Summer Loving

Sunday is Summer Solstice. I'm trying to decide what I want to do on the longest night of the year. Maybe work on my tan in the EVENING (just because I can). I'm interested what other people do to celebrate the beginning of the Summer season. If you want to share please add it to the comments section.  Either way, these extended days are really lending themselves to more renewed energy.  The birds are definitely feeling it too. Most days I find the barn swallows attempting to build a nest in the Horticulture garage if I leave the garage door open too long. The resident coyotes have given birth to a litter of six cute and bouncy pups. Apparently, they have been spending a lot of time on the West side of the #1 hole. There is so much activity outside. I recently discovered a hummingbird hawk moth siphoning the pollen from the containers at #1. In my ten years of gardening I had never seen one before. Needless to say, I was pretty excited.

I'm also happy to say that the perennials and annuals are maturing for the year and the bed near the #9 hole is starting to take shape. In the last blog post I promised I would  provide the plants selected for that garden bed.  The plants were chosen primarily for it's Summer and Fall interest (i.e. the busy season). Warm yellow, cool blue/ purple, pure white/ silver and chocolate brown are the main colours used throughout the bed. I chose these hues to complement other garden beds and to be welcoming and calming. A mass planting of feather reed grasses were used in the center bed to create the illusion of a sea as the grasses move in the breeze.  Groupings of lavender were planted near the pathway to provide a pleasant aroma in the warm Summer months. Ultimately, it's a Summer prairie perennial garden bed and it should really be coming alive as we progress into these warm Summer days. 

Here is the plant listing for the beds:

Shrubs

Variegated Red Twigged Dogwood - Cornus alaba 'Elegantissima'

Dwarf Fothergilla - Fothergilla gardenii 'Mount Airy'

Heavenly Bamboo - Nandina domestica 'Gulf Stream'

Grasses

Feather Reed Grass - Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' 

Mexican Feather Grass - Stipa tenuissima 

Blue Oat Grass - Helictotrichon sempervirens

Sedge - Carex oshimensis 'Evergold' 

Purple Fountain Grass - Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum' 

Perennials 

Cardoon - Cynara cardunculus

New Zealand Flax - Phormium tenax

Black Bugbane - Actaea simplex 'Black Negligee' 

White Conflower - Echinachea purpurea 'White Swan'

Purple Coneflower - Echinachea purpurea ' Magnus'

Cranesbill Geranium - Geranium 'Johnson's Blue' 

Perennial Sage -Salvia nemerosa 'May Night' 

Russian Sage - Perovskia atriplicifolia 

White Blazing Star - Liatris spicata ' Floristan Alba' 

Evergreen Spurge - Euphorbia characias 'Glacier Blue' 

Threadleaf Coreopsis - Coreopsis verticillata 'Moonbeam' 

Oriental Poppy - Papaver orientale

Phlomis - Phlomis tuberosa 'Amazone' 

Jerusalem Sage - Phlomis fruiticosa

Stella de Oro Daylily - Hemerocallis 'Stella de Oro' 

Spindle 'Emerald and Gold' - Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald and Gold' 

Rock Rose - Cistus purpureus 'Alan Fradd'

Fred Boutin Lavender - Lavandula intermedia 'Fred Boutin'

Wooly Thyme - Thymus pseudolanuginosus

Happy Easter!

It's Easter Sunday. Happy Easter! Finally, Spring is upon us. The anticipation of the Summer is here. At the Turf Care Center that means earlier and earlier start times.  Soon we'll be arriving at work when most party goers are still making there way home. It's the season of really long days and really really short nights. Excuse me while I just put my head down for just one second.....zzzzzzzzz....I digress. More to the point, it's the season where the air warms up and we reunite with all of the slumbering plants cozy under the soils surface. We've already seen the perky daffodils and tulips welcoming us through the entrance and the woody deciduous shrubs budding into new foliage for the season. I love the bright new red tips of the Photinia shrubs bordering the parking lot. It's my favourite time of the year to traipse around the garden and look for any new discoveries. I've noticed the herbaceous perennials are starting to plump up and are getting ready to put on a show soon.  Also, the iris's bordering the main pond are standing on guard and getting ready to bloom.  Currently, the young creamy yellow magnolia trees are blooming and timing perfect with the daffodils below them.  It's definitely the season of new beginnings and the season for Gardeners to reflect on their designs from the year before. 

