Springtime on the Grange; Peony, Hydrangea, Azalea Break Dormancy (GDD 12)

(top: crocuses; bottom, clockwise: azalea buds, hydrangea leaf, rhododendron leaf bud, peony eyes emerge)

For the past week, spring peepers have provided the season's soundtrack from the pond a few hundred feet from the grange. Spring is in the ear, if not in the air.

The season's first peony eyes were spotted this morning. Purchased from Wal-Mart for a few bucks, Paeonia lactiflora "Bowl of Beauty" was planted in May 2007 after languishing for months in my basement before being rediscovered and planted. An instant malingerer, it never grew more than a few inches tall despite constant prodding, good schools, and the best private tutors. This year, it has put its humble beginnings behind it and has emerged far ahead of its more established counterpart in the other bed, "Sara Bernhardt," which didn't emerge until April 20 last year.

The bigleaf hydrangea macrophyllas, both the "bailmer" remontant and traditional varieties, have broken their winter dormancy. My traditional hydrangea - the kind that blooms on old wood - did not set any flowers last year and only 1 or 2 in 2006, whereas the remonant variety, which blooms on new wood put on a show all summer. This past winter wasn't quite as cold as last year's, allowing the traditional hydrangea to emerge a week sooner this year, so there might be hope for a least a few flowers.

In other corners of the garden, the Cornell Pink azalea (rhododendron mucronulatum) has started to leaf out. Crocuses continue to delight.

Weekly Update; Heat Builds, Lettuce Out, Squash, Basil, Marigolds In (GDD 593)

A relatively slow week on the grange. Spring flowers are giving way to the heat of the summer. Perennials are starting to set flower buds while the lawn's growth begins to flag.

6/15

• Peony and Mountain Laurel blooms all but faded.
  

6/16

• Septoria leaf spot battle wears on. Infected foliage removed and a broad spectrum fungicide containing chlorothanil applied.

6/17

• 3 heads of red sails and romaine lettuce removed after one final harvest, leaving 5 heads of Boston bibb and 2 heads each of red sails and romaine.
  
• Squash plant added to the garden where the red sails and romaine once treaded.
• Marigolds interspersed throughout the raised bed.
• Two types of basil planted in containers.
  

Tale of the Tape

• Rudbeckia - 11-12"
• Phlox - 16"
• Echinacea - 18-25"
• Sedum - 24"

• Pepper - 8"
• Sungold - 13"
• Yellow Pear - 13"
• Brandywine - 13"
• Better Boy - 23"
• Peas - 46"
  

Weekly Update: Weeds, Shrubs, Peonies, & Gardening Ego in Bloom (GDD 500)

6/4 - Mountain Laurel blooms, white clover blooms
6/7 - Fertilizer applied to lawn
6/8 - Peony "Sarah Bernhardt" blooms
6/9 - Snap peas set flower buds, 41 days after sprouting
6/10 - Hydrangea layering propagation started.

Peony Blooms in 49 Days

Peony, originally uploaded by tpl108.

Emerging back on April 20th, it finally bloomed yesterday, about a week or two after most peonies in the area. Unfortunately not labeled when planted, this is most likely the "Sarah Bernhardt" variety, taking its name from a famous Victorian-era actress prominent when this variety was hybridized in 1906.

Weekly Update - Tomatoes and Peppers (GDD 418)

5/28

• 4 types of tomatoes, sun gold, brandywine, yellow pear tomato, and best boy, along with a green pepper were planted in the vegetable garden.
  
• The test spinach seedlings, having never grown more than an inch or so high, were cleared out to make room for the tomatoes and peppers.
  
• Boxwoods treated for psyllids.
• Big rhododendron begins bloom.
  

6/1

• paeonia lactiflora "Shirley Temple," impulsively purchased at Wal-Mart in April, was planted in a one-gallon pot awaiting creation of space in some as yet undesignated part of the garden.
• Despite application of pre-emergent crabgrass control in late April, a few patches of crabgrass were spotted.

6/3

• Chives dead-headed
  

Weekly Update: Perennial Border Planted (GDD 303)

May 21 - Boxwood psyllids emerge; rudbeckia fulgida "goldsturm," echinacea purpurea "magnus," paeonia lactiflora "Bowl of Beauty," and phlox paniculata "Orange Perfection" planted in perennial border. Astilbes and spirea relocated within the border while a rhododendron was shipped to the backyard. Soaker hose and lots of mulch laid down.
May 22 - Chives in full swing bloom.

picture: peony bud

Weekly Update; Hot Weather Signals End of 49-Days of March (GDD 37)

Daffodills, originally uploaded by tpl108.

April 15-19 -- Cold and rainy
April 19 -- Nor'easter finally departs. Soil temp = 44 F.
April 20 -- First peony shoot emerges
April 21 -- Daffodils bloom; vegetable garden started; lawn fertilized and patched; soil temp = 58 F
April 22 -- Forsythia flowers open

Cold Snap Forecast for Midweek; Low Temps Great for Peonies

pink world, originally uploaded by ms.lume.

A pool of arctic air is forecast to slip southward into New England on Wednesday, bringing a much-needed dose of seasonal reality to the grange. Forecasters predict temperatures will bottom out around 5 above.

This is great news for the peony that was transplanted in the fall. Peonies are incredibly hardy, withstanding temperatures as low as 50 below and rewarding gardeners with giant blooms the following spring. In fact, peonies, much like the homeless polar bears, need prolonged winter temperatures below 40 degrees. This chill breaks the plant's dormancy and prepares it for spring. Without the cold, it likely will not bloom.