Countryside Landscape & Design LLC

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Williamstown, MA 01267
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Countryside Landscape & Design LLC

October 2023 Newsletter

by

Countryside Corner 
Neighborly Garden News

Issue 138
October 2023

Dear readers; please visit our website: www.countrysidelandscape.net for the safety measures we have in place during this pandemic.

Keep on the Lookout for the Spotted Lanternfly!

Pest Alert: Spotted Lanternfly Detected in Three New Massachusetts Communities

The invasive spotted lanternfly (SLF) has recently been confirmed in both Hampden and Worcester Counties in Holyoke, Agawam, and Southborough, MA. These finds represent three newly established populations of this insect, which are in addition to those known previously in Fitchburg, Shrewsbury, Worcester, and Springfield, MA. It is very important to remain vigilant for any signs of the insect, or any of its life stages.

Information for homeowners can be found here
Spotted Lanternfly management for professionals here

Lycorma delicatula was first discovered in Berks County, PA during the 2014 growing season. Most likely it was brought in from China on a shipping container. Spotted Lanternflies can travel in several ways; they can grip tightly to any surface and may inadvertently be transported by vehicular movement. The females will lay an egg mass that looks a lot like a mud smear, and travel disguised in this way too, on any hard surface. The immature nymphs can travel much farther than immatures of other species of insects, typical insect nymphs travel at most 5-10 ft, but Lanternfly nymphs can travel upwards of 150 ft. Lanternflies are a type of plant hopper, but much larger and faster than the native plant hoppers in our region. If you poke an adult, you will observe how fast and far they can travel. Like native plant hoppers they feed on plant sap using a specialized piercing and sucking mouthpart, like a straw, to suck out the plant’s sap.

Spotted Lanternfly adult showing hindwings
Spotted Lanternfly preferred species of tree is a type of invasive species brought to the USA decades ago called the ‘Tree of Heaven’ (Ailanthus altissima) but will feed on almost any of species of native and non-native tree. It is particularly worrisome for orchardists, vineyards, and woodlots throughout the infected areas, as these plants can’t recover from the intense predation from Lanternflies. Researchers from Penn State Department of Agriculture predict billions of dollars in damage. New York State is in the direct path for invasion, as it shares a border with PA, and is renowned for its fruit, and wine production among other crops. Spotted lanternfly is a plant stressor, which when combined with other biotic or abiotic plant stresses, may contribute to significant damage to their host plants. However, some hosts (grapes, tree-of-heaven, maple, black walnut) may be at more risk than others. Feeding damage can also result in yield loss or quality reduction of agricultural crops.

Spotted Lanternfly adults at rest-not showing hindwings
There have been advances to combat this pest. Combined efforts from Cornell and Penn State research labs have developed a bio-pesticide that is being aggressively tested right now in Montgomery County, PA. The study, published in ‘The Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences’, utilized two naturally occurring fungi (Batkoa major and Beauveria bassiana) found to kill Lanternfly nymphs. The EPA approved pesticide has been found to kill 50% of the nymphs treated, said Dave Biddinger, a research professor of entomology at Penn State. The US Dept of Agriculture beneficial insects’ introduction research unit, located in Newark, Delaware, is working on testing the Spotted Lanternflies natural enemy; a tiny predatory wasp Dryinus browni. Adult female wasps lay eggs inside Lanternfly nymphs, the wasp eggs hatch and the immature wasps eat their way through the parasitized Lanternfly nymph until they mature into a new adult wasp. This method of insect control is a well-established way to utilize a pest’s natural predator to reduce pest populations without using chemicals. In this case, scientists must be cautious before releasing a non-native insect into our country, to avoid any repercussions in years to come.

Spotted Lanternfly egg mass-if discovered remove immediately and destroy
In the meantime, we should inspect our plant purchases very carefully; many plant products are shipped from nurseries out of state. If you travel to known infested areas, respect their quarantine advisories, and don’t bring any restricted material across state or county lines. Learn to identify the Spotted Lanternfly in the various life stages, including the egg mass. If you see something, please report it to

1-888-4BADFLY or to https://massnrc.org/pests/slfreport.aspx

October’s to-do list

Welcome Autumn! I can’t remember gardening through a more challenging summer than this one was. Other than a few plants, just about everything else in our veggie garden died from the excessive rain. The unusual weather seemed to affect the bloom cycles of many reliable summer plants. Neighbors in Deerfield reported their lilacs in full bloom last week. The few veggies of ours that did make it through; I’m grateful to have some winter squash, basil, and a few cherry tomatoes. As I begin to write this month’s newsletter, we are on day three of another bout of soaking rain. Our weather has suddenly cooled down, leaves have a tinge of fall color to them, and the change of seasons make me feel optimistic about a better growing year for 2024. I’ve begun planting a new perennial/pollinator garden in the bed I’ve been working on since the spring. I’m thinking ahead of how pretty it will look mid-summer next year. No hard feelings 2023, but I have already moved on to next year.

Fall is the optimal time for planting, and transplanting, shrubs, trees, and perennials. The ground temperature stays warm, even as our air temperature drops, setting up great conditions for root growth. Plants already headed into dormancy, won’t need to divert energy into leaf development, and will establish new roots in the weeks before the ground freezes. Plan on providing any newly planted plants with supplemental water up to the time they drop their leaves and the ground freezes, usually late November.

Garden clean-ups are an especially important step this year to help keep plants disease free. Many plants have been affected with leaf issues due to our very wet summer. It is recommended not to compost any infected plant material. Instead, remove any organic debris from plants with symptoms of fungal or bacterial problems; and bag them for disposal. Overwintering fungal spores from diseased leaves can contribute to reinfection in your garden next growing season.

The heavy rains we experienced this summer may have promoted a temporary leaching of soil nutrients. You can help revitalize your soil over the dormant season by adding a layer of compost, and chopped leaves. Nature and the worms will break it all down come next spring. Fall is also the optimal time to add lime to your garden beds. The freeze/thaw action of the soil structure will naturally distribute the lime over winter.

I’m going to be planting my garlic within the next few weeks. Garlic was one of the few crops we were able to harvest this year, and it will keep in my pantry until the next crop is ready in July ’24. Plant garlic now for next summer’s harvest. Sow garlic cloves 1-2” deep, spacing them 6” apart. They may sprout a few green leaves before winter sets in, this is normal, and won’t affect next year’s crop. Mulch the row with a few inches of chopped leaves or straw to keep the garlic cloves protected from thaws and freezes. Fresh garlic has a juiciness and flavor not found in supermarket garlic.

It’s time to think about deer fencing, if you have used this service to protect your gardens from deer browsing through the winter. Populations of deer have been on the rise as conditions have been favorable for their expansion. When winter arrives, they often search for food in small herds, and will eat just about any available green plant material. Please contact our office for more information about how to protect your landscape from browsing deer.

Don’t wait-Last call for spring and summer flowering bulbs; we only have about 4-6 weeks before the ground freezes, and that is just enough time for new bulbs to set down roots. You know you’ll love seeing the cheery blooms next spring! As a rule of thumb, bulbs should be planted at a depth equal to 3 times their diameter. If you’ve never planted bulbs before, you can safely experiment with any kind of daffodil. They are pretty much deer-proof, rodent-proof, and fool-proof.

Need a hand with fall clean-up? Thinking about screening out the deer this winter? Give our office a call to schedule your fall and winter services: (413) 458-5586 or email info@countrysidelandscape.net
 
 

 Feed your veggie garden this fall, for healthier produce next season!

Feeding the soil in the fall means plants will have immediate access to nutrients when they start growing in spring. Fall is a great time to make efforts to fertilize your veggie garden and replace nutrients into the soil for the next growing season. Keeping nutrient levels high is an important task, it is important to feed the soil throughout the year.
 
Growing crops will deplete the soil, and heavy rains can also leach nutrients from the garden soil. That is why supplemental fertilization is recommended and utilizing crop rotation methods, to allow some crops to replace lost nutrients. Fertilizing in the fall will allow the nutrients to remain in the soil over the winter. This can also save you time in the spring and promote earlier harvests next season.
 
Fertilizing veggie gardens in the fall will also benefit any late season crops and any perennial herbs that you may have planted. In the fall, plants shift their energy from top growth to root development in order to produce higher concentrations of sugars that help them resist freezing over the winter. By supporting plant roots, ensures a healthier plant next spring.
 
Ground left empty and fallow over winter can leach essential nutrients and become eroded. It is helpful to cover beds with mulch or with cover crops that are specifically grown to add back nutrients. Mulching the veggie garden beds with a thick layer of chopped leaves, straw, compost, or other chopped organic matter can help stop soil freezing, prevent erosion, and be incorporated into the soil by worms to boost fertility.
 
Your ideal time for feeding your veggie garden is before the ground freezes, early to mid-October. Unlike other times of the year, fresh manure can be mixed into the soil in the fall and will be ready and suitable for planting the following spring. This method isn’t recommended during the growing season because the manure will be too ‘hot’ and cause damage to plant roots. The long winter helps to reduce this problem by leaching away excess nutrients. Typically, fresh manure is aged 6 months or more before being used for plants. Keeping a level amount of nutrients is important for any kitchen garden, and any soil type. Fertile soil can be the difference between having an okay garden vs. having a great garden.
 

Thinking ahead…

Fall is when our native grasses really stand out. Cooler weather and shorter days bring out their outstanding fall colors and cause the inflorescence (grass flower) to elongate and bloom. The benefit of using native grasses is that they are host plants to pollinators; many species of butterflies and moths utilize native grasses as a food source for adults and larvae. Native grasses are naturally drought tolerant and can be used to stabilize erosion prone areas.
 
Eragrostis spectabilis ‘Purple Love Grass’ is a low growing tufted grass, that sends up a large inflorescence or airy panicles in the fall, creating a lovely purple haze above the dense green foliage. Leaf blades turn reddish bronze in the fall. Grows 18-24” tall x 24-36” spread, requires full sun.


‘Purple Love Grass’

Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Tufted Hair Grass’ is a cool season grass, that will do most of its growing in the spring and early fall. Narrow, finely textured, leaves are topped with delicately branched flower clusters in late summer. One of the few grasses that will grow in moist soil and part shade; grows 2-3’ tall x 2’ wide.


‘Tufted Hair Grass’

Panicum virgatum ‘Switch Grass’ is considered a ‘warm season’ grass and will lend itself to informal and formal gardens. Its very upright habit can start out as a clump, but gradually expands its rhizomes to colonize sizeable areas. It grows best with heat, sun, and poor soil. Roots may reach a depth of ten feet or more. It is important to leave 8” of stubble after fall clean up, to provide insulation over the winter. Height can vary among the many beautiful cultivars. Grows up to 6’ tall x 3’ wide, depending on the variety.


‘Switch Grass’
 

Schizachyrium scoparium ‘Little Bluestem’ has dramatic deep red to burgundy fall leaf colors. The flowers have a silvery fluffy look to them and will persist through winter. It is often used to transition between formal areas to informal or naturalized areas. Summer leaf color is bluish green. This ‘warm season’ grass is a clump forming variety, and good for attracting wildlife.  Grows 2-3’ tall, prefers dry conditions and full sun.


‘Little Bluestem’

Sorghastrum nutans ‘Indian Grass’ Yellow Indian grass is a tall, bunching sod-forming native grass, 3-8 ft tall. Indian Grass develops broad blue-green blades and a large, plume-like, soft, golden-brown seed head. This showy ‘warm season’ perennial grass has outstanding fall colors in deep orange to purple. Sorghastrum nutans is an underused native grass with a somewhat metallic golden sheen to its flowering parts. 


‘Indian Grass’
 

Countryside Corner 
Neighborly Garden News

by

Issue 136
August 2023

Dear readers; please visit our website: www.countrysidelandscape.net for the safety measures we have in place during this pandemic.

Looking for more summer color?

Try summer blooming Azaleas!

Every summer when it seems like it’s the very first scorching hot day, I notice my summer blooming Azalea just beginning to flower. Typically, this is mid-July in the Pioneer valley. If you love Azaleas and Rhododendrons, it’s great to have options to extend the blooming season past the spring and early summer. The summer blooming Azaleas are hybrids between some of our native species, this imparts them with increased cold tolerance and superior flowering. What is the difference between Azaleas and Rhododendrons? Botanically they are in the same genus or family, Rhododendron. They are categorized by anatomical differences in their flower forms. Azaleas have tubular or funnel-shaped flowers. Rhododendron flowers tend to be bell-shaped. Azaleas have one flower per stem, but the shrub produces so many stems that the shrub appears covered in blossoms. Rhododendron flowers grow in round clusters at the ends of branches.
 
Last winter was extremely hard on many species of spring flowering plants, and many gardeners had sparse or no flowers on their Azaleas and Rhododendrons. The warm winter followed by a sudden extreme temperature drop over the weekend of February 4TH caused the death of flower buds on many spring blooming trees and shrubs. So, I was very surprised to see my Azalea ‘Lollipop’ bloom as if nothing happened at all when other Azalea species had no flowers this year. Lollipop has very showy trumpet shaped flowers with long frilly stamens, bloom in a shell pink color, with vibrant, peachy-yellow throats. They are also very sweetly fragrant, as a bonus. This class of Azalea are deciduous plants, and their leaves turn brilliant shades of red and burgundy in the fall before they drop.


‘Lollipop’ Azalea
 
This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. You may want to keep it away from very hot, dry locations that receive direct late afternoon sun, but mine is planted against the south side of my house off the driveway, and it thrives there. It does best with evenly moist well-drained soil for optimal growth. Like all Azaleas it prefers rich, acidic soil with added organic matter to improve water retention. It’s helpful to apply mulch around the root zone to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates, and to help conserve soil moisture.


‘Lemon Drop’ Azalea
 
Weston Nursery in Hopkinton, MA have bred over a dozen cultivars of interspecific Azalea hybrids. They range in color from pure white: ‘Innocence’ Azalea, to deep red: ‘Red Salute’. ‘Lemon Drop’ Azalea’s blooms are butter yellow, and some outstanding summer blooming Azaleas in pink shades too. At maturity they will grow 5-8 ft tall x 5-8ft wide, depending on the cultivar. Most are very fragrant, and blooms times can range from June through the end of July.


‘Innocence’ Azalea
 
Another summer blooming member of the Rhododendron family is our native Rosebay Rhododendron, R. maximum. If you have the space for it, Rosebay Rhododendron is a good candidate for a low maintenance hedgerow or screen, that also attracts bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. This species will grow into a massive, rounded shrub, that can spread via suckering, forming a natural fence. It is considered hardy to zone 3, so it is very cold tolerant. Blooms occur in July; pink buds open to apple-blossom pink clusters of flowers. R. maximum lives up to its name; at maturity can reach 15-20 ft tall x 15-20 ft wide.


