New Cornelian Cherry

Last week I got a new tree for my front flowerbed. I’ve been reworking this bed, if you remember I added a hedge of box that brought with me from Ohio.


Behind the box hedge is a rock wall with a raised foundation bed. It was filled with various perennials, annuals, and lots of invasive weeds. Last fall I dug up the entire bed, removing all the plants and as much of the weed roots as possible. Most of the plants were completely infested with invasive weeds and couldn’t be saved. The good thing is that none of them are expensive plants and they can all be replaced if I want to.

The truth is that the bed needs structure, it needs shrubs, not perennials. It’s needs something that will have presence in the winter. I planted three ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas in the area under the front window and was looking for a small flowering tree to put on the corner of the house. Originally I was thinking I’d add a crapabble, but then I spotted a Cornelian Cherry at Fieldstone Gardens last week and knew that’s what would be perfect in that spot. Not only is it beautiful and flowers very early in the spring, it will provide berries for birds later in the year. I’m always trying to add plants that maximize habitat and food for wildlife, especially birds and pollinators.

I wanted a tree that was crooked because it needs to grow out away from the house. I found a perfectly imperfect specimen. Another lovely things about the Cornelian Cherry or the ‘Cornus Mas’ is that the bark is quite interesting as well. This will be a nice addition in the winter.


If you’d like to read a little more about this lovely shrub, head on over to the Missouri Botanical Garden website to read more. This easy to grow, flowering beauty, should be a wonderful addition to my garden.

Have you added any new trees to your garden this year?

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Hello Tom

Tom has been dancing for all the turkey hens, he’s quite a handsome fellow. Of course the ladies pretty much ignore him all the time. That doesn’t deter him, he still spends all day dancing and puffing his feathers to show them how handsome he is. I’m quite happy with him, he’s a real gentleman. He’s never shown even a hint of aggression towards me. This year I’ll be letting my muscovy hen hatch out ducklings, but I’m not sure if I’ll be letting any of the turkeys set, we shall see. I am selling fertile hatching eggs though, I’m happy to provide these for other locals who want to raise turkeys and don’t have toms or hens.

Of course it’s mating season with all the wild birds as well. I enjoy hearing and seeing them all flitting about the garden and starting the process of bringing up the next generation of pest control for my garden. We have a pair of nesting crows and they’ve been madly building their nest in the pine grove below the house. They are a joy to watch!

Have you been noticing bird courting in your garden?

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A Good Start

This past weekend it was beautiful here in the Maine. The temperatures were in the 60’s & 70’s and the sun was shining. I spent the weekend getting loads of things done in the garden. I planted onion, lettuce, and broccoli raab seedlings. I also seeded tomatos and planted dahlia tubers in pots, along with loads of other chores I’m completely forgetting.



It’s good to once again be feeling the sun on my back and my hands in the soil. I’m hoping to accomplish a lot in the gardens this year. They are slowly expanding and hopefully the final sizes will be achieved this summer and layouts can be finalized.

What did you do in the garden this weekend?

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Color!

It’s really nice to see color once again outside my window. The tiny spring bulbs are popping up here and there, around the apple tree, in the lawn, in the flowerbeds. Siberian Squill were one of the first bulbs I ever planted when I started gardening. I was sitting on the front step resting after  long day of gardening yesterday and noticed how wonderful these little beauties are doing under the apple tree. I’m definitely planning on planting a lot more of these little lovelies under this tree, I’d love to have a carpet of purple under there in the spring. Scilla naturalizes, so a few bulbs will eventually become a grand army of little purple blooms. I’ve always had luck with them reproducing by both seed and bulblettes.



These are little lovelies that I didn’t plant, hopefully the people who purchased our previous home are enjoying the 2500 flowering bulbs I planted while I gardened there.

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Surprise

I’ve been dealing with a massive headache this week, probably due to the huge weather system that moved through. After being down for the count on Monday & Tuesday, I’m finally back in business. I have a few pumpkins that were starting to get softs spots, so I decided to feed them to the chickens. When I cut one open the seeds in side were already starting to germinate.

What a fantastic thing to see. I love how plants are always trying to reproduce against all odds, it’s quite an amazing thing we get to experience over and over again as gardeners.

Have you noticed anything amazing recently?

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