Oakleaf Hydrangeas – A Great Choice For A Shady Area

Hydrangeas are a great choice for that shady area you have in your garden.

Oakleaf Hydrangea

There are an abundance of choices and colors from which to choose from. Highlighted here is the Oakleaf Hydrangea. It will add interest to any shady area in your landscape.

The Oakleaf Hydrangea, as the name suggests, has the appearance of an Oak tree leaf with a striking white to cream colored flower.

Oakleaf Hydrangea - Bloom

As a general rule, Hydrangeas will tolerate morning sun exposure but will need to be protected from hot, sunny locations during the afternoon. They will require frequent watering to keep from wilting, which can be common during the summer months.

Oakleaf Hydrangea - Fall Color

Another benefit of the Oakleaf Hydrangea is their fall color. So not only do you get the benefit of a unique foliage, beautiful flowers, but added interest to your landscape late in the season with its dark, red fall color.

Applying Crabgrass Preventer

Ahh, spring looks like it has finally arrived! After a long, cold winter it is refreshing to see the reawakening of the landscape. With that brings a list of things that need to be accomplished to protect the investment you have in your property. A healthy lawn will add to the curb appeal of your property.

Crabgrass preventers or pre-emergents need to be applied, as a general rule, by tax day, April 15th. Crabgrass preventers do not actually keep the seed from germinating but actually kill the seed as it germinates. If you do not get the application made by that day, all is not lost. Crabgrass seeds have their own internal “timeclock” and germinate over a long period of time, so do not think that since the application was not made, that it is not worthwhile to go ahead and make the application.

Wichita Garden Show – Great Garden Plant Forcing continues….

Just a quick update on our Wichita Garden Show plans. Spring has sprung and the plants are being fooled. The Amur Maple is in full leaf and ready for the show as you can see the changes in just three short weeks, but the River Birch is just starting to wake up. We are beginning to see the first leaves emerging on the Lacebark Elm.

We have moved Hostas and Salvia into the greenhouse as well as a few test plants, Vinca Minor, Pachysandra and Ajuga so we can monitor their flowering rate so we know when to bring the remaining plants into the greenhouse. As you can see, sometimes you just miss on the timing and things just progress too fast as you can see with this flowering Crabapple. It is definitely a challenge to time all of the different types of plants but when you see things starting to grow, it is a reminder that spring is also near.

Watch for further updates of our plant forcing and other plans as we get closer to the set up of our great garden in late February.

Wichita Garden Show – Forcing Plant Material for Our Great Garden

Our plans are well underway and beginning to take shape. The first plants have been moved into the greenhouse to force their foliage and flowers. Forcing plants for a garden presents many challenges. There are many plants that are very easy to force where others can be extremely difficult. Because of the diverse plant list utilized in a garden show display, timing is critical. We moved Lacebark Elm, Amur Maple, Globe Willow and River Birch into the warm greenhouses on January 11th. These anchor trees are used mainly for their foliage and texture and not their flower color, so the sooner they are moved into the greenhouse the more foliage they will have for the show. Ornamental trees and large flowering shrubs like Redbud, Serviceberry, Forsythia that are forced for their flower color, generally takes two to three weeks to be in full bloom. Each individual species “leafs out” at different times and there can be variances within the same cultivar.

Weather conditions present other challenges when forcing plant material. The weather we have been experiencing this week, cold and cloudy, not only require additional heat in the greenhouses, but the lack of sunlight slows down the rate of bud swell and leaf or flower development. There are years where the late winter and early spring weather is unseasonably warm and the plant material, especially the ones that are forced for their color, begin to progress fast and they have to be moved to a cooler location. As you can see in the pictures, the Amur Maple and Willow already have leaves beginning to emerge.

Next week we will begin to move additional plant material into the greenhouse. They will include Hosta, and other assorted perennials such as Vinca Minor, Ajuga and Hardy Ferns.

Many hours are spent working with the plants each week to insure a beautiful display. It is one of the most challenging parts of constructing a Garden Show display, it also is one of the more rewarding aspects because of the effort required. Be sure to check back each week for more details on our garden show display.