This year has also seen the genesis of three new garden beds. The finishing touches are just being made to the beds at the #9 hole. They serpentine along the 180 foot walkway adjacent to the west side of the clubhouse. Unfortunately, an irrigation pipe burst at the foot of the main bed the day after planting was completed.  The Irrigation tech is waiting for a dry day when his schedule is free to fix the pipe.  Then that area will be patched up and replanted. High traffic turf and a heavy sand composition base was placed around the perimeter of the beds last week. The turf was modified from 3 feet to 2 feet. It will require a few planting adjustments to balance out the project. It's very close to being completely completed. Unless of course another pipe bursts or a parade of elephants decides to tromp right through the beds. Those variables aside, it's looking good. I'll follow up with another post soon about the plants in the #9 bed.  Enjoy your Easter holiday and I hope you all have some delicious sea salt dark chocolate hidden in your backyard and a cuppa hot early grey tea and a hot cross bun (not the stale grocery store kind, but the extra fluffy ones from the bakery...you know the kind)!

Pruning Roses 101

If you have ever pruned a rose bush in your life than you have inevitably been pierced with a rose thorn (because it happens every time).  This is when you become truly aware of the fragility of the human body...it hurts.  I would take a picture of my bloody hands from the the last two days of rose pruning but it might offend readers. It's the yin and yang of beauty and pain.  You have to prune these little buggers every year in the break of Winter to force them to bloom fantastically in the flush of Summer.  Be armed, be prepared, be savvy!  This battle occurs at the first sign of Spring, when there is no sign of frost on the forecast, generally mid-February to early March, or when the daffodils start blooming.

Rose Thorns

All the spent rose leaves should have been cleared already from under the plants when they first drop (late Fall), this should eliminate any potential mildew or black spots. I would also suggest clearing any accumulation of mulch or leaves from the base of the roses to avoid burying the plants.

Black Spot

Also, I hope you've been able to take advantage of the ripened rose hips to make all your Vitamin C rich teas and tinctures over the fall and winter months. If not, harvest those before disposing of your rose clippings.  Here is a link to some harvesting and recipe ideas.

Rose hips

Make sure you are armed with sharp and CLEAN secateurs.  I've stressed the clean part because roses are very susceptible to diseases that can be transferred from dirty tools. To disinfect your secateurs you can use any household disinfectant.  I often use a Lysol product and a towel or if I'm close to a water source...soap and water works wonders.  Also, purchasing a pair of rose safe gloves might be a good investment if you have a lot of rose pruning on your agenda.  These gloves have a slightly thicker plastic coating to prevent thorns from piercing through the gloves.

Secateurs

Rose Gloves 

Proper Pruning

Prune to open up the plants for light and air circulation and to avoid overlapping branches.  Attempt an elk antler or vase form.  When removing a dead, diseased or damaged branch, remove it from the base entirely.  Also, remove any weak or suckering branches.  Aim to keep the strongest branches that are growing away from the center of the plant.  Roses have alternate leaf arrangement.  So when pruning the roses align your secateurs to the leaf buds at a 45 degree angle and clip about 1/4 " above the bud that is facing toward the outside of the plant.  This is really important because if you leave too much of a stub from the leaf bud it will require the plants energy to replenish the plant instead of using that energy to force a leaf.  Alternately, if you cut into the leaf bud, the plant will die back to the next leaf bud and will potentially leave it open to infection.   In other words, prune it effectively in the beginning and avoid injuring your prized rose bush.   One of the most common varieties of roses is the hybrid tea.  When pruning a hybrid tea rose you want to cut it down by about a half or 18-24".  

