Gardening with Gael - Dreaming of a white Christmas

 

While everyone is sweltering in the summer heat, I am in snowy Southport, Connecticut, hoping for a white Christmas with my eldest son Nick.

There is more family arriving tomorrow all hoping for more snow. In the meantime I am in charge of pruning the garden we planted two-and-a-half years ago. 

Although the growing season here is short, plants seem to make the most of it. Hydrangeas, less than 10cm when planted, this year have produced flower spikes a metre long. I’m trimming them back to wellswollen buds hoping they will do the same next year. There is nothing left to see of the peonies except dead stalks and leaves but I can see they were luscious compared to mine back home.

I transplanted mine in the winter, something peonies do not like. This year they just made it out of the ground, only one flower and the rest sulking, clearly unimpressed by their move. I doubt they will ever achieve the abundance of these ones now enjoying their first sprinkling of snow, the cumulative effect of the cold weather that they love to follow.

“The peonies look as if they were lovely,” I say to Nick. His eyes narrow. “Hmmm,” he says. “The peonies. How long do you think they flower?” I think. I know my one flower this year seemed to last a couple of weeks, shedding its last little petal just before the Garden Ramble.  “Quite a while,” I say. “The three of them should last a few weeks by the time all the flowers have opened. “No,” says Nick. “A week maybe. Not enough. Their contribution to the garden is just not enough I’m afraid.
It’s time they went.”

I am horrified. I can see I’m going to have to make a very good case for them. Either side of the gate I planted the prettiest standardised willows I’ve ever seen, which during spring become covered in white leaves edged with pink. Apparently deer, Southport’s answer to possums, love them and last year almost stripped the bark off them entirely.

Nick was really concerned they had ring barked them and killed them. Luckily not quite. Now surrounded by protective mesh, both plants recovered. I will need a small stepladder to approach the top branches. The roses we bought have only just finished flowering.

It appears they contribute well, repeat flowering all season; so well that he has bought and planted several more, completely overcoming his initial reluctance. They’re not named varieties like we have. Simply called ‘Rose, red’ or ‘Rose, double pink’ they have branched out in all directions.

Nick’s instructions last year were to chop back by one third. I’ve given them quite a severe prune. I hope they do as well next year.  Part of my brief was to have evergreen plants that withstood the snow.

We chose box hedging, azaleas, conifers, rhododendrons and holly. All have grown well and I’m particularly happy with the holly. The berries appear on the female plants and although self-fertile ones can be found, I opted for safety and planted three female bushes with, as suggested, a male nearby. 

I am utterly thrilled to find all holly bushes doing really well, all three females covered in bright red berries with the masked plant lurking in the background. Decorations for the Christmas table sorted.