Category: Trees

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TheGardenLady’s Parent’s Farm

Lenni Lenape dancer by impulse2c

As a child, I wished I knew about the original people who lived on the land that my parents’ farm was on. I wanted to know about the Lenni Lenape Indians that preceded my family to that area. But there were few books in our local library- and very few books on the Lenni Lenape.

I spent many hours of my childhood poring over the ground looking for Indian artifacts. Findings were best after the fields were plowed. It seems that each time the field was plowed it turned up more Indian artifacts. My sister and I, trailed by the family dogs, would slowly go up and down the field looking. We children found lots of flint and arrowheads or pottery shards. (sadly my collection was stolen when I took it to school) We also found clam shells. The closest clams were about one hour drive away from the farm, yet there were clam shells in the fields. So I imagined that the Indians had Pow Wows where they ate clams. But what else did they eat that they found in the area where the farm was?

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Box Elder Tree

Acer negundo ssp. californicum California Box-elder by davidhofmann08

When people walk by my yard, they often stop to ask me the name of a shrub, tree or perennial. I believe that seeing something growing in my yard has encouraged others to plant it.

One tree that people have asked me about is one that I did not plant. It grows near the stream at the edge of my property and looks suspiciously like poison ivy with its three leaves. I have even heard this tree referred to as the poison ivy tree though it has many other more common names. While the leaves may resemble poison ivy, the tree can have 5 or 7 leaves but rarely 11 leaves; so if you count the leaves you can feel confident that this isn’t poison ivy. And the tree has a profuse number of hanging seeds that look like a maple tree’s seeds. This native North American tree is really in the maple or Acer family. The Latin name is Acer negundo and is referred to in my area as a Box Elder tree, Boxelder Maple or Maple Ash. In Canada it is known as the Manitoba Maple.

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Shrubs, Perennials and Trees with Chartreuse or Gold Leaves

In the morning light by Quite Adept

Since the email arrived asking for recommendations of plants with burgundy leaves, TheGardenLady has been thinking that some readers might be interested in plants with Chartreuse or golden foliage. When TheGardenLady first saw chartreuse leaves on plants, she couldn’t understand why people would want leaves that look sick. But as the plant producers have created more chartreuse-leaved plants, I have gained a greater appreciation of this color in the garden. The landscape with green, burgundy and chartreuse plants makes for more visual interest, with flowers being almost a gilding to the proverbial lily.

When looking at the name of a plant, if there is the word Aurea in it, it is the Latin word for gold. Of course, the Aurea may refer to the flower, not the leaf.

One example is the Catalpa Tree, Catalpa bignonioides ‘Aurea” This easy to grow Catalpa tree has big, yellow leaves with white flowers.

Then there are a number of golden Chamaecyparis or False cypress:

  • Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Tetragona Aurea’ the Golden fernleaf cypress
  • Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Filifera Aurea’ the Golden threadleaf sawara cypress; Golden threadleaf or Lemon Thread Sawara
  • Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Plumosa Aurea Nana’
  • There is Corylopsis spicata ‘Aurea’ the Spike Winter Hazel that not only gets chartreuse new leaves, it has fragrant yellow flowers as well.
  •  Another example with Aurea in the name is the Cryptomeria japonica the Golden Japanese Cedar Elegans Aurea.

Many of the shrubs or small trees that come in burgundy also come in chartreuse or gold. But there seems to be more chartreuse or golden shrubs than burgundy shrubs.

Because all my friends have the burgundy Smokebush, TheGardenLady had to be different. So I bought Cotinus coggygria ‘Golden Spirit’ Smokebush. I think I prefer the burgundy leaves and wish I had the burgundy smokebush instead; but a friend who has four burgundy Smokebushes (3 came from the mother shrub) she wanted one like my chartreuse smokebush as well. Plant lovers want them all. I am limited because my property has so many huge old trees.

Acer shirasawanum ‘Autumn Moon’by nestmaker

 There are several Japanese maples in chartreuse. Acer shirasawanum ‘Autumn Moon is just one of them.

A short list of shrubs with golden or chartreuse leaves are Buddleia ‘Evil Ways’, Tiny Gold Barberry, Hydrangea like Hydrangea quercifolia ‘Little Honey’, Spirea “White Gold’. There are many others.  See here.

Of course, there are also many gold or chartreuse leaved perennials and grasses like Dicentra spectabilis ‘Gold Heart’ bleeding heart or Golden Japanese Forest Grass (Hakenachloa macra). And don’t forget all the hostas with golden leaves. See here.  TheGardenLady has some Hosta ‘Bright Lights’ that are chartruese with a dark green border that brightens up a dark spot.

For an extensive list of chartreuse as well as burgundy shrubs and perennials check out the Monrovia website.

Monrovia is a company that produces excellent garden plants- they list 2300 in their catalog. They do not sell directly to the customer but if you type in your zip code on their site, they will tell you where their plants are sold in your area.

