I can enjoy watching the roots grow

I leave the stems in a glass of water on my windowsill in the kitchen for a few weeks making sure to keep the water clean and the glass full. Once there are a sizable number of white roots and root hairs visible I plant each of the stems into a pot using fresh pro-mix potting soil. I place a bit of soil at the bottom of the pot, sprinkle in a bit of timed release fertilizer and then top it off with more soil to within about a half inch toward the top of the pot.

: I try to keep the water clean and high enough on the nodes to develop more and healthier roots

I make sure as I’m sprinkling the soil around the roots that they are evenly spaced and not cramped. I continue to water them without letting them dry out in their pots.

: Wherever there is a leaf node submerged in water the roots will develop

This propagation process always gives me a great feeling that spring is in the air even when there’s still snow on the ground.

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Snow in the Garden

Today the sun is shining on the beauty of my garden after the blizzard of February 10th, 2010.

I haven’t been out yet since I’m leaving all the shoveling to my hubby Dave. But I ventured to take the screens out of some upstairs windows and shot some photos and video of the heavily snow-laden branches.

It seems from my perspective so far that the only major damage is the loss, yet again, of the top of the American Holly, (Ilex opaca). I don’t remember what year it was but it happened once before over 15 years ago. The central apex broke at the time from another snowstorm but grew back with a double lead. I don’t know yet whether I’ve lost just one or both.

I made a short, one-minute video of the garden as it looks this morning before the wind picks up and blows all the heavy snow from the branches. It will be fun to watch the garden perk up during the day as the snow begins to rearrange itself.

Step 15 – Building the Garden Bridge

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Mary AhernFebruary 11, 2010

(If you’d like to follow this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here)

Step 15 of Rear Garden Design Project.

So now that I measured the space, researched on the web, selected and took delivery of the bridge from GazeboCreations.com it is time to assemble the parts.

First you assemble the struts on a flat surface

Fortunately my son Michael gave me a Mother’s Day present of one day of labor. First he put together the base on the flat surface of the driveway.

Using a level to make sure the structure is balanced is critical to the entire process

Then he put the struts across the dry stream bed and used a bubble level to make sure that it was even both front to back and side to side. This is a very critical stage to the entire project.

All the holes are predrilled and make the assembly much easier to understand

Once the base is level and in place he attached the pre-drilled flooring in place. We used a thin nail as a spacer on each end of the boards to give some room for expansion as the boards swell with moisture. We attached the first board and then placed each successive board so we were sure of positioning before we attached them with screws.

It was useful to have two people to put the handrails together

By this time my husband Dave came home and couldn’t keep himself away from the project so he joined Michael in putting up the side rails. Each part of the bridge kit was clearly marked and pre-drilled for easy installation. Nevertheless, the assembly took hours to complete. The second time would have been much shorter.

I’m so happy to finally, after 9 years, have such a beautiful woodland setting

My son Michael was pleased to have the project over and next year I’ll probably get a pot of marigolds for Mother’s Day. It will be much easier for him.

My son Michael is happy the project is over.

After 9 years of waiting I’m so very happy with the outcome of the project. The bridge is such a perfect complement to the natural feeling of the woodland walks I’ve designed.

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This is the end of this series.

If you’d like to see this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here

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Step 14 – Selecting and Ordering a Garden Bridge

Posted on August 24, 2009 by Mary AhernOctober 5, 2009

(If you’d like to follow this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here)

Step 14 of Rear Garden Design Project.

I searched online to find a garden bridge to replace our nine-year-old “temporary” bridge and I found a good selection at: gazebocreations.com.

I selected this bridge style from GazeboCreations.com

I measured across the dry streambed to determine the length I needed to cross the span. The website had very good information about the span size and other stats I needed to make my selection.

It was important to have a bridge that was the right scale for the project, a Goldilocks bridge, not too small, not too big, just right.

I ordered it online with the added options of stainless steel screws and 2 Coats Cedar Stain/Sealer to ensure greater longevity. This bridge has to last a lot longer then the temporary one did.

The boxes arrived by UPS and when I unpacked them I checked the parts list to make sure everything was there. It was complet I’m happy to say.

The bridge parts arrived well packaged and easily inventoried

We dismantled the “temporary” bridge that was always such a joy to the grandchildren on a day they weren’t visiting so the work went more smoothly. I thought I’d be nostalgic but I was far too happy to be finally getting a real garden bridge that I didn’t waste a moment dwelling on the past.

