It feels that once we get past the last frost date, May 15, garden season starts in earnest. This is not to say that some serious work has not already taken place, but now we push headlong into our garden plans. And the weather has been nearly perfect with cool temperatures and ample rain, although perhaps too much of that rain on the weekends.
Trees – I planted two trees near the location where two trees were removed (to some degree).
The White Fringetree was planted over a month ago, and it seemed as though the leaves were never going to pop. This tree replaced a weeping cherry tree that had reached its shelf-life.
The Paper Birch is replacing the Aspen tree that developed an incurable disease. I did leave the trunk of the Aspen in place as a snag (snags provide habitats for wildlife, and in this case, a landing spot for birds).
In addition to these two trees, I added one more Red Chokeberry and a very small Serviceberry.
Plants – I added several new species of perennials. As I put in the garden, I left plenty of space between the plants because I really did not know how fast some of these plants would grow. Now that I have somewhat an idea of growth patterns, I realized I needed to add additional plants to fill in some of the spaces. Plus, this past year I expanded a few sections, and those sections now were ready for additions.
Blephilia ciliata – Downy wood mint (10)
Conoclinium coelestinum – Blue mist flower (3)
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus -coralberry (1)
Symphyotrichum laeve – Smooth aster (1)
Pycnanthemum incanum – Hoary mountain-mint (1)
Vernonia hybrid – Ironweed (1)
Penstemon digitalis – Foxglove Beardtongue (5)
Gillenia trifoliata -Bowman’s Root (2)
For many species, I purchased just one as a trial. Most were purchased locally, although five species came from Tait Farms, located just south of State College. They had a really nice selection of native plants with most of those plants originating from Centre County. They were also in small containers, and with this, the pricing was lower. (Easier for me to give them a shot).
The criteria used for selecting these plants – Full to partial sun, dry to average moisture (although the blue mist flower and Bowman’s root are listed as preferring soil conditions that have a bit more moisture, so we’ll see if where i placed it will be sufficient.)
Seeds – My first foray into growing native plants from seed has been…underwhelming. I realize now that this is not like growing your basic varieties of annuals. I think I will leave the growing-from-seed thing to the professionals, although I will see this out.
Rabbits – my hairy foes have been nibbling a bit too much this year. I momentarily removed on of my circular fences that was protecting a New Jersey Tea plant. It had blown over and instead of putting it back in place, I decided to wait until the next day. Huge mistake. The next day it was nothing but a stub of a plant, essentially cut off at the ground’s surface.
Deciding I cannot cage everything, I purchased Liquid Fence – deer and rabbit repellent. Not sure how well it will work, but I can say that it is one of the most foul smelling substances.
Coming to Life – Great to see what some rain and warmth will do.
Pennsylvania Native Garden Journey 