Dave and Brandy

Friday March 28^th:

                Arriving out at Cuddy’s on Friday morning it was pretty cloudy but the rain held out until almost lunch time. First thing in the morning, Lucas assigned us our jobs for the weekend.  The majority of our work consisted of pruning to help selected plants prepare for spring. For example, we pruned back the English Ivy on the wall to the left of the car port, and cleaned out any dead/ dying leaves and removed other seasonal debris.  We raked up all the seed pods that the Honey Locust dropped, saving the ones that were in good shape for future germination.  The other plants we pruned were the spirea, holly, and boxwood. We also did some pruning on the yews, even though it is not the proper time to prune them, just to try to eliminate some of the brownness of the winter burn. We also did some pruning on the Korean lilac to the left of the car port just to eliminate it from obstructing the pathway and driveway. After that, we raked the turf to allow some air flow through it and also to clean up the sticks, crab apples, and in some cases snow mold.

 

Saturday March 29^th

                Today we started out with some more pruning because the ground had frozen the night before, and we couldn’t quite finish raking the turf. We started out by defoliating the euonymus vine and pruning the old canes off the spirea plant to thin it out and improve its aesthetics. Continuing pruning we then pruned back the hydrangeas in the woodland garden so there all relevantly the same height.  From there, we moved onto cleaning up the hostas by pulling off last year’s blooms and composting them, while doing this we also removed all of the fallen branches off the turf and continued to rake the areas where the snow had melted. After lunch we cut down the grasses that are to the left of the rose garden and uncovered the stones we will be using on Monday to build our dry-stone walls by the hoop houses.

 

Sunday March 30^th

                Arriving at Cuddy’s today we were all wide-eyed, bushy-tailed and full of excitement because our friend the sun was finally joining us. We started off our morning in the usual way getting out all our tools, equipment, and circle checks all in order.  With the ground still being frozen in the morning our first task was cleaning out the toolshed and sweeping the floor.  After we went to the patio and cleaned up the wisteria pruning’s and swept off the patio. By this time, it had warmed up enough that we could continue on the turf, raking it where the snow had melted. By doing this we are allowing some of the moisture to dry up, preventing, and eliminating snow mold. Nearing the end of our day, we watered the hoop house and continued to rake the turf. After everything had been finished we washed our tools and equipment from the weekend and did a final walk through of the property before we finished up for the weekend.

 

Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’ – Jelena Witch Hazel

General: Jelena Witch Hazel is an excellent addition to any landscape as it adds interest year round with it’s very early spicy scented blooms beginning as early as February, to the deeply veined leaves which turn to shades of orange and red in the autumn. 

Genus: Hamamelis

Species: x intermedia ‘Jelena’

Family: Hamamelidaceae

Category: Deciduous Shrub

Flowering Period: February to March

Height: 8-12 feet

Spread: 8-12 feet

Zone: USDA 5-9

Origin: North America(Horticultural Origin)

Pests/Problems:  Relatively pest free,  Japanese beetles can be an issue with higher population levels.

Landscape: Jelena is great for entrance ways, walkways, and patios.  It can also be placed along the edges of woodlands and can be paired with upright growing shrubs such as Dogwoods.

Propagation:  Softwood cuttings or it can be grafted in winter on to H. virginiana during winter.

Habitat: It can handle partial shade to full sun and grows best in moist, well-drained soil.

Shape: Multi stemmed and wide spreading.

ID Characteristics: Deeply veined leaves, copper red to yellow blooms which are earlier than other varieties and the spicy scent.

Flower description:  Small, around .5cm across by 1cm long.  The fine petals sprawl out from the red calyx going from a copper red to bright yellow at the tips.  Slight spicy scent.

Leaf description: Alternate, broadly ovate to obovate with deep veins.

Works Cited

"Canada Plants." Canada Plants. Canada Plants, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .

"Hamamelis × Intermedia 'Jelena' - Plant Finder." Hamamelis × Intermedia 'Jelena' - Plant Finder. Missoury Botanical Garden, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .

"Hamamelis X Intermedia 'Jelena'" RHS Gardening. Royal Horticulture Society, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .