After a season of hot, dry summer weather, the garden often looks like Tobacco Rd. — worn out and ready for a cleanup. I start to cut back spent perennials and remove exhausted annuals slowly and in phases, trying to neaten plants that are truly finished for the year, while leaving anything still green and vigorous to prolong the season through fall. While some of these plants … [Read more...] about Leave some seed for birds
Autumn
Small shrubs with autumn colour
The trees are just past the peak of their gorgeous autumn colours. But how many blazing red sugar maples can I pack into my front garden? Not many, in fact, none at all. I’ve been trying to find small shrubs (or shrubs I can trim to a reasonable size) that will take on bright autumn hues. My first effort was red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia, Zone 5), a leggy shrub with … [Read more...] about Small shrubs with autumn colour
Rose of Sharon shines on
In these first weeks of September, many plants are transitioning from summer to autumn display. The grasses are sending up their feathery plumes. Hydrangea flowers are fading from creamy white to burnished pink-bronze. After several cool nights, Japanese maples are showing the first glimmers of scarlet and orange tints. But the tall rose of Sharon shrubs (Hibiscus syriacus, … [Read more...] about Rose of Sharon shines on
Easy leaf mulch
Nights are growing cool, a sign that the season is drawing to an end. Green leaves are fading and soon brilliant red, orange and yellow will be revealed. But the show is short, and leaves will soon fall to the ground. That’s our cue to start sweeping them into flowerbeds and compost piles, around the ankles of shrubs and across any exposed soil. The merits of a three- to … [Read more...] about Easy leaf mulch
