An Ardent Attentive Gardener

An Attentive Ardent Gardener

Yesterday at a Father’s Day picnic, a fellow gardener was telling me that he was glad that all the seeds that he had started were planted in his garden. However he was lamenting that he would have to wait to next spring to start more. Well, I set him down on at the picnic table and with his favorite fortified grape juice drink; I began to tell him that contrary to popular belief, sowing crops during the summer is possible. A few guidelines: Choose seeds that will germinate during warmer temperatures, follow the directions on the seed packet, water diligently to ensure that the seeds get at least 1 inch of water per week, and allow for enough days from the time you sow the seeds until the first frost arrives in your climate for them to grow to maturity. You can sow seeds of most perennials anytime of the year.

Here are a few of my favorite crops to sow now or even later into July:

Flowers. Zinnia, cosmos, cleome and Jerusalem dwarf sunflower, along with other sunflowers love summer's blazing heat.

Greens. Try chicory, chard, collards, warm-weather lettuces, cucumbers, China Choy cabbage, carrots, summer squash, peppers and quick-germinating (65 to 75 days) tomatoes like Patio Princess.

Herbs. Basil, oregano, thyme, sage and coriander love the heat.

As more and more family and friends gathered around us chatting. Some wanted to plant some shrubs, but they were looking for something different. So here are a few lesser-known shrubs to offer beautiful flowers and are shade tolerant.

Some plants seem to take a long time to reach any popularity even though they possess unique characteristics. Bad publicists I guess. A few pictures in the right magazines can launch a shrub's popularity and demand. And since I get so many questions about shade plants, I thought this might inspire you to look for these common some what lesser-known shrubs was worth sharing.

Unique attributes of these shrubs are their shade tolerance and interesting flowers, a combination not often seen in shrubs. Although they are all adaptable to a variety of sites, they would prefer moist, acidic and well-drained soils. However, they are not nearly as finicky as rhododendrons or blueberries. A soil test, adding sulfur if necessary, adding compost, using fertilizers for acid-loving plants, and watering during drought periods will help all of these shrubs to thrive.

Summersweet Clethra, Clethra alnifolia, is an excellent shrub for year around interest offering fragrant flowers, attractive leaves and interesting form. Its upright growth reaching 3-8 feet tall makes it appropriate for narrow spaces such as next to home foundations or in perennial borders. Summersweet's finest attributes are its shade tolerance and its late season fragrant flowers. The flowers of white, pink or rose appear when few other plants are blooming in July and August. It has few insect and disease problems but thrives best in moist acidic soils.

Some of Summersweet Clethra's notable cultivars (cultivated varieties) include 'Hummingbird' with its 3-4 feet tall low mound and abundantly produced white flowers and 'Rosea' with its glossy leaves and pink flowers later in the season. Its blooming period may last as long as 2 months.

Bottlebrush buckeye, Aesculus parviflora, also offers summer flowers and prefers shady locations. It makes an excellent specimen plant or as a massed planting. Bottlebrush buckeye is native to Georgia and Alabama. Its spreading multistems reach 9-12 feet high and 15 feet wide and give it an interesting winter form. Bottlebrush buckeye has flowers resembling its name with large white panicles 8-12 inches long and four inches wide in July and August.

Spicebush, Lindera benzoin, is another native shrub with interesting flowers. Although the greenish yellow flowers are much smaller than the buckeyes, they appear in April before the leaves and may last for 3-4 weeks. Spicebush will grow in deep shade, but its best flowering and fall color occur when it has some sun. The scarlet fruit ripening in August through October is attractive to birds. For best fruiting, a male and female shrub are necessary. The stems are spicely aromatic and were once used to make a tea.

Witch Alder, Fothergilla gardenii, is a slow-growing shrub only reaching 2-3 feet tall with a compact mounded habit. Another shrub with year around appeal, fothergilla has fragrant flowers of cream-colored bottlebrushes in spring before the leaves. It has magnificent fall color of yellow, orange and crimson and will grow in sun or shade. Fothergilla works in nicely with rhododendrons or as a foundation plant. 'Blue Mist' is a very attractive cultivar with blue green leaves.

Some other wallflower shrubs for shady spots include:

* Flameleaf sumac, Rhus copallina, known for its spectacular red purple fall color;

* Winterberry, Ilex verticillata, renowned for its lovely winter fruit display and great tolerance for wet areas;

* Oakleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia, makes a dramatic show with large white flower panicles, burgundy fall color and cinnamon brown bark; and

* Hypericum 'Sunburst' shows off its lovely yellow flowers in July when few other shrubs are blooming.

