local graffiti, Pigeon Island, St. Lucia

pics from a morning stroll

I decided to take my camera along for my little walk and errand running this morning. Even though just a Hosta in this small cement urn I couldn't help but like the way the sun was hitting it from behind.
Everywhere in my neighborhood you see these small herbaceous plantings, such as these mums, peaking through the chain link fence in search of the sun. Get it, kids!
I could create a whole blog that was just old dilapidated laundromat signs from around the city. There is something about each sign and storefront that makes it unique, like the funny crooked ampersand.
People do some fabulous container gardening here in Astoria, land of the Greeks. Here they started with tall, narrow pots planted with red Mandevilla, a great flowering vine of an annual, and trained it up to create this whole elaborate trellis you walk under when coming or going. ...pretty fabulous.
Then I had to get stuck looking at all the new street trees. The Parks Department is about halfway through the planting efforts associated with their Million Trees NYC initiative which means over 500,000 trees have been planted in the last four years or less. As an arborist it's great because I never have to go far to find myself noticing new trees, eagerly trying to identify each one.
I am guessing that this new addition is a young black oak, Quercus velutina. Many oaks within the red oak family can look alike so often you have to carefully examine other parts of the tree in order to make your best educated guess. You need to look at things like the buds the trees set in fall that persist through winter.
In some cases you need to take into consideration the bark.
In both cases the buds and the bark seem closest to a black oak, though most of the black oaks I know are much older so there is some difference in their appearance. The reddish buds with their gray pubescence and gray bark with hints of a more yellow inner bark tend to make me think it is Quercus velutina over the other usual suspects like northern red oaks, pin oaks, and scarlet oaks. But again, just a guess for now.

late May blues

In May we as gardeners get excited because so much begins to come into bloom in the garden. As I have mentioned already in May you have your peonies and roses and foxglove (among others) bursting forth in all their spring glory. ...different colors and sizes and petal counts reminding you of all that is possible in the garden. But I definitely have to put in a plug for some favorite late May blues. These shots I admit I took many weeks ago, and for a while was thinking because of the tardiness that I might as well forget posting them, but I hope that people still enjoy the shots and IDs for present or future reference.

These pictures were shot early morning so some of the colors are not entirely true to reality so I've made notes where applicable.

Iris sibirica is an iris that has slightly smaller, narrower leaves and an overall shorter size compared to the monster German bearded iris that most people have in their gardens. This clump comfortably takes up a few square feet in the garden and is quite easy to keep in check. I'd guess height to be about 1-1 1/2 feet for the foliage and little over 2 feet for the inflorescence of flowers with their graceful upright standards and down-turned falls.

Perennial geraniums I've learned from my various bosses and mentors have great merit in the mixed border. Geranium 'Johnson's Blue' is this guy. Sure enough the way the sun is hitting the flower in the pic above it appears more light and purple, but don't be fooled. The plant with it's finer dissected foliage and delicate blue is a wonderfully soft option for the forefront of a display and a welcome 2-3 foot filler of a plant.
The color below is a little more right-on. Geranium 'Johnson's Blue'...

And ah, yes, the beginnings of the blooming Clematis. Let this slightly woody vine grow in as much sun as possible and keep the roots well protected and moist as best you can. Wonderful for climbing up a structure, whether that be a wire fence or your favorite shrub rose or small tree, when they come into bloom you will undoubtedly be elated. This beautiful lady is Clematis 'Ramona' and her color is really a perfect purplish-blue that you have to have just the right light for in order to properly capture on film, ...or digital memory card as the case may be.
Clematis 'Ramona'
The shot below begins to give a slightly better idea of the purple tones in the sizable 4-5" flowers.

Like geraniums, budding gardeners should know about the value of perennial Salvia cultivars now common throughout the trade. Salvia 'Blue Hill' is this tight, mounded sun lover which blooms well twice a year. Famed public garden designer Lynden Miller in her lectures loves to include this in her plant list, especially for those managing and designing college and university campuses. The reason as Lynden would explain is because they put out their first strong display of upright blue flower spikes in May as school let's out for the year and graduation is celebrated and then they bloom again in fall as the next semester commences and the students return to campus. Very smart.
Easy to deadhead and maintain and another great addition to the late May blues you can also find Salvia 'East Friesland' quite commonly and they are all worth playing with.

