Do you ever wish gardening was easier? Would you like to do almost no new planting at all yet still have a fabulous garden?
Often times when I am deep at work in my office I often wish I could be like those Victorian Ladies in a novel. They never
perspire as they walk around their perfect gardens in long stiff brocaded dresses and all the work they do in their gardens is
carry baskets for their cuttings. Pinch, snip, and lightly prune – and their gardens look perfect
My friend, Kathy Horwatt , newly retired, is doing just that at Winston Churchill's Blenheim palace gardens in England.
When I was younger, I think (I know) I was a mindless gardener. Because I had so much energy, I planted everything and
anything I got my hands on. I planted many needless plants and so many plants that needlessly died. Because I am now
older and wiser, I find I tire quickly, have less strength, can’t easily bend, “Me ol' bones ache” and I know it is only going to
continue (and I shudder to think) - get worse! Therefore, I must simplify and make gardening easier and longer lasting...if I
am to continue.
The older and more educated I became in gardening I found that I must steer clear of planting fussy annuals. I used to
plant flats and flats of them. I still love the color and look of flowering annual plants but I just do not have the energy to
“deal” with planting them any more. I have come up with a way to get the look and feel of flowers in your garden without
having to plant annuals or a lot of fussy perennials. You have to plant “Rosie the Riveter Plants” or “We can do it plants”--
strong perennials, confident flowering shrubs, determined compact small conifers, and flowering small trees with loads of
blooms and beautiful leaves.
WHO ARE THE ROSIE THE RIVETER OF THE GARDEN WORLD?
LET’S START WITH SHRUBS
In the deciduous shrub category, they are strong shrubs. I call them my "Rosie the Riveter" gals, the workhorses of the
garden. These "Rosie" gals must have a good strong body and a good shape. They must be shrubs that are tidy and not
invasive. Shrubs that can fit in your flower bed without overpowering the rest of the flowers. Shrubs that you need only
lightly prune to keep in size. The shrubs must have not only good flowers but beautiful leaves, and a good show in two or
three seasons. Above all, they should not flit around like wild floozies. They must be serious and well behaved. Who are the
strong "Rosie the Riveters" of the garden? A few good ones are: ENKIANTHUS CREPE MYRTLE SHRUBS
all the VIBURNUMS RHODODENDRONS HYDRANGEAS IN CLUDING THE BIG FLOWERING OAK LEAFER HYDRANGEAS
PIERIS ANDROMEDA shows no wear and tear in 4 seasons), VITEX LOOKS SIMILAR TO THE BUTTERFLY BUSH BUT IS A MUCH
BETTER PLANT BECAUSE IT IS A NEATER SHRUB AND HAS MUCH MORE BEAUTIFUL LEAVES. DAPHNE(a strong but dainty
looking plant WITH A GREAT PERFUME SMELL- PLANT IT NEAR BY DOORS. NOW THERE ARE UNTIDY SHRUBS WHICH YOU
MUST HAVE BUT YOU MIGHT HAVE TO TRIM THEM MONTHLY. tHEY ARE WORTH IT, wISTERIA AND MY FAVORITE EARLY
BLOOMER NOW DON’T FORGET all the evergreen and deciduous AZALEAS., shrubs which look better and fuller year
after year.
Azaleas are my favorite shrubs that need dappled sun or afternoon shade. Why do so many people only plant azaleas in
the front of their home? If it is flowers and color that you want, not only plant azaleas in your front, but also fill your back
garden with tons of them. They require almost no work. Unless you really want them rounded and sheared as they
sometimes do in Japan, let them grow 4, 5, 6 feet tall and naturally blossom out. What is more breathtaking than walking
through a garden and being enveloped with millions of fairy bells of pink, lavender, and white? Azaleas of five and six feet
tall? They are magical.
