Blue Flag Iris tolerates shallow standing water and has purplish-blue flowers in early-June here in Zone 6a.
But this post isn’t about the merits of Blue Flag Iris. It’s about what a cool spot that was for Blue Flag Iris.
Small Details Make a Big Difference
I get a thrill out of small details like the grouping of Blue Flag Iris. These are the details that make or break a landscape. Placing a boulder in the right spot, staggering bloom times, smooth flowing edges, a place to sit and enjoy the landscape.
Lately, I’ve been planting groups of perennials with one outlier, so it looks like the perennials are spreading into the landscape.
One of my favorite details of this landscape is a Rat Snake living along the stream bed. I’ve stumbled on it sunning in the water twice this season. I hope to get a picture of it before the end of the year.
All of these details, while seemingly small, add up to an exciting and cozy landscape.
Last week while driving I spotted the beauty above, a White Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) in full bloom. The tree was a sight to behold.
I took this picture the first week of June in Zone 6a. Bloom time is in line with the Kousa Dogwood (Cornus kousa), possibly starting a little earlier.
Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs: An Illustrated Encyclopedia says the White Fringetree grows 12 to 20 feet high and wide in Zones 4 to 9. Dirr recommends it as a woodland or understory naturalizing plant. I agree. I’d love to see it on the edge of the woods with a high canopy above.
I’ve only planted White Fringetree once in my career and while the flower was beautiful the tree seemed to linger and never thrived. I spotted dead branches on this tree though the branches that are alive seem perfectly healthy.
While some dead branches may be a drawback I recommend White Fringetree. I would relegate it to the edge of the woods and not in a prominent spot in the landscape. Know that you’re going to have to periodically clean the tree out, especially in Connecticut.
If you look at the base of this tree you can see a lot of sucker growth. That’s a sign of a stressed tree. I have to give credit to the person who planted it, you can see the root flare. Nice job!
The White Fringetree is great for collectors, and possibly naturalizing, here in Connecticut.
I started looking for White Fringetrees online and found White Fringetree Seedlings at Garden Hills Nursery. I’m impressed with the variety of trees Garden Hills offers, be careful if you’re a collector and visit their website.
Have you ever grown White Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus) ? What do you think of it?
This spring I visited a home that had recently been mulched and was shocked at how deep the mulch was and how little preparation went into the job.
Weeds that had been covered in mulch poked through and the mulch was easily four to five inches deep.
I recommend carrying a soil knife and removing perennial weeds, such as Dandelion, down to the root before mulching.
This garden should not have been mulched; the time and expense should have gone into weeding.
Deep mulch leads to unhealthy plants and looks unnatural. On some jobs, I have to remove deep, old mulch before applying new.
Once a garden is established an inch of mulch is all you need.
Benefits of light mulching include:
Mulch won’t require yearly turning.
Oxygen can easily enter the soil.
Mulched over tree bark won’t become an entry point for insects, disease, and rodents.
Water easily filters through.
Less mulch looks more natural, like a coating of leaves on the forest floor.
Plant roots grow into the soil instead of growing into mulch that quickly dries.
Whether you’re a contractor or a homeowner try not applying mulch one year and see the difference it makes. Your plants will be healthier with significantly less work and expense.
Below is a landscape I mulched this spring by applying just enough mulch to do the job. No more. No less.
Spread less mulch for a more healthy landscape and sometimes you don’t need to add any mulch at all.
My other Square Foot Garden bed is filling up fast. In this bed, I planted Sugar Snap Peas, Onion Sets, and Artwork Broccoli.
Artwork Broccoli
I stumbled onto Artwork Broccoli at Tractor Supply. Artwprl Broccoli has an upright habit and is quick to grow secondary heads once the main head is harvested. The heads of Artwork Broccoli aren’t as large as traditional Broccoli but there are more of them for a longer time.
Artwork Broccoli has an extremely upright habit.
