Plant Life

I am still trying to get the hang of this blogging thing. Earlier tonight I wrote a blog about rhodies and azaleas, posted it with an error and then when I tried to fix the error I lost half the blog post. Aaarrggghhh!

So, dear readers, here’s the rest of the story and a few more photos of some of the rhodies in our garden.

April through early June are the perfect times of year to relish rhodies and azaleas. These plants bloom profusely in our northwest gardens.

A great place to stroll through acres of rhodies to enjoy them and their relatives and companion plantings is Whitney Gardens in Brinnon – a short drive from Kitsap.

We went overboard in our garden the first few years we lived here and recently we had to edit out several of these lovely plants. But, in doing so we’ve learned to enjoy even more the plants we kept.

Lavender Rhodie

The rhodies we kept make a gorgeous backdrop for other plantings. We kept the ones on the edges and have low growing azaleas in the borders.

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The downside to rhododendrons (if there is a downside) is that they often grow up to be towering tree-like shrubs. We learned that the hard way in our typical northwest garden. But boy did we enjoy these plants and all their atributes before we reluctantly decided to start editing a few out.

Not to worry though, rhodie lovers, we still have plenty of plants galore in our garden. We’ve kept the ones around the edges. They are forming wonderful hedges and serve as magnificent backdrops to shade loving plants.

The best part is our plants were chosen to bloom from as early as October through late July.

who says you can't combine red and Pink

We’ve also woven in other evergreen plants and lots of native plants. We have decidious beauties such as native vine maples, Japanese maples and native elderberry. A gorgeous dogwood is currently blooming and lots of evergreens: mahonia, evergreen huckleberry and numerous hydrangeas, hostas and great ground covers (native twin flower vine and non-native but quite lovely evergreen vinca) also enhance the garden palette of textures and colors. We have much more but that’s just a taste of the myriad eco-system of plants in our garden.

Rhodie 'Nancy Evans'

We’ve put in a few raised beds full of veggies and herbs in two areas of the garden to capitalize on the sunny areas. Our favorite veggies from last year were round carrots called Parisien market carrots. They froze really well and we were using them in stews and soups until about February when we finally ran out. You can bet these are going to be planted again this year – even more than last year.

Last but not least we’re putting in a small patch of lawn this year. I never thought we’d do that but after much study it’s the right thing to do in our garden. See my column on Friday May 7 for more details on our lawn adventure.

I though you’d like to see a few of the rhodies  and azaleas in our garden. I’ve posted them on this blog. Enjoy and happy gardening.

deciduous Exbury azaleas are easy to grow

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Next on our list of local pollinating bees is the Leaf Cutting Bee (aka Leaf Cutter Bee). 

    Leafcutter bees are black with white or silvery hairs. Instead of carrying pollen on its legs, the leafcutting bee carries it in hairs on its underside. The males have hairier faces than the females. The alfalfa leaf cutting bee is used in pollinating alfalfa crops in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana.

    You’ve probably noticed this bee’s lovely perfectly circular holes (along with parts of circles) cut out of rose leaves and petals and other green leaves in the garden. Leafcutter bees wrap these plant parts up into a cigar shaped packet containing pollen and one egg that soon turns into a larva to pupate within this nutritious capsule. The packets are tucked here and there throughout our gardens in small holes left behind by other small creatures. Sometimes you may even find a leafcutter nesting packet tucked into the soil in a containerized planting. Leafcutter bees will also nest in hollow trees, hollow plant stems, bird nests and holes in wood.

    Each packet is constructed of about 15 pieces. The female leafcutter bee can produce about 40 offspring but the number can be as low as 12 to 16. Nests are constructed in the spring, the leafcutter bee from that season dies and the next generations emerge from the packets the following spring. Some years more than one generation is possible.

For a photo and information on leaf cutter bees visit:

http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/insects/bees/leafcutting_bee/

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Hello Dear Readers,
My extreme apologies – the topic this coming March 17 for the MGFKC 3rd Wednesday Seminar is really Mason Bees presented by speakers from the Peninsula Fruit Club.
You won’t want to miss this free talk at the Eagle’s Nest at the Fairgrounds.
The Plant Propagation Class is really on April 21 from 1-3 p.m.
I listed the wrong topic in my Friday March 12 column. Sorry.

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Please join the WSU Kitsap Extension Beach Watchers and Beach Naturalists tonight on two beaches in Kitsap from 7-8:30 p.m. for a night time beach walk.

