GARDENING

You-know-who is always close at hand while we're out in the garden, giving close supervision. This is typical:

There she is! I just knew you'd have a shot or 50 of the nomadic critter tucked away somewhere!
Thanks. She always makes me smile. (You know why.)
And she looks as though she will tolerate no short cuts in the garden! A hard task mistress!

A question neko: when did most of the garden work you've recorded in your photographs happen? Early (US) spring? It'd be late summer where you are now, right?

Ms. O -- Nekochan does the stalking and hiding when she's out alone. I know where her favorite spots are, though. It's when I'm kneeling and tending the beds that she takes personal interest in what I'm doing, up close.

Our days here are noticeably shorter, sunrise occurs later, and the high temperatures are slacking off, now.

Most of my pictures are taken in the spring, but I do like to show my doing stuff, particularly on this thread, as it happens.

Generally,here's how my gardening goes:

1. The new garden cycle starts in October, when
after browsing online catalogues, I order whatever
catches my, or the wife's, fancy. It arrives about a week later.

2. November : Start perennials seeds.

3. April or May: Set seedlings in seedling trays.

4. June: Set seedlings in garden.

Order perennial plants (iris,peony, etc.)

5. Midsummer: Weed control.

6. Mid August: Lift, divide & transplant bulbs & plants (tulips, iris,primulas, hostas)

7. October: Set out peonies.

8. November-Shred up leaves & plants; load up the composters.

9. Pruning & shearing is done whenever I have the time or energy. Early winter before the snow falls is the best time.
The only exception is doing the maple tree, which is done while it's leafed out to avoid its bleeding if pruned while dormant (winter).

9. Watering and mowing grass is last priority.

I passed your nice comments on to Nekochan, who thereby commenced to grooming herself in acknowledgement.

It's terrific to watch the "doing" process, neko. Please continue! (Though I don't know where you get all the energy to be so thorough, I must admit. I'm very impressed!)

And thanks for passing on my compliments to Nekochan. She's looking fantastic!

The garden at the close of this year's gardening season.
Primulas and irises that were set out this year show promise for
this coming spring. I'm not so sure about the gentians,
though; they haven't grown much in size since being
set out back in June.. I suspect the seeds were stale,
and so I'm just hoping that what those that are there will
survive the winter.

Nowadays,as midautumn draws nigh, my thoughts turn to
shrub and tree trimming. Today attention was directed toward
the pine tree out back, my interest being fired up after browsing
a website marketing a book on Japanese-style of tree-training,
Giant Bonsai. The picture gallery there rekindled my interest in shaping this
scots pine.
This morning I got out the pole trimmer to give it a light
trim off the top, leaving the sides to grow out.



That was the easy part. Next will be the thinning out. That will require an
extension ladder, which I'm going to have to locate. Perhaps I can ask
the neighbor out back when he's in a good mood. Anyway, that'll
be a tricky one (the thinning out,that is).



Click photo- and click again to expand to fullscreen- to see the crown, where thinning out of dense growth for a more natural look, to eventually develop. Then I'll wait another three or four years before before doing anymore work on it.

Stay tuned.

Here it is, pruned to within a couple of inches of its life.
A cold driving rain forced a halt today, leaving a couple or three minor cuts to be made off that top left corner. Enough done, though, for a few more years. Photo will expand for a closer look.

Last weekend I ordered some flower seeds to start off in time to set out this coming spring. Hope to get them
started the middle of next month, just as I did last year. Got two packets of Gentianopsis crinita, Greater Fringed Gentian, a native wildflower,to go up front with the native anemones, on order,


and a couple of packets of Paeonia mlokosewetschii, a yellow species peony.



Will enjoy just the challenge of it. Both plants are hard to come by, and if I can pull it off, will have
them for just pocket change.

Seeds for the next season arrived Monday,so now is the time to start them off for setting out come May or June.
The featured plants for this coming year are paeonia mlokosowetschii --"Molly's witch"-- and gentianopsis crinita, Greater Fringed Gentian.

