If you’re a gardener, there’s a lot you can do in your very own yard to keep you busy during this time at home - start cleaning out the garden beds, creating new planting areas, or preparing your outdoor planters. Gardening is a great way to enjoy the outdoors, get some exercise and still keep within social distancing guidelines.
Not long ago, my gardeners planted dicentra in a patch down behind my chicken coops.
Dicentra, commonly known as bleeding heart, is named for its heart-shaped blossoms that dangle from slender, arching stems. They are easy to care for perennials that thrive in part sun or part shade on well-drained, moist soil.
Enjoy these photos.
These were already potted as bare root dicentra plants, but now they are ready to be transplanted into the ground. Potted dicentra may be planted at any time during the growing season.
Dicentra is an elegant, easy-to-care-for perennial. Flower colors include this bright pink as well as red, yellow, and white. Flowers have two tiny sepals and four petals. The flowers are bi-symmetric – the two outer petals are spurred or pouched at the base and curved outwards or backward at the tip, and the two inner ones with or without a crest at the tip.
Dicentra is a genus of eight species of herbaceous plants native to eastern Asia and North America. All the leaves are in a basal rosette, and flowers are on leafless stalks.
Here is a closer look at the leaves of the dicentra. These leaves are a medium green but will turn yellow middle to late summer.
First, Ryan positions all the pots where they will be planted. I plan to fill the areas around the dicentra with various hostas, which also thrive in shade. The trees are Metasequoia or dawn redwoods. In the back, one can see the chicken coops across the carriage road.
Ryan places them in small groups of about four or five plants each. Its informal habit and fernlike foliage blends well with wildflowers and other native plants. This garden will look terrific when it is all filled in.
Here is a wider view of this new garden bed. This space used to be all grass, but I decided to mulch it last fall and create a shade garden. Looking in this direction the lilac allee is in the back.
The few people tending the gardens are careful with every task in order to keep safe distances. It is much easier outdoors at my farm, where there is lots of fresh air and ample room for everyone. Next, Carlos digs the holes where the pots were placed.
Each hole is about eight to 10 inches deep. Dicentra is hardy in zones 3 to 9.
Always use a good fertilizer made especially for new trees and shrubs. We use M-Roots with mycorrhizal fungi, which helps transplant survival and increases water and nutrient absorption.
M-Roots is a granular fertilizer and soil inoculant that is available online and at garden shops.
A handful of M-Roots is dropped into the soil where the dicentra will be planted.
Then one by one Chhewang removes each plant from its pot.
This specimen has strong, well-developed root systems. The bigger the root system, the faster the plant will settle into the garden and the sooner it will flower.
The dicentra plant is positioned in the hole so the crown of the plant, or where the roots meet the stem, is about one-inch below the surrounding soil. In total, about 100 dicentras were planted in this area.
And if you have the space to store them, always save these pots, which can be repurposed later.
The soil around the plant is tamped to ensure there is good contact between the roots and the soil mix.
An herbaceous perennial, the bleeding heart plant dies back as the heat of summer arrives. When it withers away, the foliage may be cut back to the ground, but don’t remove the foliage before it turns yellow or brown – this is when the plant is storing food reserves for next year.
The plants are spaced about one to two feet apart, so they have enough room to grow and flourish.
Once all the plants are in the ground, the area is raked of any debris, rocks or footprints. Any good early spring gardening you can do in the safety of your own backyard is a wonderful distraction to today’s current events.
This year’s spring burlap removal project is complete.
Every autumn, for as long as I’ve been gardening, I’ve covered all my boxwood shrubs, various winter-sensitive plants, and outdoor ornamental urns to protect them from the season’s heavy snowfall, freezing temperatures, and damaging winds. And, every spring, when the ground begins to thaw, it’s all removed and stored away. The biggest part of this project is removing the burlap from my long Boxwood Allee. The entire process is a tedious chore, but this year, because we used our new industrial steel ground frames, the task of removing the metal uprights and purlin pipes was easier and more streamlined.
Enjoy these photos.
Once the temperatures are consistently above freezing, it’s time to remove the protective burlap coverings from all the boxwood around the farm. This was a mild winter, so we are about three weeks ahead of schedule with our spring chores.
To start, Phurba removes the wooden strips that help to sandwich and to secure the burlap around the specimens. These strips are at the bottom of the metal frames and screwed into taller wooden stakes.
In the proper lighting, one can see through the burlap. It has small mesh holes that allow air to circulate around the plantings during the cold season. Here, Dawa pulls the burlap gently off the frames, so as to preserve as much of the fabric as possible.
These frames are made from the same metal used to make hoop houses – strong industrial steel ground uprights and purlin pipes. These materials not only provide the necessary support frames for the burlap but also accommodate plant growth. I ordered all the piping from Growers Solution, a family-owned business in Cookeville, Tennessee.
