Fantastic May Day

The long ago lesson encountered while reading Johnny Tremain focused on working on the Sabbath was not totally ignored today.  It is possible to view being among plants while maintaining a respectful attitude as an acceptable use of Sunday.  Rain was forecast but the morning was beautiful so we took advantage of what was offered.  Bagged tree leaves hold a central part in our attempts to grow native plants.  Our supply of reground leaves was nearly exhausted so opening somewhat intact aged bags of leaves was necessary.  Two piles like the one shown were created this morning intending to use this fine natural mulch to cover recently weeded ground or newly planted areas.  Native ferns are planned for this ground on the western edge of our land.  Since it is nearly impossible to dig planting holes in the tangled fabric of soil surrounded by trees, we will introduce our custom mix of forest soil deep enough to cover the root mass of new plants.  Then a top dressing of ground leaves will finish the job.

We are trying to find a combination of native or woodland plants that can grow next to each other without one destroying the other.  Wild Geraniums seemed like a positive choice.  Their flat deeply incised leaves and bright flowers were both attractive but the root mass was huge so now the task of removing them without harming the nearby desired plants is underway.  The pictured ground was intended to grow Wood Anemones.  Carefully removing many geraniums revealed this leaf that is likely a from seed Bloodroot.  Bloodroot seeds are encased in a coating, elaiosome, that lures ants into carrying off the seeds but discarding them when the coating is eaten.  This plant is close enough to the ground where we have tried for years to grow Bloodroot so it may well turn out to be a naturally planted specimen.  That is the type of action that we would hope to see more of in what is intended to be a natural garden. 

Sharp eyes may see tiny green new leaf growth that may prove to be first year plants from seed.  The larger leaf is part of a new Bloodroot planted last year.  Deer have a steady record of destroying these plants so they are now covered with a wire cage.  That is far from the natural look desired but we must find a way to keep these prized plants alive.

Our weeding out interlopers brought into sharp focus this beautiful purchased violet.  Unfortunately its name was lost but the new growth visible under the leaf to the left of the blossom would indicate that this treasure is here to stay if help is provided.  It seems that our resident herd of deer highly prize eating violets.  Violets are super tough and usually survive the attack but nearby plants are either trampled or eaten so once again wire cages are in widespread use both to discourage the deer and protect nearby plants.  This morning was by far the best time spent near our plants this year.  We are merely days away from Trillium blossoms above recently weeded and mulched fake woodland soil.  Pictures are guaranteed to follow.  We simply love time spent near our plants when the rewards for our efforts are so close at hand.
 

Shade Garden Grows

Confronted with age related decline in physical stamina, we are looking for work saving strategies that will allow us to continue gardening.  Just how an expansion of this garden fits into that plan might seem to be in contradiction of that goal.  The grass clippings, notice how they follow the line between shade and sunlight, will end the pasture grass that now grows here.  That newly cleared ground will provide space for divisions of our Siberian Iris collection that are long overdue.  Proper spacing and reground bark mulch will make this area relatively free of work once it is planted.  We want to be ready to plant here next spring.

Every bag of collected leaves has been opened and dumped in the shaded area.  We are trying to build forest soil with decaying hardwood leaves.  Little rain is in the forecast for the next several days so these leaves should dry out.  The small hand mower will be used to shred these leaves.  Quicker decay and more of a tendency to stay in place are the reasons for shredding.  The compost pile is slated for removal.
 

 
This is the long view as seen from the road.  The wire caged lilies clearly show their ugly protection but the evening munching deer is already eating the New England Asters.  Two years ago that deer ate every lily bud.  Now the lilies are protected but the colorful flowers will be behind wire.

Catskill Native Nursery was the source of this Smooth Solomon's Seal plant.  Buds promise flowers when most of the native woodland plants are going dormant.  A huge Spring Beauty was in the pot with this plant.  That hitchhiker was the actual reason for the purchase.  It was magnificent and should have dropped a load of seeds.  We will watch and see just what treasure this purchase provides next spring.
 

This is a weed that must be allowed to grow where self-planted.  A Red Clover flower is attractively colored and this one is home for a tiny white spider.  Becky is the one who sees events like this.  I get to enjoy them in her photos.

Cardinal Flower has captured and held my attention for several years.  Just why this native plant remains scarce in this general area remains a bit of a puzzle.  These plants taken from our gardens early this year have spent cold nights in the basement.  Now they are on their way to new owners in three different locations in our attempt to increase the number of plants with a chance to drop seed.

Skip 2 Poke A Hole

Age related physical decline is making gardening an increasingly difficult activity for us.  Stubborn is our strong suit so we need to work smarter.  Last fall this 5 by 12 foot area was completely weeded.  Then soil amendments including limestone, compost, dehydrated cow manure, peat moss and sand were worked into the soil.  That was followed by a thick layer of finely chopped  hardwood tree leaves covering the bed.  Sections of wire fence were placed on top of the leaves to hold them in place.  All that needed to be done to ready this ground for planting was to remove the leaf cover and stir the soil.  The brown mound seen two beds away is the moved chopped leaves.  They will soon be put to use as mulch around other plants.
 

Our five foot wide beds are intensively planted.  Uniform planting requires a simple quick method to define the location of each plant.  We use 2 by 4 inch wire fence to keep the deer out of the planted areas.  We also use it to mark the planting grid.  Two pieces of fence placed with one rotated 90 degrees results in two inch squares.  In each row the onions are planted six inches apart.  Using my well worn walking stick, I push a planting hole then skip two squares before pushing another hole.  Eight inches separates the rows.  For that spacing I skip three holes before pushing another hole.  This likely seems unnecessarily fussy but it is much quicker than the traditional string between two sticks method widely used to define planting rows.

Watering the new transplants is the next to the last step in planting the onions.  The last step is to install the sections of fence around the outside of the planted area.  Four metal poles define the perimeter and garden twine quickly attaches the wire to the poles.  The wire sides are easily removed to work among the plants.  The weed covered area next to the onions needs attention now since we did not get to it last fall.

This is the garden near the back woods.  Here the planting beds are 18 feet long and only the perimeter is fenced.  270 onions were planted here three days ago.  Dixondale Farms has been our source of onion plants for the past several years.  Aware of our recent frigid weather, they promised a one week delay before shipping us their Texas grown plants.  That week turned out to be only one day and our exposed ground was still frozen.  The chopped leaf cover prevented the refreezing of this ground.  When it was cleared, some ice crystals remained in the ground but we planted.  The 2018 garden is well underway,

This adjacent bed contains 270 garlic cloves.  Not all have sprouted but that is normal.  March weather had these young plants looking terrible but they have recovered nicely.  Some of the garlic plants still look doubtful but we will continue to care for them and hope that at least some stay with us.