Not Too Early to Get Out in the Garden!

It was a nice day spent out in the gardens. I spent most of the morning walking thru the entire garden. Spring clean-up is happening in earnest and it's nice to start planning for another great year. I was disappointed by the significant deer damage but understand that they had a rough winter too. Our arborvitaes (Thuja occidentalis) wont take another year of browsing real well; we'll have to really bulk up on repellants and barriers. Interesting that 10 years ago, Rotary Gardens had almost no deer damage in the winter. Now, we are the smorgasbord of the greenbelt in which we are situated. Interesting to note that the Western arborvitae (Thuja plicata) lived up to the reputation of being deer proof in our area. No nibbling (although when will our deer acquire a "taste" for this plant?! A matter of time I suppose...). It was nice to observe emerging bulbs and really appreciate the importance of conifers in the landscape. The enclosed shot is of the weeping Alaskan cedar [Chamaecyparis (Xanthocyparis) nootkatensis 'Pendula']. Winter is a great time to assess "deficiencies in interest" out in the landscape. Look for areas that a interesting conifer with color and/or form will be a focal point or perhaps ornamental grasses will provide that fourth season of interest as well.

The pond level at the gardens (old sand and gravel pit) is at a record high right now. Our lowest paths in the Japanese and alpine gardens are flooded and our shoreline retaining walls are collapsing as the rising water undermines the supporting gravel. We're very worried about "April showers" as 4" of rain will equate to serious flooding as the gardens and surrounding slopes drain in to this pond. Ultimately, aside from evaporation, this spring-fed pond drains off to a local creek and eventually the Rock River. High river levels have left our pond with no where to drain. This will be a significant problem very shortly.