Garden cadence

The cadence of the garden continues. It is now tree seedling plucking time. Maples of different types, linden, and cherry. This year does seem lighter. Our Amur Maple threw a lot of seed, but not as much as I remember. I am thinking the squirrels harvested a lot. And now we will not have it going forward. We lost it in the big ice and heavy snow storm. I am tempted to save one seedling. We will see.

Usually I get seven buckets like this. I doubt we will have more than two this year.

Just about the time each year that I am plucking tree seedlings, the pines begin to show new growth (candles). I noticed today they are starting.

And the forget-me-nots are starting to bloom. They bloom on last year’s growth – they are biennial. I planted them the year my father-in-law passed, and they bring me great joy.

I am careful to keep them contained, as, like the joy they bring, they can take over a garden and move onto a lawn.

And today I moved the purple shamrock out from the protection of the patio, to it’s summer spot under the linden.

I am ready, and I know that after it goes through it’s normal transformation to being used to the outdoors, it will again look like this

Finally, it is time, I suppose, to cut the plastic back again from the base of the linden. She is so much bigger every year. I have toyed with moving to mulch in that area. Maybe next year. For a mulch garden spruce up at the historic cemetery is where I landed for my “all summer” project. But that will be a story for a different day.

Cedar mulch?

I have never had cedar mulch produce a mini forest the next spring. Hmmmmm.

Can you see the hosta and daylily babies through the tree seedlings? Some are a bit chewed down. Others, like the Blue Mouse Ears are not touched.

Hats off. Weekend fun.

The buckets and plant pots that protected the daylilies, hostas, and sedum during the roofing project are off, but will have one more appearance in the next couple weeks when the gutter and fascia work is going on.

After that very long, hard to wait but dreading the potential collateral damage May, it was great to get back in the garden.

First up was removing the remainder of the tree seedlings. That got done yesterday. The total of buckets this year was down from the past few years – 5, compared to the usual 7. Hurray!

The dying tulip greens that got smooshd also got pulled. They were done anyway.

Then the pollinator created, harvested daylily seeds from 2021 finally got planted. Another post on that coming soon.

The sunflower seedlings also all got pulled. They were an experiment, but the rolling roofing dumpster made that decision for me. My husband was very happy – hahaha!!!

Today my thoughts turned to the front entry garden. It needs love.

One of the Blue Mouse Ears hostas out back also got a little smooshed with the roofing project. That was ok because it needed to be divided anyway, and the flowers get hit by the sprinkler, so moving the whole plant is probably a good idea. Blue Mouse Ears are the perfect size for the entryway area, and with dappled sun due to the Amur Maple they will look great for years to come. That area also had the remnant of a Rainforest Sunrise hosta I mostly moved up north, but it got a bit smooshed too so this will not be it’s shining year. I had to cut away the smooshed leaves. No worries, it will pop back next year. But besides a center hosta and the few Blue Mouse Ears divisions, and the low growing sedum, what to put in that area for color? No to annuals I think. Daily watering – ugghhh. That is for bird baths – haha! No to sedum divisions – the two low growing sedum are enough. Asian lilies seem to die out there, and the stems are not great after bloom either. They require layering to cover those up. So it may be daylilies. I am concerned about the dappled sun, but maybe. Still contemplating.

Finally, the center of one of the back garden areas was pretty bare. Plenty of baby forget-me-nots that will bloom next year, but it needs something additional. I pulled a nice daylily from there to go up north last year, and right afterward I saw how bare that area was and regretted it. Bummer. So that area needs love. But low investment. Trying out the green shamrock. Not sure. Might need a trip to the garden store.

So that was the weekend garden fun. Super enjoyed it.

Couldn’t resist

After an intense work day yesterday I sat out on the patio with my husband. As we relaxed, and I looked out over the back garden, the tree seedlings got to me. And two in particular were really getting to my husband. They were getting to him because he is used to my gardening habit of keeping the tree seedlings out of the rock, they were getting quite tall, and I was saying not to pull them. Quite tall for tree seedlings in the rock is over 4″ – lol. The two tall seedlings were from the cherry trees around the neighborhood. I was deliberating trying to transplant them and see if they survived.

After sitting for a while, I couldn’t resist. The hundreds of tree seedlings fell prey to the start of my annual ” next steps” cadence. Despite my intentions to leave them until the roof/gutter/fascia work here is done, the gardener in me was sad. The garden looked sad. So, I went and got my weeding bucket and started the clean-up.

I have shared my experience that gardening is excellent exercise. I must have REALLY needed that yesterday.

Today unofficial summer starts here. It feels good. And more normal. There is no construction noise. The nature sounds are the backdrop to a beautiful morning. A little thunder in the distance. Ahhhhh.

Next week the roof project turns the corner to our area, and it will be increasingly noisy as we are kind of in the middle of the remainder. But that can be dealt with by filling up the gas tank and heading north. For this morning, when the rain finishes up, I think I will get out and fill another bucket with tree seedlings. That would be bucket 2 of the usual 7. Everything in moderation 🙂

Fall Decoration – Part 3 – The Amur Maples

At the little house up north we have an Amur Maple. I’d know them anywhere. The blooms in spring are delightful. I wish I could bottle that scent! The color is magnificent in fall. And they throw seeds like crazy. Which is why I have a mixed relationship with the Amur Maple in our front yard at the townhouse https://susansdailygarden.wordpress.com/2020/05/24/bonus-free-nail-filing/

I had plans to cut down the Amur Maple in our back yard. It looks like it has seen better days. It is lopsided, and looks more like a bush than a tree.

I don’t know. How much trouble can a lopsided bush sized sweet spring flowering tree cause? Maybe I can trim it. Maybe the seedlings will not be an issue in the spring because our lawn is old and sports lots of different volunteers. Maybe seedlings will not be an issue because there is no garden back there. Wait! Will there not be a garden back there?

It appears the Amur Maple shrub tree will survive one more year. I need to do more research & analysis.

8 buckets!

A few days ago I finished hand pulling all the tree seedlings for this spring. 8 buckets! That is a crazy amount of tree seedlings. It was literally a mat this year.

Mixed in were maple, pine and cherry seedlings. Were it not for the location, it would be fun to see what could become of all those seedlings – what would survive. Their contribution each year, however, is a fair amount of exercise. Under the shrubs and hostas and daylilies, not just on the edges, but way into the garden.

In the end, a few had been missed, but not many. There’s always another trip through the garden.

Bonus! Free nail filing!

Gardeners worldwide know that we don’t need a gym during the tending season. But did you know that Amur Maples come complete with free spring nail filing?

Let me explain. Our Amur Maple out front is delightful. When it blooms it is heavenly. No scent like it. In the fall, the seed pods turn a lovely pink color, and the leaves form a multi-colored carpet.

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Then the seed pods fall and blow all over. Helped by our squirrel friends, in the spring the seedlings can be found by the hundreds in the rock gardens and the lawn. The pines have nothing on these guys. Left to mature we could start a forest.

So every spring I get in garden shape, and also get a free nail filing, by going around and plucking out hundreds and hundreds of Amur Maple seedlings. Bucketfuls.

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What the hey – may as well grab linden sticks and the occasional pine or cherry volunteer too. But mostly Amur Maple seedlings. Like these

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Is it a pain? Yep. If the Amur Maple had to be replaced, would I hope the replacement would be something less invasive? Yep. But I’m used to it. I love the spring blooms, the fall color, watching the squirrels “harvest” the seeds, and the spring tradition of getting back in shape and getting a “plucking” nail filing!