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grEen News from Smithfield Gardens September 2007
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Dear Fellow Gardener,
As September rolls around many of us are torn by different feelings. One is the melancholy that comes from knowing the summer is nearly over, the days at the beach are numbered, vacations are now memories, children return to school, and it is time to settle back into a more normal routine. On the other hand it means cooler temperatures and a more comfortable time working in the garden. It also means the anticipation of Fall and a change in the garden's pallete from the louder, in your face colors of summer to the richer subtleties that are Autumn.
Here at the garden center we are through fighting over who has to work Labor Day weekend, and are anticipating the arrival of new shipments. Margie has been busy this summer with many things including ordering Fall bulbs which should be here for you to see by the first of the month. She has also gotten in some unique fall decorating items. April has placed her mum order and is just about through ordering her pansies. Les has already gotten in some new trees and shrubs with more on the way throughout this month.
Another thing we are anticipating, is the return of YOU, our customer. We have missed seeing many of you while you were enjoying your summer. However, as a good gardener, you know that Fall is one of the more critical times of the year to be in the garden. It is the best time to put in new trees, shrubs, and perennials. Those of you that prefer fescue know that you should be working on those lawns now. It is also time to reflect and evaluate what survived and worked well (and what didn't) during this past summer. Please come see us soon. We look forward to helping you.
Happy Gardening!
Your Friends at Smithfield Gardens
P.S. Mark you calendar for our Fall Festival on October 6th and 7th. We will have more information for you in our next edition.
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Taking Lessons from Mother Nature
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This August my son and I packed up the car and headed for the mountains to one of our favorite campgrounds for our summer camping trip. Like always we left early in the morning so we could get there before all of the campsites were taken. This year we got there too late and were forced to search for another place, and after looking at a couple of overcrowded and dirty campgrounds, we stumbled onto Hidden Valley near Warm Springs, Virginia. As is often the case in gardening, sometimes happy accidents are the best experiences. This place was far from crowded, it was clean, and it had good swimming, fishing and hiking. However, what I enjoyed the most was seeing many of our garden plants growing in all their glory in their native habitat.
In the open meadows of Hidden Valley there were huge clumps of mauve Joe Pye weed, dark purple ironweed (pictured) was in full bloom, and false sunflower was attracting lots of butterflies to its yellow blossoms. The meadows also contained acres of head high switch grass, and in the moister areas, cattails made perfect perches for songbirds. Although I have read about the native St. John's wort, I had never seen one before this trip, let alone one in full bloom. It seemed happy growing among the dogwoods in the half world between the sunny meadows and the darker woods. Great oaks and maples made up most of the wooded areas, and their extensive root systems and the shade they cast made it difficult for all but the toughest of plants to grow underneath. In the moister areas near the river and streams, river birch thrived, casting shade for ferns, rhododendrons, bee balm and the pretty red cardinal flower.
So other than enjoying the sheer beauty of nature, are there lessons a gardener can learn from places in the wild like Hidden Valley? Absolutely! When you are in natural areas, look where things are thriving. Plants that like sun should be planted there, and plants that prefer shade should not be forced to struggle in the wrong spot. If something you admire takes a little more moisture, then make sure it is in an area where the soils are not dry, or that you can easily get to with a hose. Be careful what you plant under the canopy of large mature trees. There are only a few things that can compete with tree roots and survive in the shade. From a design point of view if you want your landscape to have a more natural look, see how Mother Nature gardens. She never plants in straight rows, nor does she usually plant only one or two of something. She prefers odd numbered groupings or drifts of the same plant. Look to her edges and transition places, the smaller plants are usually in front of the medium plants which give way to the taller ones in the back.
I hope that the next time you are out in the wild, whether it is a meadow, the shoreline or in the forest take time to look closely at what is growing and how. Maybe you will learn something and get some ideas or inspiration for recreating your own piece of paradise.