Happy shopping.

morning shuffle

"I never felt magic crazy as this
I never saw moons knew the meaning of the sea
I never held emotion in the palm of my hand
Or felt sweet breezes in the top of the tree
But now you're here
Bright in my northern sky."

-Nick Drake, "Northern Sky"

There is an Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven) that appeared outside one our back windows this year. This kind of tree was introduced from China in the late 1700's and has now become a very invasive nuisance of a tree in our urban settings. Going to have to do something about this guy, and soon.

In the works here at arborboy: overdue bloom blogs, tree ID, and much more. Stay tuned. Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone!

Butterfly Gardening (a quick intro)

Lantana is one of my more favorite sun loving annuals for the garden

I recently got an email from a good friend who is the Executive Director of an organization in Manhattan that I am on the Board of Directors of, asking if I could help her with a new project. I thought I might as well share with you the information I put together for her. It might be a help if you have ever wanted to start a butterfly garden but didn't know where or how to start.

The question was:
We are having a work day at the ...garden mid-May. part of this day will be planting - I am going to try to get native plants that attract butterflies. this garden has a group of 15-20 preschool bilingual head start kids that walk to the garden several times a week and we thought they would like these plants and it would be educational. Any suggestions on what I should buy?

To which I answered:
A butterfly garden sounds fabulous. I can definitely suggest a number of plants. One catch is that most butterfly plants want full sun or at least not too much shade. I think I saw that garden and remember it being pretty bright, the stretch you were talking about planting, so I hope the site doesn't give you grief. Another important thing to know is that there are two kinds of butterfly plants, those that the larvae (caterpillars) feed on, and those that the adult butterflies are attracted to. In an ideal world you would have both, so that might be something to shoot for in the long run. Usually the plants that the larvae feed on are more straight-forward trees and shrubs so perhaps some of them are already planted in the space or nearby. I found a website that seemed pretty great in terms of listing the two types of plants and the butterflies attract. You might want to print up a copy or two if some of the adults really want to get into it. The link is:
http://butterflywebsite.com/butterflygardening.cfm

As far as what you should plant, here are some suggestions that I know are pretty safe. The list is a mix of some natives but also some non-natives. In the interest of time and budget I don't think you should limit yourself to solely natives at this point, although that too could be a good ideal to strive for over time. Just wanted to clarify in case anyone chimes in that some of the things aren't native:

tall plants for the back:
butterfly bush (Buddleia) - you know, shrubby, but can be pruned yearly to control size, late summer flower, purple often
Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum) - 6' or so if happy, purple clusters atop in summer, likes to be well watered
perennial hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos) - the big hibiscus flower you see late summer, can get 4'-6' depending on sun and water, red, bright colors
ironweed (Vernonia) - also tall and thin like Joe Pye and hibiscus, tall cluster of small purple flowers, great in fall

medium plants (many of which can tolerate dry conditions once established so that helps):
butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) - a major attractor with orange flower clusters, full sun,
goldenrod (Solidago) - late summer yellow bloomers are reliable attractors, but not sure how easy to find for sale this time of year
dogbane (Apocynum) - also more of a meadow plant but perfect if you can find it, smaller white flower clusters in summer
milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) - probably too hard to find at a regula garden center/retailer
coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) - purple
black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia) - yellow
bee balm (Monarda didyma) - red, white, pinkish, depending

low plants and/or annuals:
violets
verbena
lantana
cosmos
marigolds
mums

I hope that gives you a decent shopping list to work from. If you want even more suggestions I found another link that seemed pretty good, and that is:
http://www.gardening-tips-perennials.com/butterfly-attracting-plants.html

Good luck and let me know how it goes. -Alex

Winter Windowsill

x Laeliocattleya 'Gold Rush'

Philodendron 'Brasil'

Cast of Characters (L to R): Asplenium sp., Tradescantia sillamontana, Begonia maculata 'Wightii', Begonia x 'Sinbad', Kalanchoe marmorata, Jatropha multifida, Asplenium sp.

