“It takes a while to grasp that a garden isn’t a testing ground for character and to stop asking, what did I do wrong? Maybe nothing.” — Eleanor Perenyi
H as hodgepodging descended on your garden? Overcrowded with dense and uncontrolled growth, weeds hiding in plain sight and nary a bloom in sight?
Your carefully planned kaleidoscope of color has shrunk down to a few survivors braving heat and lack of water. And even if you are a resourceful gardener, trimming and weeding and fertilizing according to schedule, even then you look at your assemblage of green and wonder what has happened here, sensing a whiff of chaos.
In a world of infinite resources, one without consequences or responsibilities, I would choose the serenity of a Japanese garden, with carefully raked circles in the sand, not a single grass blade out of line, unimpeded vistas of thoughtfully trimmed conifers and attractive from all angles.
In the real world, though, one must deal with what one has on hand, and that means take out the machete, put on the wellies, spritz some bug repellent on your clothes, go to work, and hope your back holds out.
Over the years I have learned to appreciate dwarf conifers. Undemanding, neat, rarely outgrowing their allocated space, perfect for a smaller garden or a patio, they are, in essence, a great garden value. Their subtle attractiveness is alluring.
Dwarf, low-growing conifers need little care to maintain their looks. You can choose from compact ones shaped like globes with a soft and fluffy feel or select others with sturdy, stiff needles.
Dwarf firs, False Hinoki Cypress, junipers, spruce and pines offer a great variety in size, shape and color and look great planted in rustic alpine troughs or elegant urns. I have accumulated 11 dwarfs, six in large, low planters on the patio, the other five residing in a long, narrow bed on the north side of the house. All are doing well, having survived four tough winters and equally challenging summers.
Some Pennsylvania Horticultural Society 2012 winners for you to consider:
Cercis Canadensis, The Rising Sun, a native eastern Redbud, small with showy, rosy orchid flowers, holding the tangerine foliage well into fall.
Cornus Officinalis “Kintoki” Japanese Cornel Dogwood with radiant yellow flowers in the spring, 15 feet high and just as wide.
Viburnum x rhytidophylloides “Darts Duke” with extra large dark green leaves and 10-inch white flower heads in May.
Look for them next year in your garden center.
Wild strawberries,
called “fragolini” by my Italian friends, are a special summer treat, being much smaller and sweeter than regular strawberries.
I was totally surprised to find what I thought were fragolini growing behind the garden shed. It turns out these little charmers, known as Duchesnea Chrysantha (Indian Mock Strawberry), though looking like the real thing, are known to be toxic and to spread wildly. Do not ever serve these to your friends.
What to do now:
It is an ideal time to plant evergreens and hardy shrubs.
For best effect, plant spring-flowering bulbs in drifts.
Keep weeding!
Harvest your herbs; either dry or freeze them.
Acclimate houseplants to lower light before bringing them indoors.
Christmas cactus or orchid cactus may be left out until the end of October.
Make sure your compost is thoroughly decomposed before applying to garden beds.
Gotti Kelley, a past president of the Navesink Garden Club, also serves on the board of the Garden Club of New Jersey and Central Atlantic Region.