“Tree”t Your Landscape

August 3, 2015 / The Bent Trowel / 4 Comments

It’s August, people!! I hope you are having a great summer! I can’t complain– we have done a lot of stuff this summer, but my family still has a few things to check off the list before I can officially call it a completely fun-filled summer.

Garden wise, I have been watering like crazy. We had 90+ degree temps (32 Celsius) last week, and everything was withering under the hot, oppressive sun. We still haven’t received any real rain, other than the big thunderstorm that came through my neck of the woods on Saturday.

I have been quite busy with all the stuff that’s happening with our house. As I have mentioned in past posts, we are getting some major remodeling done, and unfortunately, my flower beds have taken a toll. With the house being re-sided, ladders and lots of feet had pretty much trampled down my front garden beds, leaving me very sad. I know, however that this was bound to happen, and I know that next year everything will come back even bigger and stronger!

Well, my beds out back of my garage have taken the biggest hit. So, I quickly moved everything over to the other side of my yard and extended my flower beds once again. I actually like that I have moved everything, and it looks as though my dwarf burning bush is doing much better in its new location than the previous one.

Here it is, my quick emergency bed to save everything from getting trampled!

I have since done some work on it to make it look prettier, but as usual, I have a long way to go. After surveying my back yard landscape, I knew I needed to add something to it besides just flowers, plants, and shrubs. It was an absolute “tree”t to see that there were a lot of great trees on sale at my local nurseries right now. I have since bought three!

To keep your landscape interesting, think about adding some trees to the picture. Keep in mind the size of your yard, and there is a tree out there for every landscape, from postage stamp size to major acreage!

My little yard.

When looking for some trees to put in your yard, try to find some different varieties that you don’t often see. For example, if you have a larger yard, get a beautiful tulip tree, or a variety of maple that isn’t as common. For small yards like mine, you can pick from a large list of Japanese maples, or other ornamental or dwarf size trees.
Location is key. Make sure wherever you plant your tree, you have given it room to grow. Or, maybe you want some privacy in your yard, so you will plant it to accommodate this.

I am now filling in the rest of my yard with a few trees that get about 8-10ft tall.

What are they you ask?

Japanese Maples — 50% off right now at your local nurseries. I purchased a Crimson Queen (that unfortunately was put into the hot sun during the beginning phases of our home remodel, and the leaves dried up to a crisp). PLEASE DO NOT JUDGE ME. I am trying really hard to bring this little guy back, and it’s working, his regular leaves are coming back. They are reddish/green laceleaves– so intricate and beautiful!

Crimson Queen Laceleaf, a little fried.

The other tree I purchased was a Ryusen Weeping Japanese Maple. The tree, as I am told, is a very rare weeping Japanese Maple that grows much faster compared to most other varieties of this tree. It averages about 10ft. high, but can grow as high as 20ft. It looks like a waterfall when fully grown.

Ryusen Weeping Japanese Maple

I really love “weeping” plants and trees. They are so different, yet dramatic and graceful. Another “weeping” specimen I purchased was this Weeping Norway Spruce. They get to about 8 ft. tall. Just perfect for my yard.

Weeping Norway Spruce

There are many different trees to choose from, take your time and research some that are perfect for your part of the world. Adding trees to your flower beds makes your garden more well-rounded and lovely!

A Natural Pause

July 29, 2015July 29, 2015 / The Bent Trowel / 4 Comments

My new hibiscus looked so wonderful against a blue sky. Enjoy.

A Natural Pause

July 8, 2015July 8, 2015 / The Bent Trowel / 2 Comments

In Buffalo, summer is our “jam”. We have summers that people only wish they had. One summer tradition in Buffalo is Shakespeare in Delaware Park, where theater students hone their skills by performing in a Shakespeare play outdoors. Before the show went on, I took a walk over to the Japanese Garden of Buffalo. It was so nice and beautiful, I had to just stop and take it all in. Enjoy.

So “Mulch” To Talk About In the Garden

July 7, 2015 / The Bent Trowel / 1 Comment

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! Our weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Every minute of the weekend was booked, as usual.

This was quite a grand finale!

My weekend was rounded out with a trip down to my parents house, where the valley was abuzz because it’s haying season.

As I went and visited my with my Aunt at her house, she mentioned that her Lady’s Mantle was growing like crazy and that she still had to mulch her one bed that was full of it. So, that of course got me thinking about mulching and why it is important and why you should do it.

