My Gardens: 2016 Video Tour!

The following is a video I made on June 28 using an iPhone 6. In this tour you finally get an interactive perspective of my property layout and the current setup of the beds. This is a far cry from my old pictures on here! I even begin to discuss my transition to annual an container gardening, now that my beds are more or less full. Check out how much everything has grown in the last 7+ years! Running time 23 minutes, YouTube.

At last! For your viewing pleasure! Questions or comments, please leave them on the video page on YouTube.

Containerizing Non-Blooming Hydrangea Macropylla!

In 2014-15 I decided to begin to dig up some of the hydrangea macrophyllas that have been having trouble blooming after winters and have been placing them in large containers (~20-24" diameter, ~10-15 gallon). This is because I am transitioning to overwintering only the top performers outdoors (the ones that are about guaranteed to bloom on current year's growth). The containers reside in my (attached and indirectly heated) garage for the winter and are watered about once monthly from December-March.

Shown: Pink n' Pretty (Monrovia) and Abracadabra Orb (Proven Winners).

The advantages of containerizing are as follows:
- freedom of placement around the property (masks, covers, fillers)
- guaranteed bloom
- larger size than if overwintered in-ground and suffering dieback

The following cultivars are the ones I am currently growing in containers:

All Summer Beauty (pale pastel variant of Nikko Blue)
Preziosa (fairly hardy outside, but need to guarantee a larger plant with the unique mophead blooms!)
Firelight / Leuchtfeuer (2) - for bookend use on my deck
Mathilda Gutges / LA Dreamin'
Pink n' Pretty
Abracadabra Orb
Forever & Ever Blue Heaven
Forever & Ever White Out (3)
Forever & Ever Fantasia
Forever & Ever Red / Maltisse
Forever & Ever Red / Red Sensation
Early Blue
Pia
Doublicious
Trophee
Pink Sensation
Hot Red
Red Beauty
Unnamed blue/pink mophead
Midnight Duchess (lacecap)
Mme Emile Mouillere
Queen of Pearls
Double Delights Perfection
Claudie (lacecap)
Blue Wave (lacecap)
Zorro (lacecap)
Free Bird (new!)

Here are some additional pictures:

West side of house (mostly shaded)

Under deck, front: Trophee, Doublicious, Blue Wave, Blue Heaven. Rear: Preziosa

Smaller containers on front porch: Early Blue, Pia, F&E White Out (2), Pink Sensation, Red Beauty, Hot Red.

Swing Bookends! Free Bird, All Summer Beauty

Some new hydrangea entries for 2016-17

These are from the current Star Roses Catalogue. You can get the first two at select nurseries NOW, and the McKay plant has just been made available directly from McKay Nurseries (WI). Violet Crown is supposed to be available this Fall.

'Cherry Explosion': An Exciting New Lacecap Hydrangea Macrophylla for 2016

McKay Nurseries in Wisconsin has done it again! Following up last year's introduction of Grateful Red, a mophead hydrangea macrophylla, comes Cherry Explosion, a lacecap variant! 

H. mac Cherry Explosion, bloom closeup. Yes, this is MY plant!

As with GR, this plant sports a semi-compact size, mounded habit, medium to dark green foliage, and  can bloom on new wood. As of June 2016 t's available NOW, directly from their website and is or will be available from select mail-order websites as well. 

Cherry Explosion, young plant, growth habit. 

Final Time to Prune Most Trees & Shrubs!

Happy Memorial Day! Reminder: this is the final time you'll want to trim back trees & shrubs to desired shape. Locate and find any crossing branches, scraggly or overly long branches, dead wood, or partially dead wood and get rid of it. Keep in mind the kind of overall structure you'll want the plant(s) to carry going forward. Remember This is also the last time to *hard* prune such things as hydrangea paniculata (the full sun "tree" hydrangea). Doing that now at the latest gives the plants time to go through as full as possible of a growth and/or bloom cycle before Fall hits and deciduous plants go dormant in six months.

Some examples of things to prune now:
- wood on hydrangea macrophylla that has not produced any leaves
- rose bushes with unusually long new branches
- roses of sharon (hibiscus syriacus) - desired shape
- any shrub's branches that have become overly "limp" in Spring rains or winds, e.g. weigela branches that bent 180 degrees under bloom weight.

An additional reminder... If tossing branches & twigs over a hillside on your property. Spread them out evenly at the rear of your composting area. Every year or two, shovel recently composted fines (e.g. leaves) overtop of the branches. You will not want to end up with one big stick pile - it is an invitation for large rodents such as groundhogs and other pests that can damage your plants and/or property.