Garden Siren Call

(Top photo) Ornamental C. Karl Foerster grass got really big after not being divided for decades; (middle) the grass is nearly completely removed using sharp shovel and hand saw; (above) A smaller replacement to the grass dubbed Goliath. The ornamental grass from Hell stood before us as a wall of grass. "Take me on!" It seemed to scream. And so we did, last week, on a grass dubbed Goliath. Many gardener experts consider dividing ornamentals as "not for the faint of heart," and that's the truth. Two of us tackled the C. Karl Foerster grass gone wild. It had been almost 20 years (2001 or so) since the pricey grass was purchased and planted in a new garden at the time. A ton of good black dirt covered the clay soil of the new garden plot, and the plant was in a sunny location. It thrived. Since it was planted, husband Steve was not allowed to trim it in the autumn; it has been left to the critters who live here in rural Scott County. One year, for ...

Implements used to divide overgrown Zebra grass A wheelbarrow load of what was removed The much smaller Zebra grass is replanted About a week ago the blog author blithely reminded readers it was time to divide perennials. Springtime is the best time to do this, of course, because the soil tends to be easy to work. Rainfall is expected on a regular basis. Dividing perennials also means the plants will remain healthy and at a usable height. So what happens when an ornamental grass has not been divided in many years? It becomes dead in the middle, and overgrown on the edges. Unsightly. Dividing such plants is "not for the faint of heart," advises garden experts on YouTube, among other sites. Try an Internet search of "divide Miscanthus," and a number of suggestions will appear. The use of reciprocating saws, DeWalt pavement breaker hammers, are among the implements cited as useful. In Scott County, Iowa, one determined gardener set up the radio n...

Shasta daisies are coming up; this patch is about 12 feet long and five feet wide; it needs to be divided this spring. The ornamental grass (at left) will also be divided. The message from one of Iowa's top gardeners contained some dreaded news: The best time to divide ornamental grasses, and perennials like Shasta daisies, is in the early spring. Dreaded, because the note arrived in late July, when this homeowner had some extra time to divide the items in question. Springtime is busy enough, without facing a bank of flowers that really should be divided. How to accomplish this? After some thought, it was decided to shovel a path through the Shasta daisies, just as they are emerging from the earth. This patch was first planted about 15 years ago and has grown to be about 12 feet long and six feet wide. It has never, ever, been divided. Richard Juaron, professor, Iowa State University, is an expert on gardening in Iowa, often quoted in newspapers and as a guest on publi...

  Christmas cactus at left, brunnera at right, sanseviera, Amaryllis, begonia, etc.   Big schefellera, it's more than 20 years old. Decades-old palm tree ar left & recently repotted schefellera at right. During lunch over the holidays, a friend asked, "Why no new garden blogs?" The easy reply "It's too cold out!" makes sense, until a visitor comes into the house. There are two big patio plants on each side of the doors, fresh flowers on a kitchen cart, a poinsettia on the table, a large Christmas cactus and six plants in various stages of development in the south-facing 'sun room'. Yep, gardening is still possible in Eastern Iowa, despite the winter weather. Each plant has a story. They all take some care, but good reasons exist to do the work: The porch plants started out as funeral flower arrangements for my dad, who died in 1989. The cactus began in a four-inch pot, purchased at a local gardening store. It now has be...

Three Linden trees line our driveway; they are very attractive until, almost every year, they are attacked by Japanese beetles. These trees were planted before the beetles arrived in Iowa. When we built our house in 1993 there was just one lonely pine tree near the site, and that was on land that belonged to our neighborhood association. As soon as possible, I added several birch trees, and other types of trees: Linden, weeping mulberry, to name two. I love trees and I think they add to one's property value. In fact, an Internet search shows mature trees on a nicely landscaped property might add 20 percent to the value of a home (hgtv.com). We have six birch trees, and they now are towering examples of a tree widely found in my native Minnesota; I have white birch, river birch, and a funny-looking red birch tree which grew up crookedly. The way other people think of trees varies widely: They are beautiful, but the upkeep! The need to rake leaves this time of year! One ...

The day lilies are yellow and orange in July and August, but in October, the flowers are gone and the stems are turning brown. This garden plot will be "winterized" by weeding it and and trimming back the plants. Looking out the window in October, it's clear that the day lilies are a mess: The mass of grass-like flower stems are rust-colored and bent in the rain. They will be trimmed and cleaned up before long. This week is when we start to winterize the Baker gardens in rural Scott County, Iowa. Average frost dates are Oct. 4-17 in this part of Iowa, according to experts at Iowa State University, Ames. These day lilies and other perennial flowers will be trimmed, with some exceptions. All the annual flowers will be pulled from the ground, 1-2 may be re-potted and brought indoors. The canna plant was purchased just this year; its bulbs will be preserved and planted it in a pot next year. Plants now on the porch will be cleaned up, deeply watered, and sprayed for...

Use a rain gauge to track rainwater in the garden  In a 10 day period of late August through early September, we received more than 14 inches of rain on our gardens at home. Fourteen inches! Yikes! Luckily, the plants are mainly in well-drained areas, crafted for the past 25 years. I carted away the heavy clay soil left during the (1992-93) home construction process and started with fresh, black dirt. I also add a number of soil amendments every year. But this year, garden work has been a little different: I'm home full-time and work outdoors in nice weather almost every day. On rainy days, I track the amount of rain we receive. Scott County got a lot of rain early in September but it's toned down a bit since. For example, we received 2 inches last week. Experts say Autumn is a really good time to sustain gardens. Some hardy perennials can be planted (think Autumn sedum, or mums); the nights are fairly cool and the days are still nicely warm. We also get rain ...