My son Michael helped to dismantle the nine year old “temporary” bridge

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Go To Step 15 – Building the Garden Bridge

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Step 13 – Replacing The Garden Bridge

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Mary AhernFebruary 11, 2010

(If you’d like to follow this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here)

Step 13 of Rear Garden Design Project.

Now that I finally, after 9 years have my back entry stone walls and dry stream bed installed it is time for the decorating to begin.

For all these years we’ve been using what was supposed to be a temporary bridge. In 2000, when we originally began this project the construction crew built a plank bridge by hammering a few weather treated boards together and putting them over the dry stream bed.

My own grandsons have been born since the temporary bridge was originally installed and have grown up with the joy of bouncing wildly on the planks, much to the dismay of fathers, mothers and grandparents. Their utter joy in the flexibility of the boards and the semi dangerous and enthusiastic experience has provided untold hours of glee.

I felt somewhat bad for them and wondered how they would react to the disappearance of their favorite playground.

Fear not. They adapted instantly and have gone on to other adventures in the garden. I think they’ve found dinosaurs hiding along the woodland paths.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmuNpgXaVPQ

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Go To Step 14 – Selecting and Ordering the Garden Bridge.

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Step 12 – Renovating the Landscaping

Posted on July 14, 2009 by Mary AhernOctober 5, 2009

(If you’d like to follow this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here)

Step 12 of Rear Garden Design Project.

March, 2009

I’ve been writing for awhile about the 10 year project of designing and building the rear entry project of stone walls, steps and a dry stream bed. We finally have our hardscaping done. Whew!

This Taxus x media was in this location on the property when I moved in 20 years ago.

During the 20 years that I’ve lived on this property so many of the trees and shrubs have grown, some have matured and some are in decline. I’ve been trimming a massive yew (Taxus x media), over and over each year to try to keep it contained within the scale of the property.

Sometimes a gardener has to make the tough decision to eliminate in order to renovate

Once the walls were installed and I began to enjoy the prospect of planting it became abundantly clear that the yew had outgrown its beauty and positive contribution to the garden. I gritted my teeth and ordered the removal of this venerable shrub since it was far too old and large for transplanting. I was quite saddened by the loss and yet I knew it was the right decision.

The sun shined brightly on the day it was removed on March 12, 2009 and I could see immediately that the removal of this outsized and very dark green hulk opened up the space to new and youthful opportunities.

After the initial shock whore off I was sure I’d made the right design decision to open up the space for new planting ideas

Now if I can only figure out what I want to put there…

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Go To Step 13 – Replacing the Garden Bridge

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Step 11 – New Stone Walls

Posted on July 5, 2009 by Mary AhernSeptember 25, 2009

(If you’d like to follow this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here)

Step 11 of Rear Garden Design Project.

September, 2008

Our landscape project continued to move closer to completion when we finally hired professionals to finish the job we’d begun in the fall of 2000.

The new stone walls conformed to my intial semi-circular design concept

In evaluating the project Billy Ahern of Ahern’s Landscaping, (who is not related to me in any way) decided to take down the walls I’d been trying to build on and off for many years. It is not because the walls I built were unsafe but because we wanted all the walls to match. This would not be the case if half was built by me and half by another person.

The stone steps we built six years earlier were incorporated into the new wall system

We were very happy that the steps my husband Dave and I had built 6 years earlier were judged sturdy and stable and could be incorporated into the finished project. We were and still are proud of the achievement of having completed that part of the project.

What took us years of off and on work, these professionals completed in two days. It was very clear to my husband and me that our careers of pushing keys on computer keyboards didn’t prepare us for the hard manual labor of hardscaping. We were no competition for the hardworking men who build these gorgeous projects day after day. We salute them and their work.

The terraced stone walls opened into the dry stream bed I designed 8 years earlier

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Go To Step 12 – Renovating the Landscaping

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Step 10 – Resizing The Dry Stream Bed

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Mary AhernAugust 25, 2009

(If you’d like to follow this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here)

Step 10 of Rear Garden Design Project.

September, 2008

When we finally hired Billy Ahern of Ahern’s Landscaping to finish the project I designed and we started in 2000 he recommended some changes. I agreed with him that the scale of the dry stream bed that I’d designed was too large for the location. He had his men resculpt the walls and add soil. I’d been stockpiling extra soil that was taken from the driveway when I’d had it widened.

