2010--The Year in Review

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that you are finding some time this week to recuperate from the holiday rush.  Our Christmas celebrations turned out to be rather fragmented, affected by the weather.  What was supposed to be a light snowfall turned into 5 inches of snow on Christmas Eve, making travel hazardous.  Because of the icy roads, only one son and his family could make it to our traditional Christmas Eve get-together. But my oldest son and his family came over Sunday evening after we had spent the afternoon with my parents, so we did get to see everyone, just not at the same time.  I felt badly for the grandkids who always enjoy playing with their cousins, but it did mean Husband and I had more time to spend with each one of them, so in a way that was good---and quieter:)

This is the time of year when the media always looks back at the past year and reviews the top stories.  Nothing newsworthy happened in my life this year, but there certainly were some highlights in the garden.  Instead of thinking about world events or economic crises, here is a restropect of my life in the garden in 2010:



The East Border of the Idea Garden in mid-summer.

 Undoubtedly, my biggest accomplishment this past year began in January when I started taking classes to become a Master Gardener.  Because I started gardening later in life, I wanted to catch up on all the basics I might have acquired through earlier experience.  For three months, our heads were crammed with all kinds of botanical knowledge, and some of it actually penetrated my long-term memory cells.  I still can't tell you what a monocot or dicot is, but at least I have a great reference book to look it up--should I ever need to know.



A small part of the County Nursing Home Garden in the spring.  Next year I will have to take more photos of this beautiful garden!

  While I took the class to learn more about gardening, I found added benefits I hadn't expected.  New friendships were formed with other class members, people whose eyes don't glaze over when you start talking about indoor seed starting or the different hydrangea cultivars, but actually enjoy these conversations.  Acquiring the necessary 60 hours of volunteer time at first seemed overwhelming, but this time, too, provided more than I expected.  Time to foster the friendships made in class as I worked alongside other interns and time to "pick the brains" of the experienced Master Gardeners.  Many thanks to Rosellen and June, co-chairs of the Sensory Garden in the Idea Garden, where I spent many hours, and to Phyllis and Carol, co-chairs of the County Nursing Home Garden, where I fulfilled part of my community service hours.  I learned so much from these dedicated and amazing ladies. 

In March Beckie and I made our second annual trek to Chicago to see the Chicago Flower and Garden Show.   Beckie and I always have a great time together, but  nothing beats a road trip for quality time and nonstop girl talk.  The Chicago show didn't disappoint with its fantastic displays, but the drive home through dense fog was a scary experience I hope I never have to repeat.

An even longer trip was made in March to Arizona to visit Older Daughter and her fiance.  While there, I had the chance to visit once again one of my favorite places in Phoenix, the Desert Botanic Gardens. 

  It's always a treat to leave the cold behind and soak up some warm sunshine while viewing wildflowers in bloom and the different flora of the desert Southwest.

Once the warm weather finally arrived in Illinois in April, garden work began in earnest.  I had begun digging up an area for a new flowerbed last fall, but didn't get it finished until spring.  Intended as a garden area to showcase my growing collection of lilies, it wasn't long before it filled up with other plants as well.  I think I must have spent 3/4 of my time on this area alone, but it's always fun to start a new garden, and hopefully next year it will be more low-maintenance.

Spring planting was interrupted for a week while I made yet another trip in early May--this time to visit Youngest Daughter in Portland, Oregon.  Many precious hours were spent catching up as I hadn't seen her in nearly nine months!  But her busy schedule left me with lots of free time, too, so I entertained myself several days by taking in the sights.  It was too early in the season for many roses to be in bloom yet at the famous International Rose Garden, but the show of azaleas made up for it--gorgeous, huge blooms everywhere!

I spent another afternoon enjoying the small but beautiful classical Chinese Garden in the heart of the city and learning about the essential elements of this ancient style of gardening.




L to R: Beckie, Cheryl, and Lisa

 

The highlight of the year had to be meeting long-time blogging friend Cheryl in person in September.  Cheryl and her delightful husband came all the way from the UK to visit the Midwest, stopping for a few days to visit with Beckie and me.  Lisa and her DB also came up from Indiana to meet Cheryl. What a wonderful few days we had!  Filled with visits to different gardens in the area, there was also ample time for non-stop gardening talk.  Friendships were strengthened and memories were made that will never be forgotten.

Later in September Beckie and I made another road trip to Chicago where we met up with a few other blogging friends.  Together with Monica, Linda, and Diane, we spent a leisurely day strolling through the Chicago Botanic Garden enjoying the beautiful early autumn displays.  And, of course, there was non-stop gardening talk as well:)

Gardeners are almost as obsessed with the weather as farmers are, and a review of the past year wouldn't be complete without looking back at weather conditions in 2010:

The year began bitterly cold and snowy.

Spring was a welcome relief from the long winter and reinvigorated my enthusiasm for gardening.  April surprised us here by being one of the warmest Aprils I can ever recall.

Instead of the usual April showers, we had continual days of sunshine, giving me ample time to get a headstart on the garden.  The unusually warm temperatures meant the spring bloomers were fleeting, but they were a glorious show of color while they lasted.




Soybean field in June



The warm and, for the most part, dry conditions lasted through May, but by June the showers arrived, and I thought they would never end.  Not only were the farmers' fields standing in water, but my roadside garden was flooded for awhile, too, drowning out all my zinnia seeds. 

But the top weather story of the year had to be the relentless heat of the summer and the drought that came with it.  By July the rains ended and didn't return until November.  Constant temperatures in the nineties that lasted well into September stressed many plants and created challenges for the gardener. The blossoms on a new Hydrangea paniculata 'Pink Diamond,' which I planted in late August, turned brown in a matter of two short days.  I thought I had lost it, but I cut off most of the blooms and watered it faithfully after that.  It seemed to recover, putting out new green leaves, but I'm anxious to see if it returns next spring. 