Rosebay Rhododendron
 

August’s to-do list

As we begin the month of August, I can’t help but reflect back to August 2022. We were in desperate need of rain, all of MA was in drought. So, when I wrote in last month’s newsletter going forward into summer, we should be prepared for anything; nothing could have prepared me for the events of last Friday, 7/21/23. Two weeks after the drenching heavy rain and floods locally, and terrible damage in NY and VT, the town of Deerfield received upwards of 10” of rain in just a few hours. This has caused millions of dollars in damage throughout our town. We personally had a landslide from the force of the water running down an embankment in our backyard, bringing down tons of mud, huge rocks, and debris. I’m left trying to sort out how to fix this and manage the problem going forward.
What a way to start August! On a positive note, I did harvest the garlic before the deluge, and it is nice to know that we will enjoy the bounty from our garden in the months to come. The rest of the veggie garden is not doing well with all the heavy rain, and I may have to resign myself to this being “One of those years.” Fingers crossed.
 
If you have empty garden beds after the first flush of harvest, re-seed with arugula, lettuce, chard, beets, and spinach. These fast-growing crops all love the cooler weather of late summer/fall. Stagger sowing your seeds every 10 days so, they won’t all be ready at once. Lettuce, arugula, spinach, radish, and even garden peas can be successfully grown as a fall crop. A fresh crop of young basil would be excellent to pair with the bounty of summer tomatoes available this month. These fresh plants will also adapt better to indoor life, should you want to bring them in as potted herbs, than older, basil plants. I have successfully dug up and potted parsley for life as an indoor plant in late summer. It beats buying bunches of cut parsley that always seems to go mushy in the fridge. They thrive on any sunny windowsill. I can cut leaves as needed.
 
Make spring 2021 a bit more beautiful, by planning to add to or start a new bulb garden. Bulbs are easy to plant, and bulb planting is a fun, kid-centered project too! Order your spring blooming bulbs now for the best selection. Choose varieties that will bloom during early, mid, and late spring for an extended bloom season. Although deer and rodents are known for eating Tulips and Crocus, there are many species of showy spring blooming bulbs that they won’t eat. Daffodils and Narcissus have a noxious substance that deters browsing, and ornamental Onions (Alliums) also repel animals from eating them. Other animal resistant bulbs to try: Camassia, and Fox-tail lily, Snowdrops, and winter Aconite for outstanding blooms in your spring garden.
 
It’s been a tough summer for roses, but nature prevails, and they will naturally begin to slow their growth with shorter days ahead. Allow roses to begin their ‘hardening off’ for winter by discontinuing fertilizer application. If you routinely use rose spray for mildew, you should continue to do so; all our wet weather has created ideal conditions for mold growth. To minimize overwintering of mold spores and insect eggs, be sure to clear away any diseased leaves, and deadhead any spent flowers. During a mild fall, we may still have rose blooms right up to a hard frost.
 
Peonies are very long-lived perennials that require minimal care but do benefit from occasional division. If you’ve had a clump growing for a long time, it may be time to divide them to reinvigorate the plant. Dividing your peonies allows the ‘mother-plant’ some room to spread out in a crowded flower bed. It also gives you the benefit of getting some healthy clumps to plant in other places; particularly advantageous for a special variety you’d like to have more of.
 
Some houseplants need a bit of cooler weather to initiate bud development, for example the Christmas and Thanksgiving cacti (not cacti at all, but their common name). But most of our houseplant varieties are tropical species, and don’t like nighttime temperatures much below 50’F. Begin to make your houseplants ready for indoor life again, so you don’t need to rush during the first cold snap. You may need to re-pot those that have outgrown their containers. Take steps to prevent bringing in insect pests, by applying a systemic pesticide, or spraying with neem oil or Safer’s soap solution.
 
Need a hand dividing your peonies or planning a bulb garden? Contact our office: info@countrysidelandscape.net or (413) 458-5586

Can adapting our planting habits create

happier plants?

If we observe how plants grow in the wild, it can illustrate how truly different our cultivated gardens are. Plants are social creatures; having evolved to be members of diverse social networks. For example, in the wild almost all the soil is covered with groups of interconnected plants. In our garden beds, plants are often arranged as solitary specimens surrounded by seas of bark mulch.

Many plants have adapted to grow amongst other plant communities; Asclepias tuberosa, a monarch attracting plant, will push forth flowers at the same height as the grass it grows with. It has developed leaves and roots equipped to grow through the dense foliage and fibrous roots of its companion plants.


Native Asclepias tuberosa growing through other native plants

According to Thomas Rainer; author with Claudia West of “Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes”, the next wave in horticulture will be planting in communities of interrelated species. This concept is a hybrid of ecology and horticulture, fusing the functionality and biodiversity of ecology, with the beauty, color, and order of horticulture.

Research developed by Richard Hansen & Friedrich Stahl created a scale to rank a plant’s ‘sociability’ and inclination to spread on a scale of 1 to 5. A low sociability plant is almost always found growing by itself in the wild. A high sociability plant will spread to form large colonies. Plants are arranged by the sociability ranking. Plants with low numbers (1,2) will be set individually or in small groups, higher ranking plants (3-5) get planted in swaths of 10-20, arranged loosely around the other types.

This helps to explain why sometimes our plant grouping just always seem to need help to grow well. Large groups of Echinacea (Purple Coneflower) always seem to flop over, and masses of phlox and Monarda (Bee Balm) invariably get mildew (both are ranked as level 1 in sociability) in the wild, tall phlox usually grows up through much shorter plants (providing support), and because of good air circulation, never gets mildew.


Purple Coneflower growing through native grasses

There is a wealth of accessible information, virtually at our fingertips, on what species of plants to grow for different environmental conditions, but little written about how to group them so they will co-exist harmoniously. If we study a plant’s shape, this will help us to understand its sociability ranking. Upright or spiky plants with low or minimal basal (very low to the ground) foliage have adapted to grow up and through other plant groups. Spreading, and suckering plants are adapted to grow beneath other taller species.

‘Layering’ your garden plants this way will create a biodiverse ground-cover layer, and a more design-oriented upper layer. So, take a second look at your garden; how social are your plants?

Thinking ahead…

I love to surround my outdoor sitting areas with colorful plants and flowers. With a bit of planning and daily care, my payoff is weeks of colorful foliage and flowers. To be assured of getting the best performance from my plants, I try to pick mainstays that will bloom through adverse conditions and over as many weeks as possible. Sometimes I may fill in here or there with a showy filler annual bedding plant. I also use my collection of tropical plants to create a unique garden space. Here are my recommendations for perennials that can take whatever nature brings, and bloom for at least four weeks.
 
Echinacea purpurea, Purple Coneflower. Although the common name of this prairie native is ‘Purple Coneflower’, the most marketed varieties now are the fancy orange, pink or red flowered types. For hardiness and reliability, you can’t beat the cultivars Magnus or the petite ‘Kim’s Knee High’. Purple Coneflowers do best in full sun, the tall types can grow 3-4 feet tall, dwarf cultivars can range 18-24” tall. A good deer Resistant plant, and a pollinator magnate.


Echinacea purpurea
 

Asclepias tuberosa, native Butterfly Weed loves hot and dry garden beds. It is much loved and sought out by butterflies, especially Monarchs, hummingbirds, and bees. There are several cultivars available, so you can choose between yellow and orange varieties. Butterfly Weed is not fussy at all about soil type, but they do want a higher pH (7.0) than most plants. Asclepias tuberosa grows 2’ X 2’, needs at least 6 hours of sun daily, will bloom the whole summer if dead-headed; makes a good cut flower. Deer will not typically browse this plant.


Asclepias tuberosa
 

Geranium cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo’, perennial Cranesbill has a lot going for it, for a diminutive plant. Growing only 6-12” tall, Biokovo blooms for weeks from late spring to early summer. The fragrant leaves form a tight mat, so this Geranium also makes a good ground cover, or front of the border plant. As a bonus, the leaves blush brilliant reddish-purple in the fall, creating a lush purple carpet before winter.. Geranium Biokovo will grow in full sun to mostly shade, including dry shade. A good deer resistant plant.


Geranium cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo’
 

Perovskia atriplicifolia, Russian Sage is not a member of the Salvia or true sage family. It is related to mint and has mildly aromatic silver foliage, that does smell like sage. Lilac purple flowers bloom for weeks on long spikes that resemble lavender flowers. Russian sage is sometimes called a sub-shrub because it will form a woody framework of branches each season, then die to the ground over winter. Perovskia will bloom from July through September, and neither heat, drought nor pests bother it, including deer. Russian Sage grows 3-4’ tall and thrives in full hot sun. Attracts bees, butterflies and other pollinators.


Perovskia atriplicifolia
 

Salvia nemorosa ‘Plumosa’, meadow sage, also produces good cut flowers. Unusual plume-like spikes of deep rosy-lilac bloom for many weeks. Crinkled silvery leaves add texture to the garden also. Salvias like full sun and prefer well drained soil. ‘Plumosa’ grows to 18” tall x 18” wide. Attracts bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, but is also deer and rabbit resistant.


Salvia nemorosa ‘Plumosa’

July 2023 Newsletter

by

Countryside Corner 
Neighborly Garden News

Issue 135
July 2023

Dear readers; please visit our website: www.countrysidelandscape.net for the safety measures we have in place during this pandemic.

Plant a Raspberry patch for gourmet quality fruit!

July is National Berry month! Raspberries, in my experience, are easier to grow and even more bountiful than blueberries. Raspberries are a shrub belonging to the Rosaceae family, in the genus Rubus. Not only are raspberries perfect for picking and eating straight off the bush, but they’re also wonderful in jams, pies and tarts, or smoothies and drinks. Plus, fresh raspberries are an excellent source of antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals to support a healthy immune system. Additionally, they are delicious! Homemade raspberry sorbet is just one of my favorite ways to enjoy the berries. They don’t ship well, so having your own berry patch will reward you with many quarts of berries to use, freeze or share with family.
 
There are two types of raspberries, both with their own specific requirements for growing: Summer-fruiting raspberries are more common, developing their fruit on last year’s growth. They bear one crop per season, in mid-summer. Ever-bearing raspberries (also called fall-bearing or autumn-bearing) produce berries on new canes, grown this year (ready in late summer/fall) as well as the one-year-old canes from the previous season (ready in July)


Prelude Summer-bearing raspberry
 
We grow ever-bearing raspberries, and it allows for an extra-long harvest period, and many quarts of berries. All raspberries are self-fertile, so you only need one bush to produce fruit. Bees love raspberry flowers; this makes them a good addition to a pollinator garden. Newly planted raspberries will start producing fruit a year after planting. Raspberries grow best in a sunny location, but unlike many fruits, they will also grow successfully in a partially shaded spot. However: the more sun, the more fruit! The planting site should have rich and well-drained soil, good air circulation, and shelter from strong wind. Raspberries require yearly pruning to grow well. Summer bearing berries may be cut down to the ground right after harvesting them. Everbearing raspberries are pruned in early spring; cutting back the year-old canes to about 12 inches above the trellis support and removing the older canes entirely as these will be dead (grey not brown or green in color * see image below) new canes for the fall crop will sprout alongside the year-old canes in early May.


Living raspberry cane on left vs. dead on the right

Mulching is important throughout the season to conserve moisture and suffocate weeds. Keep a thick layer of mulch always surrounding plants. Water one inch per week from spring until after harvest. Regular watering is better than infrequent deep soaking. Keep your raspberry bushes tidy by digging up any “suckers” or canes that grow well away from the rows; if you don’t dig them up, they’ll draw nutrients away, and you’ll have less berries next year. If you wish, you can replant the suckers, and you’ll have new plants!  Dig them up, set them in a fresh area of prepared ground, and water them after planting.


Caroline Ever-bearing raspberry

Raspberries will benefit from a yearly application of a couple of inches of compost or aged manure. It is important to provide a trellis support system to keep the fruit held up off the ground; the weight of the fruit laden canes may bend over without support. One of our local to Western MA farms is renown for their production of very high-quality fruit plants for sale:
Nourse Farms: https://www.noursefarms.com/

July’s to-do list

I’m feeling thankful to have a minute to sit back and enjoy viewing my porch and backyard, after finally getting everything planted. According to the weather statistics from Umass Extension Services, last month was particularly cool and mostly cloudy. In the Valley, I noticed many plants making new growth after the cold snap on May 18th. Luckily, we have blueberries set on our bushes, but many farms locally have been wiped out. Still, the cool weather has been great for planting, and I hope everyone has been able to get their projects accomplished. Western MA keeps teetering on the edge of dry/abnormally dry according to the drought monitor. As of today, we’ve already had 2 named tropical storms in the Atlantic. I think we should be prepared for any extreme as we move into the summer.

I believe it was because of the unusually warm winter we’ve had a population explosion of chipmunks at our home. I’ve been invaded by hordes of these ground dwelling squirrels. I could live with their cute scurrying around if they didn’t have a taste for rosebuds. They bravely scramble up the thorny branches and eat each bud. So, I have had to resort to the bucket trap method. It 100% works. If you have problems with chipmunks, you can view the method here: https://www.trap-anything.com/homemade-chipmunk-trap.html  As of this writing I have successfully trapped 16 chipmunks, and 6 mice!

Now that your garden is planted, don’t let up on weeding. With the extra hours of sunlight plants are getting right now, everything is surging with new growth; weeds are programmed to take advantage of this and will shoot up and overwhelm your plants quickly if not removed. I’m investing in a type of scuffle hoe, called a skidger, which is pointed and sharpened on both sides so it will cut as you push/pull. Good for getting between rows. Many annual weeds will begin to set seeds soon, so it is important to keep up with weeding chores; to prevent the next cycle of weeds.

Please don’t rely on rain for watering newly planted trees and shrubs. It is usually not enough to get down to the root zone. Invest in a few rain gauges and place them around your garden beds, to check how much rain/ irrigation really is reaching your plants. One inch/week is optimal. It is critical for the long-term health of recently (within the last three years) planted trees and shrubs to have consistent water during their active growth cycle. Drought stress is a factor in trees and shrubs eventually failing to thrive. Drought stress can weaken the plant, allowing it to be susceptible to disease or pests.

Are slugs becoming a nuisance? A home-made slug solution that works is: 9 parts water to 1 part household ammonia. Spray on the affected plants just at dusk before the slugs emerge for their nightly feed. When they touch this solution, they will vanish! Be on the look-out for mosquito hangouts! Besides being annoying and persistent, mosquitoes can be infectious agents of some very nasty diseases. They will breed in very small amounts of standing water, so be aware of plant saucers, watering jugs, kids sand buckets etc. anything that may be holding water and providing a home to these pests.

Don’t let your basil go to flower! Keep the plants pinched to encourage them to fill out. It’s very easy to preserve your extra basil. I like to puree’ chopped fresh basil in a little extra virgin olive oil to create a paste; I freeze it into portions to use all through the winter.

Need and hand with weeding and pest control? Send us an email info@countrysidelandscape.net         or call today! (413) 458-5586

Keep on the lookout for the Spotted Lanternfly!

