I feel it's important to give back and this year we will be volunteering at Kubota Gardens once a month. We will mostly be focusing on the many specimen pine trees. Here is a video of our first day out.
This is a time lapse video of a recent Japanese Lace Leaf Maple I had the pleasure of pruning. I lightened the tree and started to add definition and layers.
Pruning is an ongoing process. We prune our trees at the appropriate times of the year and pay attention to the response of each. If you are unsure or have questions about when is the best time to prune your Japanese Maples or other specimen trees feel free to contact us and we'd be happy to talk with you.
Over the weekend, we visited the festival and were inspired by the show gardens.
Our favorite was the “Asian Sensibilities, Northwest Style” by Elandan Gardens. This garden showcased a Laceleaf Maple, beautiful old pines, Hellebores, Iris plantings and ferns in a woodland setting. Another favorite was the “Mystic Garden” by Nature Perfect Landscape and Design which had multiple viewpoints to enjoy in the stylized Chinese garden.
For this winter container, we used a combination of Carex, Maidenhair Fern, Heuchera and Violas.
This is a great time to brighten up your winter containers with colourful hardy flowering annuals and evergreen plants.
Some of our other favourites include:
Cyclamen
Pansies
Variegated Sage
Autumn Brilliance Fern
Dusty Miller
Mondo Grass
This is a great time to plant trees, giving roots a chance to develop and establish without the stress of developing new fruit or leaves.
One of our favorites is the ‘Autumn Moon’ Maple which has burnt-orange leaves in spring and radiant coloured foliage in fall.
With the cool fall days ahead, this is the ideal time for planting spring-blooming bulbs.
Need ideas? Here are some of our favourite bulbs:
Crocus- one of the earliest bulbs to flower in late winter
Daffodil/Narcissus- reliable, easy to grow
Fritillary- unique color and shape
Glory of the Snow- early spring color
Iris- colorful and fragrant
Oriental Lily- easy to grow, exotic blossoms, intoxicating fragrance
Siberian Squill- dainty size, nodding blue flowers
Snowdrops- nodding white blossoms
Tulips- comes in a variety of colors and bloom
I hand clipped these boxwood balls and topiary spirals after the spring push of growth had slowed. They will keep their form and definition for many months.
We used the hardy 'Green Temple Garden' Bamboo variety to provide privacy and vibrant evergreen foliage throughout the year for our client.
In three years, these resilient clumps of bamboo will completely fill the containers and reach 12-14 feet tall when adequately watered.
Here's a preview of our process.
