Laurie's Garden Tour 2

this is for Sofer and his mobile phone connection - AND, it was getting a tad long (with more than 600 comments + photos!)

We came from here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/939351/

I have been sadly unable to share my moments of blog due to the fact I am on road and cell. thank you for the ability to join back in. what is your current topic?

woodruff, and haircuts.

but, by all means start a new topic - the floor is open. You've been uncharacteristically quiet about the hellebores - is this because you don't grow them, and they don't come in blue? Actually, come to think about it, you don't generally join in on specie specific chat - (hmm, that is rather hard to say) - are you a generalist, or perhaps a colourist?

Woodruff, and haircuts, like that update for ya Steve. In looking at your pic at frist glance, It looked like Wooly cows leg in need of a hair cut. LOL

How ya doing?

well its not. I'm getting used to this cell phone and forgot to rotate the picture. my other program used to do it for me. so just mountains at 90°.
I know all about wodruff and hair cuts. it is a description of a bikini wax done with a sharp knife. loll

Steve - have you seen any of the Cirque shows, or do you have any inclination to do so? They are highly recommended by me!
I wish they'd write one with plants as the theme - I'm sure it would be brilliant.

I just thought it was funny, But I did see the real thing. Men and new toys My o My.
Have a great day Steve, Off to bed.

no I never have seem circque de solais. we had our own free entertainment, bill cosby and jim belushi and a pretty great rock band.

Bill Cosby never fails to give me a laugh. I have a vcr tape of 'Cosby, Himself' that I've about worn out.

Why is there air?

Excuse me, Pix - your question? I think because we like to breath. As a swimmer, I have tried not breathing air and I can definately say having air is preferable.

Pix are you ok? Sounds like a question we used to ask each other while passing around joints in the 60's.

I am going to give my woodruff a haircut. I like the look of Pix's very much. Sofer if you are equating gardening techniques with bikini waxes you'd better get out of Las Vegas.

I thought the same thing Laurie. maybe its a Monty python line.

I thought maybe it was Cosby tale I had forgotten. LOL

It's an old Cosby gig:

http://www.amazon.com/Why-There-Air-Bill-Cosby/dp/B0000062TI



This message was edited Feb 19, 2009 8:08 PM

Hello, I'm kind of a newbie around here, but I started following Laurie's Garden Tour a while back (which I thoroughly enjoyed - wonderful garden!), and have been lurking ever since.

Anyway, at the end of the earlier thread, Portland1 inquired about when to prune lilac, but so far no one has responded, so I thought I'd jump in (hope that's okay). The bush under which the daffs are growing doesn't look like a lilac to me. It looks for all the world like a red bark dogwood (Cornus alba), so I'm wondering if Portland1 is sure about the plant's identity.

If it is Cornus alba, the time to prune is now while the plant is dormant. I have several of them in my garden, and they grow like weeds. To keep them manageable, I remove 3 to 5 of the largest canes each year, cutting them off at the ground.

Oh, I also give my woodruff a haircut at about this time each year, too.

James, welcome and thank you for responding to my lilac question. I bought this house last June but did not move in until Sept 29. I did see the garden in bloom and I'm pretty sure that is a lilac but I could very easily be wrong. I am a new gardener and learning so much on DG. I will have to wait until it starts to bloom and then see what I have! I was too afraid to prune anything because I have never taken care of a garden myself and it's a good thing that I didn't since I would have cut off all the buds on the rhodys & lilacs!

So....stop lurking and come on in!

Welcome James, I agree with Port. Stop lurking and join the fun. LOL
Now that you opened the ball game. I would like to know how you prune Lilacs? I know that they flower on old growth, or am I wrong?

Hey ho, James. Jump on board the train here. There's lots of room. They even let a jerseyite in. LOL

We love our New Jersey-ites!!!

Welcome, James - the guys will love having their numbers augmented and keeping the conversation a little more balanced. Whereabouts in Seattle do you live?

I commute into downtown Seattle from Woodinville.

Welcome James, you'll like this bunch. I could use pointers on pruning lilacs too.^_^

Yes another MAN! Finally someone who can stand sholder to sholder to the battle of the sexes. Welcome James.

