Here are a couple of before and after pics on a project we installed in the Burlington Vermont area. It included the installation of a paver walkway, boulders, and specimen plant material along with a small watergarden.

The next few journal entries will show part of our first bloomingourmet(tm) Tastebuds(tm) event which was held yesterday, to review new products for inclusion in our gift baskets and our retail store. It was extremely hot and some of our guests started off tasting Fizzy Lizzy which caused reactions like Wow! that is refreshing...... 

This picture shows the size of a mature Ligularia. Ligularia is a perennial in the Northeast that thrives in deep shade. If planted in partial sun/shade the leaves will wilt when in the sun and then become turgid (full) when it is once again in full shade. The foliage of the plant is about 15/18" in height while the flower spikes achieve a height of about 2/3'.

The flower spikes are a great feature of this plant, however, I think the irregularly serrated edges of the leaves are outstanding.

This showy plant is an outstanding addition to any heavy shade garden. This Ligularia is in a small raised planter about 12'x4' and 3' in height. In addition to the Ligularia, you can see Algerian Ivy which does well in sun or shade and lasts well into the fall. The Algerian Ivy you can just see behind the Ligularia is in an iron obelisk and is watered through a drip system which also provide micromist for the Christmas Ferns in the rest of the raised planter.

When you look at Ligularia you never notice the detail of the flowers unless you look very closely. Ligularia is a great deep shade plant which deer do not eat....ever.......

So you want to hide something in the garden.......

We have clients who want to always hide something in, near or by the garden that detracts from it's surroundings. The answer almost every time........black paint! Black is the least visible color in nature. You would think green or brown would blend in, when in fact anything painted that color tends to jump out at you.

We have painted 4", white, septic field cleanout pipes, manhole covers, holding tank covers, large propane tanks (check with your propane vendor about that one and see what their regulations are) In fact in the previous entry, in the before picture you can clearly see the large white propane tank and in the after picture, it's not that the tank has moved or is hidden, the client has painted it black.

If you are going to install a chain link fence in your yard, use black vinyl coated fencing and posts. Not only does it blend in, it won't rust or require maintenance. We suggested this to a client who had several tennis courts in their yard and they were going to use green 15' tall fencing........whooooooooooo, that would have been ugly.

The deer fencing made by Benners Gardens, http://www.bennersgardens.com is 7' tall and black for the same reason. Once installed it is not visible in the woods and is why you need to tie white ribbons on it for awhile to keep the deer from running into it and condition them.

One of our clients installed deer fencing himself and much to his amazement, watched deer one morning, running into it, it would strectch a tiny bit and launch them back and they would get up again and do the same thing. This went on for awhile. They didn't ever do it again, so either they were having a party and this was their version of a bungee cord or they were riding the short bus for deer and didn't quite get the concept of the deer fencing.

So remember, when you want things to dissappear, paint it black....oh just fyi, this doesn't work on mother-in-laws or nasty neighbors!

This client wanted to create a backyard entertainment area which would blend a semi-secluded area adjacent to the master bedroom with a larger entertainment area complete with a propane powered firepit and an area big enough to comfortably place a large table and more than just a few chairs for guests.

As you can see from this picture we would need to raise the soil level which would allow us to create a multi-level hardscape patio and meet the existing grades of the MBR French doors and the kitchen doors.

We would accomplish this through bringing in soil and 40 tons of boulders to act as the retaining wall for the soil. Then a multi-level paver patio would be installed and large specimen plant material to provide scale for this large home. The trees used included a Flowering Dogwood, Japanese Tree Lilac and a clump River Birch.

The copper structure atop the fire pit is to keep rain and debris out of the base of the fire pit and adds a great focal point when the fire pit is not in use.

In this picture you can see the main patio. If you were to take a step up to the left you would be relaxing on the MBR patio area, hidden by a clump River Birch.

Nectar of the Gods.......

This bee is enjoying an early dinner on this Purple Coneflower in our main display garden. He was trying to avoid the buzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......... of the newly opened Butterfly Bush.

Copper firepit cover........

I was working with a longtime client this morning showing them how to install the drip and micromist irrigation system themselves on a very large landscape project we had done for them over a two year period,

The gardens are beginning to grow in, but what caught my eye was the new copper cover for the firepit. The firepit we had designed for them and which was installed by the owner, is blended into a large paver patio adjacent to the master bedroom and kitchen. To keep debris out of the propane powered pit they had a relative who is a sheet metal worker create this outstanding cover.

Summer watering....................

On the Eastern Seaboard we are experiencing a long, hot, dry summer. During this time it is critical to thoroughly water your gardens and trees. If you simply run a hose over them, this will not completely saturate the ground. This is especially true for any large containers that you use say on your deck or patio.

After running the hose on them for 30 seconds you may see water coming out of the bottom holes. This usually means one of two things....the water you see is a result of the plant being pot bound and not able to hold any water or the water is running down the inside of the pot between the soil and the pot and then out the bottom.

I recommend watering the plant several times when watering. The first watering will moisten the layer of mulch that should be on top and subsequent waterings will actually penetrate into the soil. If you water your containers thoroughly twice a week, they should be fine.

Our display beds are watered using both drip and micromist irrigation twice a week for about an hour to an hour and a half. This will develop healthy root systems and consistent growth. We have most of our irrigation on timers for 4- 6 in the morning, prior to us needing showers. Since we are on a well, this works.........well for us!

Any watering should be done early in the morning so it can soak into the mulch and soil and not evaporate as will happen if you water mid-day. Watering in the morning also allows leaves to dry during the day and hence not cause powdery mildow or other fungus'.

We use Antelco(tm) brand drip and micromist irrigation. Almost every head is adjustable at the head to provide you with complete control of the flow rate. We have used this system for many years due to the ingenious design that has gone into it and the low cost. The average garden will cost about $300 to irrigate, not counting timers which can be purchased at the orange place or the blue place for about $30.00 ea.

We use these systems in our vegetable garden, to irrigate the many containers on our deck and our display gardens. Deep, thorough watering during the growing season, especially during very dry periods will promote the growth and health of your plants. You can also add an inline fertilizer which will deliver liquid fertilizer right through you irrigation system. This is call fertigation.

The picture shows a 180 degree adjustable sprinkler in one of our display gardens.

This White Poppy is located between the edge of our deck and our back pond. When the leaves of Poppies turn brown after blooming we will usually cut them back to 4" tall and they will at least push out green foliage for the rest of the summer and not be a pile of unattractive brown leaves.

A Japanese Iris in full bloom is even more beautiful up close! This Japanese Iris is a resident of our smaller watergarden and has been on the edge of the pond for about seven years.

Here is picture of iris in our front stream. This is a rubber liner stream with gravel and boulders placed on top of it to create it's own ecosystem. When you use this system, we use only Aquascape Designs systems, you place the marginal plant right in the stone in the bottom of the stream or along the edge of the pond.

The roots become established in the gravel and draw nutrients out of the water and starve single cell algae which result in a crystal clear pond. Our 6' tall iris in our other pond can verify they are getting all the nutrients they need.

In the fall, we simply cut the iris back like we would any other perennial and it pushes out the next spring just like a soil planted perennial.

This is the first post for The Gardenhaus' new blog garden journal. Please join us here with your thoughts on gardening. I will be updating this site with pictures of current construction projects, dates for open houses, garden tours and motorcoach trips to the flower show and Longwood Gardens.

I will also be sharing what is happening in our gardens, good or bad, which should be a good rule of what you may want to be doing to your gardens. I may review garden books, new garden products and everything in between....so stop back often and share your passion for gardening!