Lesser-known shrubs may require some extra effort in locating sources, but many garden centers will make special orders if you ask now for fall planting.

As I sit in my sunroom and peer out the window, I am thrilled to see blue skies and warm weather. The summer garden is planted and I can sit back and enjoy the late spring garden. In June, our family has many celebrations like wedding anniversaries, birthdays, graduations and of course Father’s Dad.

My dad loved reading about history and finding out how things came about. He would share these facts in fun ways using items he already had and simple ideas to build in just one Saturday. He was so far ahead of his time in planting container gardens, roof gardens or shallow gardening, theme gardens and picking the best plants for his gardens.

This is what my Dad called ‘Investment Planting,’ a phrase that I think accurately represents a concept that translates into each of us becoming mindful of what plants we are using on our properties. Whether it be trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals or vegetables, rather than thinking that the latest trend in the world of gardening is what will make your garden come alive, it is actually the stalwarts of your garden that form the basis of what I call ‘voluptuous gardening,’ a garden that enlivens all of your senses.

Dad away felt you need to familiarize yourself with the plant material that will thrive best in our climate; ones that are hardy and disease and drought resistant. By practicing responsible gardening, you will be more satisfied with your results and will become stewards of your property.

How to go about becoming more knowledgeable? Well my father loved to read. I remembered once learning from him that wheelbarrows, paper and noodles were invented by the Chinese and came to Europe with Marco Polo. Tomatoes are new world plants; wheat from northern Europe; basil, onions and garlic from the mid-east. Squash, corn and beans were planted by the Native Americans and called the ‘Three Sisters.’ Sweet potatoes from Central America and potatoes were from South America.

It was fun planting companion gardens with plants that helped each other. Like tomatoes love the herb basil and roses love garlic. Growing certain herbs and flowers near other plants to help control unwanted insects naturally.

It was fun watching birds and butterflies come to the garden. Parsley is a food source for the caterpillar of the Swallowtail butterfly. It was fun to watch butterflies as they travel from flower to flower feeding on sweet nectar while excitement of fast-moving hummingbirds, provided hours of enjoyment.

One of his favorite little gardens was an Italian garden or pizza garden. He would grow all the plants that went into making pizza like wheat for the dough, tomatoes, basil, onions, garlic, sweet peppers, parsley and black pepper. He tried to show me how unlikely things could come together to make something wonderful. Here’s how to grow a garden pizza:

Choose a flat sight that drains quickly after a rain and has full sun, at least 8 hours a day. Locate the garden near source of water. Draw a large circle on the soil and remove the grass and till the soil to a depth of several inches. For my sister we used an old Hula Hoop for the circle. We used rocks to outline the pizza garden to form a ‘crust.’ Later in the summer we painted flowers and names of the plants that were planted in the Italian garden. You could also use a large round, low container filled with potting soil and have a garden pizza on your deck.

Divide the circle into six or more wedges and in each like the slices of pizza, plant one ingredient for your garden pizza. Tomatoes like Italian paste and onions are good choices for toppings as well as sauce ingredients. Other wedges may have basil, oregano, parsley, onions, garlic and other ingredients from your favorite pizza sauce recipe. It is fun to clip the basil for the pizza sauce or choose the biggest leaves for harvesting and grind the basil leaves to make our own pesto.

Dad even planted various types of lettuce and radishes to make salads to go along with the pizza and we grew carrots to make carrot cake for dessert. As the summer progressed and we made pizza, it was fun going to the garden and picking what was ready and adding it to the dinner. At the end of the gardening season and school had started the garden could easily be replanted in grass.

All of us gardeners love to share what we do because it is therapeutic, educational and you get if you grow a vegetable garden to eat the fruits of your success. When you go out in your garden this weekend, begin to think of gardening as an act of generosity. If you are practicing healthy and wise gardening techniques, you are leaving the earth a more beautiful and healthier place, not only for your own children and grandchildren, but for someone else’s children and grandchildren as well. I can think of no better way of contributing to the quality of this planet for future generations. Don’t minimize the difference that each of you Dad’s are making on this earth as gardeners. With that thought in mind, have a great day gardening

Gardening Angel