Osmanthus Reduction and Gardening Symposium

I'm back to work at my gardening jobs. Some serious weeding and pruning is going on at Oak Hill. Peter Deahl brought out a crew to work on various trees and shrubs today. Peter is a master pruner, the go to guy for disciplining the garden. He and his crew masterfully reduced the false holly or Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Variegatus' by 50%. A relatively fast growing shrub that becomes so dense on the outside that leaves do not grow in the interior. I was always afraid to cut it back severely as there is almost always a garden tour right around the corner. Peter, in his typically artful manner, opened it up nicely, letting light reach inner branches. Over time, the entire shrub will be reduced (as the center fills up), so it's not knocking down neighboring tree peonies.

The chaste trees or Vitex agnus castus were also pruned. Flowers are produced on new wood, so removal of large limbs is not a problem. In fact, the way these have been pruned will produce more flowering stems for summer.

Winter has been so mild, some say we are a month ahead of schedule. If I were a betting girl, I think it will be a chilly latter half of March and much of April.  It would only make sense to have temperatures drop. The mild season has left fig trees alive to the tips of their woody branches. If the stems stay alive and green, it will be a bumper crop year for figs, Yum!

The Daphne odora at Oak Hill is blooming, perfuming the entire upper terrace. I'm a sucker for fragrance, so much of my day was spent weeding around them. I'll do the same when the lilies bloom, and the linden or Tilia americana, just follow the nose...

Recently I was researching corylus, specifically Corylus americana, which grows around the pond where I walk the dog. The catkins have been sending out clouds of pollen. At Oak Hill there is a Corylus avellana 'Contorta' or Harry Lauder's Walking Stick. Also full of catkins but I see no pollen puffs. Sure enough, this selection is sterile. The tiny pink female flowers (which I only just realized were there), will not be fertilized. Another kink in Harry Lauder's cane.

There will be a gardening symposium in Leesburg on March 24th and 25th, hosted by the Loudoun County master gardeners. I will be speaking on Sunday the 25th. The title of my presentation is "Why Challenge Yourself?", a look at plants that use fewer resources yet look good. The afternoon sessions are concurrent, you have to choose between two lectures. Opposite me, at the same time, is Peter Deahl. So, just sayin, if I don't see you in my lecture, I won't blame you. I  mean really, I want to hear Peter Deahl!

Here's the link:

http://www.loudouncountymastergardeners.org/Symposium%202012/symposiumhomepage.htm

Comments

[Bonnie]

Hi Karen, What a lovely post! Peter told me about your day of pruning out at Oak Hill. Somedays I would just love to just quit my job and come work with all my garden buddies from the past 25 years and just have some fun doing what I love to do. I did not know the Harry Lauder had little pink flowers as in the photo above. They are beautiful.

I hope all is wonderful with you. You look fabulous! We have both been saying what fun it would be to have a pot luck garden party when all warms up here at the house and just catch up on all our lives. BD

[Karen Rexrode]

A gardener's potluck. I couldn't agree more! I'll bring the fresh eggs :) We do have a lot of catching up to do. It would be great to have Judy Lewis there.