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By Denise Ellsworth
Special to the Beacon Journal
Published on Saturday, Nov 15, 2008
Last Sunday, I finally found myself with a full day free of obligations of any sort — mine or my children's — and I spent the day in the garden. Never mind that temperatures hovered in the low 40s, or that frozen drizzle bounced off my sweater several times that afternoon: I was just where I wanted to be.
In autumn, I make an extra effort to improve my garden soil by spreading compost and leaves in my beds. After securing dozens of bags of leaves that neighbors were discarding (making sure my teenage daughter was nowhere near the leaf procurement process, as I am told it is most embarrassing), I spread a layer of leaves in my beds, then top-dressed with compost. Time and the elements do their magic, and by spring's arrival, I'm well on my way to rich, friable garden soil. You're not still bagging your leaves, are you?
Time in the garden allowed for reflection over the gardening year, and appraisal of what worked and what didn't. A few things that didn't work: an ornamental dock that spent most of the season pitifully covered with powdery mildew, candelabra primroses that failed miserably (I'll try again!) and green peppers that never filled out. Like most gardening years, though, this one was filled with exciting new plants and old reliable favorites.
Scrumptious salads
We love fresh salads, picked from the garden and eaten soon after. Besides the usual mesclun salad greens, I planted plenty of arugula early in the season. Even after plants had bolted, I left the arugula flowers in the garden after noticing how they attract pollinating insects. Arugula seeds sprout easily once mature, giving me a constant supply of arugula throughout the summer. This green's nutty flavor has grown on me; arugula has now become a staple of our salad mix.
We also add nasturtium leaves and flowers, tender Swiss chard leaves and ornamental kale leaves to our salads for color, texture and flavor interest. Ornamental kale has become one of our favorite additions, both purple- and white-leaved selections. Quick salads picked fresh daily from the garden have been a highlight of this year's garden.
Here are other favorites:
Variegated sedge ''Island Brocade'' (Carex sidersostica) — Sedges are one of my favorite foliage plants for the shade garden, so I always try to add a few cultivars each season. A few years ago, I planted Island Brocade, a broad-leafed sedge with creamy yellow margins. This clump-forming sedge creates a low ground cover about 18 inches across. Take note that this plant is hardy to zone 6, so plants could be lost if winter temperatures fall below -10 degrees. Friends with deer problems have found sedges to be fairly resistant to deer damage.
''Bracken's Brown Beauty'' southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) — I have high hopes for this compact, cold-tolerant southern magnolia, with the full understanding that it may die to the ground in cold winters. The shiny, deep green leaves have rusty undersides; 5-inch-wide, creamy white flowers open in summer. Specimens at Secrest Arboretum have survived numerous winters, but one cold snap could cause a setback that may take years to regrow. Southern magnolia is a fun gamble, and will be an interesting plant to watch in coming seasons.
''Elegantissima'' variegated boxwood (Buxus sempervirens ''Elegantissima'') — This unusual variegated boxwood has green leaves with creamy white edges. I used a small specimen as a focal point in a mixed herb and flower garden. It is very slow-growing, adding just a few inches of growth this season. The evergreen (ever variegated?) foliage promises to add interest through winter.
Persian parrotia ''Vanessa'' (Parrotia persica ''Vanessa'') — This tree has much to offer throughout the season, with clean green foliage in summer, outstanding fall color, exfoliating bark in winter and subtle maroon flowers in spring. Thanks to a friend's recommendation, I planted ''Vanessa,'' a columnar cultivar suitable for smaller gardens or more narrow spaces. Over 10 years, Vanessa will reach 10 feet tall and wide. As a member of the witch hazel family, parrotia has the interesting leaf texture and outstanding fall color of other members of the family.
To complement Vanessa, I added in several dwarf fothergilla shrubs (Fothergilla gardenii). A fellow member of the witch hazel family, fothergilla also has dark green leaves in summer and outstanding fall color, with leaves displaying shades of yellow, orange and red. Showy, bottle-brush flowers bloom in spring; these flowers attract garden pollinators.
My garden work for the season isn't quite finished — I have a few bulbs left to tuck in the ground, and I hope to spread more leaves and compost before real snows fly. Then my imagination takes over, and I'll spend the next few months dreaming ahead to what will be, come spring.
Denise Ellsworth is a horticultural educator with Ohio State University Extension. If you have questions about caring for your garden, write: Plant Lovers' Almanac, Akron Beacon Journal, P.O. Box 640, Akron, OH 44309-0640. Include your phone number.
Last Sunday, I finally found myself with a full day free of obligations of any sort — mine or my children's — and I spent the day in the garden. Never mind that temperatures hovered in the low 40s, or that frozen drizzle bounced off my sweater several times that afternoon: I was just where I wanted to be.
Get the full article here.
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