After taking these pictures I cut off the broccoli heads and steamed them. Delicious!
If you look in the leaf axils you can see new broccoli heads forming. As soon as the main head is cut the secondary heads start growing.
Red Onion Sets
I’m also growing Red Onion Sets. I placed the sets in the soil in mid-April and after six weeks of growth, they have come a long way.
Sugar Snap Peas
Sugar Snap Peas finish out the bed. The Sugar Snap Peas have been growing fast but so far no signs of flowers.
Thanks for joining me on a tour of my Square Foot Garden. I’m looking forward to sharing more updates throughout the year.
The wettest spring I remember has my Square Foot Garden growing like, well, a weed. I planted my cool season lettuce in mid-April and it’s taken off since then.
First I planted Romaine Lettuce. I like how Romaine Lettuce stands upright and the loose habit makes it easy to harvest a few leaves at a time. I also enjoy the taste.
Iceberg Head Lettuce
Next, I planted Iceberg Head Lettuce. Iceberg Head Lettuce is my go to when buying lettuce at the grocery store. The secret, in my humble opinion, is to shred it thinly when cutting for a salad.
When reading about Iceberg Head Lettuce at Bonnie Plants I learned head lettuce grown on the east coast may not have as tight a head as lettuce grown on the west coast. After harvesting one head I agree.
Garden-grown head lettuce is a bear to clean. I watched the video below for lettuce cleaning tips. The best way to clean freshly picked lettuce is to dip it in a large bowl of water and use a salad spinner for drying.
Buttercrunch Lettuce
I’ve read Buttercrunch Lettuce has good taste and is easy to grow. I tried grocery store Buttercrunch Lettuce over the winter and the taste was strong. We’ll see how freshly grown tastes!
Green Leaf Lettuce
The final lettuce I planted is Green Leaf Lettuce. Green Leaf Lettuce resists bolting, when plants go to seed in the summer’s heat.
I find it interesting that the best name anyone could come up with for this plant is “Green Leaf Lettuce.” I wonder if the same person bred a pumpkin called “Orange Pumpkin.”
In my next post, I’ll show you my Square Foot Garden planted with onions, broccoli, and sugar snap peas.
This blog isn’t about fish but I need to share this story for anyone with a clamped goldfish.
Clamping is when a fish stays at the bottom of the tank and doesn’t move much. The fish may also be ‘breathing’ more quickly than usual.
About three weeks ago, Zoomer, the fish on the left, clamped.
Zoomer has clamped before when I waited too long to clean the tank. Shimmer, the fish on the right, has never clamped.
Failed Cures for Clamped Goldfish
The first thing I did was clean the water and filter. The water was dirty and overdue for a change.
One word of caution is to not change the water in the tank all at once. Change it a little at a time. If you change the water quickly it stresses fish out. I’ll let blogs on fish care handle the details of that.
Over the course of 4 to 5 days, I removed a little water, and debris, from the tank until it was clear. The water turned a milky color a few days after changing. I knew something wasn’t right.
After cleaning I tried a product by API called PIMAFIX for fungal infections.
After 3 days I stopped using the PIMAFIX. I didn’t want to make the poor fish’s life any harder. I wasn’t sure the fish even had a fungal infection. I was grasping at straws.
It was a case of me overdoing the quick remedies and possibly hurting rather than helping the poor fish.
Next, I visited YouTube and watched a video about feeding fish the inside of a pea to cure constipation which can cause problems with their swim bladders. I stopped feeding the fish for three days and then gave them the inside of peas for about three days.
The fish weren’t impressed with the peas though they did eat them. Unfortunately, Zoomer was still clamped.
I thought it was the end for poor Zoomer.
Cure for Clamped Goldfish
This morning, after over three weeks of lingering on the bottom of the tank, Zoomer has buoyancy again. I’m so happy!
I can’t say if the peas helped or not but there was a large piece of fish waste floating on top of the water this morning.
