What to Expect this Early in Spring. (Your Plants aren’t Dead!)
I recently had someone tell me that they had ripped out their newly planted garden of 6 months because it was all dead. I whimpered “No- just wait! Its still early.
Basic Concepts of Good Free Pruning
Free pruning is a dying art in the landscape industry because most new landscapers are not trained in doing it. Free pruning correctly also takes a longer amount of time which most customers don't want to pay for.
The Forgotten Landscaper
I first saw Martha Gray when I was working at The Great Big Green house in the winter of 1982. She had backed up her old truck to the Nursery section and was loading up perennials. Her Carhartt coveralls hung on her. Her gloves looked huge. Her curly hair stuck out from her stocking hat.
How are the ‘Bones’ in your Winter Garden?
“If your garden is pretty in the winter, then it will to be lovely all year long.’ This is what I was taught by my mentor, Martha Gray, years ago. To reinforce the point, when I asked a lecturer at a Virginia Society of Landscape Designers conference what he thought of photos where only plants were shown, he responded, “Boring.”
Evergreens in Winter, Rain and Snow
With the changing and extreme weather patterns we are getting, it may be comforting to review a few things, and consider how the plant may feel. Evergreens like boxwoods, yews, laurels, hollies, camellias, magnolias, arborvitae, spruce and cryptomeria need to eat and drink during the winter. They are working hard to stay green all year.