Hybrid Tea Rose

Now, rake all of the debris from under the roses that may have fallen off during this process and dispose of all your clippings.  Put it in the green waste bin or garbage.  These are not compost worthy scraps, unless you have a high heat composter that can kill off any potential fungal diseases.  Clean and dry your tools. Tada...you're done!  Now you can wait it out for the buds to swell and fast forward a few months and everyone will ask why you have such beautiful roses.  

Of course, this is Rose Pruning 101.  It can get a bit more complicated when you start to get specific on different varieties of roses.  And, there are HUNDREDS of rose cultivars. Here is a quick link from the internet of the major rose varieties and slight pruning variations.

BLOOMS ONCE, ON NEW GROWTH

Modern Ever-Blooming Roses & Floribunda: These bloom best on the current season's growth. Prune hard (½ to 2/3 the plant's height) in the spring and remove old woody stems. Leave 3-5 healthy canes evenly spaced around the plant. Cut them at various lengths from 18 - 24 inches, to encourage continuous blooming.

Hybrid Teas & Grandiflora: These also bloom on new wood and should be pruned in early spring. Remove dead and weak wood. Create an open vase shape with the remaining canes by removing the center stems and any branches crossing inwards. Then reduce the length of the remaining stems by about ½ or down to 18 - 24 inches. You can allow the older, stronger stems to be a bit longer than the new growth.

BLOOMS ONCE, ON OLD WOOD

Ramblers: Prune to remove winter damage and dead wood or to shape and keep size in check. Ramblers bloom only once and can be pruned right after flowering, all the way back to 2-3 inches if you wish.

REPEAT BLOOMERS

Modern Shrub Roses: This group is repeat bloomers, blooming on mature, but not old, woody stems. Leave them unpruned to increase vigor for the first 2 years and then use the "one-third" method. Each year remove one-third of the oldest canes (in addition to any dead, diseased or dying canes).

Climbers: Climbers may repeat bloom. Prune early to remove winter damage and dead wood. Prune after flowering to shape and keep their size in check.

Bourbons and Portlands: These will repeat bloom, blooming on both new and old wood. Prune to remove dead wood before flowering. A harder pruning and shaping can be done after the first flowering.

MINIMAL PRUNING NEEDED

Alba, Centifolia, Damasks, Gallica, and Mosses: This group blooms only once, producing flowers on old wood and don't require much pruning at all. Prune only to remove dead or thin wood and to shape the plants and prune after flowering.

A Very Belated Year In Review 2013

I wanted to share some of the photos I took over the 2013 season. I'm sure everyone has some beautiful shots of Quilchena taking up valuable room on the memory card of there phone.  If you wish to share them please add them to the comments section. I'd love to see them!

The subtle Gunnera leaf taking up valuable space in my cart

A storm a brewing

Gorgeous Summer day cruising along the #10 hole

Sprinkler velocity

The heron investigating the koi pond for sushi

Wildflower seeds amass along the dyke and #4 hole

Captain Jack, our new member to the Grounds crew

A foggy eight legged kind of day

The Burning Bush in all it's glory near the putting green

A week of fog and weather confusion at Quilchena

First frost

Multi-layered sunrise igniting the sky

Where's the Cat in the Hat?

Aaron and Jay overwhelmed by Winter morning sunrise

Caution- Garden in Progress

The hedge has been removed.  My spade has broken ground and the garden bed is starting to take shape.  All this action is happening adjacent to the #9 hole.  But, please be patient.  The completed garden bed is still a ways a way. An inexpensive temporary fence has been assembled for safety against a potential screamer of a shot. It will be removed when the garden has been completed.