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Cherry Blossom Festivals

Cherry blossom sunset by afagen

Two enduring memories this GardenLady has are of the cherry blossom festivals in Washington, DC and the one in Newark, NJ. If you would love to see the cherry blossoms in bloom, there are Cherry Blossom Festivals throughout the United States. Some festivals have already started with other related events. The festival in Hawaii is almost over when I write this.  See here.

There are many species of Japanese cherry trees but the one that seems to be in many of the American parks are the Yoshino cherry tree Prunus x yedoensis which is a fast growing but short lived tree- 10 to 20 years. These have fragrant flowers and very small fruit that is popular with domestic and migratory songbirds and small mammals. Their flowers provide pollen for bees. You can purchase cherry trees to plant in your own yard through the Arbor Day foundation. See here.

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The Jewish Holiday of Tu B’Shevat – The New Year for Trees

Today is “Tu Be Shvat” The New Year for Tree in the Jewish Calendar by Ari Hahn

Today is a holiday that is celebrated by Jewish people around the world and especially in Israel. The holiday is The New Year for Trees, called Tu B’ Shevat.

The Dan Nature Preserve in December by Dara

Date Palm Phoenix dactylifera by Dara

The name Tu B’ Shevat tells people that this New Year of the Trees is celebrated on the 15th (Tu) day of the Hebrew month called Shevat. It comes on different dates in the Western calendar but always around Jan. or Feb. when spring starts in Israel. The holiday is very old, the oldest description of the celebration was said to be written in the 16th century.

Pomegranite Punica granatum by Dara

Some people plant trees on this day.

Cactus with prickly pear fruit or sabra fruit Opuntia ficus-Indica by Dara

Another custom is to eat a new fruit on this day: a fruit which one has not eaten that entire season. Some people eat fruits from the Seven Species of plants described in the Bible as being abundant in the land of Israel. The Seven Species are: wheat, barley, grapes (vines), figs, pomegranates, olives and dates (honey) (Deut. 8:8) Because Tu in Hebrew means 15, some people say one should eat 15 fruits that day. Other fruits some have added to the list of fruits to be eaten include citrons, apples, pears, carobs, almonds and walnuts.

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2011: International Year of Forests

forest by cheongwah2002

2011 has been named the International Year of Forests by the United Nations.  See here.

Our forests are crucial in providing planet Earth with health, wealth, food, fuel and vital ecosystem services. Forests help provide breathable air, drinkable water, fertile soils, a stable climate and adds beauty to the earth.   See here.  Various activities are planned around the globe to promote the importance of forests.

The United States Forest Service in partnership with other US agencies is planning special events throughout the year. Mass plantings of trees are planned in countries like Ethiopia, Georgia, Jamaica, Lebanon and Poland. Competitions ranging from photo, art, slogan, and essay writing are also being promoted in countries such as Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Jamaica, Lebanon, Poland and the Republic of Korea.

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Did You Have An Eco-Friendly Christmas?

Curitiba’s Recycled Xmas Tree by Garota Sem Fio

How eco-friendly was your Christmas this year? How many of TheGardenLady readers chose the real Christmas tree over the manufactured one?

More and more scientists are proving that a real tree is really more environmentally sound than the plastic trees. The NewYork Times had an article telling about the scientific studies that prove this. See here. The firm Ellipsos had done the study using Christmas trees grown in Quebec or manufactured in China and said that “The annual carbon emissions associated with using a real tree every year were just one-third of those created by an artificial tree over a typical six-year lifespan. Most fake trees also contain polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, which produces carcinogens during manufacturing and disposal. ”

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Buying a Fig Tree in New Jersey

the fig tree’s begun to bud by Toni F.

TheGardenLady received this question from Sarah.

I was thinking about getting my brother a fig plant for Christmas. There is a plant store online, which has a retail store in CT,  that was advertised in Better Homes & Gardens for it’s fig plants – logees.com.  However, they ship in an insulated box, express, which makes shipping costs more than the plant.  Do you know any place in NJ that would have a fig plant to buy?

Logees seems to be a good company to purchase exotic plants and I have ordered plants from them.

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Potted Christmas Trees

…and the final product! Happy Christmas everyone! by David Stephensen

TheGardenLady thinks there is nothing lovelier for Christmas than a cut, fresh tree. But of course, there are those who don’t want to see a tree cut, or who don’t have the room for a large tree. Or there may be those who would like multiple Christmas trees in the house for the Holiday season and either don’t have the money for numerous large trees nor the room for numerous Christmas trees.

Whatever the reason, why not consider buying a tree in a container or if you find it with burlap around its roots. Go to your local nursery. Many are still open during the holiday season. Check out their small evergreen trees in pots. Some will hold the tree for you to be picked up closer to Christmas. When you bring it in, it can then be decorated and used indoors during the holiday season. And hopefully it can be planted in your or a friend’s garden or kept on your balcony or patio after the holiday is over. How to care for the tree is here.

The tree goweth by KTandCoffee

Many dwarf evergreen trees or young evergreens can be brought indoors with root balls intact and decorated for Christmas and then kept alive outdoors to perhaps be used indoors next Christmas.

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