In my research I read that if a fish is clamped for over two weeks it probably won’t heal. Don’t give up too quickly!
What was the cure?
Clean water and time, over three weeks time.
If your goldfish is clamped be sure the water is clean and give the fish time to heal. Sometimes that’s all it takes.
I’m pleased with how the plants have been growing in my perennial border this spring. We’ve had a very wet spring making the plants green and lush.
The bed you’re looking at has been weeded three times and edged twice. Plants have been added, subtracted and transplanted.
Gardening takes work.
I’m not trying to dissuade you from gardening. I want you to know gardening isn’t a once and done thing. People with beautiful yards spend a lot of time keeping those yards looking that way and love every minute they spend out there. I know I do.
The pink flowers are some kind of Poppy. I wish I could tell you more but I can’t.
A little up and to the right of the pink flowers are Mountain Bluet (Centaurea montana). I lost all but one of my Mountain Bluet over the winter. I suspect the cause of death was wet soil in the Fall, Winter or Spring. I got replacements at the grocery store this spring. If they don’t make it this time I’ll try something different.
You’d be amazed by how different the bed looks through the season depending on what is in bloom.
If you look over the fence you can see my Weber grill. It’s been in that spot for 19 years and counting. I enjoy peeking over the fence while grilling hot dogs in the Summer.
Click on the picture below for a larger version.
A closeup of the Poppies is below. Lauren, see below in comments, thinks it’s Papaver Orientale. I agree!
Yesterday while working in the yard I almost stepped on this little fellah or little girl. This is officially the first toad I’ve seen this year. The local toad population must be loving all the rain.
First Shade Day is the first day you can see shade from the trees each spring. May 5 was First Shade Day this year; though it was raining when I made the observation.
First Shade Day signifies the unofficial beginning of spring. I know the cold, damp gloomy days are over.
John Holden
Below are some observations of the yard on First Shade Day 2019.
Shade Garden Ideas
Below is the Hosta Garden leafing out. This garden has a lot of significance for a couple of reasons.
First, the root flare of the Sugar Maple to the left that’s 100 to 125 years old.
Second, when we bought our house this area was half moss and half weeds. It was a mess! Over the years I placed the stepping stones, spread compost, and planted the Hosta to get it to where it is today.
Sulphureum Barrenwort (Epimedium × versicolor ‘Sulphureum’) in full bloom growing in dry shade and looking great! Barrenwort dies back to the ground in the fall but reliably returns each spring. It’s a very slow spreader that works better as a grouping than as a ground cover.
Japanese Crabapple in full bloom. When we moved into the house 20 years ago the tree was a stick 6 to 8 feet tall.
Over the coming weeks, the petals will litter the plantings and lawn beneath the tree. Following that leaves will slowly drop through the summer. When the leaves drop in the fall they are thick and leathery and don’t ‘grind up’ with the lawnmower easily.
While I’m not a fan of Japanese Crabapples; few trees can compete with their beauty in full bloom. Here’s a great list of Japanese Crabapple Cultivars .
If you can identify the cultivar of Japanese Crabapple from the flowers please let me know.
Square Foot Gardening
Last year I started a square foot garden. I planted lettuce seedlings a couple of weeks ago. I only covered the plants once to protect them from frost so far.
In my other bed I planted onion sets, broccoli and peas.
When I was a kid I visited a friend whose father was growing peas early in the season. I remember watching the peas growing in the muddy, cold soil and wondering why anyone would plant so early.
I’ve learned that peas like cold, muddy soil. These seedlings were planted mid-April and they’re thriving.
Seasonal Color Ideas
My wife came back from Target with this cool bucket. She poked holes in the bottom with a nail for drainage, filled the container with potting soil and planted some pansies from the local grocery store. Voila!
German or Bearded Iris
This picture is the bed of German Iris I made a video about years ago. In the video, I mention weeding around the iris. I decided to keep the leaves in the bed to shade the soil and see if it keeps the weeds down.