Spotted Lanternfly: (Lycorma delicatula, SLF) is a non-native, invasive insect that feeds on over 103 species of plants, including many trees and shrubs that are important in our landscapes. It overwinters as an egg mass, which the adult female insect lays on just about any flat surface. Currently, the only established populations of spotted lanternfly in Massachusetts are in Fitchburg, Shrewsbury, Worcester, and Springfield MA.  (Shrewsbury, MA in January 2022, Springfield, MA in August 2022, Worcester, MA in September 2022)

Spotted Lanternfly, immatures and adults
 
The adults and immatures of this species damage host plants by feeding on sap from stems, leaves, and the trunks of trees. In the springtime (late May – mid June), nymphs (immatures) are found on smaller plants and vines and new growth of trees and shrubs. Third and fourth instar (a phase between two periods of molting in the development of an insect larva) nymphs migrate to the preferred tree species (*see below) and are observed feeding on trunks and branches. Trees may be found with sap weeping from the wounds caused by the insect’s feeding. The sugary secretions (excrement) created by this insect may coat the host plant, later leading to the growth of sooty mold. Insects such as wasps, hornets, bees, and ants may also be attracted to the sugary waste created by the lanternflies, or sap weeping from open wounds in the host plant. By August in Massachusetts, the activity of the swarming wasps and bees that are feeding on the droppings is often easier to spot than the lanternflies themselves. Host plants have been described as giving off a fermented odor when this insect is present.
 
Besides the long list of tree varieties that the adult SLF will feed on, there is a shorter list of *preferred species for the adult and immature insects to congregate on: Black Walnut, Butternut, Red Maple, River Birch, Silver Maple, Staghorn Sumac, wild and cultivated Grapes, and Willows. With the likelihood of SLF spreading to other areas of MA, it is important to learn how to identify them:  
https://massnrc.org/pests/linkeddocuments/SLFLook-AlikeSheetAdultNymph.pdf
 
A helpful guide for homeowners here:
https://massnrc.org/pests/linkeddocuments/SLFHomeownerMgmtGuide.pdf
 
Currently there are no natural enemies or biological control agents that have been identified as reducing or able to reduce populations of the Spotted Lanternfly in the United States. Researchers are currently surveying the native range of this insect in search of a suitable biocontrol organism that is specific to the spotted lanternfly. If you suspect you have seen a SLF, please report your sighting here:
https://massnrc.org/pests/slfreport.aspx

 

Thinking ahead…

Early summer is the start of hydrangea season, here in MA. Some may say a New England garden is not complete without some species of hydrangea. We do in fact have native species of hydrangea that we use as landscape plants; the smooth hydrangea, H. arborescens, and the Oakleaf hydrangea, H. quercifolia. Most other species originate from Japan and China, and they are wonderful additions to any garden, make good cut flowers for the vase or dried arrangements.
 
Hydrangea quercifolia-Oakleaf Hydrangea is an outstanding plant for multi-seasonal interest. The large, dark-green lobed leaves do resemble an Oak leaf, fall leaf colors are a blend of purple and red and create a nice fall show. In winter the bark has an interesting texture and reveals colors of cinnamon and tan as it peels off. Blooming begins in late June with creamy white flower heads up to 12 inches long that bloom all summer long, finally blushing pink as cool weather sets in during late summer. There is a wide variation in size depending on the cultivar; from dwarf size, 4-6 ft (to) 8 ft tall X 6-8 ft wide. Likes full sun or partial shade, prefers consistently moist soil.


Oakleaf Hydrangea in bloom

Oakleaf Hydrangea fall leaf color

Hydrangea arborescens-Smooth Hydrangea is one of the first hydrangeas to bloom each season. H. arborescens is very adaptable to sun or shady conditions. Flowers start out green and quickly turn pure white, although there is also a pink flowered cultivar too! If spent flowers are removed, it’s also possible to get a second flush of bloom. Cut down to 6 inches tall in late winter and fertilize in early spring to begin the cycle again. Grows wider than tall, good for groupings; 3-5 ft tall X 5 ft wide.


‘Invincibelle Spirit’ Pink Smooth Hydrangea

‘Annabelle’ White Smooth Hydrangea

Hydrangea paniculata- ‘Grandiflora’ Peegee Hydrangea is available in so many forms it is hard to choose just one to write about. Their flowers can look like lacy bundles, or pillars of hundreds of florets. They all begin blooming in pure white, but some varieties will rapidly change color to bright pink, or combinations of pink and white flowers (H. paniculata ‘Vanilla-Strawberry’). A popular cultivar, Limelight, is known for its huge flower heads that are a startling klieg light-bright luminous greenish white. Another aspect of this species is it can be grown as a single trunk tree, in addition to the typical multi-stemmed shrub. Considered to be the most adaptable of the hydrangea species, tolerates any soil type except boggy ground. Considerable range in mature sizes depending on the cultivar, 3-15 ft tall X 5-20 ft wide.


‘Vanilla Strawberry’ Peegee Hydrangea

‘Limelight’ Peegee Hydrangea

Hydrangea macrophylla-Bigleaf Hydrangea is a very showy plant when in bloom. The bright blue and pink flower colors command attention in the garden. The flowers grow in two forms: the lacecap variety with large sterile flowers growing around a circle of smaller fertile flowers, and the Hortensia type, having large sepals formed into a large, rounded mass of florets. This species is particularly tolerant of salt spray and is useful in seaside gardens. Culturally, H. macrophylla will bloom on ‘old’ or second year growth, so don’t prune them until right after they flower, and only to shape the plant. Newer cultivars have been bred with increased cold tolerance, but they would benefit from some protection from winter winds. Flowers can last for 4-6 weeks or longer depending on the temperature, and gradually change colors through the blooming period. It is true that soil acidity will affect the flower colors, more acid=blue flowers, more alkaline=pink flowers. Prefers sun or partial shade and consistently moist soil. Grows 3-6 ft tall X 6 ft wide at maturity.


Lacecap Bigleaf Hydrangea


‘Endless Summer’ Bigleaf Hydrangea

June 2023 Newsletter

by

Countryside Corner 
Neighborly Garden News Issue 134
June 2023

Dear readers; please visit our website: www.countrysidelandscape.net for the safety measures we have in place during this pandemic. Grow Your Own: BlueberriesBlueberries are a garden gift that keeps on giving back, all summer long. Growing your own backyard fruit is a fun and rewarding way to add more flavor and healthy eating into your diet. Blueberries are one of the easiest types of fruits for the home gardener to grow. Blueberries can be eaten fresh, baked into pies and cakes, preserved into jam, or easily frozen for later use. They can keep for months in your freezer.

Blueberries do equally well growing in raised beds, containers, or the ground. Their main requirement is acidic soil, with a pH level of 4.8-5.2. You should test your soil to determine its pH. Home testing kits are inexpensive, and straight-forward to use. If your soil pH level is close to 6.0 or higher, it may be better to start off planting your blueberries in containers. It’s easier to achieve the correct pH by using a planting mix formulated for acid plants, like Rhododendrons and Azaleas. It can be time-consuming and challenging to try and correct the pH of in-ground planting beds if you are keen to plant right away. If you do want to create in-ground planting beds, and need to correct the soil pH, best to start this project in the fall, and plan to plant the following spring.


Blueberries attract pollinators

Blueberries are native to North America and can be found growing wild in moist meadows and stream banks. I’ve seen large stands of wild blueberries, and their cousins the huckleberry, throughout Cape Cod, and the Catskills (where I grew up). They are members of the Ericaceae family, which includes Rhododendrons, Azalea, Mountain Laurel, Heather, and Bearberry to name just a few. Blueberries are hardy to Zone 3, (we are in zone 5) so they’re very cold tolerant. For best fruit production, site them in a full sun location (more than 6 hours per day) Many cultivars are available, characterized by varying heights (dwarf varieties suitable for containers to full sized: 6-10 feet tall) and fruit harvest times: early, mid, and late season ripening. It’s possible to have 3 blueberry bushes that can provide fruit over the course of the whole summer by selecting early, mid, and late bearing cultivars.


Ripe Blueberries ready for picking!

Blueberries prefer consistently moist growing conditions; they don’t like to dry out. It’s recommended to put down a 2–3-inch layer of organic mulch on your planting bed to conserve soil moisture. This will also contribute to microbial activity and help to maintain the correct pH. Newly planted blueberries should be fertilized about a month after planting. Established blueberry bushes benefit from twice per season fertilizing; once at the beginning of the growing season, and a second time mid-season. Container grown blueberries should be fertilized every 4-6 weeks, to compensate for nutrient leaching due to frequent watering. Use a fertilizer specifically formulated for acid-loving plants. Blueberries are considered a self-pollinating plant, but you will achieve a bigger crop if you plant different varieties to promote cross-pollination.


Blueberries under protective netting

Birds, and other creatures love blueberries too, and making a frame to drape protective netting over your bushes will go a long way to keeping the fruit safe from unwanted nibbling. Wait until the flowering period is over, and the fruit is beginning to form, before putting on your netting.
June’s to-do listI was looking at photos taken on May 14th 2017, looking out from my deck towards the tree line, and it was a completely barren view, not a leaf on any of the trees. This year the hillside is fully leafed out, and the crabapples have finished blooming already. What can account for this wide swing of phenology? As I begin to write this, we had heavy frost and temps below 32 last night: several days past the zone 5 average last frost date. Certainly not unheard of in this area, but not desirable. It is a tried-and-true practice to hold off planting warm weather plants until after Memorial Day. Unfortunately, our local orchards have reported extensive damage to newly formed fruit, and blueberry growers have almost complete crop loss due to the unusual late season freeze.

A dry winter, with unseasonably long periods of warmth, followed by record lows, has damaged many ornamental plants in our landscape. Predictions call for another unusually hot summer, and the possibility of an El Nino weather pattern beginning. Our gardens require a minimum of one inch of water per week (best to invest in a rain gauge to check), whether it’s from Mother Nature or your hose. Last year’s drought will continue to play havoc in our gardens. Damage from drought stress will often show up 1-2 seasons after the stress occurred. Woody plants installed during the last season should be given supplemental water, and all trees and shrubs will benefit from watering during times of extreme heat and drought.

The latest bulletin from the Umass Extension service warns about the above average tick population this season. According to the CDC, May and June are the peak months for Lyme disease infections. Countryside uses the product ‘Tick Free’, which is 100% organic and very effective for eradicating ticks in your yard, and garden; yet completely safe for people, pets, and beneficial non-target insects. Please contact our spray program manager, Scott Higley, for details: scott@countrysidelandscape.net

Stake tall perennials now, to support their bountiful blooms later. Double flowered peonies especially benefit from a sturdy support system; a quick summer thunder squall can flatten the plants you’ve been pampering all spring in a few minutes.

There’s nothing like pulling weeds to settle your mind. A little weeding on a regular basis is easier and more effective than trying to do the whole yard just once a month. Finding a well-balanced weeding tool can be a real time saver. Some folks really like using a sharp hand tool to cut the weeds off at their roots. I like a combination hoe/cultivator with a long handle. That way I can both cut weeds and cultivate the soil, by flipping it side to side.  Common household white vinegar (not salad or table vinegar) is very effective for killing annual weeds. This product is typically 6-20% acidity compared to table vinegar which is about 5% acidity. It is particularly useful for those problem areas between paving stones, and gravel walkways. Just be careful about spraying onto any favored plants; it will not discriminate between ‘good plants’ and weeds. Apply it on a hot sunny day, and the weeds will die in 24hrs. Perennial weeds, because of their substantial roots, might take a few more applications to rid them from the garden.

If you’ve planted a bed of garlic, plan on harvesting the scapes or developing flower stalks before they bloom. By clipping off the immature flowers, you send vital energy back down to the developing bulb. Garlic scapes are a much sought-after delicacy; delicious stir-fried, steamed, or added to stews.

Growing your own tomatoes this season? Now is a good time to clip off the suckers that develop, so the plant can devote more energy into fruit production. Tomato suckers usually form in the juncture between the stem and a leaf. If left unchecked your plant can grow into a rangy behemoth, with many stems all trying to flower and fruit. It is more productive to prune the plant periodically, removing any yellowing leaves, and any low-lying leaves that come in contact with the ground.

Need an extra hand with weeding, and garden chores? Countryside can do the ‘heavy lifting’ so you don’t have to. Please call our office: (413) 458-5586 or email: info@countrysidelandscape.net
 

Save those banana peels: make your own organic fertilizer! It has been said that plants are the new ‘pets’ of this generation. Plant ‘parents’ are keen to seek out new ways to care for their plants; methods to help them grow healthier, whether indoor or outdoor plants. In years past there have been trends extolling the benefits of using common household ingredients like coffee grounds and ground eggshells to supplement plant nutrition. The problem with utilizing those items is that for plants to utilize any of the organic compounds in eggshells or coffee grounds, they would need to be decomposed or composted to release any of the good stuff for plants.
 
The method I will describe now is a version of an old one I learned years ago. I learned to make compost tea, that was recommended as a cure-all and tonic for all outdoor garden plants. It basically was a way of leaching all the goodness from compost into a liquid form that allowed the organic components of compost to be readily available to plants. You would apply the compost tea to the root zone and use it to water the leaves as plants will absorb nutrients through their leaves as well as the roots.
 
Using banana peels to make banana water or banana peel tea will give your plants the benefits of the humble banana. Bananas are rich in potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. Potassium especially is an essential macro-nutrient that boosts plant growth, promotes fruiting, strengthens stems, and helps plants better resist drought and pests. It also will aid in preventing blossom end rot that can plague tomatoes and peppers.
 
To make a batch of banana water tea, begin by saving your banana peels. If you have a strictly organic garden, use only organic bananas. Put your banana peels in a container with a lid and cover two-thirds of the peels with water. Keep adding peel and water, until you fill the container. To help the peels break down faster, you can cut them into one-inch pieces or pulverize them in a food processor before adding them to your container. Keep the container in a cool dark place for two to three weeks. The peels will have turned black, and the water will be dark in color. It may have a slight odor, but it won’t linger as you use the banana water to fertilize your plants. To use the banana water, strain the solids and pour the liquid into a watering can. Any leftover solids can go on your compost pile. You can use the banana water as part of your regular watering schedule on houseplants, bedding, and container plants.
 
Banana water is meant as a supplement to boost your plants’ overall health and vitality. It isn’t meant to be the sole source of nutrition for plants, you may want to use a balanced organic fertilizer such as hydrolyzed fish and seaweed fertilizer, which will contain all of the major and minor nutrients plants require.
 
Thinking ahead…When I think of the month of June, I dream of roses. Roses hold a special place in my heart; it was my late Mother’s favorite flower, and she had some wonderful roses in her tiny New York City garden. Roses have an undeserved reputation for being fussy, they are very resilient and hardy to the extreme. It is possible to grow roses in containers or in beds; I have been growing a Chrysler Imperial red rose in a pot for several years (just too busy to plant it) and it blooms all summer, and again mid-winter in my unheated sunporch-a real treat. Here are a few of the exciting new roses for 2023.

