The Haircut

I went to get my hair cut and somehow the conversation gravitated towards landscaping and cleaning up the garden.  She has no idea what I do in regard to writing a blog or just being obsessed with gardening.

Panicum Ruby Ribbons

This is a smaller Panicum which will layer in front of my Lythrum Morden's Pink, especially when it is cut down.  I am very pleased to see this color early in the summer without it being an annual grass.  This is a grass that can be left up for the winter.

Penstemon Hamelin

This is a totally carefree grass and can be left up over the winter.

Miscanthus Udine

I have a difficult time cutting this down when it is so beautiful.  It does flop, so I may neaten it up a bit and leave it up.  I know it will be extra work in the spring!

Miscanthus Little Kitten

It is recommended that this grass not be cut down in the fall.

Panicum Northwind

This is the flagship grass in my garden, left up over the winter and pops back up after the snow melts.

Being a working mother of three she said she just doesn't have the time to cut down everything before the snow flies.  So, she is hiring a landscaping company to cut down all the perennials, trim all of the boxwood, shrubs and some limbs off the trees!

Boxwood Green Velvet

I trimmed my boxwood in July and you can see that the growth since then is a lighter green.  In my zone five area it is not recommended that you prune boxwood after August 1st.  I did last year and had a lot of burn on the newer growth. 

I almost jumped out of the chair saying don't trim the boxwood, evergreens or trees now.  Also, be careful which shrubs you prune now or you won't have flowers next spring.

Viburnum Carlesi Compactum

As you can see the buds are fully formed to bloom next spring.  Prune right after flowering.

PJM Rhododendron

The Rhodies all have their buds for bloom next spring.  They should be pruned right after flowering.

Azalea Karen

Prune after flowering in late spring, keeps leaves all winter

The Lilies should not be cut down until they yellow or the bulbs will not have enough stored food to bloom the following year.

I am sure my landscaper knows what to do!  This is a very common reaction, we assume that people who cut grass know what to do with everything on our property.

My neighbor has a landscaper that trims everything in late July. thus the Viburnum does not bloom the following spring, or the Amelanchier (which is cropped down to hedge size) or the Rhodies which are topped off.  This is not an unusual occurrence if you do not know the timeline of the various flowering shrubs.

Neighbor's Viburnum

Not a bud in sight

Amelanchier (Serviceberry)

Cut into a ball, no flowers this year, no berries

All spring flowering shrubs need to be pruned immediately after flowering, early summer flowering shrubs before the end of July and fall flowering shrubs in the spring.  Certain hydrangeas grow on old and new wood so it doesn't matter when you prune them, but some only grow on old wood. 

Forsythia Greenstem

Low growing, blooms in spring, prune right after flowering

Weigela Dark Horse

Blooms late spring, prune right after blooming

Ninebark Summer Wine

This is a summer blooming shrub and can be pruned and trimmed back until August 1st.  Beyond that you take a chance that there will not be any flowers the next year.

Limelight Hydrangea

This hydrangea grows on old or new wood, can be pruned in spring or fall, but why would I prune it now?  The flowers will slowly turn to a pleasing tan and stay on all winter.

Hydrangea Unique

Blooms on old and new wood, can be pruned in spring and fall, however the blooms do not age well past the rosy pink stage.

I am going to experiment with Endless Summer Hydrangeas this year and not cut them back at all along with my Starlight Hydrangeas, no cut back for either.  We will see if this makes any difference in regard to the amount of blooms.  I am also going to feed all of my acid loving plants before the end of the month (I read this on the Internet last year and it seemed to work with tons of blooms, except for Endless Summer because they are very nitrogen reactive).

Hydrangea Let's Dance Starlight

Certain plants benefit from being left standing for the winter, like Agastache, Centranthus and Lavender need to have the stems left up in the colder climates.

Aster Monte Casino in the middle will be transplanted into the raised bed on the south side where I pulled out Purple Dome Aster.  Monte Casino is a florist aster used in arrangements but it is also hardy in my area and if pinched back to keep it full is a beautiful plant and not attractive to rabbits.

I had great success with cutting down my Autumn Clematis in the fall because I don't want it sitting up on the wood pergola all winter with the snow and ice.  It bloomed just great this year not caring at all, in fact I believe most type 3's could be cut down in the fall if late enough with no problem.

Autumn Clematis

February is a recommended time of year to prune most tree limbs (in the colder zones) because the sap is not running.  The time of trimming is also dependent upon the species of tree.  Of course if a limb is dead or diseased it needs to be cut off.  Tree trimming is a year round occurence but winter or early spring is the ideal.  Check out your local university extension recommendations for specific zones.

I can't believe that a haircut prompted a blog on pruning!

Crabtree Farm

Do you ever wonder where you have been all of your life?  When you have worked for a very long time spending each day being locked in for eight plus hours you sometimes miss what is going on outside of your daily endeavors.

That is how I have begun to feel when I go to places like the Oriental Museum on the grounds of the University of Chicago last winter and when I visit a place like Crabtree Farm in Lake Bluff, Illinois.

It was a rainy day when our group from the Art Institute arrived at Crabtree Farm, beautiful landscaping as far as we could see and a treacherous narrow road by bus with branches whipping against the side as we travelled.

At the turn of the century this was part of a 370 acre dairy farm owned by an Illinois Federal Judge, Henry Blodgett who created the Chicago and Northwestern Railway.

In 1905, Scott Durand bought 250 acres of the property for his wife Grace who had an education in Agriculture.  The property he bought was located in the village of Lake Forest which was a constant disturbance to the neighborhood.

