UGLY LEAVES! WHAT TO DO?

What to do with ugly, dying leaves? It seems that gardeners never tire of creating ways to hide unsightly, yellowing daffodil and tulip leaves!

Once the flower blooms and the petals fall off, if you are crazy like me, you can cut the flower stalks so that the "fruit" won't have a chance to form. That way, the energy that it would take to form the seeds will instead go into the bulb for the next year.

As for the leaves, when they are still green but start to flop over, it is okay to cut off the top half of the leaves, allowing the remaining part of the leaves to continue photosynthesizing, sending food to the bulb (a storage stem). They will stay upright for a while longer. When the leaves turn yellow, you can cut them to the base of the plant. Some people braid them (sorry to say that I once did that), twist them and tuck them under themselves, and/or bend and push them under surrounding plants. All are fine to do and you just have to decide how much labor you are willing to put in.

If you live in the Philadelphia, PA area, don't forget to stop by the Tamanend Art Show, Saturday, May 19, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can check out my flower paintings, Bucks County covered bridges, and beach scenes. There will be lots of other artists displaying their work, too. All art will be for sale. Refreshments will be served.

For details http://uppermoreland.patch.com/events/tamanend-park-art-show-93ba8424

Happy Gardening!

Posted by Barbara Rosenzweig

 

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GARDEN STRATEGY: NO MULCH, JUST GROUNDCOVER!

I absolutely love this season! With the perfect spring weather, it’s almost a pleasure to do the limited weeding that’s ahead. I say, “limited,” because with the strategy of NO MULCH, JUST GROUNDCOVER, I have very little weeding to do. By planting periwinkle (Vinca minor) in all of my garden beds, I’ve eliminated the mulching that I had been doing for over 30 years. All of my bulbs and perennials come up through it and the groundcover keeps in the moisture, preventing roots from drying out, even in the heat of summer. If you aren’t already doing this, you may want to give it a try – maybe only in a small portion of your garden, as a test patch. 

Red with Yellow Tulips

Grape hyacinths, tulips, heuchera, roses and narcissus growing through the periwinkle.

Bleeding Hearts, violets, and other perennials among the periwinkle.

When the first daffodils appeared, I painted this little girl trying to decide which flower she would choose. She's reaching for one, but looking at another! I hope that you enjoy her, along with my "Yellow Daffodil" painting!

"Girl with Daffodils" by Barbara Rosenzweig

"Yellow Daffodils"


Garden Tips for this Month:

• Some of the plants that may be divided now are primrose, bleeding hearts, asters, primrose, iris, daylilies, and chrysogonum. This is best done before they get too large, avoiding excessive wilting or death.
• To make plants bushier, cut back beautyberry, roses, St. John’s Wort, buddleia, and caryopteris in late March, early April.
• Remove “weeds” (any plants that you do not want growing where they appear) as soon as you see them. One man’s weeds are another’s valued garden addition!

 Primrose

Narcissus

What are your favorite spring gardening tips?

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Posted by Barbara Rosenzweig

TULIP WORLD

"Yellow Tulip"

Watercolor By Barbara Rosenzweig

 

The Yellow Tulip's brilliant red stripes on lavish golden yellow petals make this flower a real knock-out! My brilliant painting comes right from the flowers in my garden. To maximize this stunning effect, put this large floral on a central wall to be the amazing focal point of the room!

Curator Vivian Hughes of vivianhughesart created this lovely collection of "all things tulip inspired." It looks like my Yellow Tulip watercolor fits right in with her theme! Check out this eclectic selection!

MAY FLOWERS

"Yellow Tulip"

Floral Stretched Canvas Giclee

By Artist Barbara Rosenzweig
20x30 - $309

Canadian Curator of FigmentandRather created this visually stunning collection of May Flowers! I am so glad that she included my "Yellow Tulip" in this absolutely wonderful collection of fine art!!

THE POWER OF PURPLE

Early spring is a wonderful season to see how purple blooms, as well as the blues, enhance the depth of your garden. Grape hyacinths, Vinca minor, lungwort (Pulmonaria), and perennial forget-me-nots (Brunnera) all help punch up the contrast to our bright spring blooms – daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths.

                                            Red Parrot Tulip and Grape Hyacinths

                       Tahiti Daffodil with Grape Hyacinths and Vinca minor (Periwinkle) groundcover

                                          Tete-a-Tete Daffodils with Grape Hyacinths

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SPRING GARDENING TIPS

Pack the plants together to keep down weeds and create large sweeps of color.

• Be sure that all dead foliage from last fall is cleared away.
• Now the fun begins!  
• As young perennials continue their spring “rebirth,” you can take advantage of their wonderful ability to be divided.  Masses of a single color can be created and color can be brought to new areas of your garden. Think of your landscape as a lovely painting just waiting to be “completed” with colors from your flower palette. This way, too, bare spots can be filled with the added goal of preventing weed growth. And, of course, you can always share your bounty with gardening buddies

Here again, masses of color are very effective. In early spring, keep dividing perennials and massing them.

• Some of the plants that may be divided now are bleeding hearts, asters, primrose, iris, daylilies, and chrysogonum. This is best done before they get too big. If you wait too long in the season to divide and transplant them, excessive wilting or death may result.
• To make plants bushier, cut back beautyberry, roses, St. John’s Wort, buddleia, and caryopteris in late March, early April.

 Daffodils put on a beautiful early spring show. Use creeping phlox as a ground cover to set them off.

• New study: The Royal National Rose Society gardens in England conducted a rose trial that seems to prove that rose deadheading radically effects its rebloom. “If it is clipped off at the neck, rather than to the first leaf bearing five leaflets, as rose wisdom once dictated, the bush reblooms sooner, with 50% more flowers over the season."

Primrose is another perennial that can be used effectively in masses or borders.

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