Get out the hose or buckets!

The Morton Arboretum issued this urgent press release recommending that folks in northeastern Illinois water their evergreens Now! Our hoses were stowed for the winter, but I'm definitely hauling a few buckets of water out to the young 'Gold Coin' pines and a few others. I wish it would rain already!

LISLE, IL (November 16, 2010) – As leaves dropped off trees this fall, something else dropped too: soil moisture. Amid the continuing dry spell, The Morton Arboretum urgently recommends that property owners water their evergreen trees and shrubs right now to maintain their health and vitality, and to guard against winter injury.

O'Hare International Airport received only 2.46 inches of rainfall since September 6, compared with the normal 6.59 inches, a deficit of 63 percent, according to National Weather Service (NWS) figures. The Arboretum, the NWS station for Lisle, IL received 2.95 inches of rain since September 6; a 57 percent deficit compared with the normal 6.8 inches. “The soil is extremely dry,” says Doris Taylor, who heads the Arboretum Plant Clinic, which provides free advice to the public on tree and shrub care.

Evergreen trees and shrubs “exhale” moisture 12 months a year. They require adequate water, even after other trees drop leaves, right until the ground freezes. A lack of proper moisture in the soil can leave plants without proper energy reserves for healthy growth next year. Also, as sun and winds dry out leaves (including evergreen needles) in winter, they are susceptible to winter-burn, which shows up in the spring as brown and scorched leaves.

The Arboretum recommends property owners ensure that the top 12 inches of soil around evergreens is kept moist until the ground freezes. To help determine a soil’s moisture level, a homeowner might find that a metal rod or stiff wire is the most

convenient tool. As the homeowner attempts to push the rod or wire into the ground, very dry soil will provide a great deal of resistance, and indicate the need for watering.

Certain types of evergreen plants are particularly drought-sensitive, including hemlocks, boxwoods, arborvitae, rhododendrons, hollies, and to a lesser extent: white pine.

Mulch is very helpful for conserving soil moisture. Organic mulch – such as long-lasting hardwood bark, composted hardwood chips and leaves – should be spread up to 4 inches thick around the tree. Keep the mulch from directly contacting the trunk. Avoid recycled plastic or rubber mulches – they do not provide nutrients and may create a barrier preventing oxygen and water from penetrating the soil.

The Morton Arboretum is a world-renowned leader in tree science and education, working to save and plant trees. The 1,700-acre outdoor museum features magnificent collections of 4,117 kinds of trees, shrubs, and other plants from around the world. The Arboretum's beautiful natural landscapes, gardens, research and education programs, and year-round family activities support its mission – the planting and conservation of trees and other plants for a greener, healthier, and more beautiful world. Check out www.mortonarb.org,

The Long Goodbye

Fall back. The clocks were set an hour earlier when daylight savings time changed the first weekend in November. Dusk now settles in long before dinner is on the table. It was finally time to pot up and bring inside the last of the dragonwing begonias, some purple, green and white-striped Rhoeo and a pot of sedum. The workshop is filling up in spite of my mantra, “don’t bring in so many plants this fall.”

There’s the giant jade plant my mother bought more than a decade ago. A purple-leaved oxalis is planted at its feet. Pots of purple tradescantia and cordyline line the top of a bookshelf in front of a sunny window.

There are pots of coleus, including Radical Raspberry, picked up for a buck at a Michigan farmer’s market in September. And numerous cuttings of the mother plant rooting in water, alongside sweet potato vines, all of which must be potted up. But that’s nothing compared to my brother Greg’s indoor garden this fall. “He must have at least 200 coleus cuttings under lights,” my mum said. “You should see them.” I can only imagine. Especially after he transformed a spare bedroom into the Plant Room, where come deep winter, he will begin sowing seeds of annuals, tomatoes, herbs and more.

I want to say goodbye to the summer gardening season, stow the tools and forget about digging, pruning, weeding, fertilizing, watering, deadheading, pinching, mulching, composting...but it’s too difficult. So, in come the plants and on go the lights. Maybe not 200 annuals to brighten our workshop, but a few dozen. I'll do that as soon as I plant the 400-plus tulip and daffodil bulbs and some Asiatic lilies. And then there will be rest. Until seed starting begins in earnest come March. Yes, time to fall back...into the easy chair.

Where do you go for garden inspiration?

Where do you seek inspiration for your garden?

Oftentimes, in spring, we are "inspired" at the local garden center or nursery--caught up in the color and textures of spring flowers after a long winter.

But come autumn and through winter, I draw inspiration for both my garden and my writing from natural areas--whether it's a walk in the woods surrounding our home, or to this nature preserve in Michigan--a stand of dying red pines, which will give way to native trees and shrubs through the careful hand of the DNR's naturalists.

It could be our local prairie, where red-tail hawks glide high on a current in search of lunch. Or plantings at the botanic garden and the arboretum. Or perhaps it's at the water's edge where trees cast their autumn reflections while fish surface to grab an insect.

Maybe it's a book. The writings of John Burrough's, an American naturalist from the late 19th Century, and of Wendell Berry, provide insights and feelings about land both natural and cultivated. And soon it will be a walk or a cross-country ski across the fields after the first few inches of snow falls. Fulfillment comes not just in planting a few containers or snapping up a new variety of perennial or shrub. It's about observing nature around us, both in our own gardens and in public places.

Waiting for a bus along Chicago's very busy Michigan Avenue in the past few weeks, I've spotted brown creepers, moving from the base of the honey locust trees, in search of insects during their migration south. The temperatures have dipped below freezing in our garden, yet the next day, there are golden skippers--butterflies looking for nectar on the still-blooming salvias. And honey bees doing the same thing. Observe. Reflect. And bloom.