I cannot live without planting PJM azaleas through out my whole garden. PJM azaleas bloom weeks earlier than the Kurume
azaleas. They are my harbingers of Spring. I plant a group of three lavender PJMs in each bed and one pink PJM along side
them. I love to stand and slowly “zoom/gaze” from one section of my garden to all areas and pick out the strategically
placed PJMs and see that they are everywhere and blooming in all the far corners and areas of the early spring garden
.
Gardeners often lament, “Oh, but Azaleas bloom for only such a short time…” No they do not. I get flowers mid March, if
it’s warm, till June. And so what if azaleas do not flower in the summer or fall. Do tulips bloom in the summer or fall? Not
only are azaleas a spectacular effect in the spring but even in the winter with snow on them they add structure and
fullness. They also are full, luscious fillers in the summer. But remember, if your garden is in full sun-forget the azaleas. But If you want azaleas you must plant small and large trees.
I am going to include in the shrub category, The small japanese cut leaf maple – called acer palmatumn. I treat these small trees as a shrub They add soo much beauty and color in the border. They are beautiful 4 seasons oof the year.
SMALL TREES -
I do not like to walk through a garden that is in total full sun. By planting small deciduous flowering trees, you will have
dappled shade and yet have the sun needed for your perinnals,and you will have added height to your beds .Vertical
structure is what flat gardens need. These trees should not give heavy shade but "grades or variations of shade.” These
trees should not have large leaves as a sugar maple tree has.
A few good small leafed trees to use at the ends of your beds or in your beds are, CREPE MYRTLE TREES WHICH BOOM AT THE END OF SUMMER , THE AMERICAN DOG WOOD TREE , sweet bay magnolia, small maple trees, stewartia, , styrax, vitex tree, stellata magnolia, and the yellow magnolia
and cereus (red bud) and birch trees . These trees are delicate girls and will not over take your beds. If they do start
to get too large, a light trimming and lifting is all they need. However, best of all, these sweethearts wear flowers in their
hair-and all of them smell real good.
LARGE TREES Also, include in your garden, larger flowering trees. Depending on the layout of your garden, these larger trees
may best be placed on the edges of your property. The following trees not only give you shade in the spring and summer
but also spectacular fall color and good bones for the heavy snows to rest on.
Good choices are: kwanzan cherry, styrax, southern magnolias, soulangiana magnolia, crape myrtles, dogwoods, fringe
tree, golden rain tree, sourwood, holly trees, and my favorite non-flowering trees; china fir 'Cunninghamia', limber pine
'pinus flexis', umbrella pine, dragon's eye pine, sugar maples, and the stately soaring dawn redwood 'metasequoia'. Buy
yourself a stately dawn redwood if your property can take the size. They are a wonderful tree for so many reasons (that is
another article.)
NOW WE COME TO PERENNIALS
To have strong beds which do not need you to do tedious work, one has to have strong perennials. A few examples
are:daylilies. Nothing is stronger than daylilies. Plant loads of them in large groups or interspaced throughout your beds
They are not fussy about their soil, double each year, have big showy flowers and when not in bloom they have lush foliage.
Another strong perennial is the woody hydrangeas; there are many varieties but not too many that you can’t keep up with
them. They also are not fussy about their soil, double each year if you wish them to, have big showy flowers and when they
are not in bloom they have really lush strong foliage. They common pink or blue hydrangeas can not be beat. Also plant
lace flowered hydrangeas.
Another strong perennial is of course all the bulbs; tulips, daffodils, all the small bulbs, and I love the spring jack in the
pulpit, May apples, and plant all the hostas especially the yellow ones. forget the common varigated one. flowers. They are lush, strong, come up each year fuller and then disappear
completely. Remember Rudbeckia. And the climbing montana l------vine. This has millions of tiny white flowers which start to bloom September 1 each year. You can't kill this flowering vine.
And now we come to the single and double knockout roses which you can say that they are not like the fussy roses at all but can be treated as a daylily- no problems.