Arisaema triphyllum

(click on the above to see it much bigger, and please remember not to steal other people's photographs, thank you, -aef)

Arisaema triphyllum is commonly called Jack-in-the-pulpit. I found this picture last night which I took just two years ago when I lived up in Massachusetts. Jack-in-the-pulpit is a northeastern native perennial, a member of the Arum family, Araceae. If you are lucky, you find these little guys in natural woods with good high, dappled shade. Their flowers are undoubtedly bizarre, and pretty wild in their design. Most people can miss the flowers since they come out in early May, often under a trifoliate leaf that many mistake for poison ivy. Then later in the summer when the pollinated flowers mature to a cluster of bright orange-red berries, people can't believe their eyes. But don't touch the clusters of berries. Supposedly they can irritate the hell out of your skin.

After all the rain we got yesterday I bet the woods are very busy today.

On the stereo: Gillian Welch, Time (the Revelator)

early sunday morning

It seems amazingly crisp and clear outside today after all the rain and gray we have had over the last two days. I love waking up to that contrast of orange and red brick buildings against the rich blue sky. Branches in the back courtyard rustling in the wind. We've adjusted the clocks. I watered all the plants. The dracaena in the living room was shedding and I found myself braiding the fallen leaves. I think that's a sign that I need to get out. It is a beautiful day outside. My love is dreading having to trek north to Brewster for Vet school today, but I'm thrilled about getting in the car and getting out of here. The country is inspirational to me, and I want to soak up as much as possible.

If I could suggest something, make sure to take a walk today, and make sure its to nowhere in particular. Sometimes those are the best walks.

In Bloom This Week in NYC

(Achillea 'Moonshine' outside of a school building on the Lower East Side)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium and hybrids) has proven to be an excellent perennial for urban settings. A stiff, well-branched, upright perennial, yarrow grows between 2' and 3' tall and produces striking "flat-topped" blossoms mid-summer. The flowers dry well and can be left on the stalks, which aside from ornamentation promotes the plant to self sow. There are lots of hybrid yarrow on the market so you can find them in a wide array of hot colors. Hardy from zone 3 to zone 9. Flowers best in full sun with moist soil, though I have seen the plant hold up well in dryer conditions.
Coreopsis verticillata and hybrids, or threadleaf tickseed, is a perennial I have come to love so I was thrilled to find this in a community garden on the Lower East Side.
The foliage of threadleaf tickseed is very fine, like that of the annual Cosmos. The flower is yellow however, and depending on the cultivar, can be rich and intense or light and lemony. A North American native of dry woods and open plains, this perennial does best in full sun. Even though it requires supplemental water to get established, Coreopsis can tolerate some drought over time. Deadheading the first flush of flowers can be laborious but for many varieties it will promote a second bloom in fall. This plant is comfortably hardy from zone 4 to zone 8, and grows to a nice mounded 12"-18" tall. I once planted this amidst a hillside of fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica) in the country and the contrast of texture (the fine Coreopsis with the medium-coarse Rhus) and the burst of yellow color throughout I thought to be a fabulous combination.
Oakleaf hydrangea, or Hydrangea quercifolia, is not typically what most people think of or picture in their mind when they think of hydrangeas.