Garden Show Design Concepts

Our garden show plans are beginning to take flight! It is always fun to brainstorm different ideas and concepts and how they will relate to the overall show theme. This year’s theme is “Garden’s of the World”. In our earlier blog we discussed the basic concept of our garden and now comes the creative work to pull it all together.

There are many challenges when designing the garden, first being that it is built on a concrete floor and how elevation changes in the garden are addressed. The scale (how all the items in the garden fit together and complement each other) is one of the main considerations. Each focal point or feature has to be constructed in a way that is not only life size but fits with all of the other elements in the design. One element that we like to incorporate in our gardens is to allow the public into the garden with a pathway. Other elements are a stone boulder wall reaching 10’ in height, pondless waterfalls, a wigwam, a winter scene and other elements yet to be determined. Designing a garden with a walk-through pathway adds other dimensions like public access, traffic flow and safety as well as additional stone and labor.

Every garden show display we have constructed over the years takes on a life of its own. There is a significant amount of time devoted to researching the theme so it can be depicted as accurately as possible, choosing the proper plant material for the setting, signage to incorporate an educational value, calculating the amount of boulders, flagstone, pumps for the water features, pond liner, electricity, music, lighting and other factors that we forget to think about until we are in the middle of set up. Our design currently is beyond the conceptual stage and now we are thinking about how it will be constructed. Where do we start, what is the first thing to be built, how long do we anticipate total construction to take, can we complete the construction in the allotted time frame?

Soon after the holidays are over, we will begin to move plant material to the green houses to force them for foliage and flower color. Be sure to check back later for more details on our garden show display in the weeks to come.

Norris Landscape Project

Outdoor Living.  The warmth of a chiminea on a brisk fall evening.  A glimpse of a deer in the woods while lounging on the cobbler patio with friends. And as winter unfolds into spring, the Globe Blue Spruce provides the ’bones’ for the patio’s colorful garden of Daylily, Amber Flower Carpet Rose, Tiger Eyes Sumac, and fragrant Russian Sage.

Our client, Angie, loved the setting of her home; but wanted to expand her living area.  We designed and created for her several outdoor garden rooms:  an extension of her wood deck (installed by others), a circular chiminea patio, and a cobbler patio under her new deck extension.  Flanking the new curved flagstone path from the drive to the cobbler patio are new landscape beds selected for the year round color and interest of long-blooming perennials, shrubs and flowering trees.  A specially placed River Birch provides a light canopy over the terraced path.  Simple flagstone stepping stones connect the cobbler patio to the intimate circular chiminea patio situated to take advantage of the sweeping views of the wooded creek.

Take a look at the transformation of Angie’s landscape.  We welcome the opportunity to create your landscape that lasts.

Wichita Garden Show Update

The plans for our Great Garden display for the 2010 Wichita Garden Show are beginning to take shape.  It is always fun to brainstorm different ideas and how one idea prompts another and another and another…  The idea we had earlier about a wilderness setting is beginning to grow wings and take flight.  Over 200 years ago, as Lewis and Clark set off on their historic exploration they documented flora and fauna that were new to these explorers. 

 Their journals documented the sighting of two eagles, the Bald Eagle and the “Gray Eagle”, now known as the Gold Eagle.  As we move forward in depicting the wilderness of the great west, we are exploring the possibility of showcasing a Gold Eagle and other raptors in a representation of their natural habitat.  We look forward to the challenge of recreating the ruggedness of the rocky frontier.

A part of the planning involves selecting plant material that will be showy yet demonstrate this habitat.  The plants that we utilize daily in our landscape operation may be cultivated varieties of these native plants as well as the exotic plants of Asia and Europe.  It is always a challenge to incorporate these more exotic selections that create a “WOW” factor in a garden display, yet be accurate in illustrating the theme of our garden. 

Stay tuned for further details on the planning of our Great Garden.  We will soon be moving plant material to the greenhouse to force the blooms and foliage.  Other considerations will be the type and quantity of natural stone, how water is incorporated in the design and construction details for proper scale and foundation of structures.