Top 10 Reasons Why Knockouts are Americas Favorite Roses:
1. Easy to grow 7. Blooms for up to 7 months
2. Disease resistant 8. Very little pruning
3. Pest resistant 9. Not picky about soil
4. Hardy in Zones 4 - 9. 10. No deadheading needed
5. Compact tidy plants
6. Grows in full sun or partial shade
Now there are many other strong perennials – you know what they are. Some are fussy for others but grow easily for you. Plant them. You have to have daisies. all the daisy looking flower and there are many of them they work very well . I have given you just a few strong perennials. There are many.
PLANT ROSIE THE RIVETER PLANTS
Do you ever wish gardening was easier? Would you like to do almost no new planting at all yet still have a fabulous garden?I often wish I could be like one of those Victorian ladies or men in an Edwardian novel. They never perspire as they walk around their perfect gardens in long stiff brocaded dresses, or canes and large brimmed hats and carry baskets for their cuttings. All they do is snip, pinch, and lightly prune-and their gardens look perfect.
When I was younger, I think (I know) I was a mindless gardener. Because I had so much energy, I planted everything and anything I got my hands on. I planted many needless plants and so many plants that needlessly died. Because I am now older and wiser, I find I tire quickly, have less strength, can’t easily bend, “Me ol' bones ache” and I know it is only going to continue (and I shudder to think) - get worse! Therefore, I must simplify and make gardening easier and longer lasting...if I am to continue…
The older and more educated I became in gardening I found that I must steer clear of planting fussy annuals. I used to plant flats and flats of them. I still love the color and look of flowering annual plants but I just do not have the energy to “deal” with planting them any more. I have come up with a way to get the look and feel of flowers in your garden without having to plant annuals or a lot of fussy perennials. You have to plant “Rosie the Riveter Plants” or “We can do it plants”-- strong perennials, confident flowering shrubs, determined compact small conifers, and flowering small trees with loads of blooms and beautiful leaves.
WHO ARE THE ROSIE THE RIVETER OF THE GARDEN WORLD?
LET’S START WITH SHRUBS
In the deciduous shrub category, they are strong shrubs. I call them my "Rosie the Riveter" gals, the workhorses of the garden. These "Rosie" gals must have a good strong body and a good shape. They must be shrubs that are tidy and not invasive. Shrubs that can fit in your flower bed without overpowering the rest of the flowers. Shrubs that you need only lightly prune to keep in size. The shrubs must have not only good flowers but beautiful leaves, and a good show in two or three seasons. Above all, they should not flit around like wild floozies. They must be serious and well behaved. Who are the strong "Rosie the Riveters" of the garden? A few good ones are: all the evergreen and deciduous azaleas, enkianthus, crape myrtle shrubs(good arms and legs), all the viburnums (they often even smell good), Rhododendrons (good bones and showy,) hydrangeas (full and buxom), the big flowering oak leafed hydrangeas, pieris andromeda (good early riser and shows no wear and tear in 4 seasons), vitex (long blooms and luscious fingers), daphne (a strong but dainty looking plant that loves perfume.) These are only a select few of the great deciduous flowering shrubs which look better and fuller year after year.
I am going to include lacy leafed maple trees because they appear as shrubs and add great elegance to your garden. These small tree/shrubs add red, yellow, and light green to your summer garden and especially in your fall garden. Nothing is more beautiful in any garden than a few “Acer Palmatumns.” In my own garden I use them everywhere. I have 14 of them. I like them ‘cause they are luscious.
Do I have any wild floozies shrubs in my garden? Yes, but I stare them down daily, give them tough love, and prune some of them weekly. Who are these wild girls (which I incidentally dearly love)? They are named Wisteria (nicknamed Hysteria) forsythia (I must have a few of them someplace in my garden), mock orange, and you know all the others who cause you heartache and grief.
