Linda Nelson, Author at Linda Nelson - The Createaerie

POPPING POPPIES

July 6, 2015

I’m thrilled with the show that my bread seed poppies are putting on this year, and look forward to harvesting their seed pods. They’re quite trouble-free with regard to pests and such, and simply just do their thing. This particular annual species is Papaver somniferum ‘Lauren’s Grape’.

©Linda Nelson 2015

The seed packet will make a wonderful little addition to a decoupage project, don’t you think?

©Linda Nelson 2015

Zucchini squashes are just starting to plump up. (Note to self…. must fry up some blossoms.)Yum!

©Linda Nelson 2015

Oh, and I must try my hand at making kale chips.

©Linda Nelson 2015

My trusty-faithful hydrangeas never fail to deliver. I can always count on them.

©Linda Nelson 2015

I goofed (sort of) with the timing for planting onion sets. I took a chance planting some garden center freebies last fall, with the hopes of getting an early summer harvest. Instead, I got flowers. There’s no disappointment going on here, though. They’re great for fresh cut arrangements. I’ll just plant more next spring, which is the correct season for planting onion sets.

©Linda Nelson 2015

What a thrill to see that my water lotus garden is taking to life. I had a seed pod from an old potpourri package that was looking a little exhausted. It was at least ten years old, so I was more than ready to just toss it. I saved the seeds and sprouted them in a small glass of water. I then transplanted the seedlings to this lovely little glazed cache pot. The big challenge will be when it’s time to overwinter them at the end of the season.

Linda Nelson 2015

Cats make for fabulous decorative garden objects, wouldn’t you say. I’m partial, of course, for that’s my cat!

©Linda Nelson 2015

Enjoy your day.

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GARDEN HAPPENINGS AT THE CREATEAERIE

June 8, 2015

Today I decided to take a little extra morning time for myself. The trade-off….. I’ll work a little bit later into the evening. It’s no problem, though.

It’s a peculiar, rather coolish June here in the eastern most tip of New York. I feel borderline silly wearing a sweatshirt and turtleneck, but hey, I’ve done sillier things than that. Anyway, this is what’s happening among the garden beds at the createaerie.

©Linda Nelson 2015

The peonies are looking gorgeous, don’t you think? And, while I’m not exactly fond of the current color combination pictured below, I’m enjoying the lovely show, courtesy of my Baptisia australis, achillea ‘Moonshine’, and the scarlet foliage of the Cotinus in the background.

©Linda Nelson 2015

I delight in the quirky looking stalks of Euphorbia ‘Fireglow’ poking up among the ferns and Alchemilla mollis. Some folks might categorize this plant as a nuisance, but mine behaves quite nicely.

©Linda Nelson 2015

And, I’m super delighted that my Euphorbia ‘Ascot Rainbow’ weathered the severe winter just fine, as you can see here. They’re known for being a little temperamental in this region.

©Linda Nelson 2015

I’m a big fan of gray. Are you? I know that Dusty Miller can have the reputation of being a bit stale with regard to all the wonderful plant material out there, but it works. It just works….. especially paired with a nice decorative rock.

©Linda Nelson

Oh, let’s take a quick peak at my vegetable garden.

©Linda Nelson 2015

The potato plants are looking good and are just setting some flowers. My swiss chard………I think it’s time for a small harvest.

©Linda Nelson 2015

The kale, pictured above, is coming along nicely. Last year it experienced a premature bolt, then crop failure. That was on account of unusually high temperatures early on in the season. This year we are experiencing the exact opposite.

Though not in my vegetable, and not exactly a culinary pick, my citronella balm(a little less hardy than lemon balm) wintered over in the ground just fine. I chose to pot it up and place it near my patio sitting area.

©Linda Nelson 2015

And, finally…… my first little summertime bud vase, set upon my kitchen windowsill. I enjoy creating dainty sized arrangements. To me, they’re little bursts of sunshine and happiness.

©Linda Nelson 2015

Enjoy your day!

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“DIVIDED WE THRIVE” AND TWO OTHER GARDEN MOTTOS

May 27, 2015

Wow, it’s been one month since I’ve been able to even consider sitting down to create a blog post. This is the busiest time of my work season, and will continue as such for the next few weeks, but I thought I’d share these three useful mottos to garden by.

Motto #1 – “DIVIDED WE THRIVE” – This one is sung about every three to five years by many perennials. The following images represent some telltale signs that it’s time to get out your shovel.

©Linda Nelson 2015

With irises and ornamental grasses, the center of the clump will begin to decline in growth, the irises

producing fewer blooms.

Hemerocallis (daylilies), on the other hand, may produce a larger mass of foliage, but send up less blooms.

Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan) clumps will start to spread, forming a sparse, weedy looking mass.

Motto #2 – “I NEED MY SPACE” – Really. Are you guilty of instant gratification planting syndrome? Do you see how much space there is between each plant in the flower pot pictured below? That’s what yours should look like when initially planted. Looks a little sparse, right? Well, I’m going to update you on this gorgeous-to-be arrangement throughout the summer to prove to you that combination container plantings need their growing space. Stuffing your flower pots for instant gratification is simply foolish. Floral instant gratification is for magazine photo shoots or wedding decor. When it comes to planting up your patio pots, do it right. I’ll share a photo of this one’s progress in a few weeks.

Motto #3 – “DON’T LEAVE ME HANGING” – Folks, please! Plants sold in plastic hanging baskets are meant to be removed from them, then potted up or planted into more suitable containers. These baskets are for space saving purposes and shipping convenience at the nurseries and garden centers. They’re not meant for hanging, as is, along the roof line of your front porch. Good golly, stop doing that. It looks cheap, tacky and just screams, “I don’t know what I’m doing .”

There you have it.

Three mottos.

Now, get in your garden.

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A COMMON GARDEN NO-NO

April 29, 2015

Can you detect what is wrong in this photo? And, yes, I realize the quality and composition of these images are poor. You’ll just have to pardon me on that.

If you said that there is too much soil mounded around the tree trunk………Hooray! You win the washer/dryer combination!

There is about four inches, to be exact. Plus three inches of mulch. And we know what three plus four equals, don’t we? How would you like your neck buried in seven inches of soil and mulch? This torturous act was performed courtesy of the homeowner’s “landscaper”.

The two bucketfuls are just of mulch. I’ll put some of it back on after I remove all the excess soil.

Now, did the “professional” just arbitrarily dump this stuff around the tree? No; he was edging the lawn and was too lazy to have the wheelbarrow at his side, into which all the excess soil should have gone. Instead, he shook the dirt from the sod clumps into the tree bed, then top-dressed the bed with mulch. This is so typical an occurrence, and so very lethal to a tree. It is also very unhealthy for perennials and shrubs.

So, where should the soil level be around a tree, you ask? Go look in the mirror. Yes, go look in the mirror. Look at the bottom of your neck, where it leads to meet with your shoulders. Notice that the bottom of your neck flanges out slightly? Now, go outside and inspect the bottom of a tree. Where the bottom of the tree trunk starts to flange out is about where the soil level (or mulch) should be. Are there exceptions to this rule? Sure, but for the most part, you can’t go wrong with this protocol.

You are now informed. Don’t let your “landscaper” get away with this. If you the homeowner own this bad habit, break it. For, the tree you save may be your own.

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