Any snow that accumulates on top of the finished structures is meant to slide down the sides. Additional horizontal supports are available if using these structures as greenhouses. Here, Phurba removes the taller wooden stakes next to the metal poles.
These pipes are made from rolled galvanized 16 gauge industrial tubing. These top pieces are 10-foot wide bow sections that connect to ground pipes. These frames will last quite a while, I hope.
The metal poles are also buried at least eight to 10 inches into the ground, so they are secure. Dawa removes the metal poles and empties them of any soil.
The piles are piled neatly nearby, so they can be brought to storage in one group.
These fasteners are called tension purlin brackets. They connect the center piping to the bow sections of the frame. They are all collected in one bucket and stored with the other building pieces.
We use industrial burlap that’s available in giant rolls of 40-inches or 60-inches wide. These covers are used for about three seasons before being replaced. I always encourage the crew to save whatever is possible.
Phurba folds and rolls the long piece of burlap. One of the few downsides to this fabric is that it will start to fray and disintegrate after time, especially if exposed to moisture. In general, burlap is very strong and can withstand weathering and repeated wetting and drying with minimal loss of durability.
Taking down the burlap is a much faster process than putting the burlap up, but still quite time-consuming. We use a lot to cover all the many boxwood shrubs around the farm.
Dawa ties this roll of burlap with jute twine.
And then Phurba labels every roll for easy identification next fall.
A diagram is also drawn on the label for additional identification.
This is our Polaris Ranger EV 4×4, a very handy, smooth and quiet electric vehicle. All the Polaris Rangers get a lot of use around my farm. Chhiring carefully places all the pieces in the back and takes them to the specified storage area.
And here is Chhiring driving my Kubota model M7060HD12 tractor. I love this tractor. This tractor gets lots of use at the farm for carrying loads of materials, pulling or pushing agricultural machinery or trailers, hauling mulch and compost from our back-field to various gardens, and so much more.
The burlap is kept in the attic space of my stable barn where it can be kept dry until the first frost of autumn when it will be time to wrap the shrubs all over again.
Once the burlap is removed, it shows the beautiful green boxwood underneath. Some question whether covering plantings each winter really helps, but look how lush and intact the plantings are when uncovered – I definitely feel it is worth the time and effort.
And look – more spring growth below.
It makes me so happy to see all the green foliage in spring. Although this project was completed a couple of weeks ago, I hope you are all able to get some spring chores done around your home now while still maintaining good health and safety.
During this time at home, if you’re thinking about tackling a big organizing project, I encourage you to consider using the high-quality modular components I designed with California Closets. I’m so excited to be partnering with them on The Everyday System Collection - storage solutions for every space including the home office, the craft room, the pantry, and of course, the closet.
Recently, my nephew, Kirk Christiansen, and his girlfriend, Jen Norman, decided to redo an underutilized walk-in closet in their new home. They worked with California Closets to create a perfect configuration using The Everyday System. All the finishes are inspired by the products I use in my homes. And, because we’ve made the units so easy to install, they can be moved from room to room, or home to home, depending on storage needs over time. For this line, you can also shop the pre-configured system online, or create your own layout using California Closets’ virtual design consultations - a great option, especially during this challenging time. The Everyday System is practical, stylish and best of all, moveable.
Enjoy the photos on this special Sunday blog post.
My nephew, Kirk, and his girlfriend, Jen Norman, wanted to create a custom walk-in closet. To make things easy, California Closets now offers virtual design consultations with designers. Kirk and Jen chose the Perry St. White finish with gold hardware combination. (Photo by Andy Frame, andyframe.com)
Kirk and Jen chose to create The Everyday System configuration to match their needs, but customers can also shop the pre-configured system online. (Photo by Andy Frame, andyframe.com)
Using measurements of the space, Kirk, Jen and the California Closets design team came up with a number of great arrangements using their special CAD technology. (Image courtesy of California Closets)
They created ample space for all their personal items including this entire shelf for shoes. (Photo by Andy Frame, andyframe.com)
The mesh metal door on this 3-drawer cabinet allows items to breathe. This design feature was inspired by my daughter’s closets. Once the configuration is planned, the system is shipped for self-installation, or California Closets can do it for you. (Photo by Andy Frame, andyframe.com)
The shelves can be adjusted to fit specific needs. (Photo by Andy Frame, andyframe.com)
On this side, Jen has space for dresses and as well as blouses. Plus, open shelving and drawers. (Photo by Andy Frame, andyframe.com)
Everything is within easy reach and all the drawers include the popular soft-close feature. (Photo by Andy Frame, andyframe.com)
The Everyday System is modern, modular and moveable – a great new way to store everything in your home. Please go online to check out The Everyday System now. (Photo by Andy Frame, andyframe.com)
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