Les Parks
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FESCUE FEVER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  Well, it's finally here! No, not fall, silly - fescue grass season! This is the time of year all fescue lovers look forward too. It is now time to resurrect your fescue lawn from the ravages of summer drought and disease. If you did not spend this summer outside every morning watering then you must be looking out your window at a brown lawn and wondering what to do now. Don't despair, help is on the way with these fescue lawn facts and tips to help make your lawn is the pride of the neighborhood.
It is no surprise fescue lawns have their issues in our area. We are in a transition zone, you see, which means all cool season grasses have a very hard time staying green all year. Also, our summer heat combined with humidity promotes different types of fungus that can totally decimate your lawn in a week's time. Proper maintenance is the key to success with fescue (we have a great handout that we would love to share with you on your next visit. Just ask any sales associate to direct you to the information rack). Using a broad spectrum or systemic fungicide is a good idea for your lawn. These can be used in liquid or granular form, whichever is most convenient for you. Always read the entire label of any chemical that comes into your home. If you use chemicals correctly they will work their best and without hurting anything you love!
When to fertilize your fescue is a question I get asked all the time. Please, only fertilize when the grass is actively growing; that means fertilize in September, November or December. Use a slow-release fertilizer when seeding, that way you won't burn your grass from too much nitrogen. Remember; by its very nature fescue grass is a darker green, so fertilizing is for good root development which helps to keep it green in the summer. Using a blend of different types of fescue is best in our area, and we can recommend one that will be the right choice for your conditions.
Weed control is the next hot topic. Post-emergent and pre-emergent herbicides are necessary in our area because we have so many weeds that germinate at different times of the year. Once most weeds germinate they are very hard to eradicate. Nutgrass is probably the hardest to get rid of in the lawn or flowerbed. It is a sedge weed that has small bulbs on its root system, so when you pull it out you leave about ten baby plants. Sedgehammer is a great herbicide for nutgrass and the only thing I have ever used that works! Bermuda grass can be taken out of your lawn with Turflon Ester or Ornamec without harming your fescue.
Hopefully, this answers some of your questions but if you have more, please come by and speak to one of our many certified horticulturists. We can give you the answers you need.
Margie Cooper
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Reblooming Iris Do Double Duty in Your Garden
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I've come to appreciate reblooming bearded iris a lot in the past few years---both in my own garden and here at work. Asking little more than sun and good drainage, (especially important in the wetter winter months) these irises will multiply quickly and provide lots of colorful blooms in the early spring and again as the fall months progress. These iris are a great choice for gardeners with small yards because they do "double duty" without taking up a lot of room. We have noticed that the varieties planted in our display beds bloom at different times, not all together, so you extend plant combinations for quite a while. One combination I really enjoy at my house is 'My Friend Jonathan' iris with the light peachy-pink mum Dendranthemum 'Pink Sheffield'. The mum seems to pick up the peach tones in the iris. 'Clarence' is the first iris to bloom at my house in the fall and it is a beautiful two-tone-- whitish standards tinted violet with light blue violet falls.
Passersby are always surprised to see iris blooming in the fall. The truth is remontant, or reblooming iris, have been around for a while. However it wasn't until these iris started winning awards at iris shows that hybridizers began to broaden their breeding efforts to include this type. As a result there are even more colors to choose from! If you purchase bareroot iris they may look a little rough, but don't worry, they're not dying. When you plant your iris make sure that half of the hard rhizome is exposed and don't forget to water the plants afterward. Don't cover the exposed root section with a layer of mulch, either. If you order iris from garden catalogues be aware that not every iris sold as a rebloomer will rebloom in our area. When you shop for reblooming iris on the internet look for growers that provide specific information about which states have seen rebloom. Fall is a great time to plant iris. Visit us soon to see the rebloomers in our display beds and take home a new plant that will do double duty in your garden!
We know the following do rebloom in Tidewater:
Amain Spirit of Memphis
October Splendor Pinkness
Harvest of Memories Buckwheat
Spirit of Fiji Silver Dividends
Double Shot Cee Cee
Recurring Ruffles Renown
Summer Olympics Autumn Bugler Brother Carl Sunny Disposition
Corn Harvest Holy Night
Istanbul Rosalie Figge
Ann Weber |
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