Skip to main content

Featured

Professional Pruning

I rarely resort to hiring help in the garden but I'm learning that sometimes it is wise to do so and worth every penny. Case in point - some hideous out-of-control trees that were beyond my ability to deal with. If I were smarter, I would have tackled these issues from the beginning but I didn't know better. The first is a pear tree that was planted along the back fence line. I've worked on this for the past several years, every year with the intent of reducing the height or possibly removing it altogether. As you can see in the photo, I had cut back everything but three limbs and finally realized that it would be dangerous for me to try and bring them down. The limbs grow straight up into the air and the remaining three are about 20 feet tall.  After -- there is a hole in the sky view but the tree should fill in nicely for a good screen and I can keep it trimmed down from this point forward. Farther down along the fence line, and the view from the deck, are two massive pho

Time to Cover Plants & Bring in the Hummingbird Feeders Again


After an extended stretch of mild weather, we have two nights of sub-freezing temperatures. No snow or ice, just cold, in the mid twenties tonight and teens tomorrow night.

I cover three or four plants including the loquat and a eucalyptus that was planted late last season.



We usually bring in a few of the hummingbird feeders and put them back out early in the morning. 

For the other birds, I have a heating device inside the urn fountain. I recently received this little heated bird bath that you just plug into the wall. This is the first time I've used it. I'm not crazy about the color but if it works, that is all that matters.




In the meantime, much interest is to be found -


Cotoneaster dammeri -
either 'Lowfast' or 'Mooncreeper' - anyone know the difference?


Euphorbia characieas wulfenii


Camellia 'Nuccio Bella Rosa'

Heather (Calluna vulgaris 'Firefly' and 'Multicolor')


Hypericum 'Pumpkin' (St. John's Wort)

Vinca minor 'Illumination' (Periwinkle)



Asian Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum 'Ogon Nishiki')


Pieris 'Little Heath'

Stay warm!


Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Comments

  1. That's a very pretty Cotoneaster! You've got a lot of nice color ro see you through your cold snap.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not familiar with 'Mooncreeper' but I know 'Lowfast' is really what its name indicates - very low unless you give it something to climb on - in which case it will totally head upwards. It's probably fast, too. Those heathers look so good with the river rocks - yummy!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts