Japanese Holly Fern

I went out and bought a couple of things this weekend to add to my shady front yard. I've got a bunch of grass that won't grow and so I'm gradually trying to add foliage around the edges. I've been getting boston ferns cheap at K-mart and then letting them die back in the winter. I really like the fern look so I've been adding to my perennial collection, bit by bit. Here is a picture of a japanese holly fern:


I also bought some more pachysandra, or japanese spurge, to put under my tree. I have a bunch there already, but I'm trying to fill it out and make it more lush. My daffodil and grape hyacinth are going to be really good structurally, but I'm still waiting for blooms since everything is stuck in slow motion with our cold snap here in Maryland.

Feng Shui Tip

"Do plan a curved footpath leading from your main entrance to the curbside. This symbolizes water attracting prosperity and chi moving toward your home." From pageaday.com's Feng Shui calendar.

Flower Show

I went to the flower show at Homestead Gardens yesterday and took some photos. Here is a plant I hadn't seen before. It's called Nikko.

Here is what the University of Connecticut Extension has to say about it:

'Nikko' (perhaps the same as 'Nana') - A popular plant highly promoted in the last decade, 'Nikko' forms a neat, dense low mound or groundcover 2' tall and at least twice as wide. The blooms are abundant and pure white in spring, and the fall foliage can be a good red.

It was very beautiful.

After seeing corkscrew rush in Fine Gardening a little while ago, it's popping up everywhere. Here is a container with lots of it:

Sweet Woodruff

I need to get some of this for my front yard.

Dormant oil

It's going to be really nice this weekend and unseasonably warm. I'm going to take care of my espaliered trees. I bought the stuff already--that's why I went to the nursery last weekend. I looked up how to do the oil spray, and here's what I found.

You can rid your defenseless trees and shrubs of inconspicuous killers by using a prophylactic spray. The spray which should be used is referred to and sold under many brand names as dormant oil or scale emulsion. These are highly refined oils (not motor oils!) which spread uniformly on the bark of trees and shrubs to which it is applied and coat non-mobile, dormant insects on the tree smothering them to death. Heavier oils may have to be applied with a tank (pump-up) sprayer which can apply the fully diluted product rather than with a hose-end sprayer which may become clogged. Applicators should frequently shake sprayers to agitate the water and chemicals mixed since plant damage can occur if a concentrated oil spray, caused by solution separation, is applied. Mix dormant oil at the recommended rate on the product label.

It is best to spray before buds begin to swell. If buds of trees and shrubs have begun to swell slightly, go ahead and spray. Although some of the buds may be damaged, the benefits of spraying dormant oil far outweigh the possible repercussions. Do not spray trees which are in full bloom however. Applying a dormant oil spray this late will also serve to cover pruning cuts and can serve as a second attack on stubborn pests which were not killed by an earlier oil application. The closer the application is made to budbreak, the grater the kill.

Spraying of dormant oil should occur on a clear day when the temperatures are expected to remain over 50 degrees F. for at least twenty-four hours. The ideal temperatures for application is between 40 and 70 degrees F. in order to get the oil to spread out over the tree and cover all crooks and crevices. Try to avoid applying dormant oil when severe freezing trends are expected in the 3-4 days following application.

CAUTION: The use of a dormant oil mixture will not only kill, but annihilate, annual flowers such as pansies, bluebonnets or snapdragons growing under or near plants to be treated. To insure domestic tranquillity, completely cover such tender vegetation BEFORE spraying nearby trees and vines with dormant oil.

I'm going to give it a shot. No bluebonnets here tho.

Native Plants of Maryland

Here is a list of native plants they handed out at the nursery, Homestead Gardens.

Ground Cover

Gaultheria procumbens - Wintergreen

Shrubs

Euonymous americanus - Strawberry Bush
Aronia arbuttifolia - Red Chokeberry
Clethra alnifolia - Summersweet
Ilex glabra - Inkberry
Ilex verticillata - Winterberry
Myrica pensylvanica - Northern Bayberry
Rhododendron maximum - Rosebay
Kalmia latifolia - Mountain Laurel

Trees

Cercis canadensis - Eastern Redbud
Chionanthus virginicus - White Fringe Tree
Cornus florida - Flowering Dogwood
Ilex opaca - American Holly
Junperus virginiana - Eastern Red Cedar
Magnolia virginiana - Sweetbay Magnolia
Acer rubrum - Red Maple
Acer saccharinum - Silver Maple
Betula nigra - River Birch
Pinus strobus - White Pine
Quercus palustris - Pin Oak
Quercus phellos - White Oak
Taxodium distichum - Bald Cypress
Thuja occicentalis - Northern White Cedar
Tsuja canadenisis - Eastern Hemlock

Vines

Bignonia capreolata - Crossvine
Campsis radicans - Trumpet Vine
Lonicera sempervirons - Honeysuckle
Parthenocissus quinquefolia - Virginia Creeper