Garden Tapestry

Well, the rain is-a-coming but there’s still more to do in the garden.. Just like there’s a continuous stream of work to do at the office, there’s always more to do in the garden. A garden is a process just like anything else and there shouldn’t be this panic to get everything done. This past spring I was at the garden centre, waiting my turn at the cash, looking at all the goodies everybody else had picked up, when I overheard one woman telling her friend how anxious this time of year made her feel. “I can’t relax until all my beds are amended (compost and other nutrient rich elements worked in) and everything is pruned and weeded and…..” Just listening to her made ME stressed out. True, I get carried away some days out in the garden and notice 4 hours have gone by and I’m dying of thirst and nowhere near finished what I’d set out to do. BUT, I do it because it’s fun, physical and the results are inspirational and breathtaking. There is enough in life to get stressed out over – gardening should be the cure, not part of the problem. With the recent boom and downright frenzy over gardening, people think this is just one more thing they need to have……NOW. Not so. Enough said. Just had to get that out of the way.

Let’s talk plants.

Now, this is the time of year when people are dying for a bit of real colour. How about yellow, red, purple and green? That’s colour for you. There’s the Ginkgo (Gingko biloba, Zones 4-9). Before the leaves drop in the fall, they turn a gorgeous bright yellow. This together with their unique fan shaped leaves makes an awesome specimen tree. Try your darndest to get a male tree as the mature female has the plum-like seeds that drop to the ground which, when decomposing, are most stinky. It is very difficult to tell the females and males apart when they are young, but some varieties are strictly male. ‘Autumn Gold,’ broad and spreading in habit is male as is ‘Princeton Sentry,’ an upright and columnar form. Did you know that the Ginkgo is classified as a conifer? This is due to the presence of resin ducts in it’s cellular structure. The Ginkgo is also one of the oldest trees around – it’s the same as it was 150 million years ago.

For intense red colour, Winged Euonymus (Euonymus alatus, zone 4-8) is a great pick. In Michael Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs, he suggests to lighten-up on the pruning and allow the shrub to grow to it’s maximum height and spread for a better effect. Also of interest are the red fruits with the orange seed in the center and of course the winged stems from which it’s name is derived. Pruning increases wing size on the stems, but is really not necessary.

Another intense red in the fall is from the Red Maple (Acer rubrum, zones 3-9). You can see these trees literally a mile away. Many varieties to choose from, but choose your site carefully, they can grow up to 60′ tall.

For all these colours and more in just one tree, try the Fullmoon Maple (Acer japonicum, Zones 5-7). ‘Vitifolium’, named as such because of it’s grapelike leaves, turns brilliant yellow, orange, red and purple in the fall. Watching each colour appear is like witnessing an artist adding paint to a canvas. It grows 20-25′ tall and wide.

Then there’s green……I am starting to realize how important the evergreens (broad-leaved and conifers) really are. I would say to anybody starting a garden from scratch to include as many from this group as possible. Use them as your backdrop for other plants and for colour in the dead of winter. But this is December’s topic so we won’t get into that just yet.

No matter what though, only plant what you are comfortable to maintain. Do not think the more the better. Think simple and low maintenance and add to your garden after you see how your plants evolve and work in the space. Most of all, enjoy your time with nature and the wonderful world of plants.