Heavenly Scented Rose-This fragrant, salmon colored hybrid tea has old-fashioned, cupped and very double, large blooms that are pointed and ovoid. Blooms are on long stems with medium, glossy green foliage. Very good disease resistance. I was given this rose for my birthday and can’t wait to see it bloom! Heavenly Scented has an upright habit, and will grow into a tall bush, to 4 feet tall. All roses benefit from full sun (6 hours +) and consistent soil moisture.


Heavenly Scented Rose
 

Buttercream Drift Rose– Drift Roses are groundcover type roses, great for planting swaths of beds and edging. Buttercream Drift has light yellow flowers with cuplike petals. Compact bushes will grow only 1.5 feet tall X 2 feet wide. These hybrids are bred to be very low maintenance, no deadheading required, and very pest resistant.


Buttercream Drift Rose

 
Reminiscent Rose- Each big, full bloom boasts a very high petal count and a delightful fragrance on a disease resistant habit. Clean, vigorous growth and foliage, with no deadheading required for continuous bloom. Dark green foliage accents the flowers and stays clean and healthy through the season. There are 3 color varieties Crema, creamy buttermilk colored, Coral, deep pinkish-coral with coppery colored center, and Pink. Grows 2-4 feet tall X 2 feet wide on a semi-upright shrub.


Reminiscent Rose-Coral
 

True Courage Rose-Starts blooming early with eye-catching bright color on dark glossy foliage. Good disease resistance. Carefree low growing shrub rose. A good choice for containers, patios, edgings, and borders. Very cold hardy, with a light fragrance. This upright shrub rose will grow 2.5 feet tall X 2.5 feet wide.


True Courage Rose
 

Rise Up Lilac Days Rose-is one of the most unique roses to hit the North American market in years. Features unique lilac-blue flowers with a powerful, true-rose fragrance, with a versatile habit that allows it to be grown as a climber or a shrub. Grows 5-8 feet tall X 2-4 feet wide.


Rise Up Lilac Days Rose

May 2023 Newsletter

by

Countryside Corner 
Neighborly Garden News

Issue 133
May 2023

Dear readers; please visit our website: www.countrysidelandscape.net for the safety measures we have in place during this pandemic.

What Hummingbirds really want

While flower nectar is important for hummingbirds, they need more than nectar-rich plants to survive. Help them by providing suitable native habitat with places to nest and forgo the use of pesticides to ensure that their main food source, protein-rich bugs are abundant. It is mesmerizing to watch a hummingbird gathering nectar from flowers. If you are close enough, there’s no mistaking the whirring sound of the wings as the bird hovers in place. Out comes it’s long tongue-like proboscis, reaching deep inside each flower to access the nectar. Sometimes they take in so much nectar they spit the excess out in a little spray! Sensing a good food source, bees, butterflies, and other hummingbirds may approach, but the feeding hummingbird will chase them off, as they are very territorial.  


Cardinal Flower
 
Which flowers do hummingbirds like and why do they favor certain flowers within a garden even when many varieties are available? Hummingbirds have co-evolved with certain flower species. Many of these flowers have long, tubular structures including cardinal flower and columbine, perfectly suited to the unusual shape of the hummingbird’s beak. In turn, hummingbirds may provide pollination services. Also, timing is everything. Nectar supply varies throughout blooming cycles. Hummingbirds and other nectar consumers will seek out the best supply available. When one flower species has peaked, they find another. But nectar is just one part of their survival.


Bee balm
 
Hummingbirds feed on nectar-rich flowers but they also need protein and lots of it to sustain their intense flying. The main staple of a hummingbird’s diet are protein-rich insects. The bulk of their intake are invertebrates like insects, spiders, and various larvae. To have a garden with lots of protein-rich bugs, you need diversity. This means an assortment of native trees, shrubs, and flowers along with fresh water and unadulterated soil (soil that will support microscopic organisms) When you think about providing a welcoming garden for hummingbirds, along with the right flowers for nectar, consider the bigger picture.
 

  • Are there places to nest and shelter in trees and shrubs?
  • Is there a diverse selection of plants to support the food web?
  • Is the area pesticide and herbicide-free?
  • Do you have healthy, fertile soil?
  • Is fresh water available?

 
A hot topic is the issue of domestic cats and their impact on our wild birds. We can’t stop natural predators, but reducing non-native threats benefits all wild things. I have always had cats, and for many years allowed them to be indoor/outdoor pets. I stopped this practice about 20 years ago, when the alarm went out as to the damage cats can do to our wild bird population. I absolutely think this has increased the population of birds in my yard, and I don’t miss dealing with the fleas and ticks they inevitably picked up. And yes, cats are quick enough to catch hummingbirds, I had a Ginger tomcat who brought me a very dazed hummingbird once; fortunately, it recovered to fly another day.


Foxglove
 
Some suggestions for favorite Hummingbird flowers: Beebalm, Salvia, Phlox, Penstemon, Lupine, Lantana, Bleeding heart, Coral Bells, Foxgloves, Hollyhocks, Cleome, Catmint, Verbena, just to name a few easy to grow species.
 
 
 

May’s to-do list

It’s not yet May as I begin to write, and I’ve already had to irrigate a flower bed during last week’s 2-day heatwave. The MA drought Monitor: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?MA
is indicating eastern MA, and south Berkshire County as being in the ‘abnormally dry’ range. Additionally, the weather pattern known as ‘El Nino’, (this global weather phenomenon refers to: when waters in the Pacific Ocean become much warmer than usual) is predicted to effect us during 2023-24; potentially bringing record breaking heat (more than 2022?). I’m strategizing now for our summer ahead, considering the optimum ways to utilize, yet conserve water. It’s become apparent how last year’s drought combined with the relatively snowless and mild winter (our soil never froze solid) has affected some flowering species. According to the UMASS Amherst extension service, the short period of minus zero temperatures in February was enough to injure the flower buds or cause sparse flowering on various types of plants. I’ll miss seeing my favorite weeping Cherry bloom and will mourn the lack of peaches this summer.

 
Be on the lookout for the invasive pest known as spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula). It has been reported in multiple locations throughout the state, including as close as Springfield. Spotted lanternfly is a sap-feeding insect that has caused significant impacts to vineyards, orchards, and other agricultural commodities in states where it has become established. SLF will also attack maples, hops, blueberries, and over 100 other host plants. Females will lay their egg masses on any flat surface and have been unwittingly transported across the northeast.
Report any suspected sightings here: https://massnrc.org/pests/slfreport.aspx
 
With the unusually mild winter and warm spring, ticks are very active in our environment right now. May is tick awareness month, and we should all be practicing tick safety. It’s hard to avoid ticks, but we can up our game against them. If you have access to a clothes dryer, you can run your gardening clothes on hot for 10 minutes to kill any hitchhikers or quarantine the clothes in a bag outside. Check yourself, and your family and pets after spending time outdoors. Take precautions to protect your family, visitors, and your pets. Invest in a tick I.D and removal kit and familiarize yourself with early onset symptoms of Lyme disease in humans as well as pets.  White-footed Mice are the primary hosts of tick-borne diseases, other small mammals usually groom (eat) any ticks they find in their fur, but not mice. Anything you can do to eliminate mice in your yard will go a long way to decreasing the tick population. Our common Opossum is known for seeking out and devouring ticks. Countryside offers many options for tick management; please contact our spray program manager, Scott Higley for more information. scott@countrysidelandscape.net
 
The only upside to the dry and mild winter was I was able to plant peas on Patriot’s Day, as well as lettuce, arugula, beets, and radish. Surprisingly, my Arugula rustica plants overwintered intact and are sprouting fresh leaves. This is a wild form that develops smaller, more incised leaves than the other cultivars, and is super hardy! There is still time to get some peas in the ground before hot weather commences. Just be sure to look for the varieties with an early harvest period. Packages will be imprinted with the approximate days until harvest. They don’t need anything as formal as a trellis to climb onto, you can poke 4’ long brushy twigs into the ground as you plant your peas, and they will readily twine onto them.
 
Consider pausing from mowing your yard this month as we are promoting No-Mow May to raise awareness of the need for conserving early blooming plants as a food source for our native pollinators. Consider the lowly Dandelion- Dandelions may be considered a weed, but they are nature’s little powerhouse. One of the first flowers to bloom in spring, Dandelions provide much needed nectar and pollen for bees before other types of flowers bloom. The early leaves make a tasty addition to salads and veggie dishes, and pack over 300% of your daily requirement of vitamin A, and are rich in antioxidants, minerals, and other compounds vital for good health. Their bitter flavor is reminiscent of Arugula. Be sure you collect Dandelion leaves in areas you are sure are not sprayed with chemicals.
 
2023 is predicted to be another year for serious infestation of the Spongy Moth (formerly the Gypsy Moth) in Berkshire County. The time to act to minimize the damage is now. There are several strategies available to help combat this pest. Please contact Scott Higley for more information scott@countrysidelandscape.net
 
 
Please contact our office for help with spring chores or information about tick and pest control. (413) 458-5586 or info@countrysidelandscape.net
 
 

 

Garden ideas for summer 2023!

You’d think nothing new can possibly be developed in landscape gardening? Not true! Like a living garden, it is constantly growing and evolving. Some ideas stick around, and others seem to wax and wane as the years go by. Here are some interesting ideas for the 2023 gardening season.
 
Gravel Gardens:
We will be seeing even more of these easy-to-plan and care for outdoor spaces. Gravel gardens also provide a place to experiment with xeriscaping, creating the perfect place for drought-tolerant varieties such as grasses and sedums. Think of stone chips or pebbles instead of organic mulch. Utilize color and texture to emphasize garden elements.
 
Drought-tolerant plants:
What we choose to plant in our gardens is demanding extra thought and consideration as temperatures rise and rainfall dries up.  Prioritize using a palette of tough native plants that will be reliable and resilient. Important factors in plant choice will be drought tolerance, native plant communities and all-year-round color and interest, but plants should also be good for pollinating insects and wildlife.
 
Vertical gardening:
Try placing climbers in planters with adequate soil depth and width, creating a vertical garden in a much more manageable way. Consider using traditional espalier techniques to create geometrical patterns on walls using climbing plants and exploring ways of highlighting the vertical elevations of a garden, rather than just being a backdrop for a feature plant.
 
Late summer bloomers:
Changing weather patterns are impacting seasonal planting plans and for 2023 this means a updated a trend – late summer bloomers, the plants which come into their own as August turns to September and continue producing an impressive display until the first frosts arrive.  Seek out varieties that will flower later in the season, say from August onwards as summers are getting longer with the onset of autumn now only happening later in the fall.
 
Growing your own cut flowers:
We can’t get enough flowers! Pick-your-own flower stands are popping up in every community. Try starting your own cutting garden. Many common annuals and perennials make excellent cut flowers. Daisies, Larkspur, Coneflowers, Zinnias, Coreopsis, Salvias, Hydrangeas are easy to grow and cut for bouquets.
 
Vegetable gardens:
Growing your own produce became a new hobby for some people during the pandemic lockdown. Fortunately, it is not just a passing fad, and many continue the healthy trend of growing and preserving their own food. Additionally, this is also a money saving endeavor in these times of rising food costs. You just can’t beat the taste of freshly harvested herbs and veggies.
 

Thinking ahead…

I think flowering vines are underused in our gardens. Not all vines need to be vertical; some species of vining plants are very happy to scramble across the ground unsupported. Growing up or out, vines can be useful to camouflage a bare spot, and fill in a space until new shrubs can fill out. There are great choices for flowering vines in both annual and perennial categories.
 
Clematis x ‘Betty Corning’ is an easy, and long blooming fragrant variety, in a family of perennial vines otherwise known for their fussiness. Betty falls within pruning type 3, so grows and blooms on new growth generated each season. She does prefer consistently cool and moist soil, plan to mulch the roots well, or grow some groundcover type plants over the roots to keep them shaded. Betty Corning grows 6-10 ft tall and will bloom late June through September. Full to part sun.


Clematis x ‘Betty Corning’
 

Tropaeolum majus-Trailing Nasturtium Trailing annual nasturtiums are a great choice for growing in a window box or hanging basket, as their vines will drape and climb beautifully. This climbing and draping habit also works to fill in bare areas or cover embankments. An important feature of all nasturtiums is their edibility! Nasturtiums’ leaves, flowers, and seedpods have a peppery, almost mustard-like taste, which makes them lovely as a garnish in salads. Plant nasturtiums in full sun (6+ hours of sunlight) for the best results. Grows 6-10 ft.


Nasturtiums growing on an embankment

 
Hydrangea anomala petiolaris-Climbing Hydrangea If you have a fence or wall to cover, Climbing Hydrangea may be the plant for you. It requires some support, until it becomes established, thereafter it will attach itself to structures using its vegetative ‘holdfasts’. Climbing Hydrangeas will vigorously grow 30-80 ft at maturity. Prefers moist soil, but will tolerate a wide range of light conditions, from full shade through full sun.


Climbing Hydrangea
 

Ipomoea purpurea-Morning Glory’s twining trumpet shaped flowers are a welcome sight on a sunny summer morning. These annual tropical (warm weather loving) vines will grow and bloom vigorously with barely any care at all; except to provide something for them to climb on. They need no additional water or fertilizer, so are perfect for hot dry areas with poor soil. One heirloom variety, Grandpa Ott, is reliably hardy to reseed itself every year. Requires full sun, and will grow 6-12 ft.


Morning Glories 
 

Lonicera sempervirens-‘Trumpet Honeysuckle’ is our native perennial honeysuckle vine much beloved by pollinators. Trumpet honeysuckle gets it’s common name from having long, tubular red flowers, which attract a wide variety of visitors including hummingbirds and long tongued insects. One of the showiest and longest-blooming honeysuckles, it does best in full sun when supported on structures like trellises and arbors. Moderately drought tolerant once established, best flowering is in full sun, but can stand part shade. Grows 10-15 ft.


Trumpet Honeysuckle
 

April 2023 Newsletter

by

Countryside Corner 
Neighborly Garden News

Issue 132
April 2023

Dear readers; please visit our website: www.countrysidelandscape.net for the safety measures we have in place during this pandemic.

Save your back with no-till gardening!

I’ve been researching ways to conserve labor in the garden. My hand arthritis has made some tasks difficult, but I absolutely want to keep growing my garden. I’ve become very interested in the concept of no-till gardening. Instead of wrangling the garden beds with a tiller, shovels and rakes, you let nature do the heavy lifting. You can reap all the benefits of traditional gardening without the labor-intensive work.
Some of the benefits of no-till gardening:

  • Building a healthy soil ecosystem that naturally supports pollinators, insects, birds, and other animals.
  • Cultivating rich, healthy soil with excellent structure and tilth.
  • Reducing weeds because seeds remain buried under compost rather than getting tilled to the soil surface where they sprout.
  • Increasing the soil’s water-holding capacity makes your garden more drought-resistant.
  • Decreasing the time and effort needed to tend your garden because there’s no need for tilling, and weeding and watering are reduced.
  • Sequestering carbon. No-dig gardens retain carbon in the soil, which helps mitigate climate change.

