FLOWERING BULBS

Bulbs are planted mostly 2 times a year. Spring and fall. Spring bulbs include Gladiolas, Tigridia, Canna, Dahlias and Begonias are usually not hardy in our climate but make a long blooming show during their season, which is summer.

Gladiolas and Dahlias make nice cut flowers for the summer table and Cannas are the show of the garden from July until frost. Begonias do nicely in dappled shade. Tigridia or Tiger Flower is a beautiful and curious shell-like flower, giving abundance of bloom for a long season. Individual flowers last only a day but more seem to come on as the season progresses.

A rule of thumb for planting bulbs is they should be planted at a depth of about three times their length or at least two inches deep.

Their hardy cousins on the other hand, which include Tulips, Hyacinths, Daffodils, Crocus, Iris, Alliums, Snowdrops are planted in the fall before a hard freeze and bloom in the spring months beginning with Snowdrops and Crocus in February/March and continuing with late blooming Tulips in May.

Often people people come into the garden center and want to get the bulbs for these hardy flowering plants and we must tell them to come back in September. Planting instructions are usually on each package or box of bulbs as to th time of bloom and the depth to plant them.

Research has shown that bulbs planted at incorrect depths will usually move up or down in the soil to adjust. Our experience here at Ashcombe has verified this. It is always wise to do your best at planting properly, but don't worry when you have a lot of them to put in. They will adapt.

Bulbs can be planting in the fall as long as the ground isn't frozen. Sometimes here in Central PA we can plant up until the end of the year safely. It's best to mass color to get the most striking effect. Some years ago a gardener of ours removed about 8 inches of soil from an entire bed, then set bulbs on the ground and covered them. He also mixed various seasonal types so the bed blended well for the entire blooming season April and May. What a show this was for a few years!

Tulip bulbs will do well for two years and begin to fade the third year. Daffodils almost continue endlessly but will fill in and take over your bed if not dug up and thinned. The best investment in bulbs in the minis (snowdrops, iris, crocus and hyacinths) as they seem to self-maintain and appear again each year in robust fashion.

Boston Fern

Shown above is the popular Boston fern which can be a real beauty as a house plant and taken out during the summer to hang in a partially shaded location. There are five kinds of ferns in this family, a short one called the Dallas fern; A compact version of the large Boston fern called Boston Compacta; another called Fluffy Duffy with a lacey like foliage; one called Florida Ruffles a good one either inside or out. And finally the one pictured above or the Big Boston Fern.

Culture and Needs
During active growth, "Boston-type Ferns" should be watered on a regular basis in order for the soil to remain moist. Distilled water is preferred over tap water because tap often contains harmful chlorine. It is recommended that the Boston fern is allowed to become dry between watering in fall and winter months. You can set a potted fern in a basin of water so it can soak up the moisture naturally.

Maintaining proper levels of temperature and humidity are necessary for successful growth of the Boston fern. "Big Boston" ferns like cool locations with lots of humidity. If the air in your home is too dry, operating a humidifier will greatly increase the moisture level.

The Boston fern requires indirect or diffused lighting. In locations where there is not enough natural light, a grow light can be used.

Water-soluble plant food can be applied once every two weeks during the warmer months is recommended. During winter fertilizer should be held to every two months. A good idea twice a year to maintain the green color is to add two tablespoons of Epsoms Salts per gallon of water. Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate and give the plant the much needed boost of magnesium.

There are many suitable houseplant ferns and here at Ashcombe we carry some interesting ones like Lemon Button Fern, Birdsnest fern, Oil ferns, Staghorn Ferns, and some with unusual names like Frosty, Antenna Fern, Foxtail fern, Crocodile and Blue Hair which are among the twenty five or more varieties we sell.

Conserving Water

When we view the vast deserts of the world we understand at one time some of them were covered with lush vegetation and trees. Man cut the trees for firewood, building shelters to live in but failed to replace them with new trees. Since trees provide shade and root deeply they hold the soil in place so that when water comes in the form of rain it can be used by the trees to grow new trees and vegetation underneath such as ferns, moss and wildflowers.
All of this vegetation creates an eco system where the water transpired by the trees evaporates into the air and eventually recycles itself as rain to continue the growth of much needed plant material for mans welfare.

