Tag Archives: low maintenance

Forsythia Through Four Seasons

It’s taken a couple of years for me to really appreciate Forsythia in all seasons.

ws - Forsythia in April
photo by SVSeekins

Yes, Forsythia is at its best in spring.  Every morning through March, I sit with my coffee & ponder the coming growing season.  As I’m peering out the kitchen window, my anticipation builds as the buds on the Forsythia show more & even more promise.

I’m energized by the sunny yellow blossoms in March & April.

Each year I feel so desperate to see any spring colour.   Forsythia will never be challenged over its prominent real estate between our driveway & the kitchen entrance.

For all that hoopla, it’s easy to forget about Forsythia for the rest of the year. But that would be ignoring the assets.

ws - Forsythia in May
photo by SVSeekins

In April & May, the yellow blooms give way to yellow-green leaves.  Like the rest of the garden, the shrub begins to fill out, supplying much-appreciated privacy.

ws - Forsythia in June
photo by SVSeekins

By June, Forsythia is a steadfast background green and working hard to compliment the new flowers in the garden parade throughout the entire length of the summer and into the fall.

ws - Forsythia in early October
photo by SVSeekins

When the brisk winds of October arrive, Forsythia again steps up for a more significant share of the garden interest.  The yellow, apricot and red leaves add lovely colour to the fall palette.

For Halloween, they’re even more vibrant.  No wonder Forsythia has become one of our garden mainstays!

ws - Forsythia in late October
photo by SVSeekins
ws - Forsythia in late December
photo by SVSeekins

By December, Forsythia is naked again.  That’s not my favourite look for a shrub… but I understand that without the barrenness of winter, the spring probably wouldn’t be as exciting.

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Another Vote for Peony

One of the coolest things in springtime is watching the Peony blast from the quiet earth like Jack’s beanstalk.

Peony - ws - blooming in spring
photo by SVSeekins

It’s truly amazing how Peony can put all that energy into massive growth, and still have enough left for those voluptuous blooms.

Granted, I’m not super keen on the fluffy pink flowers in May.  They’re lovely, but age poorly.  In a very short time they’re fading & reminding me of scrunched up Kleenex.

It feels cold hearted, but usually I dead head blooms early, to avoid the mess.

Peony - ms2- fading blooms
photo by SVSeekins

Then I just enjoy the Peony’s foliage for the summer.  It adds texture to the borders.  I don’t give it much attention, and neither do the deer.  So that’s a good thing, too.

Peony captures my attention again in autumn.  The fall campaign has wonderful color.

I figure that good interest in 2 seasons, spring & fall, is enough reason to keep Peony on my team.

Now I realize Peony is on the ballot for summer interest too.  I stumbled on this discovery by pure chance, or laziness (take your pick).

Peony -ms- fresh blooms
photo by SVSeekins

When we moved into Richmond House a few years ago, I had to clear all the foundation beds for drain tile work.

The dark green Peony recovered well from the transplanting & bloomed the following spring.

The Peony with lighter colored leaves grew, but didn’t bloom.

Peony are known for being particular about transplant depth.  I crossed my fingers & hoped they’d adjust themselves as plants often do.

Peony - ms - red bloom
photo by SVSeekins

This year they bloomed!  Yeah baby!

The flowers are a beautiful, rich red.  Fabulous!  Even better – –  the blooms didn’t fade & remind me of scrunched Kleenex!

Believe it or not, the petals were still the wonderful red color when they dropped off the plant.  Magic.

Peony -cu- summer seed pod
photo by SVSeekins

But wait – there’s more!  I had enjoyed the red Peony so much that I didn’t get around to dead heading, so the plant was able to set seed.

What cool seed pods!  Pods ROCK!

And get this, the other day Jill introduced me to her Tree Peony.  It had also gone to seed.  Wow!

The growth was well over my head – and pods, as big as my hand.  Can it get any cooler than that?

Tree Peony -cu- summer seed pod
photo by SVSeekins

A 3rd season of interest.  🙂

Now there’s more reason to pull out the garden hose even as flowers fade.  It’s fun to wander the garden checking for interesting seed pods.

Note to self.  Let more plants set seed.

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© copyright 2012 SVSeekins

Nix the Lawn

The lush green symmetry of a well-tended lawn is something I can appreciate.  But I can’t be bothered fussing with it myself.

Just down the road our neighbors have a teeny tiny front yard.  They chose something other than the classic square of grass.  There’s something artistic about it that really appeals to me.

checkerboard yard
photo by SVSeekins

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© copyright 2012 SVSeekins