Well....I'm no expert, but here's how I deal with the single lilac in my garden. It seems to work. You're right Tilly, lilacs only bloom on old wood,usually after the third year. To retain a pleasing shape and to keep the shrub at the size that I want, I prune it every year in late winter. I remove about 1/3 of the shrub, cutting out the oldest canes at ground level, then removing any new shoots that look to be going in the wrong direction. I Like a lilac bush to be more rounded (as opposed to tall), so I encourage shoots that look like they're headed more sideways, and nip the ones headed straight up. By doing the same thing each year, I keep my lilac at a good size and shape, and still get a showy crop of blooms each year.

Thanks everyone for your words of welcome. I'm more of the lurker type, but I'll chime in when I think I can add to the discussion.

Katie, I'm in NE Seattle in the Wedgwood neighborhood. I'm a transplant (3+ years ago) from the Bay Area in California. Still learning (trial and error.....many errors!) which of my old California favorites will grow here, and discovering many new favorites.

James - I lived on 91st in Wedgewood in 2000. It's such a nice neighborhood. I was sorry to leave.

For ideas about what you can do up here, check out the Dunn Family historical gardens: www.dunngardens.org. It's close and inexpensive - you just have to make a reservation for your tour.

Also, Heronswood is open once a year in the summer for tours - there are some really great ideas there. You can combine it with a trip to Dragonfly Farms Nursery in Kingston - Heidi has many of the same plants that Dan Hinkley used.

Check back at earlier threads in this forum (back to April and July) - we posted a lot of pictures of our garden tours there.

James I am a transplant from San Francisco to Portland - have been here a year and I am loving the northwest.

Last fall I got a book about pruning but I was too frightened to do any of it. Now I am more brave and when I see the lilac and other shrubs bare, it is easier to understand. My lilac is huge and I like its tall tree-like form so I just pruned a few shoots that were coming from the trunk at ground level. I can hardly wait until it blooms again.

I admit to lurking when I first joined DG but soon felt so welcome!

Katie, thanks for the tips. Heronswood was always among my favorite destinations when visiting Washington before moving north. It's such a shame that Burpee decided to close it down. I'm very familiar with Dunn Gardens where I've been a docent for a couple of years. I hope to be there this Sunday for the annual winter snowdrop stroll.

I'll check out the garden tours in last April's and July's postings. It's always so much fun to see what others are doing in their gardens. One of my favorite things to do is nose around other people's gardens through the Northwest Perennial Alliance open gardens program. This year, for the first time, I've added my garden to the list.

I'm on 94th Street, so not far from your old stomping grounds. The blocks up here in the north end of Wedgwood are double-sized, so we have somewhat larger lots than are typical for the area. I've got about a quarter of an acre, which is still quite small, but a bit roomier than many Seattle gardens.

Okay, so James, you are way more familiar with the area than I was when I first moved here. ^_^

Thanks for lurking less and posting more - we look forward to seeing and hearing all you have to share.

Maybe I'll see you at Dunn gardens - Outtamygourd, Katye and I toured last spring. I'd like to see the gardens in summer.

And your yard is absolutely lovely! All that in the three years you've been here? Nice work.

James, thank you for the kind words, and welcome. Its always nice to have a new person on thread. Your description of pruning the lilac is a marvellously clear, sounds like your docent work has given you a lot of experience talking through plant management. I think you are going to be a very welcome member.

I'm interested in what looks to be a birdbox at the back of your garden - very high up. What are you attracting and why so high? (Oh, please don't say its a security camera!!)

If I could add my two cents worth about pruning lilacs: There are two general ways of maintaining French lilacs. The first is to remove about a third of the largest stems (trunks) every few years, leaving the newer growths to mature. That way, you always have older growth that is of blooming age and fresh growth coming on. This method will result in a full, rounded shrub appearance. (Be sure to first establish the overall arrangement of branches to allow for good air circulation, lessening the danger of mildew)

The second method is to leave three to five main trunks, and remove all smaller branches and suckers as they appear each year. The trunks can grow to quite thick diameters and the resultant appearance is more of a tree than a shrub. If anyone has ever been to Mackinac Island, Michigan, they have HUGE, gnarled, hundred-year-old lilacs that are just magnificent.

