Fall is a great time to buy a Lemon Tree

Fall is it the prime time that Lemon Trees produce fruit for the picking, at least in Virginia!  A friend told me about a local farm that sells Lemon Trees! Bill has propagated 100's of Meyer Lemon shrubs. Conveniently located near the Ivy Landfill (we go there every few months to dispose of household trash and recyclables) I picked up a gallon sized shrub. 

My shrub in my heated Greenhouse all cozy

Bill helped us select the perfect specimen having 7 lemons developing along with fragrant blooms. I did not realize that it takes 9 months from bloom to fruit harvest. Wowza. So right now is a great time to snag a lemon tree and enjoy some fruit over the Winter months. 

They can be successfully enjoyed indoors in your brightest sunny window. To aid in pollination, you can take a paintbrush and lightly transfer pollen from bloom to bloom to encourage a robust crop. It's best to move them outdoors in the Spring once all signs of frost have abated. 

Quarters Farm also sells fresh eggs and has a 175 year old home for daily rent that would be a great remote Winter hideaway.

The greenhouse does not have standard hours but Bill is very flexible as to when you can snag a Lemon tree or pick up some eggs. Just send him an email (listed on their website) to set up a time when you are over that way.

~ Rebecca  

    

Summer Butterflies all a Flutter in Charlottesville Virginia

Spicebush Swallowtail on my False Spirea Shrub

I've just received word that the annual Albemarle County Butterfly count will occur August 12th this year. The purpose of the count is to determine if butterflies are declining or not and it's part of a national program.

Easily recognized Virginia butterfly, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

I've been noticing hordes of the common Silvery Checkerspot and of course the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail fluttering around the garden. A few more regulars have included the Spicebush Swallowtail and the Silver-Spotted Skipper.

I've changed my gardening behavior over the last several years, allowing most plants to reseed. Which means I do not cut back any foliage unless it looks like a dead brown stick (dead Daylily stems come to mind). It looks a bit of a mess but come winter it's amazing as to the number of birds that reach for these seeds and how it actually adds winter interest. I also do not remove the fallen leaves. It's one of the worst things you can do.

Small but fast, the Silver-spotted Skipper

I'm beginning to conclude that not removing leaves or dead foliage until Spring has also benefited the insect populations. Think of how many cocoons and larvae are inadvertently destroyed when you totally clear out flower beds at the end of the season.

I also am taking note of plants that are especially attractive to pollinators and butterflies. Catnip, Clerodendrum, Hyssop, Mimosa, Fruit Trees, herbs, Cosmos, Beautyberry, and Cone Flower are garden favorites.

Time will tell if the increase in butterfly populations around Forsythia Hill are due to my efforts or just another "good season". It will be interesting to see how the numbers unfold this year during the annual count. It's also a good time to see some uncommon butterflies. We always see something interesting in the fields and woods. Nature is full of surprises!

I going to end this post with a fun video of one of my neighbors NEW honeybees loading up on nectar from my Beautyberry shrub.

The next time you hear from me, I just might be inside a shoe... visit back soon to figure that one out!

~ Rebecca

Forsythia

Maple (foreground), Forsythia Hedge in back.

It's that time of year when the Forsythia is in full raging bloom. Shockingly yellow, this plant adds so much color to the Spring landscape. It's a plant that I would probably not seek out to plant but I acquired it when we moved into our house.

Because of all the Forsythia on our property, I named it appropriately Forsythia Hill. I can see Forsythia out of every window in our house!

New little sprinkling (foreground), established (background).

I have started a few new areas of Forsythia to add a backdrop to my shrub border. I'm creating a mass of shrubs beside our driveway to serve as a buffer to street noise and to provide cover for the birds. Various shrubs have been placed in a mass with a hedge row of native Red Cedar behind. Along side is a wavy sprinkling of Forsythia.  Shrubs include, native Viburnum, Dogwood, Crabapple, Clerodendrum, Lilac, Coralberry, and Carycarpis.

Biggest clump, home to the Mockingbird.

