Plant of the Week: Peonies

In the D.C. metropolitan area righht now, peonies are blooming all around us, adding lush flowers and foilage all summer long. Peonies are perfect for lanscapes in our region because they reqire little maintenance, enjoy full sun, and relish cold winters because they need chilling for optimal bud formation.  When planted and cared for properly peonies can live longer than you do—some have been known to thrive for 100 years.Their exquisite, large blossoms, often fragrant, make excellent cut flowers and the foliage provides a background for annuals or other perennials. Peonies grow from two to four feet in height and  make fine low hedges and borders to walkways.

Memorial Day and the Red Poppy

There are many stories by which over two dozen cities and towns lay claim to be the first to officially sanction a holiday dedicated to the remembrance of soldiers lost in battle by having women’s organizations  decorate the graves of confederate soldiers lost in the Civil War dating to as early as 1867. In May 1966, when Memorial Day was made a federal holiday, President Johnson gave credit to Waterloo, NY as officially having started the observance of this holiday. 

Traditionally, Memorial Day observances involve lowering the flag to half-mast until noon to remember the men and women who have given their lives in service to the country.  At noon, the flag is raised to full mast to symbolize the resolve to not let the scarifies of those who came before us to be in vain and for those currently alive to continue the fight for liberty. Parades are held across the country featuring the veterans in the community, as well as active duty military personnel.  Visiting the graves of fallen soldiers is common place as well. 

In 1915, John McCrea wrote “In Flanders Fields” to immortalize his fallen compatriots in the attack that took place in Belgium on April 22, 1915:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

The red poppy has since been adopted as the flower associated with remembering fallen soldiers and consequently associated with the official holiday in 1966.  The red symbolizes the spilled blood of lost soldiers.  As the flowers return annually, we are called to remember the sacrifices of the soldiers who spilled there blood on the fields of battle and strengthen our resolve to continue the cause of freedom.

Plant of the Week: Dianthus 'Bath's Pink'

Dianthus are a herbaceous perennial that grow easy in well drained soil and full sunlight. The cultivar 'Bath's Pink' are especially good for the D.C. metropolitan and surrounding suburbs due to their heat, drought, humidity, and deer tolerance. This particular dianthus forms a mat of grassy, blue-green foliage, which produces numerous, fringed and fragrant, star-like, soft pink, flowers. These flowers bloom for a substantial period of time, from approximately May to July. 'Bath's Pink', also knows as Cheddar Pinks, provide masses of color and good contrast for rock gardens, edges and borders. Alternatively, dense mats may be grown together to form an interesting ground cover. They can also be grown on difficult sites such as stone walls or ponds.

Plant of the Week: Mazus

Mazus is a low growing perennial plant that is well suited to moist, shady areas. Mazus makes a fantastic ground cover because it fills in bare areas quickly, but because it is shallow routed, it is not aggressive or invasive.  Our favorite areas to plant mazus are to fill in gaps surrounding dry laid flagstone, in rock gardens, between stone steppers, and at the base of water features. Mazus makes a colorful groundcover with flowers blooming from late spring through mid summer in a variety of colors.

A Kane Mothers' Day Tradition

Josh Kane never has to worry about what to get his mom for Mothers' Day. Back when Josh started his landscaping business in his early teens, his mom asked him to plant summer annuals in their front landscape beds. So for the past 22 years, rain or shine, Josh has planted pink vincas for his mom to show his appreciation for all that she does.

Over the past couple years, Josh has began recruiting his little ones to help with this Kane Mothers' Day tradition. While he may have lost some efficiency with these amateur gardeners, along with the flowers, these two cuties help brighten up the garden and "Mimi's" Day.

A very Happy Mothers' Day to Marli Kane, on of the most loving, giving, and nurturing mothers and grandmothers we know!

Water, Water Everywhere!

Some things you just can’t predict on jobs.  After tearing down a patio that was poorly built by another company (that we will leave unnamed) years ago, we came across this underground spring.  We knew the area just past the patio was frequently wet, however, since we could not find many of the drain pipes that were supposed to have been installed by the previous company (that we will leave unnamed), we attributed poor drainage as the cause of the soggy lawn.  Springs are often more obvious in, well, the“spring” time when the water table is higher due to frequent rains and the snow melts from the winter.  We often find springs in the Ashburn / Leesburg area due to the high levels of limestone in the soil.  Using some creative solutions and a lot of pipe and gravel we will redirect the water coming up from the spring to allow the project to be built properly this time around.

Plant of the Week: P.J.M. Rhododendron

Many people confuse azalea plants with Rhododendrons. So what is the difference? To put it simply, all azaleas are Rhododendrons (the capital "R" signifying the plant genus), but not all Rhododendrons are azaleas. The genus Rhododendron is in the heath family which also includes such plants as  blueberries, cranberries, and mountain laurels. Most members of the heath family need an acidic soil to grow.

This week's Plant of the Week, the P.J.M. rhododendron is considered to be one of the hardiest of the rhododendrons, in terms of withstanding not only cold, but also heat and sun, and are much more soil adapatable. Varieties of P.J.M. are available with either pinkish-lavender or white flowers and grow to an overall size of approximately 4’ x 4’ at maturity. These rhododenrons make excellent foundation plantings especially when grouped together as a shrub border and prefer partial shade to full sun. P.J.M. Rhododendrons are also a popular choice for landscapes because they provide year round interest, with flowers in the spring, green suumer foliage, and mahogony winter color.