While this is a simple illustration of the importance of saving our resources it is one way that we can keep our water flowing in our environment. Planting of trees and shrubs around an otherwise barren property not only make it look good but start the processes going mentioned above.

Other ways of saving water are by using rain barrels, making catch basins in hilly terrain, and using mulch and lots of organic matter to hold and absorb what moisture we have. My uncle, a vegetable grower, years ago, grew a number of acres of vegetables without any irrigation just by applying heavy amounts of manure each spring before planting. He had crops even in very dry years and never had to water.

Farmers today are using a method that saves not only water but also fuel; it is called no-till farming where seeds are planted without disturbing the soil. This method will work in the home garden as well by using lots mulch and pulling back the mulch and putting in the seeds.
But if you need to water your plants, do not water in the heat of the day when evaporation will steal much of your water. Early morning or late afternoon is a better time. Modern day vegetable growers are using trickle irrigation which puts the water right where it is needed at the root of the plant. This saves much water and is also labor efficient. You can make your own trickle irrigation system by using old plastic gallon jugs and punching holes in them like pictured above, or purchase ones adapted for newly planted trees. Soaker hoses also work well. Be creative and your garden will flourish.

Article written by Glenn Gross April 6th 2010

What a Large Tree Can Do For You

Saves $30 in summertime air conditioning by shading the building and cooling the air (250 kWh), about 9% of total annual air conditioning cost.
Absorbs 10 lbs of air pollutants, including 4 lbs of ozone and 3 lbs of particulates. The value of pollutant uptake by the tree is $45 using the local market price of emission reduction credits. Uptake of NOx ( or greenhouse gases) by the tree is equivalent to NOx emitted by a typical car driven 3,600 miles.
Intercepts 760 gal of rainfall in its crown, thereby reducing runoff of polluted stormwater and flooding. This benefit is valued at $6 based on local expenditures for water quality management and flood control.
Cleans 330 lbs of CO2 (90 lbs C) from the atmosphere through direct sequestration in the tree's wood and reduced power plant emissions due to cooling energy savings. The value of this benefit is $5 assuming the California Energy Commission's price of $30/ton. This tree reduces the same amount of atmospheric CO2 as released by a typical car driven 500 miles.

Adds about 1% to the sales price of the property, or about $25 each year when annualized over a 40-year period. This assumes a median residential property sales price of $100,000. Property values increase 5-15% when compared to properties without trees (depends on species, maturity, quantity and location)

A 1976 study that evaluated the effects of several different variables on homes in Manchester, Connecticut, found that street trees added about $2686 or 6% to the sale price of a home.
A more recent study indicated that trees added $9,500, or more than 18 percent, to the average sale price of a residence in a suburb of Rochester, New York. With all the benefits of planting shade trees and the relative low cost of a tree in these times of more cars and businesses it would seem only logical to plan ahead for our future and look at our properties as an opportunity to enhance the environment and at the same time reap the benefits mentioned above.

Over forty years ago we planted trees around our one acre home, maples, evergreens, oaks, and birch and now enjoy the shade in the summer and the lesser load on our air conditioning systems. Those forty years passed quickly and we have enjoyed the beauty of the trees in all seasons. This report is brought to you by Glenn for your continued gardening success.

Color & Texture in a Garden

All of the above are perennials and shrubs that have been in this garden for years. This picture was taken on June 22, 2010 showing the color and texture that happens with just a little planning. It is located in our Ashcombe American garden adjacent to our parking lot.
Pictured above are yellow Euonymus, front and center, blooming white yucca amidst grasses, and behind are Perovskia, (Russian Sage) and Salvias’ May Night and Caradonna. The background for this garden is evergreens, which give a soft touch to the garden. This is of course a sun garden and a dry garden. For a shade garden the one pictured below is a combination Hostas, grasses and a water feature that attracts birds. It is located in our bird garden in the same area as the picture above but with shade from bushes and trees.