While it might seem a wild idea to grow a garden without digging, take a moment to consider how forests and meadows grow in nature with no help from us. Leaf litter and debris from trees, grasses, and other plants fall to the ground, where it collects, forming a blanket of organic matter. It’s the organic matter that feeds the topsoil and the ecosystem living within the soil. Birds, worms, insects, moles, and microbes (fungi and bacteria) work together to transform organic matter into soil. As these creatures go about their daily lives eating, depositing waste, reproducing, moving seeds, and tunneling, they naturally aerate the soil and help transform organic matter into dark, nutrient-dense soil called humus.

No dig regenerative gardening builds and creates soil by mimicking nature’s system: organic matter falls to the earth, and the biodiversity living above ground and in the soil does the rest of the work. The sheeting method is a quick way to start a new no-till bed. You will be creating the perimeter of the bed with 2×6’s cut to your desired length, (if you’re a garden newbie, best to start small 3’x3’ is nice, otherwise a 4’x8’ bed) overlap sheets of cardboard to lay under each wooden bed (a good way to re-purpose all those Amazon boxes) and enough compost to fill each wooden frame. Secure the 2×6’s in place with bricks, rocks, or stakes. Water the cardboard layer well before you add the compost to the frame. If you already have raised beds, you can begin no-till gardening by layering cardboard on top of the soil and adding 2-4” of compost onto the existing bed.



This new bed can be planted immediately. You will want to minimize opening up the soil as much as possible, only create a small hole into the compost to plant your transplants. The weeds or grass under the cardboard will begin to decompose, and the cardboard itself will soften in a few weeks enough for the plant roots to grow through it. If a weed pops up, rather than yank it out, starve it by cutting the stem and all the leaves right down to the root; disabling its ability to feed itself. Pulling creates pathways and more opportunities for weed seeds to germinate. You can mulch the beds by applying additional compost, grass clippings or straw, or using physical barrier such as landscape fabric (which can be use multiple times) Every fall spread a 2-inch layer of fresh compost on the beds to top them up. This is simple by design, nothing mysterious about the process-and it works!

April’s to-do list

The wild swings in our recent weather surely typify the old adage, “If you don’t like the weather in New England, wait a minute, and it will change.” It’s the first day of spring as I begin to write. Clear blue skies and strong sun has melted most of the snow, from last week’s storm, leaving behind the green shoots of daffodils. I am more than ready to get going and begin the spring rituals we do as gardeners: raking, staking, digging.

Ticks will become active at temperatures above 39’F. As you start your garden cleanup, be mindful that ticks may lurk in the fallen leaf litter. Ticks will often crawl towards the tips of tall grass or low branches and wait for a new host to brush past, so they can quickly latch on and attach themselves to you, your pets or children.  Ticks are most active between April and October, peaking June through August. Take precautions when working or playing outdoors; long-sleeves, long pants, and use an insect repellent. Modify your landscape to minimize areas where the tick’s hosts will live (deer mice) and where ticks can propagate. We offer several types of tick control products, designed to kill ticks and control their hosts. Please contact Scott Higley, (scott@countrysidelandscape.net) at our office, for more information.

Prune ‘Paniculata’ and ‘Annabelle’ type Hydrangeas now, (They bloom yearly at the tips of new growth) as well as all summer and fall blooming shrubs. Wait until after bloom to prune Lilacs, Viburnums, Rhododendrons, and other spring flowering shrubs. Prune Roses this month, for the best June blooms. Begin pruning rosebushes as the buds begin to swell. This helps to identify living from dead wood. Prune away small twigs less than the diameter of a pencil, and any broken, diseased, or inward growing branches. Make your cut above an outward facing bud or node to keep the center of the plant open and airy. Prune Climbing roses and heirloom (non-repeat blooming) roses after they bloom, so as not to interrupt their bloom cycle. Roses are rejuvenated after a hard spring pruning and will be more vigorous.

Begin digging and dividing any perennials you didn’t get to last fall. Doing this early, and in cool weather, lessens transplant shock, with minimal effect on their blooming. Please be sure your flower bed is dry enough to work in; to test the soil, squeeze a ball of soil tightly in your hand, and then release. Poke the soil ball with your finger, if the ball ‘shatters’ it is dry enough to work. If the ball stays together, wait a bit longer for the soil to dry out.

April is a great time to start planting early veggie seeds. Even if your beds aren’t ready, you can grow so many kinds of greens in containers. Lettuce, arugula, kale and the mesclun mixes all love cool weather. Whether you sow your seeds in beds or containers, I sow them in 3–4-inch bands thickly, like you were heavily applying black pepper; cover with ¼ inch of fine soil and keep consistently moist. In 30 days or sooner, you will be able to clip the leaves as you need them for salads or sautés. Harvesting by clipping some of the leaves, instead of pulling the whole plant allows you to get additional harvests from one sowing.

If you have a compost pile begin digging and spreading that black gold around your plants and garden beds to nourish the soil. Compost can boost the fertility of your soil by adding additional organic matter and beneficial microbes to your hard-working soil. Compost has also been shown to increase a plant’s resistance to disease. If you don’t already compost your kitchen waste, it is an easy way to cut down on what you send to the landfill, and there is no odor or flies.

We can help lighten your load; start your garden beds, prune your trees and shrubs, and clean up your yard. Please give our office a call. (413) 458-5586 or email: info@countrysidelandscape.net

April 28, 2023 is Arbor Day; plant a tree!

What’s not to love about a tree?  Nine reasons to plant more trees!

Trees fight climate change
Wish you could do more than recycling and reducing your carbon footprint to combat climate change? Trees have you covered. Through photosynthesis, trees absorb harmful carbon dioxide, removing and storing the carbon and releasing oxygen back into the air.

Trees clean the air and help you breathe
Trees don’t just absorb CO2. They also absorb odors and pollutants like nitrogen oxides, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and ozone. It’s estimated that one tree can absorb nearly 10 pounds of polluted air each year and release 260 pounds of oxygen.

Trees prevent soil erosion and rainwater runoff
During heavy rains, water runoff finds its way to streams, lakes and wetlands, creating the potential for flooding. It also picks up and carries pollutants along the way. The EPA and the Center for Watershed Protection are recognizing the importance of trees in managing runoff. Leaf canopies help buffer the falling rain and their roots hold the soil in place, encouraging the water to seep into the ground rather than run off.

Planting trees is easy
Gardening can be intimidating for newbies because there are so many variables. Which plants and flowers should you put next to each other, and which should you separate? Which bloom in the summer and which bloom in the fall? When you’re dealing with trees, there’s none of that. Just choose a spot in your yard and you’re good to go.

You’ll save money
Trees conserve energy in summer and winter, providing shade from the hot summer sun and shelter from cold winter winds. With trees standing between you and the elements, you’ll spend less on your energy bill to heat and cool your home.

Trees increase your home’s value
Studies of comparable homes with and without trees show that, if you have trees in your yard, your home’s value increases by up to 15 percent. It’s all about curb appeal, and trees make your home and yard more beautiful.

You’ll attract birds (and other creatures)
Trees provide nesting sites, food, and shelter for your bird friends. Hang a feeder in one of the branches and enjoy the birdsong all year long. Squirrels love to make their homes in trees, too, and watching their antics is a great way to spend a lazy summer afternoon.

Trees are good for your mental and physical health
A view of trees in urban areas has been proven to reduce stress, anxiety and even the crime rate. Tree-filled gardens on hospital grounds speed healing in hospital patients.

You’ll be giving your descendants a gift
Trees can live hundreds of years, so when you plant one, you’re giving a gift to your children and grandchildren. It’s a symbol of your commitment to the environment and the beauty of the world around you that will live on far beyond your own lifetime.

Thinking ahead…

Flowering Cherry trees (Prunus spp) in bloom, create one of the most beautiful shows in the spring. These blooms often last no more than two weeks. They are so enchanting, some people will track their bloom stages using digital maps; so they an view them at their peak flowering. Flowering Cherries (Sakura) are also considered a symbol of renewal and the ephemeral nature of life. Cherry trees offer colorful autumn leaves, handsome bark, and quick growth, while requiring little care, making them ideal for home gardens. Flowering cherry trees are versatile and will fit in with many garden styles including Japanese style gardens, Zen gardens, cottage and country gardens. Not to be confused with fruiting cherries, Flowering cherries may produce some fruit, so sour, that only birds will eat them.

Prunus yedoensis ‘Yoshino Cherry’ has very pale blush to white flowers in early spring. This variety is renowned for their springtime bloom in Washington DC. Grows 25-35 ft tall, does best with well drained soil in full sun. Bright yellow fall leaf color.


‘Yoshino Cherry’

Prunus subhirtella ‘Pendula’ Weeping Higan Cherry produces magenta pink buds that open to pink double flowers. The downward weeping, slender branches form a very graceful tree; giving the illusion of movement even when they are still. Grows 15-20 ft tall. Breathtaking when planted near a reflecting pool or pond.


Weeping Higan Cherry

Prunus serrulata ‘Kwanzan’ Kwanzan flowering cherry has masses of deep pink, very double flowers, and no fruit. Shiny bronze colored bark enhances the appeal of this lovely flowering tree. Grows 10-15 ft tall. Develops yellow-orange-bronze fall leaf color.


Kwanzan flowering cherry

Prunus serrulata ‘Mt. Fuji’ Mt. Fuji flowering cherry-Pure white semi-double flowers are mildly fragrant too. One of the few flowering cherries that will tolerate part-shade conditions. Grows 15-20 ft tall. Good orange-red fall leaf color.


Mt. Fuji flowering cherry

March 2023 Newsletter

by

Countryside Corner 
Neighborly Garden News Issue 131
March 2023

Dear readers; please visit our website: www.countrysidelandscape.net for the safety measures we have in place during this pandemic.  Plant a Bee Lawn to support our native pollinators!

A few Bee lawn facts: Bee lawns have flowers mixed in with turf grasses such as fine fescues and Kentucky bluegrass. The flowers of a bee lawn provide food (nectar and pollen) for pollinators. Bee lawns are environmentally friendly because they are managed using low-input methods that generally use less fertilizer and pesticides. Bee lawns can still be used recreationally by your household like a regular lawn. A bee lawn can attract over 50 species of native bees.
 
Are you interested in doing more to help our native pollinators? You can make your lawn do double duty! A bee lawn can not only provide a recreational space for you, your family and your pets, it can also provide much-needed food resources for bees and other beneficial pollinators. While turf grasses can provide some environmental benefits, they don’t provide much food for pollinators. One way to provide resources for pollinators while keeping the function of a lawn is to incorporate other plants such as Dutch white clover, self-heal and creeping thyme. These plants have the right type of flowers for bees. Once established, bee lawns take a similar (or even less) amount of work to maintain as a traditional lawn, making them an accessible addition to almost any home landscape.
 
There are lots of plants that bees like, but few are adapted to lawn conditions. Not many plants besides turf grass can tolerate being mowed short and stepped on. Here are the traits needed for bee lawn flowers:
Low-growing and adapted to being mowed.
Flower at low heights.
Tolerant of foot traffic.
Provide good food (nectar and pollen) for pollinators.
Moderately competitive, meaning they can hold their own with the turf grasses without taking over.
Have a perennial life cycle (they live for more than one year) so they are maintained in the landscape with the perennial turf.
 
Dutch white clover (Trifolium repens), often just called white clover, was once commonly included in lawn seed mixes. It is a non-native species (as are all the cool season turf grasses) and somewhere along the line it became considered a weed. You have probably seen white clover many times and may already have white clover in your lawn. White clover has many positive traits that make it ideal for a bee lawn. It is tolerant to some shade, though it may bloom sparsely without enough sun, and is adaptable to different soil types. White clover has one particular trait that the other two bee lawn flowers don’t have. As a legume, it can fix its own nitrogen. This means that white clover doesn’t need to be fertilized with nitrogen, making it a good part of a low-input lawn. The forage quality of the flowers for bees is excellent. Its pollen has the high protein content that pollinators need, and the nectar has a high sugar content, which is good for those pollinators that depend on nectar. The flowers can be fragrant and are reminiscent of honey. White clover has a long bloom time, usually from the end of May to October.


Bee on White Clover

Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris ssp. lanceolata) is another plant that has been found to work well in bee lawns. One thing different about this plant, as opposed to the other two common bee lawn flowers, is that this one is native to our region. Self-heal, being a native plant, is especially good at attracting native bees. They found that 95% of the flower visitors to self-heal were native bees. Self-heal is adaptable to many different home lawn conditions. It can grow in sun to part shade, and in different soil types except for sandy soil. The purple flowers produce mostly nectar along with some pollen for pollinators.


Prunella vulgaris or Self Heal

Creeping thyme (Thymus praecox ssp. arcticus; formerly Thymus serpyllum) is a close relative of culinary thymes such as French thyme or lemon thyme. Like its relatives’, creeping thyme has foliage with a nice fragrance. Thymes are known for being tolerant of some foot traffic and have a low-growing habit, traits that are good for bee lawns. Creeping thyme is a non-native plant that blooms from July to September, a somewhat shorter period than white clover. It does best in full sun and in sandy or loamy soil. It has small pink flowers that provide pollinators with mostly nectar and some pollen.


Bee on Creeping thyme

There are other less common options, including other native species, that could work, but they may be more of a challenge depending on your site. Ground Plum (Astragalus crassicarpus) Lanceleaf Tickweed (Coreopsis lanceolata) Calico American Aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum) If you’re a person who doesn’t use herbicides, your lawn might already have some flowers of the weedy kind. You may already have a bee lawn! Some common weeds are helpful to pollinators. Common violets (Viola sororia) are native lawn weeds that can have some benefits for pollinators. There are some fritillary butterflies whose larvae use these violets as a host plant and a few bees that forage on violet flowers. Common violets do have some shade tolerance and, of course, seem to do well in lawns where they are often considered a weed. Be aware that the bloom season is short, and violets can take over under the right conditions. Dandelion is a non-native plant, and its eye-catching yellow flowers have pollen that can attract a few pollinators. One good quality of dandelions is that they bloom early in the season when most other bee lawn flowers aren’t blooming. It is likely that if you have a bee lawn or a low-input lawn, there will be some dandelions unless you hand weed them out.

March’s to-do list

Today was only the third plowable snowfall we’ve received in Deerfield this winter. After experiencing the warmest January on record in Massachusetts, the 10-day weather forecast looks to be bringing more snow for the first weeks of March than we’ve received all winter. On the bright side, I hope everyone has been able to take advantage of our moderate weather and spend time outside. It has been much more pleasant to do the necessary yearly pruning in above freezing temperatures. There is still time to do dormant season pruning, but don’t wait too long, the spring or vernal equinox is on March 20th. On this day the sun will rise exactly in the east, and set exactly in the west; the length of night and day approximately equal.
 
When I was a student in my Plant Pathology classes, we learned that in the Northeast many plant pests were minimized and constrained due to our cold winters. Without sufficient cold weather, eggs and spores of pathogens can remain viable through winter. Dormant oil spraying is a low impact method to reduce populations of pest insects. The ultra-fine grade horticultural oil smothers insect eggs so they can’t hatch out. Long considered to be safe and ecologically sound, horticultural oil is non-toxic to people and pets.
 