I try to incorporate fruiting natives into my landscape every chance I get. Forsythia is not native to the US, the the vast majority of varieties are native to Asia. It does not provide fruit for the birds but it does create a lot of excitement in the Spring. There is always a Mockingbird trying to defend its Forsythia hedge and plenty of wildlife such as a Fox, Frog, or Ratsnake finding cover.

Viburnum blossom

My personal favorite shrub is Viburnum. Currently, I have planted Hobble Bush, Maple-leaf, and Arrowwood varieties but am always looking to incorporate more. It's a wonderful plant providing color, fragrance, and food and cover for wildlife.

My one tip about Forsythia is to keep it natural and do not clip it into a rigid square box hedge. It will destroy the light sprinkling effect and kill the drama and "messy hair day" flow of this wild shrub. Give it lots of room to romp and it will be appreciated, otherwise it can be a nuisance as the ends "root tip" and wander.

A good ex of how to use Forsythia, on a slope in mass.

Yellow is starting to fade and is being replaced by pinks and reds! The pink Dogwood and Maples have been beautiful this year.

Get out and enjoy SPRING! There is so much to see.

-Rebecca 

Seeing Yellow

This small cup Daffodil opened first on Forsythia Hill.

It's a blaze of yellow on Forsythia Hill this time of year.  The yellow Crocus arrived first then secondly my Grandmother's lovely antique large cup Daffodil.  Now the absolutely shocking yellow Forsythia is in clear view out every window in my house!  Hence the name, Forsythia Hill.  I just transplanted stray 10 Forsythia shrubs yesterday and today I spotted another possible transplant location!  We have those hideous electrical boxes on entry up our driveway.  I've never quite decided how to mask them.  I have some stray Althea shrubs that need a new home.  I think a few of them along with some Forsythia might make a good screen.  I was told by the electrical man that as long as I planted to the side and front I would not interfere with the box.

Forsythia was named after William Forsyth, who started the Royal Horticultural Society of Great Britain.  A member of the olive family, it was discovered growing in China in 1842 by Scottish Botanist, Robert Fortune when he was sent there to bring back plants by the Society.  Another species of Forsythia had already been growing in Europe since 1833 but was labeled as a Lilac.

The way you prune Forsythia - YOU DON'T

Often mentioned as a hiding spot for the dancing Fairy or even a sly Fox (in my yard) the Forsythia hedge grows with abandon having few limits.  The tiny Forsythia fruit from the Weeping Forsythia suspensa was recorded as being used in China beginning in 100 A.D. as a medicinal along with Lonicera to cure heat related diseases and remove toxins (fever, goiter, sores, abscesses, swollen lymph glands, flus, etc). 

Personally, Forsythia reminds me of the past and I always envision it as situated, overgrown, beside an old farm house in a field.  On Forsythia Hill it welcomes in Spring and cheers me to view it out every window.  I've not yet discovered a Fairy but as a young girl, I looked and looked for them under the old Forsythia shrub. 

The main Spring activity around our back Forsythia hedge is the Mockingbird territory wars. Often three or more Mockingbirds zooming around and around in and out and over the Forsythia hedge - battling for the supreme nesting spot.  I'm not sure if the same bird wins each year but it appears the returning bird puts up a most ferocious fight.  One evening I was walking my dog through the yard when a beautiful Red Fox popped out from under the Forsythia shrub.  It was an incredible sight but I felt as if he was sniffing around for my Hen House!  A two door night lockup system will hopefully keep them safe.

A pruned yellow neon highlighter line of Forsythia in a field - UCK

Forsythia certainly provides cover for wildlife and nesting for the birds.  It's a valuable shrub with a long history.  Can there be too much Forsythia planted?  Well yes, it can look horrible when attempts are made to control it by pruning.  I shudder when I see lollipop Forsythia or even worse is the manicured short clipped boxed version.  If you grow Forsythia, plant it in a spot when it can naturally roam and spread without much attention.  Up against the house is asking for trouble, or next to almost anything is a bad idea and planting just one bush usually looks kinda weird (a neon glob of yellow).  An expansive hedge is best and it will form this all on its own given time.  Annually, I dig up the roaming sprouts each year and cut back a few of the really tall spikes but not much else is required.  Once you have Forsythia, you will always have it!

-Rebecca