We’ll meet in Bremerton at Lions Park at the Boat Launch – start gathering from 6:45 to 7 p.m. and on Bainbridge Island we’ll gather from 6:45-7 p.m. in front of the Senior Center and will walk down to the beach next to the ferry dock.

Dress for the weather, wear shoes or boots for beach walking (and possibly getting wet) and bring a headlamp or flashlight.

The beach looks so different and magical at night. You’ll be amazed at the creatures you’ll see there.

Please join us.

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Many local gardeners have been worrying about how cold it was and then now we’re worrying about how warm it’s been. Are we never happy? What about the plants? Do they even care? OK, enough questions.

When the weather warms up as it did earlier this month, we are outside more and we start noticing all the new plant life around us. In other stormier, colder years in January we’re hardly outside at all so we don’t notice all the tips of greenery popping up from the earth and peeking out on the twigs of our shrubs and trees.

Unless we were to get a hard, fast and long freeze now all these signs of new life will continue to grow and be unaffected by our fluctuating mild and soggy or wicked weather. Never fear, mother nature knows exactly what she’s doing.

Now having said that, we have 38 recorded micro-climates here in Kitsap County so I’m sure some of our Kitsap Peninsula gardeners will report stricken or annihilated plants as a result of our ever changing December and January weather. 

Here’s a tip though – sometimes plants appear quite dead and/or crisped and it’s always best to wait several months before whacking the plant down to the ground or removing it. Plants can be very resilient in spite of our kindnesses or lack thereof. Sometimes all plants need is a little cosmetic trimming off of the dead and dying portions. Remember too that some woody plants don’t even begin to leaf out until May. Gardeners learn patience through the life cycles of  their plants.

If you are concerned though about your plants please send a digital photo to ptillery@co.kitsap.wa.us along with your concern. It’s always good to put something in the photo to show the scale. A ruler works well to indicate scale.

Happy Gardening.

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It’s that time of year again to order native plants from the Kitsap Conservation District. You’ll order the plants this month and then pick them up in March. Details are available at this link http://www.kitsapcd.org/pdf/Newsletter_Jan2010.pdf 

Native plants need a little TLC at the beginning of their lives, but once established are very resilient in our gardens. There are abundant choices. Check out books on native plants at local bookstores or the Kitsap Regional Library branches to help make decisions and learn more about each variety.

Get a group of friends or neighbors together and place a group order from the Conservation District. The only trick to ordering plants this way is some do not come in containers – they will be bare root. You’ll want to either get them planted in the ground within a day or two (making sure to prevent the roots from drying out) or else pot the plants into containers to grow that way for a while. Either method, you’ll want to check for kinks, tears or die back on the roots before planting. Trim off any dead, dying or damaged root sections. Use a clean, sharp tool to do this.

Once the containerized plants are all potted up, store in a sheltered area away from winds and wicked outdoor conditions. Check at least once a week and water regularly. The plants can stay in containers for a while, but not longer than a year if possible. Remember, the best time to plant in our area is from September through about April, sometimes into May and June.

Native plants are very resilient and adapted to our climate and conditions, but they need care at the beginning until their roots get established. Monitor their need for water during our often very dry summers and early falls. Remember too that soil in containers dries out faster than in a garden.

Consider going together with family, friends or neighbors for a group order. Have a planting party to get those native plants in the ground the weekend you pick them up from the Conservation District plant sale. Have a big party with lots of good food and beverages to reward yourselves for your hard work.

Happy Planting.

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Hello Readers,
Today, together, we begin a blog called “Plant Life.” I’m Peg Tillery and I work for WSU Kitsap Extension as a Horticulture and Shoreline Educator. In this blog you’ll find ramblings and tips about plants and all things green. I’m also the WSU Kitsap Extension Shoreline Educator and I work with Jeff Adams, Washington Sea Grant. We coordinate the Beach Watcher Program and the Rain Garden Mentor Program. You’ll want to also check out his blog called “Sea Life.” The coolest thing about our jobs is we get to work with amazing volunteers and also help the public learn about gardening and our marine shores – including the non-human creatures that live on the land and in the sea. Such a deal! I hope you’ll send in your horticulture questions or questions about the programs we coordinate. The WSU Kitsap Extension website where you’ll find much more infomation about all the educational classes and workshops and resources we have to offer is http://kitsap.wsu.edu – check us out, you’ll be glad you did. I’ll sign off for now, but please check back regularly.

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