Wichita Garden Show

Seems like we just closed down the 2009 Wichita Garden Show and the mid-garden display we constructed, “Every Childs Dream”, which was a playful display for the youth in each of us.  The theme for the 2009 Show was “The Giving Garden”.  As we developed our garden, we wanted to create an interactive display for children so they could play in the garden but also take adults back to that special play area they enjoyed as children and to put a smile on their face.

We were fortunate to be awarded the “People’s Choice” award that is voted on by the show attendees and received many positive comments about the different aspects of the garden. 

Now we turn our attention to the 2010 Wichita Garden Show.  The theme for this show is ‘Gardens of the World”.  We are undertaking the construction of a Great Garden for the 2010 show and our early thoughts for our garden are a natural setting of what the early explorers of the US would have seen on their trek through the wilderness.  Our garden may not be a typical backyard setting but a representation of the beauty of the United States in some of its remote areas.  There may even be a live Bald Eagle and other birds nesting as a part of the garden.  Our plans are just in the beginning stages so stay tuned for further details.

Wow! What a beautiful fall in Kansas.

Wow!! What a beautiful fall season we have had to enjoy. The fall colors in the landscapes have been spectacular.

We have an ‘Autumn Purple’ Ash planted in our yard at home and it is always one of the first trees to change in the early fall. I always think that this is my favorite tree for the fall color with its dark purple color and then….the Maples begin to show their fall color which ranges from the vivid oranges from the Sugar Maples to the different shades of red that Red Maples provide. What about the Oaks, the Cottonwoods, Birch, Crabapple and Honeylocust that provide the bright yellow contrast. Usually the trees that turn yellow are often overlooked because of the bright colors of the other trees but they too, add to the beauty of the fall season. Of course you cannot forget about the ornamental Pears and their dark red. Oh how can you choose a favorite?

But wait, what about all the flowering shrubs? Dwarf Burning Bush, Spireas, Sweetspire, to name a few. Be sure not to overlook the ornamental grasses and conifers.

What causes fall color? The color pigment naturally occurring in the leaf is the greatest determining factor in fall leaf color. As the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer, the green pigment (chlorophyll) begins to die which allows the natural color pigments to show. Weather conditions during the growing season can also determine how colorful the fall season can be. Years when there has been adequate moisture in the spring and summer generally leads to a more colorful fall season as long as there are not prolonged warm, dry periods in the fall. So not only is it “just a part of the tree” but the weather conditions from year to year can greatly influence fall’s bounty of color. We have had the perfect weather conditions for this fall’s show with the warm days and cool nights. 

How to avoid common landscape mistakes

The last few months have been unseasonably cool and moist which has created conditions for an excellent growing season. With growth comes maintenance. Trimming trees, leaf removal, pruning, to mention a few. When performing landscape maintenance it is important to know the basics so you can avoid common mistakes.

Most common mistakes occur in:

• Improper plant selection for location
• Pruning – Timing, timing, timing
• Mulching – For adequate moisture and weed prevention

These mistakes can lead to poor plant health and an unsuccessful landscape. In our recent newsletter we sent out some tips to avoid these common mistakes.

Some things to consider when pruning – Is it a flowering shrub and does it flower on “new” or “old” wood? Lilac, Forsythia, Quince, some Spireas, Redbud, Crabapple, flower on what is referred to as “old” wood which means that they flower early in the spring on the part of the plant that grew the previous year, thus, “old” wood. These types of shrubs and trees are best pruned after they flower in the spring. Pruning these plants in the fall or early spring will remove the part of the plant that will flower in the early spring.

Plants that flower on what is referred to as “new” wood are plants that flower later in the spring or summer, i.e.; some Spirea, Crapemyrtle, some Hydrangea and Althea are plants that flower on the current year’s growth, so they can be pruned now or in the early spring without removing any of the flowers.

Mulching – Crapemyrtles, Hydrangeas and Roses are a few plants that may be advisable to mulch around the base to insulate the root system during the winter. Mulching late in the fall, once the soil temperature cools, will insulate the root system and keeps the soil temperature at a consistent level. It is beneficial to keep all landscape plantings adequately mulched.

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