Mulch is any layer or covering over soil. Mulch can be a number of things, I found out. And I was surprised that some of it was considered to be mulch. But, it makes sense.

There are several types of mulch, the most common being bark or wood chips. This is considered organic mulch — mulch that will decompose over time. Some other examples of organic mulch include:

compost
manure
grass clippings
newspaper
pine needles
leaves
straw

There are also several synthetic or inorganic mulches — mulch that does not decompose. Examples of synthetic mulch are:

rubber chips
landscape paper
garbage bags, or plastic sheets
gravel or stone — Inorganic

What do they all have in common?

They keep the weeds out and retain moisture–they make your beds look nice and well-manicured.

What are the differences between organic and synthetic/inorganic?

Organic mulch decomposes, therefore it helps with the soil’s fertility. The more you use bark chips, grass, pine needles, etc, the more it enriches your soil. You will not get these benefits from synthetic mulch like plastic sheets. Even though it keeps the weeds away, it won’t allow water in either, which goes against the idea of using mulch in the first place.

The mulch most people closely associate with, bark or wood chip mulch, comes in different colors, and from different trees. Hardwoods and softwoods, such as Cedar, are made into bark or wood chip mulch. It comes in colors of red, black, and natural.

What mulch do I use?

Many moons ago, when I was just moving into our home, and the backyard was just that– a backyard with nothing in it, I took my first stab at landscaping the one side of my fence. I went over to Lowe’s and picked out a mulch that didn’t make me recoil– sorry folks, but I really don’t like the bright red mulch that most people/places have. It drives me nuts!

I asked the guy to load up my then Honda Civic with 8 bags of natural cedar mulch, and he told me I picked the best mulch there was! Totally a crapshoot. I liked the natural color, and because it’s Cedar, and, as we all know, Cedar retains moisture quite well, so it was a lucky guess!

Do you mulch only in the Summer/Growing Season?

No, you can mulch in the fall, too! BUT you don’t have to buy any, just wait for your leaves to come down from the trees! Leaves, in my opinion, are the best mulch for the winter– it protects your plants from harsh weather, and when it decomposes, it leaves your soil full of wonderful nutrients.

How often do you mulch?

You don’t have to mulch every year. In fact its better if you did it every other, or maybe every couple of years. However, I have mulched all of my beds the last two years, only because I keep making more! Once you have beds established, you don’t need to mulch as much. Just get out the ole garden hoe and mix up your mulch with your soil.

So “mulch” to talk about, but I believe this information will do for now. This is what I have learned about mulch, and I hope you find it of interest for your gardens, too!

A Natural Pause

July 1, 2015 / The Bent Trowel / 1 Comment

The tree in my front yard seems to be the place for cicadas. I was lucky enough to catch this guy before he flew away! Enjoy.

What’s Growing On In My Garden- Early Summer

June 28, 2015 / The Bent Trowel / 2 Comments

Summer is just a week old, and you would think it was Fall the way the rain and cold has been pounding down. This weather is actually a blessing in disguise, because it forces me to get indoor work done that is usually neglected when it’s gardening season!

I have a late-blooming Allium that’s getting its share of rain!

So, I just thought I would give you a rundown of what’s “growing” on in my yard this year.

First, I have to say that everything is coming along just wonderfully this year. I think this endless rain has helped speed up the lush full-grown landscape that surrounds my home. I also believe that it’s the rain that has kept the deer at bay– I haven’t had to spray my hostas and other deer delicacies only twice so far. By this time last year, I was spraying my plants every week!

As always, there is never an end to gardening. I always tell myself EVERY year that what I have done is enough and I don’t need anymore. Well, of course, I keep adding and keeping making new beds. I comb through garden magazines, peruse garden centers and research online all the different perennials I could add to my garden for my hardiness zone of 6a.

Well, these are the plants I have added this year:

Beautyberry: I have wanted one of these plants for a long time. In the fall, they will have these beautiful (hence the name) purple berries on its branches. They require part sun/shade.

I can’t wait to see these berries in all their purpley-ness!

Indian Holly Fern: I love ferns, as everyone knows at this point. So, how could I not add yet another fern to my back yard shaded area? This fern has light stripes running down the middle of the fronds.

This fern has stunning contrasts!

Creeping Thyme: I purchased four of these plants for this little brick wall I made for the flower bed directly behind the garage. I hope they will start growing over the bricks and make for an excellent groundcover look!

