They're Back and They're Early

As a gardener in New Hampshire, I often wonder what terrible deed I did to evoke the wrath of Mother Nature because there are days when it seems like Spring will never arrive and I will never get out there in the garden.  And then, when Spring finally does get here, she has more tricks up her sleeve.

It all starts in early March when I'm listening on the phone to friends and family living in other parts of the country go on and on about how all their forsythia and daffodils are blooming.  And here I am stuck in New Hampshire still fooling around with the snow blower.  Then, as March wears on, and the snow disappears, it's replaced by mud.  It's no use thinking about gardening then.  I can't even get a wheelbarrow full of mulch through all the muck.  Finally, April arrives and the mountains of snow start to recede, only to reveal millions of fallen leaves that I swear I had already cleaned up last Autumn.  So I spend most of April raking leaves and picking up branches that were ripped from the trees by all those winter storms we had to endure.  There is load after load of debris to be hauled away but finally, toward the end of April, I have walked the last ten miles with the garden cart, the garden is all cleaned up, and I get to enjoy a small taste of gardening bliss.  And then they show up.

Dig In- Pruning Azaleas

image courtesy of Wikipedia.org

Dig In- Tips from Nettie at Uncanoonuc

How Do I Prune my Azaleas?

Neglected Azaleas, both evergreen and deciduous types, can be rejuvenated by pruning. You could do this now or right after bloom, but before summer when they start to set buds for next year's show. Don't shear them which would ruin their natural gracefulness and result in lots of twiggy growth.

Remove about a third of the older stems at the base of the shrub each year for the next three years. Also remove any dead, broken or inward growing branches. If it is still congested, remove some of the side branches aiming for a balanced framework. (Overgrown lilacs can be rejuvenated this way too.) Don't worry about taking too much wood out - they are forgiving.

For more gardening tips from Nettie, click here.

Amorphophallus titanum

image courtesy of Wikipedia.org

This week, over 10,000 people showed up at a tiny greenhouse in Basel, Switzerland to watch a flower bloom. But this was no ordinary Easter lily.  It was Amorphophallus titanum, and even a rough translation of its Latin name will tell you that this plant is obscene in more ways than one.

Amorphophallus titanum ( aka, Titan arum) is not the kind of plant you would want to grow in your herb garden.  Its flower is no good at all for filling a sachet under your pillow or for strewing over the floors of your cozy little cottage dwelling.  Its common name is the 'corpse flower' and its fragrance has been compared to rotting human flesh. Flies absolutely adore it and if P.T. Barnum or R.L. Ripley could have put their hands on one of these plants, you can bet that it would have been the star of every sideshow from Kalamazoo to Krakatoa.

The Easter Bunnies

For more Beatrix Potter Bunnies, click on the photo above.

To learn more about Beatrix Potter, click here.

Angel Face

photo by Kirby Fong

This is Angel Face 3W-YYO, The American Daffodil Society's 2011 National Gold Winner that was exhibited by Steve Hampson.  And, if she isn't enough to convince you that not all daffodils are created equal, click here.

Explore Indonesia's Forests

Here's your chance to explore Indonesia's forests without any of the bugs or the snakes!

Arnold Arboretum Senior Research Scientist and renowned tropical biologist Cam Webb will be spending the next three years researching forest biodiversity in Indonesia, a collaboration with Sargent Fellow Sarah Mathews and senior Indonesian collaborator Teguh Triono. Join Cam and his colleagues as they collect plants, take photographs, and analyze botanical and ecological data gathered in research plots on five Indonesian islands. Examining hundreds of species of plants and their respective habitats will contribute to our understanding of how forests and the plants in them evolved and respond to current environmental pressures. Along the way, you will be introduced to fascinating organisms, encounter the full forces of nature, and meet the wonderful people of Indonesia who assist with the research efforts to protect these remarkable forests. This work is made possible through a grant from the National Science Foundation.

You can link to them by clicking here, through the links sidebar section of this blog or at http://arboretum.harvard.edu/research/webb-blog/

The Featured Garden- The Gardens of Colonial Williamsburg

Last week marked the 65th annual Garden Symposium at Colonial Williamsburg which usually takes place during the first or second week of April.  Unfortunately, we didn't make it to Virginia this year but during our attendance at last year's symposium we had a chance to visit many of the wonderful colonial gardens scattered throughout the Historic Area.  For someone like me who is in love with colonial architecture, kitchen gardens, Williamsburg paint color charts, unique outbuildings, beautiful fences and gates, symmetry, and especially boxwood--this was heaven!

Rachel's Garden- Rachel at Chanticleer

Rachel Goes to Chanticleer.

For a peek at some of the wonderful Spring vignettes that Rachel got to draw and photograph at Chanticleer, check out these shots taken by Andrea Geesaman on April 10th by clicking on the photo above.

To see drawings from Rachel's Garden, click here.

Dig In- Pruning Dogwood

I am happy to introduce Dig In, a new post on Notes from Juniper Hill that will feature gardening tips and how-to from Annette "Nettie" Rynearson.  Nettie is a Cornell educated horticulturalist who, three decades ago, founded Uncanoonuc Mt. Perennials, in Goffstown, New Hampshire.  Uncanoonuc specializes in low maintenance and cold-hardy perennials, shrubs and roses that are suitable for New England gardens.  They grow almost 80% of what they sell at their 2-acre facility in Goffstown.  They have gorgeous display gardens so you can see what your newly purchased plants will look like when mature, and most of the perennials are conveniently planted in blocks so you can compare varieties easily.  If you haven't yet visited Nettie and her friendly staff at the nursery on top of Uncanoonuc Mountain, you should head up there as soon as possible.  This year's opening day is Wednesday, April 27th.  For more information on Uncanoonuc, along with hours of operation, you can visit their website by clicking here.

Winterthur

For a slideshow of some great Spring shots of Winterthur taken by Andrea Geesaman, on April 9th, click on the photo above.