I personally favor the second method, which is less work after the initial pruning. However, if you are in an area that has borer problems, the first method will be more successful and healthy for the lilac.

Thanks, James and Hoosier for the excellent lilac pruning instructions. And Hoosier, the picture is amazing - the colors are so vivid.

So if one's lilac is healthy, but isn't a prolific bloomer, what would you all investigate first and change?

There is another way to prune also. That would be to just prune off the spent blooms. Take off the bloom and a third of its branch.

Welcome James. Your garden is lovely and shows you are very knowledgeable.

Hi Hoosier, glad you are still lurking around.

I have been to Mackinac Island and yes, the gardens are lovely. I really like your white one - what is the name?

James what is the shrub to the right in your photo - the one with the purple leaves? Your garden is great!

If one's lilac is healthy, but doesn't bloom well, first determine that it's getting as much sun as possible. Full sun is best, but half-day works. Also, how old is the shrub. Under three years, usually you won't get bloom.

Secondly, be sure you aren't "topping" the branches to keep the overall shrub smaller. You'll be cutting off the buds for next spring's blooms. I had a client once who lamented that his lilac didn't bloom, but after one time convincing him to not shear the bush that summer ("But it'll get too big!"), he was rewarded with abundant blooms the very next spring. I convinced him to let me prune it Method #2, which reduced the overall size and appearance to him, but it was more the reduced mass of foliage that worked wonders. He's had great blooms every spring since.

Third, although it usually isn't needed, apply some fertilizer or compost this spring and repeat once again in the summer to encourage bud formation for next year. Mulching the bush helps, too.

Sadly however, according to Michael Dirr, French lilacs do best in zones 3 to 6 and tend to lose vigor and not flower reliably from year to year. I guess that's a small price to pay for all of the wonderful plants you can grow in your region.

But... don't despair! You should be able to find cultivars of the Descanso hybrids that were developed in Southern California for good flower production in mild winter environments (heat tolerant, low chill cultivars). They are supposed to be great in Zones 8 and 9. Some of these cultivars are 'Angel White', 'Blue Boy', 'California Rose', and 'Dark Knight'.

The white lilac is, ironically enough, 'Mount Baker'. I'll have to find a photo of one of my favorites, 'Sensation'.

Laurie, Rest easy, it's not a security camera! You're right though, it is a bird box. I inherited it when I bought the house. Something the previous owner put up on the back of a potting shed, probably for novelty value. I enjoy the whimsy of it, so I've left it in place. It doesn't attract much interest from the birds, except for the occasional flicker or crow that perch on its roof and hammer on it. At this point, it's falling apart, and I keep expecting it to come crashing down in the next good blow -- but it continues to defy the forces of nature. The photo will give you a little closer look.

Here's a photo of 'Sensation' which really pops out in the landscaping due to the white picotee. It's relatively new, and very vigorous. Lots of suckers to start new plants!

Judi, Thanks for your kind comment. The purple is plain old purple smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria). Here's a little better photo.

Beautiful back yard garden James. That is what I so enjoy about Seattle downtown homes is the established gardens in small areas. Do you have to pre register for that garden tour and when is it that will be visiting your garden? Steve

Yay - more pictures!!!! Thanks for all the information on lilacs, Hoosier. I have one and, while it's grown fine, I haven't seen the abundance of lilacs that I've seen with other lilacs. But it's young - so maybe this will be the year. I've actually lived in rentals with old neglected lilacs that were beautiful.

I had heard about lilacs needing a cold period and that some didn't flower in the Puget Sound area because our winters were too wild. Clearly, that only applies to some. I see I should look into this more. :-)

James, sign me up for your tour, as well!! I love the house, especially because it's so high. That makes it seem like someone terribly important lives there. ^_^

Hoosier - I've seen 'Sensation' in the plant catalogs. Your is lovely. How many lilacs do you have?

This message was edited Feb 20, 2009 8:32 PM