Arborist chips- A love note

As it is February, the month of love, I thought I'd share one of my own loves, arborist chips. Arborist chips are different from the mulch you buy in bags (or by the yard) from your local hardware store. The bark mulch you buy from the store is processed, usually from a single tree type and sometimes dyed to give a uniform color. Arborist chips are ground up trees, a by product of tree trimming or removal. It is made up of whatever went through the chipper that day. I adore the stuff. Let me count the ways
1. It's free, or at least, really really cheap. as it is a by product of tree work, Arborists have to figure out how to get rid of the chipped trees. If they don't have someplace to store them or a way to reuse the chips themselves, they may have to pay to dump them. So as a favor to them, you, the gardener, can offer to take the chips off their hands. You can try cold calling arborists in the area, or if you see a tree service truck in your neighborhood, ask to take the chips then. There are many municipalities around the US that offer out free mulch, usually after big windstorms. Craigslist is a good place to check for chips too. There is also a website, Chip Drop (www.chipdrop.in) , that you can use to request chips. The only draw back with Chip Drop is That it doesn't give a range of places it services, so it may be a hit or miss depending on where you live.
2. It is good for the soil. Putting down arborist chips is like having a very slow release compost/fertilizer on your garden beds. The chips will help soil drainage as they break down. And they will break down. After a couple years very little of the chip material will be left. Not a grand tragedy, just remember the first reason why Ilove Arborist chips so much, they are usually free. I know a few people that have continuously added chips as mulch over the years, and their soil was lovely. Dark, full of life, and with good drainage. I could go on but the WSU extension has a great info sheet on Arborist chips here- http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/FS160E/FS160E.pdf
3. It looks nice. Arborist chips dress up a bed, making gardens look tidier and allowing the plants stand out more. Like any other top dressing for a bed, Arborist chips is used to smother out weeds. I am using chips around the foundation of my house right now to smother out the grass and everything else so I can plant there this spring. Very little has managed to grow up through the six inches of chips. The few weeds that have made it I can pop out of the ground easily.
A few notes on things people don't like about Arborist chips. They aren't uniform. each time I get arborist chips they are going to look different. Different trees, possibly from different arborists, the color of the chips as well as the size will vary. For some people that is a no go and I get that. I figure that if I pack a garden bed with interesting enough plants, no one will notice the chips. They also can come from diseased trees. There is back and forth research on whether or not Arborist chips can carry plant diseases. The WSU extension pamphlet talks about this. I worry a little about verticillium wilt coming in with the chips, my only real safeguard is to look through the chips to see if there is any maple and if there is, to look for the staining from verticillium wilt.
 That is arborist chips in a nutshell, I love using them and will continue for as long as i garden. They are economical, great for the garden beds, and just make things look pretty.

Sometimes you just have to call it

I have a cherry tree in my new backyard. it was badly damaged years ago, I have no idea how but most of the tree’s heartwood is exposed.

 

It's cool looking but very bad for the tree

Dead section on the cherry tree, it even has mushrooms on it.

 There are only a few living branches left on it. There wasn’t even very much fruit on it this year and what was there wasn’t unusual or exciting enough to preserve. To let the tree live is to watch it die, slowly, never to really enjoy cherries from it. So this fall, I am cutting it down. Yet, I keep getting people asking me if it can be saved. I keep looking at the people asking, then looking at the sad, sad looking tree, then having to point out that the tree is dying. Perhaps I have an easier time making this decision since the tree is new to me. I inherited it with the property so I don’t have any attachment to it. or, it is because as a horticulturist I am a trained killer.

    most people think that horticulturalists are purely nurturing. We plant, we water, we make sure plants in the ground are healthy. There is some of that but really, most of my job is killing stuff. In order for a desired plant to live, lots of smaller weeds need to be pulled, insects need to be kept away, and diseases kept at bay. Plus in an established garden, editing needs to be done.

This plant has overgrown its space and will never recover from this kind of pruning

 Plants get old, get diseased, or just get too big for their place. So they need to go. I have on several occasions, counseled people through getting rid of old plants. It is harder when you planted the plant, watched it grow for years, invested time in it.  It isn’t all downsides, getting rid of an old plant can open up room for a new one. I am planning on putting in a Vine Maple ‘Pacific Fire’ to replace the old cherry tree. I will also be replanting new cherry trees, just in different places.

Neighborhood Walks

The veggie garden is in full swing and until I establish more garden beds in my yard, the upkeep is pretty simple.

It is a wee bit too full but I am eating loads of stuff out of it

 the days are also nearing the longest of the year, leaving lots of daylight hours to explore my newer neighborhood. I adore walking around neighborhoods, spying on the things people have in their yards. You can tell whose houses are the party houses, the people that hire out their landscaping, and the people who share my plant obsession. There is one house about 4 blocks away from mine that is packed with a whole myriad of shrubs, creating a haphazard hedge and making the yard look packed from a distance, even though there is still space for some grass. I also use these walks to enjoy plants that I can't grow in my own space. My yard is now a place of blazing sun so shade loving plants do not do well. There are however, other yards nearby with shade loving Hostas, ferns, and Huecheras that I can walk by slowly.

Or hydrangeas. I really love this variegated one

 At the moment, I am smelling any roses I see in bloom. I don't have any yet, but from the looks of it, they seem to do pretty well in my neighborhood. The Pacific Northwest is not a great place for roses normally, the humidity and cooler weather makes the roses very susceptible to fungal disease. My neighborhood walks are great research for plants for my future garden beds and if my fiance is with me I can figure out what he likes too (his needs are pretty simple, he like anything with purple foliage).  It's a great way to find local inspiration and enjoy the things you cannot grow for  yourself.
Happy walks everyone!

