The Gardener says, “Gardening is a controlling practice, but a gentle one — mostly.”
Crows are doing a great job of roadkill pickup. Think what an unpleasant job it would be for a human to have to clean up all those smelly roadside corpses of dead animals. The amount of roadkill on Island roads increases with the seasonal traffic, and as animal young strike out on their own. (It seems they may be drawn to the nighttime warmth of asphalt.) We owe crows, so frequently the butt of dislike and superstition, a debt of thanks for their work of clearing the carcasses, which otherwise become the unpleasant responsibility of human cleanup crews.
Plants for damp
These heavy downpours are becoming more and more commonplace, leaving many garden spaces newly and chronically damp. In town it is becoming increasingly the desirable style to design hardscape for parking, walkways, and, of course, the inground pool. Where does the water go when so much of a lot is impermeable?
Planting moisture-loving plants that may drink up some of the excess is one solution. Willow trees were traditionally given this assignment. A quick survey of moisture-loving garden plants includes marsh mallow (Hibiscus palustris), hybrids of H. moscheutos (the so-called dinner-plate hibiscus), filipendula, monarda, various fern species such as ostrich ferns, ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas, and certain phlox. The beautiful but terribly problematic invasive, purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, is on many states’ prohibited plant lists; please do not plant it.
Fourth of July Menu
New potatoes, poached salmon, and garden peas are elements of the New England Fourth of July dinner, and what a privilege it is to be able to provide the vegetable portion of the meal. I do not know how people do it if they are not growing the peas themselves. It takes a mighty basket of peapods to feed a family and friends, quite a luxury today.
A variation on boiling the shelled peas in water for a few minutes is the French way to do them, braised in butter with onion, lettuce, and mint.
French Peas
Adapted from “Gourmet’s Weekends”; serves 6.
1½ cups chopped onions
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 large romaine or other lettuce, julienned
3 lbs. fresh peas, 3 cups
bundle of bay leaf and sprigs of fresh thyme
½ tsp. sugar
¼-½ cup water
¼ cup minced fresh mint leaves
In a large saucepan, cook onions in butter over moderate heat until softened. Add romaine, peas, herbs, sugar, and cook, stirring, three minutes. Add water as needed, and simmer until peas are just tender, about eight minutes. Stir in fresh mint, salt/pepper to taste, and discard herbs.
I was greatly irritated to find that the ‘Green Arrow’ pea seed I planted this spring was contaminated with seed of an inferior variety. This should not be happening. Are too many jumping into the seed business?
I started the plants in modules indoors on St. Patrick’s Day, using inoculant, and transferred them outside in early April. ‘Green Arrow’ tops out just under the height of the concrete reinforcing wire we use as garden supports, unlike those inferior ones, which are taller and were trashed by that wicked little squall recently.
It became obvious when the latter vines grew lankier, were a washout, light green, and with fewer and smaller pods. One vine even bloomed with white/red flowers! ‘Green Arrow’ is an excellent variety, with deep blue-green vines to about four feet tall, and long, full pods that are produced in pairs for easy harvesting. I hope this won’t happen again, but am not optimistic.
Nature’s air conditioners
The sun is now acquiring that “fierce” blistering feel we have noticed for the past decade or so. Friday, June 28, was fair and sunny, becoming increasingly hot and enervating as the day wore on. Luckily, where we were working, I was able to duck in and out of the deep shade of a linden; it was totally cool under that tree.
The sunny weather has provided a foretaste of what is to come as summer progresses. We need to focus on planting enduring, quality shade trees now (not junk trees that may be promoted as “Grows Fast!” or other such hype).
In a column last year I criticized Tisbury for its lack of shade trees and program for street tree planting/replacement. Shaded and leafy streets are a must; downtown seems arid and barren, especially deadly in a tourist destination with heavy foot traffic.
In the garden
Deadheading is a large part of the tidying of a garden now that spring flowers have finished. Bulb foliage has ripened and pulls away easily. There may also be yellowing leaves on shrubbery, nothing to worry about — in part seasonal and in part due to so much moisture recently. Anything with a seedpod on it should be trimmed away, annuals especially.
Roses are, this year, spectacular. Spectacular too will be the cleanup. Petal and leaf drop is best cleaned up, though, even if it is a lot of work to get it all, to contain diseases and spores. Pre-emptive deadheading, where you snip the overmature blossom into your hand before it shatters and hits the ground, saves effortful stooping and raking.
Feed roses once a month. My preference is for organic soil food (fertilizer) side-dressed and cultivated in lightly. An inch of water per week is the usual rule of thumb.
Weigelas are going by, and should be pruned immediately after flowering. These shrubs are a little tricky. Removing the growth containing the capsules left by the flowers is the goal, while retaining the graceful downward arching of branches that is a great part of weigela’s charm. The fresh growth blooms next year.