With Director of Horticulture Eric Kimbrel
Just as gardening is an action, gardens are dynamic. Planting designs evolve over time. This spring and early summer, we created new plantings for the Maple Entrance, Woodland Glade, and Azalea Walk. We added native perennials like Spigelia and Asclepias to our garden rooms to increase biodiversity for pollinators. We planted sedges and ferns in the Woodland Glade to create a green tapestry as the ground layer and to help with water mitigation.
Editing the garden is always a task on our summer garden list, and this year we made edits in the sunken garden and Yellowwood Grove. When the canopy is full, we can evaluate the needs of the forest garden from all layers — primary or ground layer, secondary or shrubs/midstory, and tertiary or the canopy. We are pruning maples, birches, hemlocks, and rhododendrons to control height and allow more light into the areas below. Maples especially are quick to grow and must be reduced to create light for azaleas, turf, and younger spruce trees.
More rain would be helpful, and we have mulch in place to maximize moisture levels from the rain we do get. Without our typical summer showers, we must water with pond irrigation. It is important to plan for an alternative water source especially during droughts. Rain barrels or cisterns are a great solution for homeowners.
One day in late May, we noticed some white and black bumps on branches near the base of one of our wild blueberry plants in the Azalea Walk. After close inspection it was identified as cottony scale (Pulvinaria species). The white color was the female egg sacs, making the insect much more visible this time of year. The best control of this insect is with dormant season oil in winter, which allows for better coverage and suffocates the scale insect. Manual control (pulling them off by hand) is another way to get rid of them. Other types of scale insects also attack cultivated blueberry plants that are not wild, so keep an eye out if you have those types as well. A large infestation weakens the plant and diminishes flower and fruit production.
Another pest that has reared its head is the hemlock wooly adelgid. They are now visible with their white bodies growing larger now. We will spray smaller trees with an insecticidal soap or oil, and larger trees will be treated in late winter with both types of systemic insecticides.
We are experiencing damage to turf areas and beds by the digging actions of armadillos. They have been migrating east from Texas over the last century and will continue to move northward as temperatures rise due to climate change. I have found a granular product that seems to be keeping their damage to a minimum: Molemax Mole & Vole Repellent by Bonide is a castor oil formulation safe for pets and humans.
As summer progresses, we wait for the monarch caterpillars and revel in the beauty of SHR.