Before this morning’s snowfall I had begun to see shoots from spring bulbs, always a welcome sight after weeks of waiting for signs of spring. When you see your bulbs start to emerge, scratch in some bulb fertilizer, to boost their reserves. The more food they can store during the growing season, the better their display in following years. If, despite your best efforts to feed and nurture your bulbs, they aren’t blooming well, it is probably time to divide the clumps. When you dig them up you will find many undersized bulblets, too small to produce flowers. But each of these has the potential to gain size and flower in a season or two. It’s worth the effort to replant them around your garden for many more spring flowers.
 
I’ve already received my veggie garden seeds, and I’m anticipating another delicious garden year. I will begin to sow my seeds from early March onward. Seed packets will inform you approximately how long it takes from sowing to get a garden ready plant. You only need to count backwards from your last frost-free date to estimate when to sow them. Some plants, such as Basil, only require 4 weeks, so I won’t sow these seeds until early May, for planting around Memorial Day.
 
Prepare for the start of another tick season. Ticks that cause Lyme disease will become active when temperatures are above freezing, and the ground has thawed. Ticks will aggressively seek out a host upon awaking and lurk in areas most likely for us to encounter them in our yard and garden activities.  Our tick specialist, Scott Higley, can advise you on the various methods we have at our disposal for managing this dangerous pest. scott@countrysidelandscape.net
 
If you have stored any bulbs from last summer, such as: Dahlias, tuberous Begonias, Cannas, or Calla lilies bring them out of storage and check on their viability. Begin potting them up now and set in the light., or under artificial lights.
 
Need a hand with spring cleanup and garden chores? Give our office a call. (413) 458-5586 or email: info@countrysidelandscape.net 


Fast plants for those who just can’t wait to get growing!

It has been said about gardening; it’s a slow pastime. You need to have patience while plants settle and grow in your garden. Fortunately for gardeners not every plant is a slowpoke. There are edible and ornamental plants that will sprout and grow at (almost) lightening speed (for plants anyway).
 
Craving a fresh summer salad? Radish plants can be ready for harvest in as little as 30 days from direct seeding into your garden. They are very easy to grow, and the seeds are big enough to be easy for kids to sow them too. Radishes are tolerant of cooler temperatures, 55-75F being their ‘comfort zone’. Many different varieties are available and grow into varying colors of white through red and purple. You can also roast them, for a different take on warm salad items.
 
Another mainstay for fresh salad veggies is Arugula or Rocket. I really crave the fresh peppery flavor of Arugula, in cold salads, sandwiches and sautés. Young greens can be ready in as soon as 30 days from seed. You are not limited to only growing them in a bed, you can get good results sowing your seeds in a container too. Just clip the amount you need with scissors, and the Arugula plant will continue to grow for additional harvests. As the plant matures, the flavor will become more pronounced and sharper during warmer weather. It is so cold hardy; I frequently find self-sown plants popping up where they were grown the previous year in early April.


Arugula plants

 
Chives are both an herb and a flowering plant. This member of the Allium family can be ready from 30 days as a transplant, or 60 days from seed. Their grass-like foliage has a mild onion flavor; easy to incorporate into a variety of foods. Again, you are not limited to grow them in a bed or even outdoors. They can be readily grown in a container, outside, or even on a sunny indoor window. Harvest the leaves by snipping off as needed, as long as it’s not more than a third of the entire plant. An additional benefit: planting chives adjacent to your tomatoes, carrots and cabbage can help repel aphids, and cabbage worms.
 
Schreber’s Wood Aster (Eurybia schreberi) is a hardy native perennial that blooms in the fall. It will rapidly form dense stands of basal foliage via spreading rhizomes and seed. It is a great plant for bridging the gap between summer and fall seasonal blooms and can mature in 3-4 months. It puts forth a multitude of delicate white flowers with prominent yellow stamens. Very attractive to pollinators looking for a late summer snack. This particular Aster is well adapted to grow in shady or sunny sites, and is not at all fussy about soil type.


Schreber’s Wood Aster

 
The woodland native, the Hay-Scented Fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) is utilized for its capacity to spread and fill in areas rapidly. Despite its vigor, the Hay-Scented Fern has delicate feathery fronds that lend it a lacey texture. Dennstaedtia punctilobula will grow 30” tall X 36” wide and can be depended on to brighten up even the shadiest woodland.


Hay-Scented Fern
 
Thinking ahead…

A problem that comes up frequently is a tree that has outgrown its place in the garden. That sweet little tree you fell in love with at the garden center is now blocking your view and creating too much shade. You can choose to keep pruning it back to a manageable size or start over with a more space friendly specimen. Here are a few ideas for compact trees:
 
Cornus alternifolia-Pagoda Dogwood is one of the underused native trees that grow wild in our area. Dogwoods are one of the top ten species for attracting pollinators and wildlife. The Pagoda dogwood is noted for its graceful, tiered branching habit. It is very attractive in all seasons. Clusters of upright white flowers during May-June are followed by blue fruit carried on red stalks in August. Pagoda Dogwood prefers a shady area, with consistently moist soil enriched with organic matter, to do its best. Grows up to 15-20 feet tall.


Pagoda Dogwood

Cotinus obovatus ‘Grace’, American Smoke tree has leaves which emerge a rich wine-red, and then turn near purple black by mid-summer. Autumn brings a final color change as the leaves turn brilliant orange and red. ‘Grace’ has a compact form, grows 12-15 feet tall x 12-15 feet wide. Blooms in early summer.


Cotinus obovatus ‘Grace’ American Smoke tree

Amelanchier canadensis-Serviceberry is one of my favorite trees. It has enchanting white to pinkish flowers that give it an airy appearance, while in bloom. The Serviceberry can be found in nurseries as a multi-stemmed or single stemmed tree. The multi-stemmed trees are very useful for screening or filling in a gap in your planting design. They are considered very adaptable to various growing conditions, including damp soils, or full to partly sunny sites. The juicy purple fruit is edible and sought out by many bird species. Grow to 15-20 feet tall.


Amelanchier canadensis-Serviceberry
 
Gingko biloba ‘Jade Butterflies’ is a new dwarf variety of the Maidenhair tree. Its mature form will be an upright vase-shaped tree. ‘Jade Butterflies’ has fluttery lime-green leaves that turn a rich gold in fall. Maidenhair trees are naturally deer resistant, and tolerant of pollution, making them great urban trees. Requires full sun, will grow 15-20 feet tall x 8-10 feet wide.


Gingko biloba ‘Jade Butterflies’
 
Viburnum prunifolium-Smooth Blackhaw develops into a large shrub or small tree. Lustrous dark green leaves are crowned with very show clusters of white flowers in June. It will adapt to sun or part shade conditions, and is not fussy about soil type. This tough New England native will grow 12-15 feet tall x 12-15 feet wide. Birds love their black fruit as it ripens in late summer.


Viburnum prunifolium-Smooth Blackhaw flowers
  

February 2023 Newsletter

by

Countryside Corner 
Neighborly Garden News

Issue 130
February 2023

Dear readers; please visit our website: www.countrysidelandscape.net for the safety measures we have in place during this pandemic.

No Mow May; What Is It and How to Participate

By Karen Sutherland Director of Horticulture: Countryside Landscape & Design

The idea of “no mow May” is gaining popularity, and rightly so; this tagline has come to the forefront to bring awareness to the value of pollinators in our environment. However, it seems a few key details are often overlooked.  There are important considerations to understand before making the decision to not mow your lawn for a month, especially in the month of May.

While most people may think of honeybees when thinking of pollinators, pollinators come in many forms such as flies, bumblebees, solitary bees, butterflies, moths, and even hummingbirds. All of these different insect and bird species require a diverse selection of plants for food and survival. The Monarch Butterfly, for example, uses several species of milkweeds for their caterpillars to feed on while the adults rely on a plethora of nectar-producing flowering plant species to supply their energy for their annual migration. A diversity of plant materials is needed to support all of these types of insects and it is important that we look at how we have been maintaining our lawns over the years.


Monarch on Joe Pye Weed

Lawn spaces surrounded by native garden habitat (Design by Stimson Landscape Architects)

If the turf areas that have been treated year after year for weeds are suddenly left to grow, the flowering plants that the early pollinators need may not be available.  Plants like dandelions, clover, violet, and ground ivy are typically found in lawns and are the very plants being prevented from growing using a traditional lawn care program. Therefore, it may take several seasons of not treating the lawns for these plants to get established and become available in the month of May.

Additionally, May is a big month for turf grass growth. Turf grass is, by design, able to withstand repeated mowing at a low 2- 4” height and maintain a lush consistent carpet of green.  If the grass is left to grow for 4-5 weeks, it could reach 10-12” in height. Then, when suddenly cut back, it would look like a hayfield after harvest.  That first mowing would also be a much more labor-intensive process and the cost for that cut could be substantial, certainly not the cost of a regular weekly mow.  After that initial mowing, the lawn might need extra care to bring it to the condition of a lush green carpet.

The best way then is to look at this initiative as an opportunity to develop your landscape so that it can be a year-round food source and habitat for insects and birds. The first step to take will be to assess your existing lawn space and decide how much you really want or need. Going forward, maintain that lawn space at your highest threshold level for weeds and follow an organic management program for cultivating a healthy lawn.


Bee on Lavender

Next, take inventory of the existing plant material in your garden spaces. You may only need to enhance those gardens with the addition of a few select plant species to increase the variety of flowering plants. Or, this can be an opportunity to revamp particular areas of your landscape and create native habitats providing the necessary diversity for a wide variety of species throughout the seasons.


Perennial and annual border along front walkway

You can have the best of both worlds; lawn space for play and relaxation and attractive gardens that support pollinators. These habitats can be mixed borders, tree and shrub beds or meadow areas containing plants where all sorts of native pollinators can live and thrive. Keep in mind that native plant habitats do not need to be wild, unruly jungles. These landscapes can still be maintained to look well-kept and provide the necessary sustenance for a healthy population of at-risk pollinators.

To learn more about the research and efforts of increasing pollinator populations, visit The Beecology Project. This program was created by Dr. Robert Gegear, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Biology, at UMass Dartmouth.  Another resource for native plant gardening is the Native Plant Trust which is the nation’s first plant conservation organization and is based in Massachusetts. Their home is the botanical garden called Garden in the Woods and is truly a treasure to visit.

February’s to-do list

Winter has finally arrived in the valley; and the newly fallen snow is creating a very picturesque view from my office window. Creating four season views in the garden is an ideal garden designers work towards. We are fortunate to be living in New England, where Mother Nature, and her palette of seasonal colors, create the perfect backdrop for our gardens. Our snowy winters provide an opportunity to highlight the interesting branch patterns and silhouettes of trees and shrubs. If you’d like to see some color, consider adding trees with persistent fruit, like Crabapple or Hawthorne, which also provide food for our birds.

Indoor plants need a little TLCthis time of year! Dust your houseplants with a moist cloth to keep their leaf pores open and free to breathe, they will thank you! Scout for insect pests; plants leaking sticky sap is a tell-tale sign of sucking insects. Aphids, mealy bugs, and scale insects are the most common pests, easily removed with a strong stream of water, and a Q-tip at the kitchen sink. Have you noticed we’re getting longer days? By the end of this month, we will be receiving about 11 hours of daylight. Begin to fertilize your plants weekly, with a half strength dilution of your preferred water-soluble fertilizer.

As we move into the harshest part of winter, minimize winter burn damage by using an anti-desiccant spray. Winter burn of susceptible evergreens is most likely to occur during February, more than any other month. The three-part stress of strong winds, frozen soil, and bright late winter sun, sets up conditions that can lead to leaf burn or browning. Choose the best time to spray when the temperatures will stay above freezing for 24 hours and follow the label instructions for your product.

A good way to beat those winter blues is to get some greenery into your life. Two great gardening events coming up:
Amherst Orchid Society’s annual OrchidShow and sale, Feb. 25th-26th 2023, at Smith Vocational High School, 80 Locust St Northampton, MA. If you’ve never attended, well worth the trip. You can get ‘up close and personal’ to the many species of orchids displayed, with demonstrations and notable speakers, makes for an interesting day out. Have your deepest questions about orchid rearing answered!
Smith College Spring Bulb Show, Mar. 4th-19th 2023, Lyman Plant House, 16 College Lane, Northampton, MA. Just an incredibly scented breath of fresh spring air, we attend every year.

Late winter snowstorms often bring heavy wet snow and ice. Remember to shake off evergreen branches weighed down by ice and snow. If you should happen to get some broken branches, be sure to prune off the stump cleanly. A ragged tear will inhibit proper healing and invite infection.       Continue pruning ornamental and fruiting trees while they are still dormant. Always remove broken or rotten looking wood. Fruit trees require seasonal pruning to stay healthy and bear fruit. The more overgrown they become the less quality fruit will develop. Don’t miss the opportunity for dormant pruning this winter.  Please contact the office now to get on the schedule. info@countrysidelandscape.net

Need a hand with winter chores? Please contact our office to schedule winter services:
(413) 458-5586, info@countrysidelandscape.net

5 Indoor Gardening Ideas to keep busy this winter!

Grow Micro-greens
If you have a hankering to grow something now, try micro-greens! Kale, alfalfa, and sunflower sprouts anyone? Growing microgreens indoors is a fantastic winter garden project or something you can do year-round! They’re easy to grow and can be done under a small grow light or in a bright sunny window. The fresh little microgreens are absolutely loaded with nutrients in exponentially higher concentrations than their mature forms. I’m sure your winter body and palate will greatly appreciate that pop of green goodness! Organic micro-green seeds available from High Mowing Gardens here.

Start a worm composting bin
Worm composting is a great way to sustainably repurpose food waste! Not to mention, worm castings (aka worm poop) are the most incredible fertilizer and soil amendment you can use. Worm castings have the nickname ‘black gold’ for a reason. With a worm bin, you can create that for free! And your garden will thank you endlessly. Worm bins are easy to set up, perfect for small spaces, and can even be kept indoors. Contrary to popular belief, worm compost bins do not smell bad (especially if they’re well-maintained). Learn how to create and maintain a simple, inexpensive tote-style worm bin here. Worms do need to be protected from freezing conditions, so if you can’t keep it inside during the winter, wrap the worm bin in insulating material like a wool or fleece blanket and store it in a protected location such as a garage, shed, or basement. This indoor winter gardening project is something that the whole family can do!

Grow mushrooms in your kitchen
Ordinarily you wouldn’t want fungi growing in your kitchen, but here is a novel winter gardening idea: grow some (culinary) shrooms! Like microgreens, you can also start to grow any time of year. Mushrooms are fun and easy to grow indoors, especially since there are many mushroom growing kits readily available that make it very easy. The kits come pre-inoculated with mushroom spores (varieties of oyster mushrooms being the most common), and all you need to do is keep them misted and moist. Then you can harvest fresh, tasty, nutrient-dense homegrown mushrooms right in your kitchen!