Some other views of my gardens that are blooming beautifully:

Maidenhair Fern

Cinnamon Fern

Yellow Loosestrife

Torch Lily

Rudbeckia

Sea Holly

Two stone crop sedum

Stay tuned at a later date for some more pictures of other plants well on their way through the season. I hope that these pictures will give you some ideas of what you would like to add in your garden as well!

Have a wonderful summer week!

DIY: HIGH-PER-TOO-FA

June 24, 2015 / The Bent Trowel / 1 Comment

Welcome, Summer! The weather in Buffalo has been absolutely beautiful! Everybody, including myself, is soaking up the sun as much as possible! I am getting a little behind on blog posts because now that summer is in full swing, our calendars are absolutely packed. That’s what happens in Western New York when summer comes– you use up every single minute of it!

Meanwhile, I have added a couple of new plants to my garden, but next week I plan on doing a little update on new plants I have purchased, and also the other stuff that’s been growing in my gardens. I have also learned a few things.

Speaking of learning a few things– after going to my parents house a few weeks ago, I saw this really neat bowl that my mother had made. I asked what it was and she said, “Hypertufa”. I said, “What?!”

Here we go. Hypertufa is a sandy/concrete like-mixture that you make with Portland cement*. It is much lighter and porous than your typical terracotta pot or just plain old concrete, so that’s what makes it so good for growing plants in. This history behind it is really interesting. Hypertufa was invented for use in alpine gardens. It can withstand temperatures that dip to -22 degrees farenheit (-30 degrees celsius).

*This is very important. This is what makes Hypertufa different from regular garden ornaments you make out of just a mixture of sand, cement mix and water. Yes, it really is confusing.

How to make Hypertufa

If you go online you will find many different recipes, but this seems to be the most used amounts that I found:

-Three parts Portland Cement -Four parts Sphagnum moss -Five parts Perlite -Water

You can add sand, pebbles, or other anything you think might give your hypertufa more structural integrity, or strength.

**Make sure to use gloves and mask when using the above ingredients. The cement dust can be dangerous if inhaled in large amounts. The mixture should have a cottage cheese consistency before you put it in the mold.

Get two plastic bowls/molds- one big and one small so that it fits in the bigger bowl.
Spray the big bowl with nonstick cooking spray.
Once you have created the mixture, place it in the bigger bowl and mold.
Place the smaller bowl inside the bigger bowl. Spray nonstick cooking spray on the outside of the smaller bowl before you do so. Fill in the molds appropriately, and use a mallet to try to remove any air bubbles.
Put your hypertufa in a plastic bag for 24-36 hours to cure.
Remove the plastic molds and set your hypertufa in a dry place to finish completely drying out for 2-3 weeks.

Once you get more experience with creating hypertufa, get creative. Start thinking outside the box with it.

This will be what your finished project will look like:

Photo: Colleen Dietrich

Hypertufa has endless possibilities. This is also a great Christmas gift idea. I plan on making a few of these! You can use anything! And your garden will thank you!

–

Field Trip – Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

June 11, 2015 / The Bent Trowel / 2 Comments

Oh, I do apologize for not posting something sooner. I have had a busy week! It all started last Friday when I went on my first ever “momcation” (those of you following me on Twitter know what I am talking about). My brother and his fiance purchased a home in the Pittsburgh, PA area, and I, along with my parents, helped him move. Road trip! This is the first road trip I have done sans husband and child. Ever. I have pretty much stuck close to home and not gone anywhere since my daughter was born.

I was very excited to visit a city I have never been to. I am so glad I had the opportunity to do it! Pittsburgh is a wonderful city, just like everyone says it is! It’s basically all hills and gorges, and it blew my mind how so many houses are built on cliffs! After the moving was done on Saturday, we woke up early Sunday morning to visit Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. I really wanted to do this since I had learned I would be making the drive to Pittsburgh with my parents. I was NOT disappointed. It was everything I thought it would be, and more!

It took us a good two hours to stroll through the whole place and take everything in. They also had art pieces placed throughout the gardens by my most favorite glass sculptor/artist ever– Dale Chihuly. I really can’t explain how happy I was to take this trip. The next time I go will be with my family, and we will be visiting much more! Here are some photos from my trip, and tune in next time for a regularly scheduled post!

Dale Chihuly pieces are placed all over the grounds at Phipps. This is the first one to greet you when you walk in.

The start of your botanical journey!

Shrimp Flower

The Butterfly Room. They were everywhere!

Chihuly in the Desert Room.