The size of the dry stream bed was reduced and brought more in line with the scale of the surrounding garden

The stream was narrowed and brought it into a good balance with the rest of the garden. He reused all the stone I’d dug up from the garden and the extra round river rock I’d purchased years before.

His men put the river rock in the irregular flowing pattern I’d designed and they had nearly enough to complete the dry stream bed. But not quite. We scavenged rock from around the garden but we ended up having to purchase another batch of rock. What a surprise. More rock!

What? More Stone? I’m afraid all this added weight might change the rotation of the earth.

Once the rock walls were in place they put the gravel base in place and put small river rock on top. There is so much rock on this project I sometimes feel that the earth will give way from the weight.

But that is just memories of my aching back.

River rock was placed on the newly sculpted walls.

It is so much easier to sign a check. I wouldn’t feel this way if I hadn’t worked on the project for so long and found that I’d bit off more then I could chew. So now I’m really happy to have help and to come closer to a completed design.

Crushed gravel was put down as a base for the small stone

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Go to Step 11 – New Stone Walls

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Step 9 – Bringing In The Pros

Posted on June 20, 2009 by Mary AhernAugust 25, 2009

(If you’d like to follow this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here)

Step 9 of Rear Garden Design Project.

September, 2008

We jump ahead on the Rear Garden Design Project from 2002 until 2008. Sometimes life intervenes and projects get put on hold for a while. In the ensuing years I gained another grandson and he grew enough to join my first. They played on the piles of rock, some of which were walls. They particularly have enjoyed bouncing on the bridge planks giving all of us nervous twitches, but they never managed to get hurt.

Bouncing on the boards and climbing on the stone. What fun!

In 2008 I finally bit the bullet and called in the Pros. Billy Ahern of Ahern’s Landscaping in Huntington NY came to the rescue. (BTW. They are not relatives of mine, past or present) He understood immediately what I wanted to create and he worked from my original drawing plans.

Ahern’s Landscaping of Huntington Long Island

The first thing that Billy’s crew did was to dismantle the stone walls I’d built in fits and starts from 2002 through 2007. What took me days of laying one course of stone took the men seconds to undo.

The crew dismantling my carefully and painfully built stone walls.

It was quite dismaying and sad for me to watch the work I’d done disappear. I thought about the exhaustion and pain I’d experienced and all the trips to Nadine O’Neill my Chiropractor and The Pilates Place trying to get my self back in shape.

And then I’d think with optimism how nice it was going to look and I would be able to go back to gardening, not construction work.

Ahern’s crew demolishing everything we’d built except the stone steps

I was also very pleased that Billy Ahern decided to keep the stone steps that my husband Dave and I had so proudly built in 2002. He said that were rock solid. We’re very proud.

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Go to Step 10 – Resizing the Dry Stream Bed

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Step 8 – Building The Flat Stone Wall

Posted on June 19, 2009 by Mary AhernAugust 25, 2009

(If you’d like to follow this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here)

Step 8 of Rear Garden Design Project.

July through November, 2002

We decided to trash my first idea of continuing the theme of the garden and using round river rock for the walls at the rear entrance to the guest room. What would happen each time it rained was that the soil would creep in from behind the stones and eventually clog up the passive drainage system.

So I dismantled the walls, making a stack of rocks to the left of the door. Using my handy dandy Mantis tiller I excavated the base and leveled it smoothly.

July 7, 2002 Clear the base and level it

I used crushed bluestone to fill the base and give an even and strong working surface to the first base layer of stone.

July 9, 2002 Spreading gravel is much harder then raking a lawn.

I put landscapers cloth down first to keep back the soil and put the first course of stone down. This one is so critical because it sets the tone for the entire wall. I used levels to make sure the row was plumb.

September 8, 2002 Picking the right stones for the puzzle takes a long time

The work was so laborious that I could only work on one or two courses a day and then it would take me a day or two to recover. Thank goodness for my Chiropractor, Dr. Nadine O’Neill in Northport for keeping my aching body going.

November, 9, 2002 The leaves are beautiful, the unfinished walls are not

By the fall of 2002 I had to stop the project because I couldn’t fight the leaves everyday just to get started lifting stone. The project stood at a standstill for quite some time. Years in fact.

