The June Ramble

Suddenly there’s plenty going on in the garden and landscape. It’s warmed a bit, and with a little rain the slow and cold spring may actually turn into summer shortly. So, this week, not a rant but a ramble.

More years ago than I can remember I was crossing the railroad tracks at Tuckahoe Road in Southampton and on the opposite side I noticed a plant in bloom that looked similar to a tall garden Phlox. There were actually quite a few of these plants, and while the group that had drawn my attention was a deep lavender there were other shades including purples, white and pink.

I was still assuming that this was a wild Phlox until I got up close enough to get a flower and stem sample. What I’d found was Hesperis matronalis, or dame’s rocket. It has a wonderful light scent and could make a nice cut flower. Ah, but beware of this nicely scented beauty. Friends warned me not to mess with it, and some called it invasive. Turns out that on Long Island it’s considered slightly invasive but more of an issue here than in other areas. It is a wildflower, and while found throughout the East, it is not a native.

If you can control it, this is a nice meadow, wood’s edge or wasteland plant. If it gets loose in your garden and beds then it’s a weed that will need constant attention. I planted some (from seed) on one area on my property that was pretty weedy. Now it’s weedy but colorful, and in the spring I’m continually taming it by pulling out new shoots as the parents try to invade the nearby Echinacea bed that’s filled with native purple coneflower. This year though it showed up in beds 100 feet away.

And with late spring come the spittle bugs. They’re on the Hesperis and a number of other plants. New gardeners freak out when they see the frothy covering the insects create on stems and leaves. No need to spray and no need to panic. There’s a tiny wormlike larva inside the spittle that turns into a small insect that looks like a leafhopper. Hence, the nickname “froghopper.” If they bother you they can simply be dislodged with a spray of water from a hose or hand trigger spray bottle.

Which brings us to the next thing that freaks out new gardeners: ants on peonies. No, the ants don’t eat the plant or the flowers. They’re on the plants, especially the buds, to mine the sugars from the flower’s nectaries. Do they harm the plant? No. Do you need to get rid of them? No. If they bother you beyond your comfort level you can sprinkle ashes or diatomaceous earth in a small circle around the base of the stem, and this will deter them.

Then there are those who spend small fortunes on bringing in ladybugs and praying mantids for insect control. It’s a worthy effort, but for all intents and purposes neither one of these insects is going to help much. Introducing more will only have slightly, if any, effect. Yes, I have seen ladybugs moving about apple trees in search of aphids and on some other plants as well. The problem, though, is that when you buy a small container of these aphid-eating insects and let them loose they simply fly elsewhere. It’s also the larval stage of the ladybugs, known as aphid lions, that do most of the work.

If you want to bring in some every year, and if they arrive at the right stage where they are hungry, you may be able to establish a local population that can help. But there are other insects you can encourage by using a varied range of plants in your gardens that attract tiny predaceous wasps (that don’t sting) that will do the same thing.

Praying mantids are the same problem. Kids love to see the tiny mantids emerge from their winter cocoons that we find hanging in the garden, but of those hundreds of tiny baby mantids that emerge only one or two will grow into feeding adults — and will most likely fly away. Again, great to introduce to kids and to have in the garden, but they are not going to eat other insects to the point where they are an effective method of control. They are naturally occurring and just part of the bigger picture.

The best thing you can probably do to help nature control damaging insects is to have a healthy garden with varied plants and few to no pesticides. And toward this end I would suggest encouraging toads.

When I started my present garden I had no toads. I once thought of starting a toad farm and selling the toads until I learned that toads don’t appreciate being moved from whence they came and have trouble adapting to new environments. So, we have to encourage them to move into gardens and neighborhoods where they may not presently exist. In all likelihood, they’re around. They simply need to be encouraged into your garden and landscape.

I was astonished to look under a step leading to the ocean beach in Southampton one time and was amazed to see a toad sitting under the step waiting for its next meal to pass by. It was shady, cool and moist under the steps, and that’s the perfect environment for toads.

This year I found one on the soil, well hidden at the base of some Fritillaries. The frits had become a home to the dreaded scarlet lily beetle, and when this beetle is finished feeding or when it gets frightened it drops to the ground — where the toad was stealthily waiting. Why was the toad there? It was shady, moist and cool, and there was food just dropping in front of it.