HUGE lily pads. They can hold a 30lb. child!

This picture sums up Pittsburgh–lots of gorges and bridges, along with some row houses in the distance.

Do It Yourself — Swing Set Flower Beds

May 26, 2015May 26, 2015 / The Bent Trowel / Leave a comment

I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Not only to get an extra day off from work, but to observe the meaning of the day– to honor those who have served or are serving to protect our freedom.

It was a very busy weekend for my family, as I made sure my daughter got her nature fill! Going on nature walks, a trip to the aquarium and the beach, she couldn’t get enough!

I promised myself since I had been working so hard in the garden the last two weekends, I was going to have fun. But then, my husband came up with a great idea for a little part of my yard that I was NOT happy with.

The swing set last summer, right after we purchased it.

My daughter’s swing set. There was this little square right underneath her slide that you can’t mow or really do anything with. My husband is terrified of our string trimmer, so that option is out. He suggested we actually make that little space into a flower bed! My twitter followers have already heard about my swing set flower bed, because I tweeted a picture immediately after I had finishing planting!

What a brilliant idea! So, he worked up the soil for me and I purchased a flat of marigolds to put in there. I actually bought some red petunias too, but I kind of liked the idea of just having full-on marigolds.

Presto! No more unsightly grass!

So, why did I choose marigolds — why not something else?

Well, I chose annuals because I know that someday this swing set will not longer be here (and I will cry), so when the day comes for it to be removed, we can easily just throw some grass seed over it and call it a day! For me, planting a perennial would not make much sense. However, everybody is different, and may have a different way of looking at it. That’s what makes gardening so fun!

*This brings up a great point– make any swing set/play set part of your garden plan.*

-I want to also include a flower box on the side just to make it blend in with the rest of my landscaping.

So don’t think of your swing sets as eye sores for your yard– think of them as just another creative touch to your landscape!

Do-It-Yourself Garden Decor Introduction: Bowling Balls

May 12, 2015 / The Bent Trowel / 2 Comments

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend! Western New York broke heat records this past weekend– 87 and 89 degrees! That little heat wave was exactly what all of the trees and plants needed. Green is bursting everywhere!

The hills at my childhood home are just speckled with green. It is beautiful!

Not only did I spend the day at my parent’s house, but I also did some yard work the last half of the weekend– purchasing mulch and weeding, getting my flower beds ready. I started looking in my garage for some of my garden decor that I have collected over the years, and I started thinking about what a great series of posts it would be if I devoted some time to DIY garden decor– for cheap!

We spend so much time fussing over our plants, flowers, shrubs, etc.– worrying about where we should move things, where they should be planted, that we don’t realize that there are other things we could use to boost our natural surroundings.

First of all– What is Garden Decor?

Garden decor encompasses many things that you can enhance your home landscaping with that are not plants, trees, flowers or other natural elements. This includes, but is not limited to:

sculptures
any everyday object
solar lights
birth baths, feeders

Garden Decor comes in handy:

If you are making new flower beds and all of your plants are small. If you are creating new plant beds and you have a lot space, put a garden gnome or two in. It adds some pop to a young landscape.

What can I use?

For this post, I am going to talk about bowling balls. I have to give my mother credit for this, and I am kind of addicted to them. They are a great alternative to the pricier garden globes that you can get at your local nursery. Now, you can buy garden globes, I have two. But, if you are like me, and spend $60 on a garden globe and then come home to find it smashed all over your driveway because an animal knocked it over, it really is a disappointment. So, why not visit your local thrift shop or garage sale, and pick up that old bowling ball with “Madge” etched into it? It will cost you less than $5 and there are so many pretty colors!

This purple beauty has 5 finger holes!

*You can do so many things with them! I purchased small plant stands and placed two different color bowling balls on them. They sit on my front steps.

*You also paint them. My mother made this beauty for me and this goes out in my back yard (soon):

You can find a lot of patterns that show you how to paint bowling balls.

Here is also another one from my mother’s gardens in 2013:

That’s one big bumblebee among the iris’!

I also put a bowling ball on one of my garden globe pedestals and set it out in my bigger flower bed. There are so many things you can do with bowling balls that aren’t limited to what I have discussed above. This is where creativity comes into play. Taking everyday objects and making them into beautiful pieces of art is one of the most crafty things you can do. And for CHEAP. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to have anything look nice. It just takes a little elbow grease and creativity. And it means so much more to your gardens than you would ever think!