Mulching Time
Ah, the fragrance of freshly laid mulch! A definite sign of spring, and a smell only a gardener could love. I would advise scheduling your mulching at least a week before your outdoor graduation party unless all the attendees are landscapers.
Mulching has certainly become a springtime ritual, and for good reason. It suppresses weeds, conserves moisture, and keeps the soil cooler in the dog days of summer. It has also become subject to fashion, particularly as the use of dyes have increased. I hear black is on its way out. An unreliable source told me hot pink would be next year’s mulch color.
Another trend is the use of gravel mulches. Spread it once and you’re done; however, gravel is not cheap particularly if you want some of the more exotic colored ones. You will want to keep in mind these things if you do go gravel. Put landscape fabric down before the gravel. It will control weeds below it and prevents the soil from working its way up through your gravel – not a pretty sight. If you have acid loving plants such as rhododendrons or azaleas, don’t use limestone gravels. Finally, gravel absorbs a lot of heat, so woodland edge plants like dogwoods might show some displeasure with the gravel if in full sun.
I have generally been aghast at the gravel mulch movement because it just seems so sterile and stark to me. It adds no organic matter to the soil, and it’s a pain to dig in a gravel bed. I can’t fault anyone though for not wanting to pay for mulch every year, much less spread it every year, and I will concede there are places such as pools, where gravel mulch is a better choice. So go ahead with gravel, if that’s what you want.
I won’t judge you too harshly.
For more information on mulch, here’s a link to a great article by Don Rakow, former Director of Cornell Plantations.
Lilac Time
Speaking of fragrance, the lilacs are in bloom, at least the old fashioned kind. For better or worse, these lilacs are not seen in most landscapes today. They have been replaced in the landscape by more diminutive, less vulgar cousins such as the Miss Kim lilac, or the dwarf Korean lilac.
How fitting that the name given to them by botanists is Syringa vulgaris. Vulgar as they may be, their sweet scent is unsurpassed.
The other day I visited the garden of Dick Poffenbaugh, long-time gardening columnist for the News Journal. He had agreed to show me his collection of Father Fiala lilacs. Rev. Fiala was a parish priest in Ohio, and taught at John Carrol University. Now deceased, he bred lilacs and crabapples at his home in Medina. He also published two books on those plants regarded as authoritative texts.
Dick and I are conspiring to bring the vulgar lilac back into fashion, so he showed me some Fiala lilacs that might garner some attention. The first was ‘Albert F. Holden’.
At 8 feet tall it was one of the smaller lilacs in his garden. Its flowers were a luscious deep violet with a wonderful fragrance. The second lilac was Yankee Doodle, with deep purple flowers. It had a nice fragrance but what was so incredible about this lilac was the size of the flowers. They were huge.
It was the smallest of the Fiala lilacs, standing about six feet tall.
We will be getting cuttings from these lilacs once the new growth has matured a bit, and hopefully will get enough to root for distribution. Lilacs are notoriously difficult to root, so we shall see. If nothing else, it gives me a chance to spend time with Dick and absorb a tiny portion of his vast knowledge on plants and gardening.
Tribute Time
People like Dick Poffenbaugh and Father Fiala are examples of passionate amateurs who often put us “professional” gardeners to shame with their accomplishments. One professional who I had the great pleasure to work with had no reason to be ashamed.
Charles Applegate worked as a gardener at Kingwood Center for over fifty years. His endless knowledge of plants was only surpassed by his endless energy. Even in his eighties he could spend a whole day working at Kingwood, then go home to work in his gardens until dark. He hybridized and named many plants. He received numerous awards for his work.
Sadly, Charles passed away late last year, and this is the first spring Kingwood is without him in many, many years. Passion is the key to a long good life, and Charles certainly had it. I will remember him most for his gentle spirit, and his witticisms. One I use quite often to explain why it is so difficult to keep up with weeds in the garden is because “weeds grow eight days a week”. So they do, and I know Charles is up in that Big Garden in the Sky telling St. Peter to make sure he plants the annuals in the soil, not the mulch.
Since his days as forced labor in his mother’s garden, John has learned to enjoy gardening and has actually made a career out of it. From the backyards of Columbus to the rooftops of Manhattan, John has soiled his hands. Former Head Gardener at Kingwood Center, John still gets his hands dirty in the local community. You can contact him at jmakley@centurylink.net.