Best plans foiled

I have a rare treat today. It's a post about a disappointment in the garden, with the best of intentions not producing the results that were hoped for. Plans that seemed so solid and promised great returns a month ago now reveal a major flaw -- through unexpected circumstances.

That's not what makes this post special though, because as gardeners we deal with spoiled plans and disappointing results all of the time. What makes this post special is that it's not the humans in the garden whose plans have been foiled...

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Japanese mapleings

Japanese maples in the spring are wonderful, their foliage so fresh and perfect, as yet untouched by the blasts of summer heat. Plenty of water available, cool temperatures, vibrant colors -- but this post is not going to be a survey of my maples.

No, it's going to be a bit smaller in scope than that...

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Pond adjustment

The long months of winter make me forget each year how wonderful the pond is, how the garden would just not be the same without it. Once spring arrives and the plants start waking up, my focus returns to it, and I spend so much time just looking.

It's quite nice already, isn't it? It's got some problems though, which I hope I fixed this weekend.

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Some Support

This being my first spring growing large-flowered Clematis, I'm pleasantly surprised at the vigor that even my weakest plants have shown as things start to warm up here. So much growth already that I needed to do something about providing them support, allowing them to climb.

I started with the one that was doing best last year and has continued this spring: 'Niobe'. I had provided a temporary trellis for it to climb last year, but it's time for a more permanent solution.

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Survival?

Yesterday I talked about a plant (Tecoma capensis) that clearly survived a much colder winter than it should have. Today, I take a brief look at a plant that should have survived -- but I'm not sure to what extent yet.

It's my Musa basjoo, my cold-hardy banana. I've had this in the ground for three years now and have protected it the same way each winter, but this is the first spring that I'm concerned about it.

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Indestructible?

I received a couple of small transplants of cape honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis) three years ago in a plant trade with Gerhard of Succulents and More. In his California climate, these viney shrubs (or are they shrubby vines?) are quite the nuisance, suckering from their roots and taking over garden beds. Since I loved the foliage and was looking for a vine that could handle the tough conditions of my south wall trellis, I thought I'd give this "tropical" plant a go.

Expecting this to act like an annual for me, I soon realized that this plant may never flower. Still, some attractive foliage that won't wilt in the hot conditions over here would be nice. I was a little surprised when this vine survived the first two winters, but they were so mild for us in St. Louis that I wasn't shocked. Seeing the vine reaching a little bit higher up the trellis each year made me happy too.

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Starting on the garage plants

Sorry about missing a post yesterday, but I used the time to work in the garden rather than write about it. One of the things I did was pull out most of the plants that had overwintered in the garage. It was a disappointing year in that regard, at least at first glance.

I'll ease into it though, rather than shock you with photos of failures right off the bat. My sago palm -- getting so big and therefore difficult to find a good overwintering spot for -- worried me a bit as it looked like it started dying later in the winter.

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Bamboo Recovery

All of the bamboo in the Midwest (and probably other parts of the country) took a big hit this year, as the extra-low temperatures turned most "evergreen" bamboos brown. Emails from readers indicate that this is not just a problem in the St. Louis area, as there are many bamboo growers that haven't experienced this browning before and are asking what they should do.

Hopefully this post will help you decide whether your bamboo needs to be cut down or if you just need a little more patience until the missing greenery returns. Let's take a look...

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Busy!

Oh, hello there! Can't really stop to chat right now, as I'm actually quite busy you see.

I know you're not very close by, watching me through that camera lens, but I'm going to keep an eye on you anyway -- nothing personal. You don't mind if I keep working, do you?

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