My Imaginary Garden

Today I am daydreaming about an early spring garden. It would be against the south-facing stone wall, for winter protection and early warmth. The sun would embrace it from dawn to dusk. All the earliest bulbs and flowers would be growing there, encouraged to rise and bloom for springtime cheer.

Being so close to the Atlantic Ocean and Narragansett Bay,  springtime here is cold. The water temperature warms slowly, leaving a chill in the air as our March and April breezes pass over the water. (Of course, the flip side to that is a long warm autumn, September days at the beach with just us year-round residents, and tomatoes holding on til October…) After last year’s “non-winter” and early spring, this year Old Man Winter seems to be hanging around for an extra long stay.

Back to my early spring garden: It would be full of crocuses and snowdrops, witch hazels and hellebores, tiny dwarf irises, winter aconite, and the earliest daffodils. All these beautiful flowers are here at the Botanical Gardens, but not all together in my imaginary garden. They are scattered about, each creating a tiny spot of color in a  landscape just beginning to awaken from winter. Walk through the garden and welcome them, and welcome spring.

Winter Blues

The view from February…

More than halfway through winter, and here it is. I am completely uninspired. I’m sure the weather has something to do with this. It’s 40 degrees F and raining, with half-melted dirty snow banks slowly disappearing under the deluge, and plenty of mud. (I don’t mind April mud, it’s different in April!) End-of February rain holds no promise for me. No thoughts of seedlings, buds, sprouts, sunshine, or warmth. A walk through the Botanical Gardens yesterday confirmed that Kingston is indeed the land of broken trees, due to the blizzard. We have a big clean up coming, as soon as rain, mud and snow let up.

Although the Conservatory has some beautiful flowers blooming right now, (you can see them here) I think it is simply Springtime that I am longing for. There is something about  the feel of the sun on my face, and the smell of the soil, that isn’t the same in the greenhouse. The greenhouse got me through December, January, and almost all of February, and I appreciate that! But I am ready to get outside.

In a few more weeks, I’ll be starting seeds. Around here gardeners plant peas on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th. With transplants like tomato and pepper seeds, I aim for April Fool’s Day (April1st), so that they don’t get too big before it’s warm enough to set them out. Starting seeds brings back the optimist in me, daydreaming about the wonderful garden I will have. Just a few weeks to go…what will YOU do to get yourself to Spring?

The view from March!

Blizzard of 2013

The Ericaceous Garden, Monday morning after the blizzard. URI Botanical Gardens

Lots of snow, many sadly broken trees on campus as well as all over South County. White pines and arborvitae seems to have taken the worst hit.

2/11/13

2/11/13

And around town:

White pine across road, in wires, West Kingston. (2/9/13)

And yet another… (2/9/13)

Unstable utility pole, Dale Carlia corner, Wakefield. photo courtesy of South County Independent

The greenhouses did not lose heat or electricity! (Electricity was turned off for a few hours in order to make repairs to other lines.) At one point, it became really warm in the greenhouses when the vents couldn’t open and the heat was still going but overall we came out of the blizzard unharmed.

Horridge Conservatory, Monday 2/11. URI Botanical Gardens

Anxiously awaiting the return of electricity (and running water) at home!

A New Year

Happy New Year!

Here in Rhode Island, the new year is starting off with the coldest weather we have had in quite  while: 12 degrees F this morning. We also have snow, which we didn’t have last year. The Garden looks beautiful under it’s frozen white blanket. Tiny tracks of mice, rabbits, and squirrels can be seen in the snow,  under sheltering evergreens or bravely crossing an open expanse of small-scale tundra.

In the Conservatory, it’s warm and inviting.  Sun beaming through the glass and green leaves of every size and shape are a welcome change for folks tired of the cold.  I enjoy all the seasons but it is nicer to work in the warm Conservatory in January than it is to work outside!  Some plants are growing very slowly because of the short days, while others burst into bloom at this time of year.

The latest newsletter from the National Garden Bureau has a short list of  New Year’s Resolutions for gardeners. I’ve always thought that ANY day could be the day I decide to change something in my life — no need to wait til January 1st! And for gardeners, perhaps the first day of spring is a good time to make a Gardening Resolution. Nevertheless, here they are:

1. I will not blame myself for gardening failures. Sometimes, Mother Nature is not our friend when it comes to gardening. Or life gets in the way. Don’t despair! Simply try again and learn from experience. Your garden, and your gardening friends, are very forgiving.

2. I will not be afraid to ask questions. How else can you learn? Take advantage of the experience of your neighbors, friends, and family. They will appreciate your interest and be flattered that you want to learn from them. And learn you will!

3. I will try something new. This is kind of a no-brainer, right?

4. I will share my passion. We’ve done and seen studies that show many of today’s gardeners got their start by learning from someone else, usually a parent or grandparent. Can you be that mentor? Will you be the reason your son or daughter serves homegrown vegetables to your grandchildren? The reason your neighbor plants window boxes for the first time?

5. I will embrace nature and garden for the birds, the bees and the butterflies (and the bats too!). One of the most enjoyable benefits of having a garden is being able to see the beautiful creatures who visit it. So plan your flowers and vegetables with that in mind then sit back and watch the wildlife you’ve encouraged.

And of course, resolve to visit the URI Botanical Gardens and Horridge Conservatory in 2013!

Do you have New Year’s Resolutions?  Or Gardening Resolutions? I’d love to hear from you!

