We hope “April showers bring May flowers,” because it has been damp and chilly this first week of April. Drought status of our region of the commonwealth remains “significant.” Daffodils do not mind the rain and damp, and celebrate spring; it is said that cool springs even prolong their very welcome show.
Daffodil Meadow at PHA
Speaking of daffodils, the public is cordially invited to a special event at Polly Hill Arboretum on April 19, opening its Northfield Daffodil Meadow. This beautiful vision, the newly created daffodil planting, is a gift of remembrance in honor of a longtime Island visitor and resident, created by family and admirers.
The selected Amsterdam Bulb mix features early-, mid-, and late-blooming daffodils that create a six- to eight-week bloom span. Planting was accomplished with more than 100 hours of combined staff and volunteer labor, assisted by auger drills, and backfilled with Arboretum compost.
Polly Hill Arboretum’s spring plantings are rich with unusual and beautiful plants that reward a visit. Polly Hill herself was an aficionada of daffodils. According to Tim Boland, PHA executive director, “We’re proud of this new development and the new pathways it established in the Northfield. It’s probably the most exposed area of the Arboretum that had very little seasonal interest, until now.”
A celebration of the new memorial planting will take place on April 19, from 9 to 11 am. Visitors will gather at the Visitor Center for coffee and treats, and a dedication of the meadow afterward.
Flowering now
Magnolia buds are swelling, and their full flowering is spring’s long-awaited splendor. Garden centers are receiving new stocks daily. Early April is an excellent time to weigh garden additions: Conditions for good establishment are optimal. Around the Island, early-blooming trees and shrubs also become visual aids, and plus, are needed cheer. Take photos, to show when you shop.
The wonderfully fragrant (and somewhat invasive) bush honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima, breathes a carrying lemony scent. Not lemony, but sweetly fragrant in damp air, is edgeworthia, Edgeworthia chrysantha. This year many specimens successfully evaded early frosts to spread their perfume. Pictured is ‘Nanjing Gold,’ a more deeply colored edgworthia cultivar.
Forsythia are rays of sunshine on gloomy days, although interestingly, they are dry, and do not supply nectar and pollen. The forsythia, First Editions ‘Spring Fling,’ that Bailey Nursery sent for trialing, is in flower. This compact plant promises to fit in smaller gardens (eventual size five to six feet tall and wide), where older cultivars, such as ‘Lynwood Gold,’ might take up too much space.
One of my favorites, however, pieris, does support pollinators, and is in its Very Vineyard moment. Flowering, broadleaf evergreen Pieris species and hybrids are flower-laden now, and providing insects with early nectar and pollen.
I propagated the Pieris japonica pictured from a Chilmark parent plant, circa early 2000s. This year it is “over the top” with its extra-long bloom panicles, like a springtime version of an overdecorated Christmas tree.
Pieris are a good Island fit, generally. They are shrubs to be sought after, not only for that early bloom and pollinator support, but also for deer resistance and their preference for acidic soil, all of which make pieris excellent additions, especially where shade is a factor. All winter long, evergreen pieris provide cover for overwintering birdlife. They associate well with underplantings of spring bulbs, carex, and hellebores.
Older specimens of P. japonica may be found towering in gardens where they were planted many years ago, while slow-growing dwarf forms such as cultivars ‘Cavatine,’ ‘Little Heath,’ and ‘Bisbee Dwarf’ fit into rock gardens, foundation plantings, and containers. Dwarf and miniature forms, cultivars with fiery red new growth, ease of culture: These are some of the assets pieris possess. Bloom color ranges from white to blush to deep rose pink.
If you have noticed that your pieris are flowering in a spotty way, it may be due to winter damage to flowerbuds from cold blasts. Here this season, our Pieris ‘Dorothy Wycoff’ and P. ‘Valley Valentine’ are both sparsely flowered. Their uphill site is more exposed to cold winds than the heavily panicled P. japonica’s. The former two both likely suffered some damage to flower buds during the winter’s cold spikes.
Pieris needs are easily met when planted in partial shade, in good soil with high humus content and moisture-holding capacity. Yellowed foliage or spider mite damage usually indicates too much sun, or hot, dry soil or site.
Fargesia rufa
A year ago I purchased an expensive two-gallon plant of Fargesia rufa, a clumping bamboo. Relying upon the advice of a knowledgeable gardener, I split it and planted the three divisions. In time these should eventually join up, and form an evergreen, deer-resistant hedge that was economical.
Privacy screening and deer resistance are increasingly on gardeners’ minds. While there is understandable ambivalence about bamboo, due to some species’ invasiveness, plus non-native status, this particular species — which is clumping, not running — should prove well-behaved and an asset.
Furthermore, with boxwoods facing several disease issues, I was very interested to come across images of a Dutch garden where fargesia had been topiarized into ball shapes. In the photos the topiary fargesia read similarly to boxwood balls.
In the garden
A cute little plant making its appearance in Island garden landscapes and lawns is actually Ficaria verna, lesser celandine, the dreaded invader of lawns of the Middle Atlantic states. Follow the Ohio State link to learn more: bygl.osu.edu/node/1944. Lesser celandine arrives as a pollutant of nursery stock. It has many strategies for self-propagation. If and when you see it, make every effort to eradicate it before it takes over, as it is a phenomenal spreader.
Despite dreary weather, these are the best conditions for dividing and replanting perennials.
Whatever compost you have needs to get out on vegetable beds or on plants’ root runs. Water seedlings sparingly; beware of damping off.
Some of the cold-hardy vegetables and garden plants such as arugula, spinach, mache, spring raab — greens of all sorts — can go out, provided they’ve received some hardening-off. Strong sunlight and wind are as damaging to tender seedlings as low temperatures.
Soil temps are still cool, 55° here. Wait on planting seed potatoes, unless the soil is warm and well-drained.
Side-dress garlic with low-number fertilizer. Feed the soil organisms, not the actual plants.
Prune and top-dress roses, using well-rotted manure, if available.