Here,then, is the stuff I use to get those seeds started (click photo):





Two plastic pastry holders are used, because the peony seeds need warmth to germinate, whereas the gentian seeds need to be chilled first before germination will begin; thus, the gentian seeds will be placed outside, to stratify, for acouple or three weeks before being placed back indoors to continue with the process.

The peony seeds-- all seven of them --are tamped firmly, not completely covered, into the dampened vermiculite(click photo) with the eraser of a pencil, and by what the instructions say,will be kept indoors for the duration of the winter.



I placed the peony pack in a lighted spot,on a bookshelf by the patio door. Venetian blinds on the door will protect it from direct sunlight, preventing overheating.

[

The height of this spot is about four inches lower than that of the room's thermostat, which will be set at the recommended germination temperature, 20 degrees C.


The gentian seeds are set up for sowing like this, using a folded square of
bond paper to sow into furrows pressed into the vermiculite:



Sow generously:



Press the seeds firmly into the damp vermiculite. Pressing the length of a pencil works fine.



Close cover and snap shut.



Place outside for about a month to stratify.




All this activity was observed with keen interest by myconstant gardening supervisor.

Nekochan made a tour of the garden yesterday, and was not pleased by what she saw.



Whereupon No.1 gardener gathered the fallen leaves to shred for next year's mulch and compost, using a mulching mower. Some blood meal is added during the process.

(click photo)

The fringed gentians (r) were brought in from outdoors and placed on the mantel, besideThe peonies, to start germination.

The back corner's wibter look:



Click photo for its early spring look.

The Oldtimer in its winter quarters.

Since it blooms at the same time as the lilac
bushes, I've decided to lift & divide a couple of rhizomes from this fernleaf peony to replace
peony Janice, which will be relocated near the maple tree,to the left of that hosta sieboldiana.It should
go nicely with a nearby maidenhair fern when not in bloom.



I had hoped that Janice and the lilac would both bloom at the same time; however, it should be interesting to see how it and the hosta look together.

I figure on doing this about , say, in September.

For a number of years now I've been pruning,sawing,and nipping at my scots pine
in a trial and error effort to give it a Japanese,or a bonsai look,somewhere close to this:





As it looks today:



In 2006:



In 2005:



In 2004:



In 2003:



I'm going to leave it alone this year to let it bush out for more detailed shearing .


Now I've been working at this tree long before 2003, but I didn't have a digital
camera before then to show this project began. Somewhere during all those years it began to dawn on me
that just perhaps a scots pine doesn't train as gracefully into the japanese form as the more diminutive
Japanese black pine. The book I bought last year,Ueki no Te Ire, The Japanese Art of Giant Bonsai*, by
Eric Nader (2005,Kingyo Press, St. Paul), confirmed that suspicion, but I think I can achieve a satisfactory resemblance of the form: its's just a matter of a few more years.

*clickGiant Bonsai for an overview of this book, with illlustrations of examples.

Here's a view of the treatment given the top,
as seen from an upstairs window:

(click to enlarge)

Its final form is still some years away.

the crocus show for this year.

(click on photo to enlarge)

This last year I set out 48 bulbs
from lifting and dividing, toward
making a massed planting to border
my garden sidewalk. So far it looks
enouraging.

Flowers in the back are rapidly
awakening: the primulas set out
last year are anxious to bloom.

(click to enlarge)

Primulas are a welcome sight after the crocuses
leave the scene. Click on photo for a closer look.

Those yellow and red primula divisions I set out
last year are blooming very nicely, much to my
surprise. Didn't expect such vigor.
That top dressing of compost placed around
them undoubtedly helped.

(click to enlarge)

I'm encouraged to divide the yellows, to continue with
a panel around the lilac and peony, at the end of this
summer.
If there's enough time, I may divide some
of the reds to continue with the border.

Here's a closer look at the flowers.

It's still a work in progress, but the garden is taking on a defined form as the background shrubbery develops.
(click to enlarge -- fullscreen)

Compost and mulch has been placed in the spot, where a late blooming red peony will be set, in front of that privet in the background.