However, oakleaf hydrangeas are certainly a plant people in the city should know. Cinnamon colored exfoliating bark produces these large pinnately lobed leaves that are easily as big as your hands. Mid- to late-summer flowers are equally large and white in color, maturing pink. Another wonderful characteristic about this hydrangea is that it tolerates shade better than other hydrangeas. This native woody shrub can grow to 6' tall and wide and prefers moist organic soil. Cold hardy from Zone 5 to Zone 9. Not to mention, wait until fall and the red and bronze fall foliage will be sure to impress you.
You can see around town the hostas (Hosta sp. and hybrids) in bloom. Hosta are certainly reliable and durable plants for the New York area, both in the city and the country. Tolerant of deep shade to full sun, these mounding perennials are typically grown more for their foliage which can be large or small, green or blue or variegated, and any combination thereof. Hardy from Zone 3 or 4 to Zone 8 or 9, hostas fill in garden spaces quickly and can easily be divided in fall or spring to go even further. One interesting note that many may not be familiar with is that there are now a number of fragrant hostas available in the trade. Fragrant cultivars often have "sweet" or "honey" or "fragrant" in their names and are available at your local garden center. I used to not be so thrilled about these late summer spikes of flowers, but the fragrant ones I find to be a nice surprise.
Echinacea purpurea, or purple coneflower, is a North American native that loves full sun. With all the talk about bee populations diminishing throughout the city I love to see this plant because it does attract them quite readily. From Central Park to Thompson Square Park I have seen coneflower grown in a number of different settings. When planted in rich organic soil this perennial can grow to 3' or 4' easily and produces a plethora of ornamental purple daisy-like flowers from summer into fall. Coneflower can tolerate dry soils, but this picture taken on the water's edge in Central Park shows that they can be perfectly happy in moist conditions as well.
Here you can see why Cotinus gets it's common name, smoketree. Atop this upright woody shrub or small tree in mid-summer are produced light, airy plumes of flowers, thought to resemble clouds of smoke. Cotinus obovatus, or American smoketree, can grow upright 20' to 30' while Cotinus coggygria, or smokebush, is more of a shrub form reaching 15' tall and wide at full maturity. Either way the straight species of these woody plants has rounded or slightly obovate leaves with an attractive bluish-green color. Newer cultivars have been bred to produce red foliage and flowers and those you may see more readily in the landscape. Plant and prune many of them to add interesting structure to your garden or enjoy one as a specimen. Plant in full sun to part shade, moist to dry soil, Zones 5 to 8.
If you are driving around the country as I was last weekend then you cannot help but see all the common daylillies (Hemerocallis fulva) in bloom in gardens and roadside ditches alike. Hemerocallis has become one of the most extensively bred perennials over the last 50 years and today the color and flower variations are endless and amazing. Hardy from Zone 3 to Zone 10, the only thing you really need to know is that daylillies need full sun and well-drained soil. As the name suggests, the individual flowers only last for a day, but established clumps can get to be quite large and produce many waves of flowers. Once established these modern varieties can be quite drought tolerant. Most daylillies you will find grow to 12" or 18" but some have been bred for height and can surpass three feet or more. While the New York Botanical Garden has the largest display of Hemerocallis cultivars locally, I was presently surprised at the plantings and variation I found walking around Union Square Park.

In Bloom This Week in NYC

First, a reminder. If you haven't yet gotten out to see the magnolias in bloom, treat yourself to a walk, today!
Some times when we focus on ground cover plants for their foliage we forget that they too flower. Pachysandra is certainly a reliable and durable ground cover in New York. The flowers actually have a sweet scent to them, but they are not always so easy to come by. Plant Pachysandra in rich, well-drained soil to get established, and it will do very well for you. Tolerates deep shade. Do keep in mind that Pachysandra terminalis is one aggressive spreader and left unattended it can get a little out of control, especially in the country. For a less aggressive grower, check out the native variety, Pachysandra procumbens.
The cherry trees have definitely popped!
Cherry trees, like pears (below) and crabapples (not quite yet), are members of the rose family (Rosaceae); they have the picturesque five-petaled flower botanists know all too well. You can usually tell the cherries apart with their smooth bark and pronounced horizontal lenticels. As far as their shape, most want to spread out, but there is lots of variation among the different species.
When the pears around the city bloom you can't help but notice. Most likely 'Bradford' Callery pears, these trees are known for their small habit and profuse cloud-like bloom in spring. But don't allow the wool to be pulled over your eyes, these trees are structurally a really bad choice in the landscape. Next time you walk by one, look and see where all the branches fork out, and you will realize that they all emerge from the same spot. Over time added layers of bark end up wedging against each other, eventually promoting this tree to completely split in more ways than one. Not a tree I would quick to plant. Some newer varieties have a better smell to them.
Along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade I found these rhododendrons putting out a fabulous bloom this morning. I would guess by the smaller leaf and flower that they are 'P.J.M. ' hybrids but I couldn't get close enough to ID to species. Here they are in a perfect spot, slightly protected, dappled shade, decent water, and airflow.
Muscari are tiny bulbs in the lily family (Liliaceae). Each bloom is only 4" to 6" tall, but they do have great character for a small flower. Plant in the fall for spring bloom. Well-drained soil, full sun.