Build a birdhouse or owl box
Calling all bird lovers! Building a birdhouse is a sweet little winter garden project and one your local wildlife will greatly appreciate too. Check out selection of DIY birdhouses and plans.
Or, if you want to step it up a notch, consider building an owl box! In return for providing them with shelter, these majestic birds of prey can offer excellent natural rodent control for your garden. You can find owl box plans online from trusted bird experts like this Screech owl box plan from the Cornell Wildlife Center, or this Barn owl box from the Audubon Society. Be sure to research what types of owls are most common to your area, since different owl species like particular box shapes and sizes.

Decorate your pots
Feeling crafty? Decorating pots is a fun winter garden project that you, and your family can do indoors. Grab some plain terra cotta pots and get creative! You could paint them with pretty designs, or even adorn them with a mosaic tile pattern. Have a look at this tutorial on How to Make Mosaic Flower Pots  Hunting down mosaic materials (e.g. old plates or china) sounds like a good reason to visit your local thrift store.

Growing houseplants soothes the winter-weary soul

I have been an avid houseplant collector since I was a young adult. Back then, it was popular to sprout avocadoes from the large pit. We would suspend the pit from toothpicks into a glass of water, and in a few months, we would have the beginnings of an avocado ‘tree’. Two types of houseplants were standard fare back then, Philodendrons, and Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum). These were ubiquitous as decorative hanging plants; my Mom also grew African violets (Saintpaulia), but this was considered a huge achievement, and she had a ‘green thumb’.

Flash forward to 2023, and welcome to the world-wide-web of the plant world. There is virtually no limit to what type of plants you may purchase online; the limit is what you may successfully grow in your home environment. Yet, in researching this article, there are workarounds to plant un-unfriendly homes also. You can purchase wall garden kits that will create a completely self-contained, self-watering garden to function as a living ‘painting’ in your home. In one of the kits, I looked at, the plants were held in removable ‘cassettes’; allowing you to swap out different planting themes for holiday decorating etc.

An interesting ‘houseplant’ that isn’t a plant at all, is the Marimo moss ball. It is a form of sea algae that naturally forms a ball shape. You can grow it in a fish tank, or a decorative container, out of direct light. It is a passive organism; it doesn’t grow very much or move; has very few cultural needs but may be the perfect living green thing for somebody. You only need change the water periodically, and the moss ball would benefit from the addition of aquarium salt.

Did you know that some houseplants are very efficient at purifying the air? Sanseveria or the ‘Snake Plant’ can help remove formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, xylene and trichloroethylene gases from our indoor environments, and be decorative accents too. Most houseplants are considered tropical perennials, in their home ecosystems, and have varying light requirements. In general, though, most houseplants have low-medium light requirements, as befitting a plant suitable for growing indoors. Many will enjoy summering outdoors, but it is important to adhere to the light needs of the plant and not give them too much light, too quickly or they will get scorched leaves.


Snake plant

Tillandsias or ‘Air Plants’ are plants that can grow without soil. They are members of the Bromeliad family and use their roots to attach to trees or rocks in their natural environment. Tillandsias absorb moisture and nutrients through their leaves and are classified as epiphytes. They obtain their water and nutrients from rain, and the debris that accumulates around them. Tillandsias prefer bright filtered light and can be harmed by direct full sun. It is important to completely wet the plant 2-4 times per week, depending upon the temperature and humidity of your home. Light misting can help with humidity, but it is not suitable for the main source of moisture. You should choose a fertilizer made for absorption through the leaves, such as Epiphyte’s Delight.


Zebra Haworthia

Miniature succulents, and succulents of all kinds have become very popular for indoor plants. The Haworthia attenuate, or Zebra Haworthia is a noteworthy member of the Aloe family, very easy to grow indoors. My grandmother had one in the same container on her shady windowsill, literally my whole childhood. Zebra Haworthia originates from South Africa, and normally will experience seasonal changes in light, water and temperature.   Haworthia prefer cool (50’F), drier conditions in winter, and bright, indirect light and warmer temperatures in summer. During the summer water generously, letting the soil media dry out between watering. In winter, reduce watering to once every other month, making sure water does not accumulate in the rosette of leaves. Fertilize, using a formulation for cacti, in the summer months only.


Calathea crocata

For those of us with pets, having non-toxic plants is vital for their well-being. Two pet-friendly types of house plants, that are also easy to care for are Hoya kerrii, the Valentine plant, and Calathea crocata, the Eternal Flame plant. Calathea have attractive, slightly wrinkled, metallic green and purple leaves that tend to fold up in the evening. It gets its common name from the long-lasting yellow-orange flowers held up above the leaves. It likes bright light, no direct sun, and consistently moist soil through the summer- months. Calathea likes ‘soft’ water, and some sources suggest using distilled water for this plant. Grow Calathea on a tray of pebbles, to provide the high humidity it likes, or mist daily with tepid water. The Valentine plant, you may have guessed, has distinctive heart-shaped leaves, that are thick and waxy in texture. Sometimes called the ‘Sweetheart Wax Plant’ it is very easy to grow in the home, preferring bright filtered light, but no direct sun. The fleshy leaves can store water, so only requires 1-2 applications of water per month. Be sure to allow the pot to drain thoroughly, never sitting in water. Hoya kerrii blooms in the summer with clusters of unusual white flowers with burgundy centers, a mature plant may have upwards of 25 flowers. To facilitate flowering, allow the plant to become a little pot-bound, and fertilize with half strength fish emulsion-type fertilizer once per month during the summer.


Hoya kerrii with flowers

Thinking ahead…

Every year new plant varieties are introduced at the start of the growing season, to get us excited for the new gardening year. Here are a few introductions to get you eager to grow this season!

Heuchera Dolce ‘Wildberry’-Coral Bells, Dolce ‘Wildberry’ has large, scalloped, incredibly glossy leaves that are a bold shade of purple. Charcoal veins accent the leaves and dark stems hold rosy-pink calyxes and white flowers in Summer. This perennial is deer resistant and attracts hummingbirds and butterflies. Grows 10-14 inches tall and 16-20 inches wide at maturity, ‘Wildberry’ Coral Bells will thrive in sun or shade.


Dolce ‘Wildberry’-Coral Bells

Hydrangea serrata ‘Let’s Dance Can Do’ re-blooming Hydrangea, ‘Let’s Dance Can Do’ hydrangea has luscious strawberry pink flowers in neutral/alkaline soils and a lovely lavender in acidic soil. It has the unique ability to create flower buds along the entire length of the stem instead of only at the stem tips. It also reblooms quicker than others all summer. Hydrangea serrata are versatile garden plants for anywhere you need some summer color and are much hardier to our cold winters than other ‘colored’ hydrangea species. Grows 3-4 feet tall and 3 feet wide at maturity. Plant in part sun to full sun.


Hydrangea serrata ‘Let’s Dance Can Do’

Hibiscus syriacus ‘Purple Pillar’ Rose of Sharon, ‘Purple Pillar’ has semi-double purple flowers that bloom continuously all summer through fall. It is drought and heat tolerant, deer-resistant, and attracts pollinators. The unusual columnar habit makes it a real space saver, if you thought you didn’t have enough space to grow rose of Sharon, ‘Purple Pillar’ may be just right for you. Try it in containers, or flanking your front door, or as an accent in your landscape. Grows 10-15 feet tall and 2-3 feet wide at maturity. Rose of Sharon do their best when planted in full sun but will tolerate partial shade.


Hibiscus syriacus ‘Purple Pillar’

Rosa ‘Ringo All-Star’ Rose The pleasing flowers of ‘Ringo All-Star’ rose may look simple at first, but this plant packs in a lot of interest! ‘Ringo All Star’ flowers start out a rich melon-orange with a cherry-red center and transform to lavender and pink, creating a look of multiple colors on one plant. A crown of fluffy yellow anthers adorn the center and attracts pollinators. ‘Ringo All-Star’ is disease-resistant and low maintenance. No need to trim or deadhead to keep those fabulous flowers coming all season. Grows 2-3 feet tall and wide at maturity.


‘Ringo All-Star’ Rose

January 2023 Newsletter

by

Countryside Corner 
Neighborly Garden News

Issue 129
January 2023
 

Dear readers; please visit our website: www.countrysidelandscape.net for the safety measures we have in place during this pandemic.

 

Strategize now to protect your garden from the Spongy Moth

2023 looks to be another bad year forthe spongy moth, formerly called the gypsy moth. The caterpillar is very destructive to many species of trees and shrubs that are native to our area, and non-native species too. Scientists will count the amount of egg masses observed in blocks of forested land, then calculate how many caterpillars may be predicted to hatch out the following spring. Unfortunately, heavy infestations usually occur 2-3 years in a row, until their numbers diminish enough to not cause great damage.

Spongy moths were accidentally released into MA in 1869 and has spread into 20 other Eastern and Mid-Western states and 5 provinces of Canada. They favor Oak trees but have been recorded to feed on 100 other types of trees and shrubs. They can decimate mighty Oaks by their sheer numbers; each egg mass can contain upwards of 800 eggs. The newly hatched caterpillars can travel great distances by becoming airborne on a silken thread, their furry bodies parachuting up to a half mile from where they hatched.

Newly hatched caterpillars are less than ¼” long, but they will continue to develop, going through 5-6 growth stages before becoming adults. It is during the egg and caterpillar stages we can best achieve some measure of control. Females will lay tan colored egg masses along crevices of tree bark. These egg masses can be removed into containers of soapy water to kill the eggs, just scraping them off without drowning them may leave eggs on the ground to hatch. Utilizing dormant oil spraying is another way to preemptively kill eggs before they hatch. This ultra-fine grade of horticultural oil will not harm beneficial insects, birds, or mammals, and is sprayed during the winter and early spring when plants and insects are dormant. Another type of spray, Btk (Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki) is very effective at killing the caterpillar stage of the spongey moth. It works by disabling their gut, and will not harm birds or mammals, but is best used on the younger stages of the caterpillar for the best effect. Caterpillars will die in about a week after eating leaves sprayed with Btk.


Spongy moth caterpillars and egg masses

Caterpillars in the last two growth stages will rest under leaf litter and crevices of trees during the day, then crawl back up to the canopy to feed at night. The old method of placing a sticky barrier around the tree trunk to trap them as they crawled back up, had the disadvantage of trapping beneficial insects and birds also. Try tying a section of burlap around the tree trunk with garden twine, allowing the burlap above the string to flop over it, forming a burlap flap. Sleepy caterpillars will hide underneath the flap, and you can brush these into cans of soapy water in the afternoon before they make their way up to feed at night. This isn’t the best solution for a heavily forested plot, but maybe a good trick to have if you have a few favored trees to protect.

Environmental factors like moisture and temperature can play a helpful role in keeping populations of spongy moths low. Entomophaga maimaiga, a soil borne fungus, was introduced from Japan to combat the spongy moth about 30 years ago. It has the best chance of developing and attacking the caterpillar when our spring is cold and wet. During dry springs, as they were recently, the caterpillars have had the advantage because the fungus doesn’t survive in dry weather. White footed mice can also help by eating the pupae, (resting stage of the caterpillar) and in years following an abundant acorn crop, mouse populations will naturally increase enough to reduce the number of spongey moth juveniles that can develop into adult moths.

Need help with managing spongy moth on your property? Contact Scott Higley for more information: scott@countrysidelandscape.net
 
 

January’s to-do list
 As I write, the New Year 2023 beckons; 2022 seemed to pass so quickly. Our weather in the Pioneer Valley is a mirror of last season at this same time…little to no snow on the ground and only moderately cold. Dave Hayes, Massachusetts’ unofficial weatherman, has dubbed this section of western MA as the “Triangle of Disappointment for Snow lovers”https://www.masslive.com/weather/2022/12/weather-nut-calls-this-section-of-mass-the-triangle-of-disappointment-for-snow-lovers.html We are in this geographical niche for minimal snow accumulations compared to our neighbors east and west of us. Just a few miles west, Florida, MA, had the record snowfall for the state last week receiving 18”. Deerfield only received 4.5”, at least our lack of snow gives me a little more time to put down vole repellent, and hope that the lack of cover and cold weather will ‘naturally’ lessen the population. I’m impatient for longer days and a return to outdoor gardening; I received my first seed and gardening supply catalog in the mail yesterday, a sign of good things to come!

Animal repellent sprays can be applied as needed throughout the season, but it is more efficient to apply while temperatures are above freezing. You can achieve good results, and limit animal browsing, by being consistent with applications. If you have persisted with repellent strategies without favorable results, it may be time to rethink your planting design to limit or exclude plants that attract browsing animals.

We may receive a ‘January Thaw’ but be careful not to walk on your garden beds when they are wet and muddy during a thaw, because it can permanently compress the soil structure. Do check for any plants that may have ‘heaved’ out of their planting holes during freeze/thaw cycles. Gently push them back into place.

January, and throughout the winter, is the optimum time to perform corrective pruning and shaping of your trees and shrubs. You have a clear view of the whole tree and needn’t worry about oozing sap, particularly if you are pruning ornamental Maples. Fruit trees need annual pruning to keep them healthy.  Fruiting trees have a very vigorous growth habit and will get ‘twiggy’ quickly. Pruning helps channel that energy into fruit production, by eliminating the extraneous twiggy growth, and poorly shaped branches. Ignoring a too dense canopy, and letting water sprouts develop, all can contribute to a tree’s decline. Always remove any dead or diseased wood; during winter storms these weak spots can tear off, and cause greater damage, than if they were preemptively pruned.

As I write, I’m watching different flocks of birds settle and eat from the Staghorn Sumacs outside my windows. They are eating seeds from the red cones that persist after the leaves drop. I allow my property line to be kind of wild and undisturbed, and I’m glad to be able to provide wild food sources for the birds. Additionally, I also hang several feeders of Black-oil sunflower seed, and suet cakes. Supporting your neighborhood birds is not only enjoyable, but these birds may become permanent residents of the area and help keep insect populations down in the spring and summer. If you have the space, planting fruit and nut bearing plants like native Winterberry, Sumac, Oak and Birch, will create a haven for wild birds.

Enjoy the break from the labor of love that encompasses caring for the outdoor garden. Take a gardening class with the Berkshire Botanic Gardenhttps://www.berkshirebotanical.org/events or Visit a local greenhouse and feel a breath of warm air and plant life at The Lyman Plant House at Smith College https://garden.smith.edu/visit or the Durfee Conservatory at University of Massachusetts at Amherst https://durfeeconservatory.umass.edu/
Sometimes seeing some green growing plants is a big pick-me-up from the winter doldrums! (Check before going for any schedule changes)

Need a hand with winter chores? Contact our office: info@countrysidelandscape.net(413) 458-5586

Gardening Goals for the New Year!
Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or a newbie, setting yearly goals for yourself will serve to create a plan and framework for the gardening year ahead.

Get organized-Familiarize yourself with your hardiness zone, if you don’t know it already. This will be a big help in choosing the right varieties for your yard. Get a garden planner or journal, to help you keep track of significant events throughout the gardening year and track your progress in reaching your goals. Make a check list of what you have on hand vs what you need to get.

