| Back to Back Issues Page |
 |
|
Garden Bliss & Blunder, Issue #046 April 07, 2025 |
The Ice Storm
For those of us living in Ontario, we spent the last week surviving without lights, or heat and no outside communication. Some had power restored in 2 days, some in 6 and some are still without more than a week later. Today, there are still 20,000 homes without power. The not-so amazing thing about storms is it brings generosity, thoughtfulness and kindness out of every home. Those with generators shared power to charge devices... with innovative ways of making tea and coffee ... hot water bottles for bed, hot tea and soup. Our world was noisy with pounding rain, then silence as the ice coated everything, followed in a day or two by the sound of tinkling ice falling from trees and then, the terrifying crash of broken trees. All the while we checked on one another with quiet knocks on the door, day or night to see if we were all okay, needed help or to come sit by a wood or gas fire. Look for the Helpers...
Wisdom from Mr. Rogers - Neighbours Ontario Hydro Crews from all over Ontario came to help... OUR SINCEREST GRATITUDE...
The damage and devastation was hauntingly intimidating and yet, sometimes.... it was almost beautiful
It's tempting to shake the ice off branches....we feel sorry for the weight these fragile branches have to bear but this can actually do more damage than leaving the ice to melt off on its own. Some heavier branches may break under the weight, but the smaller ones will likely have enough new sap in their tips to bend not break, where new little buds have started... Shaking off the ice from these can damage the wee buds where the smaller branches will stand back up and be fine.
Oops....But... this was really hard... I had to force myself to remember the experts' advice and leave the small trees or shrubs alone.... I thought this 6 foot, Privet standard was a goner when I saw it bent over and touching the ground - the top was so heavy with ice.
But three days later, after the ice fell from the branches ... look what happened !!
Why so much damage?Trees are usually grown in nurseries and are trained (pruned) for both health and looks. Imagine trying to properly prune thousands of young saplings with limited time, staff or space. The results of poor, or non-existent early pruning results in weakened tree shapes as they mature. It is most obvious when the trees are bare... notice the way branches emerge from the trunk. Too sharp a fork will weaken how the branch matures. I was heartbroken to see the damage to my favourite Redbud tree.
Sigh..... If I had, perhaps the weight of the ice would not have broken this main stem. So very sad. I pruned off the broken branch after the ice melted. Hoping to save it as we have been nurturing this tree for a few years and if the roots are as strong as I think, it will survive.
I hated to remove part of the main trunk but I believe it will survive. I also pruned off the very long ends of the branches to give the roots a chance to recover instead of having to provide nutrients to those long tips. You can see the lower branch has bark missing.... bunnies... however, if there is bark on one side of the branch, its chances of recovery are better than if there is none. At this point, it is a WAS... (Wait And See).
The weight of the ice forced this Serviceberry's branches to touch the ground.
Here you can see the serious split in the upper trunk.
For more pruning help... look here: Do's and Don'ts in the Garden...DO: Remove any large branches that may still fall. DO: leave stems standing as many overwintering beneficial insects are still snoozing DO: cut back your grasses because likely there will be bits of green emerging from the base. If you leave them to cut back as they begin to grow, you will cut the new growth and those fronds will have blunt ends. DO: tidy paths so you don't have to walk on the soil. if mud sticks to your shoes or boots, get out of the garden. Use paths and if you cannot reach further, that's a good reason to stay out of the garden DO: wait till the end of April or early May before you clean anything else up.... also, watch for mounds of loose grasses.... perfect little nest for baby bunnies
A Garden Mission Statement ??I confess I hadn't really thought about that.... and sometime over the winter, among the never-ending pile of books, I read that we should consider having a Mission Statement for our garden. Hmmm… why? Well, because our gardens say a lot about us… what we love or don’t… what we need - chaos or calm So will this help us to make our own garden mission? Answer these questions and you will have a starting point. How do we want to feel in our garden? Playful? (kids, dogs - space to do that? games, entertain, eat Relax - places to sit, private or public Ease of taking care Pathways to…. maintain, to meander, to lead to something of interest… Movement - wind chimes, grasses that sway or Guara (moving butterflies) Colour - calm, exhilarating, exciting, themed (blues and greens) every garden needs a spot of yellow ? why? hint of sunshine, moves eye from place to place… could be lime green instead of yellow…
Because our lower garden is surrounded by tall (green) cedar hedges, the garden needs to have a lot of colour to offset this. The Burgundy Redbuds echo the burgundy Heuchera at ground level and the pinks, and purples grow the eye away from so much green. Notice, though, how the spots of yellow take your eye around the garden.
Here, the yellow is actually more like a lime green and the blue draws your eye to the stained glass, the blue bird bath and pillar in the back.
The idea is to thread colour throughout your garden... give your eyes a place to wander, to stop and rest and then move on. Place a seating area to rest, or enjoy that first morning cup of lovely.... Use found objects, statues or coloured glass. Make sure there is movement: grasses, Guara (dancing butterflies) wind chimes Fill coloured pots and move them around or make a whole garden of them if you have no space or rent. Let your imagination go... make a plan; make another and change that one.
Colour instead of ice is nice...
Our first sign of Spring !!! Small but mighty and so welcome Have you read this yet?
It has been a long time since I have read something so profound about plants... how they communicate (not how you think).... do they "see"? (likely) - do they recognize their own "kin"? (yes they do) It is not a quick read - although it is very readable... and on every page there is a moment or line that shocks me.... It's about a journalist's quest to find just how intelligent plants really are and what that means for us.... She follows the scientists who follow the plants... If you only read one plant book this year, let it be this one. No do's or don'ts - no plants to choose or not.... just a mind-blowing read. Until Next Time...
Keep dreaming and planning and in the meantime, go outside and just look.... Lucy says...
Until it warms up, when you go out to see friends, stay warm with your own friend.
And when you come inside, take a long nap with your other friends.
PLEASE VOTE !!
Do your own research ... vote for a strong Canada. ... and trust your gut ... not just the media.
You know what to do. Need help with tree damage?Now, go see some art....WOW.... this month... We have two displays.... The Ashburnham Alehouse and for the month of April, at Dreams of Beans George St at Charlotte. 20% of Claire's sales go to the Turtle Trauma Centre and 20% of mine goes to LAWS
Claire's art at Dreams of Beans
My Great Lakes Series at Dreams of Beans Back Issues for Garden Bliss & Blunder
|
| Back to Back Issues Page |