Getting Back to My Chores

After Hurricane Sandy, Election Day, Northeast Greenhouse Conference, a nor’easter, and Veterans Day, it’s time to get back to gardening. Right before the storm, Dr. Maynard’s PLS 350 class came out and helped me dig up most of the plants in the sunny border. The plants have been sitting outside in my “cold frame/nursery” area behind the greenhouses. They are semi-bare root, since they are in flats covered with fallen leaves, but not potted up. When the weather is cool they can sit that way for a long time. Fortunately they won’t need to, because tomorrow we plan to replant the border, again with help from the class. Divisions of the plants which were dug up will go back in with room to spread their roots. A few thing which did not do well there are not invited back! And maybe a few new plants just to change it up.

Our other chore for the day will be lifting the dahlia tubers. The dahlias were cut back after the first hard frost (“Changing Seasons“) but left in the ground. Waiting until the last minute to dig them up reduces the amount of time they will be in storage, where there is the possibility of decay in the tubers. Where to store them? Not too warm, not too cold, not too wet, not too dry! Maybe under my basement bulkhead stairs, or maybe Dr. Maynard’s root cellar.

The weather for tomorrow looks to be sunny and cool, perfect for working in the garden. I love being outside at this time of year. With the right layers (as our friend Russ says, “It’s all in the gear”), and maybe a hat, I’m outside all day, enjoying deep breaths of cool refreshing air that’s like a long drink of water. Bright sunshine lifts my spirits, and a daydream about how good it will look in the spring keeps me going.

Just for Fun: This Enkianthus is one of the last plants in the Botanical Garden still displaying beautiful fall foliage. My favorite plant blog, “Botany Photo of the Day”, featured an Enkianthus recently — “Enkianthus campanulatus“.

Clean-up Time

The URI Botanical Gardens came through the storm with minimal damage. There are tree limbs down but overall we are looking much better than other parts of South County.

A few pictures of the area show just how lucky we are.

(Photos 1,2,4,5 from South County Independent)

Changing Seasons

Jack Frost visited Kingston Hill in the still hours of Saturday morning (October 13th, right around “average” first frost). It was just cold enough to end the display of dahlias, and kill off the marigolds and peppers left in the All- America Selections garden. The tropical garden up between the greenhouses is still alive and well, being in a very protected spot. But come and see it soon, because it won’t last much longer! The tropicals will need to be dug up and brought inside for the winter. Chore of the day is to continue the cutting back and cleaning up we began last week.

Photo courtesy C.Cramer

Being a gardener means always having an eye on the weather. I’ve been intrigued this week with two documents shared by Carl Sawyer of the URI Agronomy Farm and Weather Station. (Kingston has been reporting temperatures to the National Weather Service since 1888 or so!) One is the first and last frost dates and number of frost free days in Kingston from 1931 to 2011. The highest number of frost free days on the list occurred in 1955 at 188 days. The lowest was in 1991 at 116 days due to a very late last frost — May  29th. A bad day for growers, as a late frost is so much more damaging than an early one.

The other is a 1948 Ag Experiment Station bulletin showing the average growing season for different parts of the state. Kingston is clearly a cold spot, showing at that time a 136 day average growing season.  East Farm, also in Kingston but at the top of the hill, shows a 167 average day growing season. The “micro climate” makes a big difference. (Update: temperature Saturday morning was 25 F “down” at Agronomy and 29 F “up” at the greenhouse.)

On our weekend trip to upstate New York to visit our college freshman, glorious autumn leaves were everywhere, about a week ahead of us here on the coast. The weather forecast is for a mostly sunny and mild week, a great time to get out and enjoy the changing seasons.

Cool ‘n’ Shady

We’ve been very busy playing catch-up at the Botanical Gardens, but now it’s looking good! Tuesday Tours have started — come any Tuesday evening at 5 PM (meet at the Gazebo) and learn all about about our beautiful plants and gardens on a guided tour with yours truly.

Weather update: very hot! Often on a hot day I prefer to be outside in the shade rather than inside with air-conditioning. The Botanical Gardens has lots of shady nooks with benches for those of us who use this strategy to beat the heat. I love the beach, but isn’t it better after 3 pm anyway?

Color, Part Two

Of course, as soon as I say “Hazy, Hot and Humid”, the weather changes again…It’s cold (mid-fifties) and raining. So, here’s a bit of color from inside the greenhouses.

Saturday evening, despite clouds and mist, a good time was had by all. The tent in the Botanical Gardens was quite festive and the event went off without a hitch –at least, not a hitch I know about !

Whether the weather…

Being a gardener, I can’t help but talk about the weather. Here in Kingston, it has been an unusually warm and dry spring so far, after an unusually warm and dry winter. I worry about the springtime ephemeral plants, which like moisture…after all, we have “mud season” in New England, somewhere in between winter and spring. But not this year. I am happy to see the Fawn Lily  (Erythronium) blooming, and sad to say the Carolina Spring Beauty  (Claytonia) doesn’t look like it will flower this year.

Mother’s Day is the yearly highlight of the Ericaceous Garden, however, the display is already beginning, so I would suggest a visit soon! There is beauty and color at every turn. The Royal Azalea (Rhododendron schlippenbachii) is in full bloom, and Koreanspice Viburnum (Viburnum carlesii) is sweetly fragrant throughout the White Garden.

“Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot,
We’ll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!”

—Anonymous