Azaleas are my favorite shrubs that need dappled sun or afternoon shade. Why do so many people only plant azaleas in the front of their home? If it is flowers and color that you want, not only plant azaleas in your front, but also fill your back garden with tons of them. They require almost no work. Unless you really want them rounded and sheared as they sometimes do in Japan, let them grow 4, 5, 6 feet tall and naturally blossom out. What is more breathtaking than walking through a garden and being enveloped with millions of fairy bells of pink, lavender, and white? Azaleas of five and six feet tall? They are magical.
I cannot live without planting PJM azaleas through out my whole garden. PJM azaleas bloom weeks earlier than the Kurume azaleas. They are my harbingers of Spring. I plant a group of three lavender PJMs in each bed and one pink PJM along side them. I love to stand and slowly “zoom/gaze” from one section of my garden to all areas and pick out the strategically placed PJMs and see that they are everywhere and blooming in all the far corners and areas of the early spring garden.
Gardeners often lament, “Oh, but Azaleas bloom for only such a short time…” No they do not. I get flowers mid March, if it’s warm, till June. And so what if azaleas do not flower in the summer or fall. Do tulips bloom in the summer or fall? Not only are azaleas a spectacular effect in the spring but even in the winter with snow on them they add structure and fullness. They also are full, luscious fillers in the summer. But remember, if your garden is in full sun-forget the azaleas. If you want azaleas you must plant small leafed trees. So now you have to get some small trees…
NOW WE COME TO PERENNIALS
To have strong beds which do not need you to do tedious work, one has to have strong perennials. A few examples are: daylilies. Nothing is stronger than daylilies. Plant loads of them in large groups or interspaced throughout your beds. They are not fussy about their soil, double each year, have big showy flowers and when not in bloom they have lush foliage.
Another strong perennial is the woody hydrangeas; there are many varieties but not too many that you can’t keep up with them. They also are not fussy about their soil, double each year if you wish them to, have big showy flowers and when they are not in bloom they have really lush strong foliage. They common pink or blue hydrangeas can not be beat. Also plant lace flowered hydrangeas.
Another strong perennial is of course all the bulbs; tulips, daffodils, all the small bulbs, and I love the spring jack in the pulpit, May apples, and bluekkkkkk flowers. They are lush, strong, come up each year fuller and then disappear completely. Remember Rudbeckia. And the climbing montana lllllvine. This has millions of tiny white flowers which start to bloom September 1 each year. You can't kill this flowering vine.
And now we come to the single and double knockout roses which you can say that they are not like the fussy roses at all but can be treated as a daylily- no problems.
Top 10 Reasons Why Knockouts are Americas Favorite Roses:
1. Easy to grow 7. Blooms for up to 7 months
2. Disease resistant 8. Very little pruning
3. Pest resistant 9. Not picky about soil
4. Hardy in Zones 4 - 9. 10. No deadheading needed
5. Compact tidy plants
6. Grows in full sun or partial shade
Now there are many other strong perennials – you know what they are. Some are fussy for others but grow easily for you. Plant them. You have to have daisies. For me they drive me crazy, don’t work, but I love them. I have given you just a few strong perennials. There are many.
LARGE TREES Also, include in your garden, larger flowering trees. Depending on the layout of your garden, these larger trees may best be placed on the edges of your property. The following trees not only give you shade in the spring and summer but also spectacular fall color and good bones for the heavy snows to rest on.
Good choices are: kwanzan cherry, styrax, southern magnolias, soulangiana magnolia, crape myrtles, dogwoods, fringe tree, golden rain tree, sourwood, holly trees, and my favorite non-flowering trees; china fir 'Cunninghamia', limber pine 'pinus flexis', umbrella pine, dragon's eye pine, sugar maples, and the stately soaring dawn redwood 'metasequoia'. Buy yourself a stately dawn redwood if your property can take the size. They are a wonderful tree for so many reasons (that is another article.)
FALL GARDEN
The date today is November 6 in South Eastern Pennsylvania, zone 6-7, and most of the large deciduous trees have already dropped their colorful leaves and all the flowers are gone. Even the sugar maples are bare. I still do have 14 Acer palmatum dissectums in full leaf and brilliant red, yellow and orange, four shag bark maples (Acer grisium), are brilliant red. My 10 oak leaf hydrangeas 'Snow Queen' and 'Alice' are glorious mottled shades with all the leaves still on and all the large brown flowers still on. If you have a funny bone, spray paint the brown flowers on the plant, gold, silver, yellow, or red, and deny that you did it.
The enkiantus are brilliant red and all azaleas have leaves that are maroon and yellow in color. The foliage of the mentioned trees and plants seem to me to keep their bright and colorful leaves the longest. There is nothing in the fall garden that one must coddle or give much attention to. It is almost magical to walk through a full fall blooming garden. Best of all, everything returns in the spring.
GET HELP
One of the main reasons younger and older gardeners give up gardening is the amount of exertion gardening takes. One will hire a housekeeper, repair people, or painters but shy away from having a garden helper. This is what you have been saving for all your life; making your life easier and more enjoyable. Rather than not garden and getting that stretching exercise that everyone needs, or spending money for exercise at a Gym, get your own "Jim". Do I have help in
the garden? Yes. I hire a handy man (Jim) or a kid for a few hours a week or month, or for a particular job. I also work right along with him/her. I am not averse to paying him well as he does the heavy planting and removing of shrubs and trees, brings out my lawn tables and chairs and furniture each spring, mows my lawn, mulches some of the beds, and does basically all the heavy work. I also encourage my younger gardening friends and neighbors to come and help themselves to ostrich ferns, huge hostas and anything else I would like removed. This way, I can keep ahead of the garden.
Beds
Plan to have "tough" beds. Tough beds do not have only perennials in them. My formula is: in each bed are planted one Maple palmatum, a small unusual tree, a few azaleas, a vitex, tree peony or two, a Hinoki or unusual conifer shrub or two, and always a tall thin impressive pyramidal evergreen conifer for dramatic interest. Edge your beds with boxwood or liriope. Ha, you say, "a formal garden"? No, quite the opposite. The garden is quite informal with large shrubs and flowers spilling all over except that the 1 -2 feet high boxwood frames them. Remember, inside the boxwood hedge or edged frame are 3-4-5 foot flowering shrubs and conifers. As you walk through the garden, you are coddled by greenery. This is not "hotel planting" with 6-inch high plants neatly planted in rows. You are enveloped "in Garden>”
Winter garden In the winter, you will not see a flat, dried out sleeping garden, but you will see all your Rosie(s) in their winter night clothes. Your azalea gals wear green and mottled robes, my Japanese trees have a beautiful sexy form, Rhododendron green gals are buxom and tell me the temperature each day, Pieris Andromeda is in a bright green robe and she is letting her hair grow in time for the Easter Parade, Nandina is perky in her delicate robe, all your Rosie trees will have beautiful bark robes that really stand our at this time of the year. My Sangukaku maple bark and arms are red, red, red, especially when she stands in front of an evergreen shrub. All my green boxwood shrubs and small conifers look great and thrive in this Pennsylvania winter weather.
Your perennial flowers will not be there unless you planted the ones which look good seeing their dried out structure, which can be desirable. Of course your annuals are gone-hopefully you cleaned them out of your beds. If you have a swimming pool or a sports area, even that area can be beautiful not only in the summer but also in the winter. Each winter day you can stroll and snip around your beds and sit on your benches and take in the sun, snow or the quiet.
Do not give up or become frustrated 'cause there is just too much to do. Instead, eliminate as many yearly repetitive plantings as you can. That means removing all your frou frou plants that require that intensive and yearly hard work. Simplify and plant flowering “Rosie the Riveter Gals.”
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