Last week I was moving around plants in my holding area where they sit under the shade of a fringe tree in flats on top of 1-by-1 lumber that keeps the flats an inch off the ground. Shady, moist and apparently the slugs were just starting to emerge. And there, in warty wait, was a large and plump toad. A few days later it was still there and reluctant to move. I’m so very happy to share my slugs with him or her.

Toads need a very particular habitat but are certainly attracted to this habitat if you are willing to make and maintain them. Old clay pots on their side, rocks that create crevices that remain moist and dark are both good spots for toads to hang out. But again, this animal is very sensitive to pesticides, and if you can’t live without them you won’t be getting any toad visitors. Take a look at this recent piece in The Washington Post: tinyurl.com/yzvdc4yy.

We are still seeing the damage from the hard freeze that hit upstate in May and resulted in some frost on Long Island. Finger Lakes grape growers may have lost part of their crop, and some ornamentals were badly burned including Japanese maples, which dropped foliage, and one of my Magnolias defoliated. This Magnolia lost every single leaf as they browned, became soggy and remain drooping on the tree.

But new leaves have emerged, and in a few weeks I expect the tree to be totally refoliated. Ah, but at what cost? I saw this phenomenon years ago when the East End was hit by a hurricane in the fall. There was no rain but lots of wind that brought salt spray off the ocean and inland for blocks and blocks. Trees were defoliated by the desiccating salt spray. By Thanksgiving most had a new canopy of green, and apple trees began to bloom at turkey time.

We know from experiences with the spongy moth (formerly known as the gypsy moth) when it would totally defoliate large swaths of oak trees of their leaves. In each case the trees recovered with new foliage and most survived.

The fear in these releafing situations is that the trees are using their stored energy that would go toward bud and nut formation into new leaf production, thus making the tree weaker going through winter. Most research has shown that many trees can tolerate one or two defoliations and make it through most winters. “Most” being the key word here.

If you think the only problem we have to deal with in our boxwood plantings and hedges is the boxwood blight, guess again. Yes, the boxwood blight has been a major problem, but there are several others.

The blight has been a problem during the past 10 years and continues to be an issue. But don’t overlook the other problems with this much-used plant. There is the boxwood leaf miner, which feeds between the layers of leaf tissue. One reader noted that he could hear them munching away when there was no other noise. There is also the boxwood mite and a newcomer, not here yet, but close, called the boxwood worm. Maybe consider another shrub?

I hate plastic watering cans mostly for environmental reasons. I have two Behrens galvanized watering cans that I use instead. They’re durable, and unlike the plastic ones these are completely recyclable. Available at many garden centers these metal cans come in 1-, 2- and 2.5-gallon sizes.

While the cans can last for years the “head,” or rose, or bonnet, that the water comes out of needs to be kept clean to maintain a good watering pattern. And you need to keep debris out of the can to keep the head from getting clogged, but this is the case in plastic cans as well. The problem is that the head doesn’t last as long as the can, and it’s almost impossible to get replacements. If you buy one of these cans ask for replacement heads.

While looking for a replacement head I found one on Amazon (tinyurl.com/bdhk9ys3) but it didn’t fit the spout. But it actually solved a different problem. I’m forever searching for that perfect watering can to use indoors, and whatever I buy always ends up leaking or dripping on the furniture or window sill. My dream watering can would only hold about a quart of water and have a flexible spout.

While in an automotive store getting oil for one of the mowers I noticed a very intriguing galvanized can on the shelf. It was the old-style galvanized oil can that mechanics used to use when adding oil to engines before the oil came in quart-size plastic bottles. It has a measure on the side and a flexible metal spout that you can bend and turn. It had just the right angle on the spout to keep water from spilling and yet going directly into the pot or saucer. You can get these cans online or at auto parts stores.

How long does it take to make a great perennial garden? With my method (not the five-minute instant Hamptons garden) it takes three years. One year to plan and plant. A second year to do some moving around and replacements. The third year it matures with some minor tweaks and lots of enjoyment. Keep growing.