In the meantime, I'm using the existing clay soil for the garden bed to minimize the cost of purchasing an abundance of new soil.  Unfortunately clayey soil can be challenging for gardening. The clay particles lie flat like sheets and can compact really easily, making it difficult for delicate plant roots to break through the soil. This can minimize plant size and vigor. That being said, I'm going to attempt a few different strategies to transform the texture of the soil.  An application of lime can soften the clay soil as it leaches through.  Also, I'm using the leaf mulch that has been culturing near the Horticulture garage for the last year and a half (I wrote an earlier article on my leaf composter). It's full of all sorts of beneficial insects and rich organic matter.  I'm excited to see the insects work through that clayey soil and search for the nitrogen rich turf on the underside of the clumps of earth. This action will improve the porosity and fertilization of the land. Additionally, a large application of compost will be topdressed over the entire area of the garden beds prior to planting.  

The concept for the finalized design will be a prairie perennial border amass with ornamental grasses and bright summer blooming flowers paired with plants that have all season interest.  It should be a very lively and inviting series of gardens when completed.  Posters have been made that detail the project. There is a poster in the kiosk as well as on the bulletin board outside of the mens changing room.  Have a look and feel free to direct feedback my way. 

Love Birds for Valentine's Day

I just came across an excellent gift suggestion for Valentine's Day.  I was browsing the O.W.L. Orphaned Wildlife Centre website and noticed that you can adopt an orphaned owl for the year for $20. Not only that, you can adopt a couple for $30. Imagine adopting Blinkey and Casper (the Great Horned Owl's) or Flash and Curly (the Bald Eagles). Those little love birds could be shown a little love during the season of love.  It's a way better gift than a dusty box of stale chocolates or a lousy Hallmark card!

O.W.L. is a volunteer based organization based out of Ladner that rehabilitates injured predatory birds in the Lower Mainland. It's a huge support to have a facility like this nearby to help protect these important bird species. Just last year alone O.W.L. picked up an eagle and two owls from the Quilchena grounds and successfully returned two of those birds back to nature. Over the years, they have nursed numerous valuable birds back to health from this course. These passionate volunteers undergo a pretty extensive education program to ensure the best health to their feathery patients. Please help support this most worthy local organization and you'll feel all warm and fuzzy for Valentine's Day!

Fresh and Hedge Free Walkway

It's official. The hedge was removed from along the #9 hole yesterday.  Personally, I've been waiting for this moment for close to two years now.  I'm really excited! The hedge was failing and beyond recovery. It was integral that we remove the hedge and freshen up the area to improve the appearance of this high traffic walkway. I have big plans for this space.  The plans are currently waiting the approval of the Golf Committee, which meets on Tuesday. If you have any feedback, concerns or questions please either contact myself or a member of the Golf Committee before the 11th so that we can address any issue before installation is underway.

The concept for my proposed design was inspired by Dutch Landscape Architect Piet Oudolf's designs. I think his design style would be really effective at Quilchena. Mr. Oudolf used mass plantings of ornamental grasses and prairie perennials to create strong impact with a relaxed and inviting effect.  

Piet Oudolf design of mass planted grass

The plan for the area at the #9 hole has three garden beds broken up with two exits from the green to the primary pathway.  The beds would be serpentine shaped and the two larger garden beds would be massed with the grass Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster'.  This grass has an erect habit with medium sized seed pods.  It would be dense enough when mass planted to catch stray golf balls and yet short enough to obscure, but not block, the view of the golf course.  The movement and the reflection of light from the tips of these grasses creates a really ethereal appearance.  Among the grasses would be strategically spaced shrubs for Late Winter interest, when the grasses are sheared short. Prairie perennials and bulbs would be planted throughout these beds to create colour and contrast. The smaller bed on the South side would be the showy front entrance bed planted with perennials and annuals for high impact. Grasses are a really economical option for this area and high impact. These design would be fresh, fun, relaxing and inviting!  

Here is some pictures of the hedge before and after removal. 

Before

After