Grace Durand with her cows

They relocated  further on to the former Blodgett property where in 1910 a fire destroyed the original farm buildings.  They had it rebuilt by Solon Spencer Berman (who designed Pullman Village) and those are the buildings that survive today.

In 1993 a bungalow was erected on the site of the original farmhouse which was destroyed by fire in 1972.  Its design was based on the drawings by Harvey Ellis and was taken from a 1903 issue of the Craftsman, entitled "How To Build A Bungalow."  This is the first home ever built to his specifications.

This is the Harvey Ellis Craftsman Bungalow.  We were not allowed to take photos inside the homes so I have had to get some interiors from the Internet.

Harvey Ellis designed the furniture that was placed in this home.  He was known for beautiful inlays, wood and metal.

The typical bedroom had Stickley furniture or in the Ellis house Harvey Ellis designs which had more curves and inlays than Stickley.

This is a room filled with Gustav Stickley furniture.  It is a family room that the current owners still use for family gatherings.  Gustav Stickley went bankrupt because he could not deviate soon enough from the "Mission Style" furniture of the Craftsman movement.

This is part of the same family room with the loft above turned into a media room.  These spaces are filled with Native American original rugs.

The original kitchen has been preserved with a twelve burner stove and terra cotta tile on the floor.

This is the cattle selling cottage, all original Stickley furniture.  I believe the rug is a William Morris original.

Teco Pottery is located in just about all of the buildings on Crabtree Farm property.  This one happens to be worth many thousands of dollars because it is so unusual.

Again, Stickley furniture and Donegal rugs loomed in Ireland.  These are all original from the early part of the 20th century.

Artisians live on the property and have the use of the grounds and equipment to produce their products.  This is a tree that was cut down and is being made into a bench for Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

I wish I was able to take photos of the William Morris designs in the rugs and fabrics that have been preserved all lined up in a room from the 1800's.

I was set straight by our tour guide that Craftsman is not a style but a philosophy that encompasses all types of furniture built by craftsmen during this time period.  It began in England (more delicate styles) travelled to the United States and became overwhelmingly Mission and eventually went worldwide. 

She was quick to point out that Craftsman incorporated all of the traditional styles like Hepplewhite, Chippendale, Sheraton, etc., but Stickley's downfall was that he didn't replicate some of these styles in the Craftsman philosophy.  Stickley is now a viable company again because they do offer all of these styles in the true Craftsman philosophy!

Garden Writers Workshop

I was lucky enough to be invited to the fifth annual Garden Writers Workshop at Midwest Groundcovers located in St. Charles, Illinois http://www.midwestgroundcovers.com/  They are an industry leader in the propagation, growing and wholesale distribution of nursery stock and deliver all over the Midwest.

It was a beautiful day and we began with a presentation on native plants and how important they are to our environment.  We saw how a formal garden can easily incorporate natives without looking unkempt or wild.

Another presentation was on Butterfly Habitats and no matter how much we thought we knew about butterflies we learned much more!

As we walked out on the patio to begin our tour of the gardens this field of grass greeted us.  I was so impressed by the glory of it I didn't ask the variety of this grass in the distance. 

Sunjoy Gold Pillar Barberry

Our guide loved this variety because it contains all of the fall colors.

Sporobolus heterolepis Tara

More upright than Prairie Dropseed

Blue Heaven Little Bluestem

I know many of us have read Piet Oudolf's books and seen photos of his gardens.  But, I have to tell you that after reading his design book over and over it all came to life and understanding when we walked over to see his gardens.

If one has learned anything from studying the Piet Oudolf gardens is that you cannot look at them and see a patterned or programmed design.  However, there is repetition but it is so subtle it looks like this garden occurred naturally.

We are seeing this garden in the fall, not at its peak but always interesting.  Piet came in this year and decided which plants should be removed and replaced with more appropriate varieties.  I loved this because don't we all do this when something is not working.  He is big on getting rid of plantings which become invasive.

Calamagrastis brachytricha

This is a feather reed grass like Karl Foerster, will tolerate some shade.  This grass is repeated in the background of the Piet Oudolf garden

Aster October Skies

Calamintha nepeta

Amsonia Hubrichtii

As we walked over to the island area the blazing red of the sumac caught my eye.  I had not seen this variety before.

Rhus Prairie Flame

Viburnum  Redwing

Aronia Iroquois Beauty

We walked on to a large stretch of hydrangeas with their fall color and characteristics on display.  I must say that the Limelight Hydrangea was the most beautiful and pleasing

This Limelight Hydrangea which has been out in an open field is much more tan than mine.

This grass was introduced to us as Miscanthus Little Kitten, but I wonder if it isn't Adagio, seemed much too big to be Little Kitten.  Oh well I guess I will find out because I have Little Kitten in my front garden!

Sedum Jaws

Sedum Mr. Goodbud

Viburnum Nudum

Molina Poul Pederson

Molina grasses are often overlooked as being too sparse but they are wonderful grasses to plant as "see through" grasses that add a floating feeling to the garden.

A beautiful planting of Rozanne Geranium

This is Allium Summer Peekaboo which will be introduced in 2014.  You are not seeing the flower at this time of year but you can see how compact it is and blooms later than many other alliums.

This is a Veronia that has no immediate plans for introduction because it is so slow to propogate.

These were our gifts as we left, Panicum Northwind, Maidenhair Fern and Anemone .

It was a wonderful day, wonderful tours, presentations, lunch and a great appreciation for garden writers and bloggers.  It was such fun to meet some of the Chicago area writers whom I had only known by name.

Thanks Midwest Groundcovers!

***Header is Prairie Dropseed

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