Scented Geraniums

I have a deep love of scented plants. I adore walking up to a flower, sticking my head in it, and being rewarded with a sweet perfume. Even flowers that I know aren’t fragrant I will still smell them just in case. With scented Geraniums,  the flowers arn’t fragrant, but the leaves are. The first I ever encountered was a rose scented geranium. My mom bought one for fun from a nursery when I was a teen. That plant made the patio by the backdoor smell like roses especially during the really hot days of August. After that summer I was hooked.  The next year I went to the nursery and ended up with another rose, a mint, and a lemon scented variety. 

Rose mint variety from last year.

They are annuals in most areas of the country since the plant originally hails from South Africa. I have had a few die back over the winter and grow from the roots in the spring. no rhyme or reason to which varieties are more likely to live or not but sometimes, in the spring, one or two will reappear.  The flowers on these plants aren’t amazing or flashy, they are smaller and usually pink, sometimes a lavender shade. Though this is mostly a personal bias (I don’t really like pink flowers). The other delightful bonus of scented geraniums is that they can be used for food. Lemon scented geraniums are great in sun tea and it keeps the plants under control in the summer. This year I have 5 varieties, lemon, mint rose, orange fizz, mint, and rose. The mint rose and rose are survivors from last year. I am extra excited for the orange fizz, it smells like orange soda and I think I might use it to flavor ice cream this summer. 

'Orange Fizz'- super ruffly leaves

 

They make great drink garnishes too, the leaves are ruffly and pretty.

variegated lemon scented geranium

The culture of scented geraniums- They like hot, dry conditions, and lots of sun. They are similar in needs with lavender and rosemary. They do really well in pots and that way you get a chance to move them around depending on where you want the scent.

Fashionista garden- some notes about plant names

Fashionista garden- some notes about plant names
Plant variety names crack me up. For example, there is a Hosta named 'Wheee!'. I am not misspelling it,the name really has three e's and an exclamation point. you can see 'Wheee!' here - http://www.plantdelights.com/Hosta-Wheee-for-sale/Buy-Hosta/. Thinking about the fun names that breeders come up with, particularly the names that are clothing and fashion based, I thought I'd start a Pintrest board for fashion named plants. It started with the classic and really fabulous Salvia 'Hot Lips' and has spiraled from there. It is a continuous collection, for sun or shade, and is basically added to whenever I find another great plant name. I've also found a few edibles for the list and I'd love to discover some more.  The one plant I put on the list that is borderline name wise is Hosta 'Designer Genes'. I give that one a pass because unless you see it written, it sounds like 'Designer Jeans'. I'm also keeping an eye out for fashion themed garden art and accessories. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Check out the board below and enjoy!
             https://www.pinterest.com/athenaknits/fashionista-garden/

Spring Garden- Survival of the fittest

Spring in the garden is a busy time, early bulbs are up, everything looks fresh and new, and the impulse to  be outside on nice days is high. Before I stuff my container garden with more plants, I need to check to see what made it over winter. So far, my Captain Kirk Hosta, Ostrich Fern and Heuchera are up. 

Hosta and Huechera ready for spring

 I have a Tatting fern and some toad lilies I am still waiting on, though I doubt they made it.

I have hope for the Tatting Fern

 I also managed to kill a rosemary. This has happened the last two winters. I think that it needed to be drier during most of the winter, or a bigger container. It’s a bummer since in the Pacific Northwest it should be evergreen. Oops.  I am constantly telling people that gardening is about experimentation, put something in the ground and see if it survives. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It is hard to predict exactly what will happen with a plant. It is a living thing after all. It’s something I get to remind myself of, every spring when I make the rounds to see what survived.

Aquilegia, it may bloom this year

Scented Geranium, sometimes they grow back from the base for me, which is rare

Another scented geranium

Garden Movies

It’s still winter outside, and I’m still more or less trapped inside as many of you are. On nice, or even sem nice days, I am taking walks on the search for winter color that does exist in the Pacific Northwest. On other days, when i am deeply longing for the warmth and sun of summer, I watch gardening movies. Or movies that features gardens, really anything with some botanical eye candy is great.

There is a trailer out now for a film directed by Alan Rickman called “A Little Chaos” about the building of Versailles and the trailer is lovely. I know there is a romance and fancy costumes, but I spent my time looking at the gardens where the movie is set. Oh the horticultural eye candy. Here is the trailer for anyone that wants to take a look

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENSjt4naxlE

    I digress a little bit. For mid winter pick me ups, here a few of my favorite movies for plants.

1. Secret Garden- the 1993 version is my favorite. Watching little kids discover planting and gardening is just a fun watch
2. Greenfingers- It has Clive Owen and competitive show gardens. It’s a win
3. Botany of Desire- A lovely and insightful documentary about different desired characteristics in plants.
4. Coraline- Her fantasy garden is beautiful and is the sort of dream of beauty that all gardeners have
5. Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit- i adore Wallace and Gromit and them being rabbit catchers amongst the little town gardens is adorable
6. Rosemary and Thyme- this is a TV series and is a plant pathologist and friends that run around solving murders and working in some fabulous gardens.

   

    There are more I’m sure but these are the ones I love and will re-watch these at a drop of a dime. I will of course watch “A Little Chaos” when it comes out and it may become a mid-winter staple next year. We shall see