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Go to Step 9 – Bringing In The Pros

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Northport Historical Society Garden Tour – June 2009

In June of 2009 my garden was featured on the annual Northport Historical Society garden tour event. Weeks of preparation for a full day of garden connoisseurs visiting your garden takes an act of courage and lots and lots of hard physical work. The day was a rousing success and I’m glad I did it.

Sharon Ruedeman captured the event and created this energetic video of that time.

Step 7 – Building Our Stone Steps

Posted on June 12, 2009 by Mary AhernAugust 25, 2009

(If you’d like to follow this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here)

Step 7 of Rear Garden Design Project.

July, 2002

We’ve read lots of books on building stone walls and steps so we are fully armed with knowledge on how to proceed with our latest step in the project. We dug below the soil line, filled and leveled the base with gravel poured onto landscape fabric. Great beginning.

We removed the temporary steps in preparation for the stone work. Note the pile of river rock piled against the back wall. We’ve begun dismantling the garden walls.

We found the largest stones from amidst the three tons of stone we had delivered and started to put down our first step. We measured the height and width of the area and determined the riser and run dimensions of the steps making sure that they would all equal. This is a safety issue.

My husband Dave quit stone work after we built the stairs and went back to computers.

At the end of our first day we were proud of having completed our first step. We used levels to make sure the stones were sloped correctly and concrete dust to stabilize each step.

So now that we had our first step the rest would be a cinch. Right?

No beauty pageant winner here. I’m far to exhausted to care. Stair 2 has been completed.

What we found is that we could only build one step a day. Sifting through the tons of stones, bringing them from the driveway using our handtruck. Shimmying them down to the base of the project and then lifting them into place. Absolutely exhausting work!

I didn’t even commit a crime and I’ve been sentenced to hard labor on the rock pile. I should have been naughty.

At the end of each day we took photos since we couldn’t believe how hard this project was for us physically. Oh, so you mean, working with computers all day doesn’t make you fit enough to haul huge stones? Who would have thought?

The steps are done and I’ll never, ever build another set. Yippee!

And so the day finally comes and we’ve finished the steps. We are still proud of them and thankful that we’ll never have to ever do something like that again in our entire lives!

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Go to Step 8 – Building The Flat Stone Wall

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Step 6 – Stone Walled. Rethinking the Project.

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Mary AhernAugust 25, 2009

(If you’d like to follow this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here)

Step 6 of Rear Garden Design Project.

June, 2002

River rock walls with temporary steps reclaimed from the basement

Sometimes you design a project and don’t foresee some of the unexpected pitfalls to your vision so you try to make it work. It is important to recognize when to change course and try another solution. This happened with my idea about using round river rock on the terraced stone walls.

I wanted to keep the materials for the walls somewhat aligned with the natural stone found on the property. I didn’t have enough of my own local stone to do all the walls for the entry and the dry streambed so I bought 3 bins of Pennsylvania River Rock to supplement what I already had.

Running out of rock. To the right is the temporary bridge over the dry stream bed

What I didn’t expect was that, even with landscape fabric behind the rocks, the soil was going to come through the walls and seep into the drainage system. We worried each time we had a major rainstorm that if the drains clogged the guest room would flood. This development was so unacceptable to us we zigged and zagged for an acceptable design solution.

We bought more stone as the solution to all our problems. Hmmm.

So what did we do? We bought more stone of course. This time it was flat stone, which we felt would be a tighter solution to the seeping soil problem. We’re on our way forward…again.

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Go to Step 7 – Building Our Stone Steps

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Step 5 – Hard Labor on the Rock Pile

Posted on June 6, 2009 by Mary AhernAugust 25, 2009

(If you’d like to follow this project from the beginning you can start at Step 1 here)

Step 5 of Rear Garden Design Project.

September 2000

If anyone had ever told me that I would be sentenced to hard labor on a rock pile I would have mocked them. Welcome to my life.

The garden rocks begin to accumulate in the dry stream bed from months of gardening

On the program, “Inside the Actor’s Studio“, James Lipton asks ten questions at the end of his interview with the guest artist. Two of those questions are:

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
What profession would you not like to do?

My answer to the second is instantly and consistently: Ditch Digger.
I then remember that I’m a gardener and I dig ditches and holes all the time.

Nobody could pay me enough to do this backbreaking work but I’m doing it in my own garden for free

I guess I would also have to include working hard labor on the rock pile under professions I would not like to do.

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Go to Step 6 – Stone Walled. Rethinking the Project

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