Catching up

I realize I'm most likely one of the worst bloggers out there, as I tend to go way too long in between posts and then one day I'm somewhat inspired to get back on track (that's today). 

Well as you can imagine a lot has happened in the garden between my last entry and now. It's been an odd spring; not only did we have a long winter which persisted until our opening in April, but then we had early warm weather in May, a month which also proved to be quite dry. All these factors seemed to somewhat confuse the plants and we had early flowers mixed with mid to late flowers, making for some intriguing flower times. It still made for a great spring. Here are a few of the moments:

A blanket of Scilla siberica under a Magnolia stellata 

A creamy cloud of Corylopsis spills out of Asian Woods 

Columbine, Forget-me-nots and Phlox dot the Wildflower Slope

Wisteria floribunda 'Shiro Noda' drips from the pond arbor

Tulip party in the Cut Flower Garden

Spring Snow

It's been a wild week. We went from 60 degreees (F) early in the week to 30 degrees (F) and a wet, heavy 4" of snow Friday (the first day of Spring). Evidently winter wasn't conceding without a fight.

We were really fortunate to get our burn of the Sporobolus heterolepis done earlier in the week when we had a window of dry, calm weather. This is done to mimic natural rejuvenation systems in their native prairie habitats.

Before: creating burn buffer around woody plants 

After: charred remains under blanket of snow

A few scenes from our latest (and hopefully last) snowfall:

Looking up towards the house from below the ponds

Persisting leaves of American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)

Snow-capped Hamamelis mollis 'Early Bright'

I will say although I'm ready for Spring, it's always special to experience the garden after a fresh snow. Friday was no exception- it was quite peaceful to walk around in the stillness and serenity after work. 

More pruning

I've spent most of the week pruning in different parts of the garden. I quite enjoy pruning. Actually I just love being outside this time of year doing whatever, after having been inside a good bit over the winter. Today was another beautiful day in the mid 50's, and I was working with Jonathan. I started off pruning a couple Roses, Physocarpus, and a Hibiscus behind the main house. Then towards the end of the day we worked on pollarding a group of Salix alba 'Britzensis' near the Serpentine. It's hard to finally prune these as they look so wonderful right now. The brilliant orange-red stems from last season's growth glow above an underplanting of Schizachyrium scoparium. 

These are managed by removing the new growth right back to the older, brown wood. By doing this you are able to maintain the desired size of the tree and ensure that each year you will have these beautiful, bright colored stems through winter. 

Another detail that could be missed just walking by is the woven branches.  Most Salix sp. have very pliable new growth, which make them great candidates for bending and weaving and for creative uses in the garden. We saved all the pruned stems and will use them in some display capacity.  

Back in the garden...finally!

Well, after a bit of a hiatus, I was back in the garden today. This year I'm doing an internship at Chanticleer, where I ended my year last year (as the North American Christopher Lloyd Scholar). I'm excited about the prospect of being here for 9 months and the opportunities to learn and experience the garden over this period.

It was a nice first day. After a late-season snow storm that produced about 8 inches of snow last week, we were blessed with a beautiful 50 degree (F) day today.  With this week's temps we should see significant snow melt and the emerging of early bulbs.

Today I worked on pruning the majority of the day. As there is still so much snow cover, we're somewhat limited in what projects we can undertake. Pruning, however, is a perfect job these days. We pruned a series of Hydrangea paniculata and H. arborescens, both of which flower on current

seasons growth, making it safe to prune this late. We also pruned Catalpa bignonioides 'Aurea'. Both the H. paniculata and the Catalpa were pollarded back to their base framwork, which allows us control their size while providing necessary stability for the plant from season to season. 

Remaining framework on pruned H. paniculata

Yet another great garden!

Since my last entry, I have said farewell to Great Dixter and have returned to the USA, where I am spending the final month of my scholarship at Chanticleer, in Pennsylvania. 

Chanticleer, the former home of the Rosengarten family, is a 35 acre garden and estate located about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Similar to Great Dixter, Chanticleer takes pride in it's bold and experimental plantings, which often stop one in their tracks. There are 7 full-time horticulturalists, all responsible for designated areas within the garden. Each garden space has it's own character and style, providing a range of designs and plants. Despite the variety,however, the garden still maintains rhythm and cohesion, an often underestimated aspect of the garden experience. Fortunately, during my time here I will work with all of the horticulturalist in their different areas, allowing me to get the broadest experience possible. 

One of my favorite (bold) plantings at Chanticleer

Solar Garden

Last week was a busy and productive week! I started the week in the Solar Garden, where a group of us lifted the existing mixed bedding, which had run its course, and we continued with the normal procedure of forking over the bed and adding mushroom compost.  In addition to prepping the soil, we also extended the bed edge out about a foot.  We did save some of the persisting cornflowers,  which we cut and bunched for sale on the front porch. 

Lifting existing bedding

We thought through some different planting schemes, but we (Fergus) decided on Canna indica 'Purpurea', Cosmos (white), Tagetes cinnabar, Zinnia Benary's Giant Salmon, Salvia  bonfire, and Zinnia Zowie Yellow Flame.  I'm excited to see how it works! 

New planting done

Northiam Horticulture Society Judging

Recently our local horticulture society had a summer social event with a flower show that Ed and I were asked to judge. As it was my first time judging such an event, I was a bit nervous. It's a smaller show than their spring show, with only two categories. The first category was one flowering specimen and the other a mixed foliage display.  It wasn't as bad as I anticipated, and was actually fun and a good experience. 

The evening also included a rather challenging plant identification and garden photography competition. It's great that these sort of groups still exist and that they continue such a rich tradition, while encouraging a younger generation to become involved.