Turn your garden into an oasis-Make a goal to enjoy spending time in the garden. Add comfortable garden seating to allow yourself the luxury of taking in your hard work. By creating an enjoyable space, all the gardening work will seem like less work, and taking breaks in this lovely space will be your reward for a job well done!

Fill the space with unique greenery-Look for plants with ombre’ shades, different textured foliage, and leaves that can catch the breeze. Large houseplants can be summered outdoors to bring a lush tropical feel to the garden. Trending for 2023 is variegated foliage; especially plants that are green with pink variegation.


Green and Pink Caladium

Grow something new and unusual-Skip the petunias and marigolds this year and try something you’ve never grown before. Maybe you’ve admired some exotic tropical plant in your travels, or wished to have a fragrant rose garden, but only have a small balcony. These plants will happily grow in a pot for the summer, and you have the option of bringing them indoors in fall or donating them to someone who can care for them.

Grow something trendy-The Pantone color of the year for 2023 is ‘Viva Magenta’. This bold hue is a powerful crimson red that is a balance between warm and cool. According to the designers at Pantone, it was inspired by the red of cochineal, one of the most precious natural dyes in the world. For a bright pop of color in your garden try growing crimson Zinnias, Sweet Williams or crimson Morning Glories; all easy-to-grow and have long lasting blooms.


Pantone ‘Color of the Year’ Viva Magenta

Entice more pollinators to your garden-Take some time to observe which plants attract the most attention from bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. In my garden I have noticed hummingbirds just love upright growing Catmint, and tall Zinnias. Lantanas are also swarmed by hummingbirds and butterflies. Discover what the pollinators like, and plan to add more of it.

Plan to do garden health checkups on a regular schedule-Identifying a pest or disease problem early on can help catch it before it spreads and gets far worse. Check the undersides of leaves for signs of insects: eggs, webbing or leaf discoloration. Sometimes you can notice something just slightly off from the normal look of the plant, it’s helpful to take a photo of your plant when it is healthy to refer to, over the course of the summer.

Thinking ahead…

A good way to start encouraging pollinators is by planting food sources for their young. The only food source for Monarch caterpillars are plants in the milkweed family. There are several species of milkweed that are perennial in our growing zone. Tropical milkweed is very ornamental and can be grown as an annual in our area. Monarchs are not picky about whether it is native, annual or perennial, if it is a milkweed, they will thrive on it. Adult butterflies can be attracted by growing fruit trees, or offering cut slices of overripe banana, oranges or melon. They prefer to suck up a sweet liquid diet.

Asclepias syriaca-Common Milkweed thrives in sunny meadows and fields. This species of milkweed needs a lot of space and will spread by underground stems. It is best used in a wildflower garden, or other informal area. 3-6’ tall.


Common Milkweed

Asclepias incarnata-Swamp Milkweed doesn’t require wet conditions, contrary to its name. It is neater in its growth habit, with pretty, bright pink flowers, and graceful willowy leaves. 3-4’ tall.


Swamp Milkweed

Asclepias tuberosa-Butterfly weed is a hardy perennial that likes sharply drained, sandy soil and full sun. It has very showy red and orange or yellow flowers that will bloom all summer. Grows 12”-3’ tall.


Asclepias tuberosa with Monarch caterpillars

Asclepias curassavica-Mexican Butterfly weed is originally from the tropics so is only grown as an annual in our area. The Monarchs will happily lay their eggs on this species. A good hedge plant; grows densely to 4’.


Mexican Butterfly weed

Oxypetalum coeruleum-Blue Star Milkweed, or Tweedia, is a vine-like member of the milkweed family. With unusual blue flowers. Originating from Brazil, it is hardy to 25 degrees. Grows to 10’.


Oxypetalum coeruleum

December 2022 Newsletter

by

Issue 128
December 2022

Dear readers; please visit our website: www.countrysidelandscape.net for the safety measures we have in place during this pandemic.

What is rainwater collection?

Rainwater collection is an alternative water supply approach that captures, diverts and stores rainwater for later use. It can help alleviate the demands of existing freshwater supplies, such as a well. There are a variety of methods available for rainwater harvesting, but they are essentially comprised of a catchment surface, a conveyance system, and storage and distribution.

Your system can work well, even if it is as basic as a collection barrel. In fact, starting with a simple storage barrel may be a good way to get your ‘toes wet’ so to speak. You will need rain gutters and a downspout, to move the rainwater from the roof top collection area into your barrel, but not much else besides the actual barrel. Many garden centers, and online garden stores have ready-made rainwater collection barrels for sale. They usually come with a screened lid, to keep debris out of your rainwater, and a spigot to attach a hose.

Collecting rainwater is beneficial for two main reasons; it can save you money on water bills, and conserve our most precious resource, water. Every drop of drinking water we can save, by utilizing free rainwater, is helpful to everyone living in our communities. Rainwater is also healthier for our plants, as it is free from the salts, minerals and chlorine used to treat tap water for public use.

Harvesting rainwater can also help reduce the demand for groundwater, and the high costs, and environmental impacts of having to drill for water. Collecting rainwater can also help prevent erosion from extreme rain events causing heavy run-off onto lawns and beds. Please remember that rainwater is not pure, and not suitable for drinking, cooking or bathing. Rain can wash contaminants into your catchment area, such as bird poop, from the roof. Without being properly treated, rainwater is primarily used for irrigation, watering your garden and potted plants. Some localities may have their own regulations concerning rainwater collection, please check with your municipality.

You can estimate how much water you may be able to harvest using this equation: Catchment area (roof size in square feet) x Monthly rainfall (inches) x Conversion factor (0.62) x Collection factor (75%-90% to account for losses in the system) For example, according to NOAA’s Climate Report, the average monthly rainfall for the contiguous United States was just under 3 inches in 2019. Using this number and a 75% collection factor, the total water catchment for a 1,000-square-foot roof would be: 1,000 x 3 x 0.62 x 75% = 1,395 gallons per month, or 16,740 gallons per year (minimum) This is a substantial amount and can certainly go a long way in conserving drinking water. Consider the possibilities!

December’s to-do list

The week after Thanksgiving and we have been spared from snow and cold weather, so far. This has been one of the nicest autumns in recent memory, and I am grateful to be living in western MA, where beauty and serenity abound. Just the other day I saw a Bald Eagle soaring as I exited 91N in Greenfield. Not many places where you can see them flying overhead so randomly. As we close on 2022, I wanted tosay “THANK-YOU” to all our Countryside Corner readers, andfrom everyone at Countryside Landscape & Design, we wish you Happy Holidays, and a peaceful and healthy New Year.

With the winter solstice, and colder weather on the way; I willbe preparing to protect certain plants from gnawing animals, and the effects of severe weather. I have had problems with voles and field mice, aka white-footed mice, eating the roots and stems of shrubs and perennials, while under cover of snow and dead leaves. Plants store sugar and starch in their roots during winter, and rodents are attracted to this food source. I use a castor oil-based repellent applied around the base of the plant to ward off under ground attack. I will wrap the trunk of my special flowering cherry tree, with flexible tree wrap, to about 18 inches above the ground. Cherries, and other fruit trees, even ornamental types, have thin bark, making them particularly susceptible to gnawing.

If your garden has been the scene of repeated browsing by deer and rabbits, you may be helped by applying an animal repellent. It is best to apply repellent products while temperatures are above freezing. An alternative for larger gardens is deer fencing. This is particularly effective for protecting living screen hedges, and orchards. Contact Scott Higley for more information: scott@countrysidelandscape.net

White-footed mice are the primary vectors for Lyme infected ticks. These mice incubate generations of new ticks in their mouse nests. By breaking a link in the life cycle, you can help to reduce the population of ticks. Continue to set traps to reduce mouse numbers. Do a thorough cleanup of all the places mice may hide over the winter. Utilize Damminix tick tubes, which kill larval ticks in the mouse nest, and Tick Free repellent for thorough coverage against tick infestations. Ticks will continue to be active until we have snow cover and sustained cold. Contact Scott Higley for more information: scott@countrysidelandscape.net

Left over flower and veggies seeds can remain viable for several years if they are stored well. Seal them in Zip-loc bags and keep them in a cool dry place. A snap-lid container in the fridge would work well.

If you haven’t already inserted stakes along the edges of your driveway to mark the areas to be plowed, don’t forget to do this before the ground freezes. This helps the person clearing your snow do their best job, minimizing damage to your lawn, and garden beds.


Paper white Narcissus is a very easy and reliable indoor bulb that can bring a little flowering cheer to your home. They don’t need to be planted; I just set mine into a 12” tall vase on a base of pebbles, and water them lightly until the roots start to grow, thereafter; only once a week. They will bloom in 21 days. The 12” tall vase keeps the leaves from flopping. If you start them now, they can be in bloom by Christmas.

Resist the urge to cut down these plants to their bases: Russian Sage, Butterfly bush, and Caryopteris. They are considered woody perennials and leaving them whole helps them to over winter in areas where they are only marginally hardy. Let your ornamental grass stay whole also, they tend to be late coming up in spring, and the old stems help protect them.

If you keep a garden journal, now is the time to read and reflect on what has been successful, or not. If you’ve never kept a journal, it can be an invaluable tool for year-to-year garden planning. It’s also never too early to start planning for next year’s garden! Did your veggie garden produce as well as you’d hoped? Set a reminder for yourself to have your garden soil tested, and plan on making corrections before you start growing next spring. If you haven’t applied garden lime to your soil in the past few years, there is still time this month. Late fall is the best time for lime application, as the snow/rain and freeze/thaw cycle will help move the mineral into your soil profile through the course of winter.

Need help getting ready for winter? Give our office a call today. (413) 458-5586
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New Garden Ideas for 2023!

I like to keep my gardening spirit active through the downtime during winter. I’m already envisioning new ideas for our 2023 gardening year. Since we are still in a water deficit in the Pioneer Valley, I’m taking that into consideration as I plan for next season. I’m also looking to garden smarter, and not harder; here a few ideas to get you thinking about gardening in the new year.

Greek Themed Gardens-I have been seeing this design idea all over the web. It harkens back to an image of romance and classicism: stone walls, Greek statuary and architectural elements. Think archways with climbing plants twining over it. Plant-shaded seating areas, adjacent to Grecian planters with ivy spilling over.



Color of the year-Terra cotta-Terra cotta means “baked earth,” and is a reddish-brown unglazed clay that is used to create pots and planters. Both the terra-cotta material and color are expected to play a big role in backyard design come the new year, adding a bit of a Moroccan or Mediterranean flare. The warm and vibrant tone will help balance out all the grays and neutrals that have dominated outdoor furniture and interior home décor.

Accessible Gardens-Super agers and Boomers living a productive and active lifestyle especially want to keep gardening as they age. Weeding has become my bane due to arthritis in my hands. Did you know there are now solar powered robotic weeders? It operates like an outdoor Roomba, and it gently tills the soil too. The Tertill weeder will be on my Xmas wish list!

Swapping lawns for meadow gardens-The trend for drought tolerant gardens and pollinator gardens is melding together. Many homeowners are removing their lawns and replanting it with drought tolerant meadow gardens. These gardens consist of primarily regional native plants that are naturalized together to give the appearance of a wild meadow. Though many of these plants consist of flowers, native grasses play a primary role. Meadows provide habitat to support wildlife, including bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insect pollinators. They don’t require fertilization or regular mowing, and no harmful chemical treatments.

Embrace vertical gardening-Make more of the space you have by maximizing its vertical potential. Vertical planting can also achieve privacy screening in small spaces by using rolling shelves, pergolas, trellises, hanging baskets, planter boxes, fence shelving, mounted containers, and pouches. Think of the unused ‘airspace’ above your beds as valuable space to grow more. You can even create a living wall indoors or outside to train plants on.



Grow your own bouquets-has become a hobby/job for some gardeners the last few years. Flower growers get a lot of satisfaction from growing a product that sparks joy for their customers. If you have an empty bed, or patch of ground, you can grow your own bouquet flowers too. Flowers with strong stems, and long bloom times work best: Dahlias, Cosmos, Zinnias, tall Ageratum, Celosia, Salvia, are readily available, and easy to grow suggestions for a cutting garden.

Thinking ahead…

New flower and vegetable varieties are produced every year; growers test them in growing trials, such as those for the AAS. These new introductions were selected by AAS (All-American Selections) for attributes of habit, vigor, disease resistance, and flower presentation. Their growth habits, and productivity make them stand outs in the trial gardens; they will be winners in your garden too!

Hybrid Tomato ‘Zensei’- is an early-maturing, high-yielding Roma tomato for home gardeners. Zenzei produces a great yield of fleshy plum tomatoes that are perfect for canning and freezing. Neat and tidy plants produce fruits that are uniformly shaped and are easy to harvest on unique bushy yet indeterminate plants. Each fruit has fewer issues like spots and blossom end rot. Plant in full sun and provide stakes or a cage when the plant reaches the appropriate size but there is no need to prune!


Tomato ‘Zensei’

Salvia ‘Blue By You’- This perennial features rich blue flowers that bloom up to two weeks earlier than the comparisons. ‘Blue By You’ has excellent winter hardiness and heat tolerance, ‘Blue by You’ salvia is an excellent candidate for your pollinator, cutting, and container gardens. Bright blue blossoms from late spring into fall, it will repeat bloom throughout the season when spent blooms are removed. Adored all season long by hummingbirds and butterflies. Salvia is resistant to browsing by deer or rabbits.


Salvia ‘Blue By You’

Squash kabocha ‘Sweet Jade’-This cute, single-serving-sized squash is the perfect addition to your garden for a fall harvest. Each fruit is between 1-2 pounds and can be used for single servings of squash, as an edible soup bowl, or in any number of Asian-style dishes where a sweet, earthy nutritious squash is typically used. Sweet Jade’s deep orange flesh is dry yet sweet and very flavorful whether roasted, baked, or pureed.


Squash ‘Sweet Jade’

Leucanthemum ‘Carpet Angel’-The first-ever groundcover Shasta Daisy! Growing only to a height of 6 inches, this unique Leucanthemum can act as a groundcover spreading up to 20 inches wide. Large 3-inch flowers boast a second inner frilly bloom adding to the unique look of Carpet Angel. The unique branching on this new AAS winner means more flower stems sporting beautiful pure white blooms that look like angels dancing over a carpet of dark green foliage. Deadheading will encourage repeat blooming.


Shasta Daisy ‘Carpet Angel’

Zinnia ‘Profusion’ Red Yellow Bicolor- Introducing a beautiful new bicolor addition to the popular Profusion series of zinnias. This gorgeous zinnia starts the season with a bold vibrant red center ring surrounded by golden-yellow outer petals. As the season progresses, the aging flowers morph into soft, beautiful shades of apricot, salmon, and dusty rose. This new compact Zinnia continued to bloom new flowers over the old, all summer, so there was never a decline in the floral display.


Zinnia ‘Profusion’ Red Yellow Bicolor