In spite of the drought, the vegetable garden survived, for the most part, producing the usual bounty of tomatoes.

In late August and early September, I spent many hours preserving some of the harvest, including a successful attempt at bread and butter pickles, which my husband loves.

Lack of moisture all summer long meant a more subdued autumn, but there was still enough fall color to enjoy a scenic drive or just to look out to my front yard.  Milder weather that lasted until mid-November meant I had more time than usual to get some fall chores done, including planting some new shrubs in front of the house and preparing a new garden bed for next spring.



The old hackberry covered in hoarfrost--December 19

The year ended as it began with a very snowy December--in fact, it has been the snowiest December on record with over 20 inches of the white stuff so far.  While I've seen enough snow to suit me, thank you, I must remember that it's a great insulation for the garden, and all that snow will eventually melt to provide some much-needed moisture for the soil.

Whew!  I didn't intend to make this long--thanks for hanging in here until the end.  But as you can see, 2010 was an eventful gardening year for me--now I'm excited to see what 2011 brings!

 

April's Last Hurrah

There's an old cliche in Illinois (and probably elsewhere) that says, "If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes and it will change." That has certainly been true here the last few days. Last week started out with beautiful spring weather, and my hyacinths were in all their glory.

By the end of the week it was summer, or so it seemed--so hot and humid that the hyacinth blooms dried up and blew away, as did my daffodils. Then it became colder and colder; by Monday the weather gods were so confused they didn't know what to do. The sun shone, then it rained, then it snowed, then sleeted, then hailed, all in less than a few hours. I put blankets over my hydrangeas and a few other tender perennials Monday night in preparation for the freeze warnings. Thankfully, we didn't get the freeze forecast for that night and the next, and everything has survived.

The forecast for the rest of this week is warmer once again, and I'm hoping that lasts. My flowering crabapple trees were just about to bloom last week.

This week, in spite of the crazy weather, most of them have opened up.

They put on quite a show for a week or two for anyone who drives up our lane. These trees were all planted by my in-laws some years ago, and as you can see, there are at least two varieties of flowering crabapples. Perhaps some people think the pink and red clash, but I like the effect. The green tree to the left of the photo is another variety of crabapple, I think; it has white blooms that are not quite open yet.

If the weather isn't being cooperative for gardening, what's a girl to do? Why, go shopping, of course! And that's just what my good friend Beckie and I decided to do. By the way, in my last post I wrote about good friends of mine that I had taught with for many years. Beckie and I have been best friends even longer than that, which is pretty amazing since we're both only 35!

Ok, wipe the smile off your face, and back to the subject...

Since we both find shopping for plants infinitely preferable to clothes shopping, we decided to visit a couple of garden centers, including Prairie Gardens, where we attended a few workshops earlier this month. I have been wanting to try a newer species of gallardia called "Oranges and Lemons," and luckily I found just enough for the area I've planned. We bought a few other perennials we've been looking for, but resisted the temptation, for the most part, to buy annuals--it's still too early here for them. We checked them out, though, and took some notes and some pictures to remind us in a week or two what we'd like to buy.

There was certainly no shortage of petunias! Growers must be coming up with a new variety every year. There were the now-common wave petunias, the supertunias (my favorite), million bells, and something called surfinia (I'm not sure now if that is the correct name). I love this lavendar double petunia pictured below and plan to buy some later for containers. It was in a hanging planter, so I didn't get the name of it, but I'm sure I'll recognize it when I see it again.

By the time we hit the second garden center, our wallets were getting a little thin, so we mostly window-shopped, although neither of us could resist buying a yellow fusion impatiens. It was a little pricey, so I'm hoping we'll be able to find more of these a little cheaper in a couple of weeks. I didn't check the price on this basket of pink double impatiens below, but I'm sure it was more than I wanted to spend. I love this look, though, and am going to try to duplicate it myself. Last year was the first time I had ever seen double impatiens--they look just like miniature roses and far outshine regular impatiens.

One last stop before going home--we wanted to see the Master Gardeners' Idea Garden on the U. of I. campus. We had stopped there at the end of March when the only thing "blooming" was the rabbit planters. What a difference three weeks can make! Although there weren't that many spring blooms, there was green everywhere.

The nice thing about this garden is that every plant is clearly marked with a sign indicating its species and common name besides its native habitat.

The Master Gardeners experiment with many different varieties and species so that it's a great place to see how well a particular plant might do in this area. This beautiful flowering quince, for example, is not very common here, I believe, but it's obviously thriving in this plot.

I can't believe I have lived in this area all my life, and yet this is the first year I've ever visited this gardening site. Beckie and I made a vow to visit here often during the summer to enjoy the garden and to pick up new ideas for next year.

Finally, it was time to go home--I had to get to my granddaughter's soccer game. But we hadn't gone more than a few hundred feet down the street when we spotted a whole field of lilacs. Well, of course, we had to stop to see--and smell--them. There were several varieties of lilacs planted, including this beautiful, but not very fragrant, white lilac.

The field is on part of the University campus, but there were no signs, and I couldn't find any note of it on the official campus map. My guess is that it is part of an experimental plot for the horticulture department, since this whole area includes other gardens and groves of trees.

We finally tore ourselves away and made it home in time for the soccer game. As you can see, there was still plenty of room in the back of my van; I think we showed remarkable restraint on our shopping spree, don't you? Of course, next time I'll take out the back seat so we have more room!