October Flowers

An ongoing challenge in selecting plants for a garden is finding those that will continue to provide color and interest while the rest of the garden is decaying with colder weather and frosts.  While there have not been any frosts yet, and usually this garden is spared them until the end of November, the options for color this year include two surprises.

This Gaillardia, Oranges and Lemons, was purchased through a mail order company and planted in in spring 2010. It was a slightly random selection, chosen for its combination of color and height, with no specific advice to be found about its qualities or virtues.

It was a very hard start for the two plants.  One almost died after planting, then seemed to resurrect itself. The other did not do much better.  I have had similar troubles with other Gaillardias, so maybe that is a common problem?

Then in the middle of the summer both developed good sized plants, started blooming, and bloomed continuously for the rest of the summer.  While I tried to deadhead them as the flowers dropped their petals, just like the one in the bottom left corner of this picture, the plant didn't seem to care and regularly put out new blossoms.

So, at least for the first year, this seems to be a keeper.  It still has to survive the winter and show its stuff next year, but I am pleased so far.

The other showy plant is actually blooming now because of delay and neglect.  It is a pink Gladiolus that came out of my mother's garden a few years ago.  I have no idea of the name or variety since I pulled these bulbs from the flower bed after it had been rototilled.  

The reason it is blooming is because these were never planted until early September.  While there was a good chance that none would have time to bloom, I decided to take a chance.  So, these came through, but few of the rest have any flower stalks.  I am not a big fan of Gladiolus, but since these were some of Mom's, I have tried to keep them going.  I had heard that these are a favorite of deer, but so far, no chomping has occured.

I have many other plants from Mom, that I will write about as they show their colors.
  

Geology Lesson for Calvert County

The first visit to our soon-to-be home and garden in 2000 made it very clear that the area has a distinctive and challenging geology.  While the house sits on a flat bit of land, directly behind it to the East and South were steep slopes averaging 45 degrees.  Before buying it, the realtor scheduled a person from Calvert County who explained that the slope was prone to erosion if water runs over the surface, and that the best way to protect it was to have drains take the water off before it reaches the edge, and pipe the water down to the bottom.

In 2001, a local nursery installed drains at the driveway and the natural entrance to the ravine, to take away the water as the county person recommended.  They also cleaned-out the trash plants of sumac, wild grape vines, honeysuckle vines, and wild roses.  They planted in a variety of different plants such as ink berry, Henry's Garnet Itea, Clethra, and hollies to hold the soil in place.  It all looked very good and was watered carefully through the drought of the summer of 2002. 

Then in the spring of 2003, when Spring rains came, part of the section graded and planted by the nursery collapsed.  So, a number of seedlings were ordered from Musser Forests to plant into raw soil.  The neighbor next door took a photo of me planting them into the steep, exposed soil.  Even the dog did not want to climb down into the treacherous slope!

We learned from a bore sample done by our neighbors that from the surface there is about 20 feet of sand until there is a layer of clay that is a few feet think.  The clay acts as a water barrier, so the water runs down to the clay, then moves sideways.   It is easy to see where the clay layer is, because there are a number of tree that start growing at that level.

So, this is one of the ongoing challenges of trying to provide good stewardship to the site and its environmental needs.

A New Garden

Many years ago while visiting in England, I met a woman who kept a small garden. As we talked, she described her garden as being "new," yet was also talking planting trees a decade or more ago.

So I asked, so when did you start your new garden? She replied that it was only 17 years ago. I then asked , "Well, then you must have had some other garden before?"

"O yes, but it really wasn't mine. You see my mother had started it forty years earlier, and I took care of it for another 12 years when she got old. But my new garden is mine.

So, this blog will be about another new garden, built in and around a simple 5 circuit labyrinth on the edge of a ravine with a view of the Chesapeake Bay. I will tell about its creation, the joys and losses of new plants, the struggles with drought and heavy rains, and surprises that were never intended.

I will include pictures as much as possible. The pictures are my own and are not intended for copying or reuse. If anyone wishes to use them, they are expected to respect my ownership of each photo and ask my permission before they are used.

Welcome.