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My Northern Garden

October 10, 2008 · 4 Comments

P.O.V.

How to

One day last fall, my neighbor from across the street stopped me to say how much she liked the Autumn Blaze maple in our front yard. Her son had recently commented that it was the biggest tree on the street, she said, and they really enjoyed watching it turn red in the fall. Her comments were nice to hear, but the truth is that I had not noticed. I had not really noticed how big the tree had gotten or how lovely it looked with the top leaves a deep burgundy red and the lower leaves still green, and how really, really red it got at the end of the season.

red maple in fall

That’s a great looking tree — especially for the neighbors!

Garden designers often talk about views and considering the views your yard and garden offer from various positions–both inside and outside the house. Sometimes the best positions for viewing are across the street.

Like many newer homes, the windows on my house are largely oriented toward the back, so the view I see most of the time–while doing dishes or sitting at the dinner table or reading in the living room–is a view of my backyard and my next door neighbor’s backyard. When I look out the two larger windows at the front of the house, the part of the big maple that I see is the trunk and a few lower branches. I enjoy its shade,  but the aspects of the tree that make it beautiful–its nice round crown, the way its leaves flicker in the wind, and its deep red fall color–are not part of the views I normally experience. To see those things, I have to step back and look up.

Like many gardeners, I’ve reached the end of the gardening season with thoughts of next year dancing in my head. But before I commit any of those plans to paper (or start digging), it’s time to step back, look up, and consider new points of view.

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Trackbacks

  1. My Northern Garden » Blog Archive » Maple in a Chokehold says:
    October 7, 2010 at 2:25 pm

    […] about this incident, others may benefit from my mistake. Bottom line: I almost strangled my favorite front yard tree with a dog […]

  2. Maple in a Chokehold says:
    October 4, 2018 at 3:16 pm

    […] about this incident, others may benefit from my mistake. Bottom line: I almost strangled my favorite front yard tree with a dog […]

  3. Don’t Do This: Maple in a Chokehold says:
    October 4, 2018 at 3:17 pm

    […] about this incident, others may benefit from my mistake. Bottom line: I almost strangled my favorite front yard tree with a dog […]

  4. March is Pruning Time! says:
    October 5, 2018 at 5:16 pm

    […] this week, I hired Cannon River Tree Care, a local tree company, to prune the big maple tree in my front yard. While I do as much plant care as I can myself, some jobs are just beyond my […]

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I’ve loved this container in the front of our ho I’ve loved this container in the front of our house, but things are looking faded, so it’s time for a refresh. Out went the Persimmon supertunias (love them, but they have done their duty) and a new cuphea I’m testing (great plant.) In go fall celosia in bright yellow and bronze orange garden mum, both from @shopbachmans. I kept the Queen Tut papyrus for its spikey texture. We’re ready for fall! 

#fallcontainer #fallplanting #fallcelosia #gardenmums #mngardener #fallinMinnesota
Meet shaggy soldier, a weed that I have gotten to Meet shaggy soldier, a weed that I have gotten to know quite a bit this summer. It spreads like crazy, seeds abundantly and is all over my community garden. Sone sources say it is an edible herb but I’m just pulling for now. Next year, I’ll smother it out with newspaper, cardboard and/or mulch. What weed is your nemesis this year? #weedsinmygarden #galinsoga #shaggysoldier #mngarden #communitygarden #weedy #herborweed
Just another morning in the garden with my monarch Just another morning in the garden with my monarch friends. Have a peaceful, joyous Sunday! #communitygarden #monarchbutterfly #weekendvibes💕 #pollinators
What’s the difference between having enough sun What’s the difference between having enough sun and plenty of sun in the garden? These two Tithonias tell the tale! 

Plus don’t forget to stop by the @mnhort booth in the dirt wing of the Horticultural building at the @mnstatefair! I’ll be there Sunday from 1 to 5 pm and would love to hear how your garden is growing! 

#sunorshade #veggarden #communitygarden #howmuchsundoyouneed #tithonia #mexicansunflower
It’s a hot 🥵 hot day and nobody is moving too It’s a hot 🥵 hot day and nobody is moving too fast. Savor the slow. #nectar #zinniasofinstagram #beelife #mngarden
Ground cherries look like tomatillos but taste lik Ground cherries look like tomatillos but taste like tropical fruit.
They are an acquired taste but I love them, especially in a spicy jam. 

For this recipe, I mixed

2.5 cups of cleaned ground cherries, 
half a cup of water,
1 cup sugar
a few stray strawberries from the fridge,
 juice of a small lemon, 
a 1-inch piece of ginger
1 tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg

 Boil away until it is thick. Store in the fridge and use as you would any jam. 

#communitygarden #groundcherries #mngardener #cookfromthegarden
What a fabulous day, touring gardens with garden c What a fabulous day, touring gardens with garden communicators from all over the U.S. and beyond! Minnesota gardens looked good today. Than you, @gardencomm_gci for visiting the Twin Cities!
Ribbit! Saw this beauty enjoying a beautiful garde Ribbit! Saw this beauty enjoying a beautiful garden in Washington County today. #daylily #gardentour #mngarden
I’ve seen so many beautiful gardens this year an I’ve seen so many beautiful gardens this year and it’s only July 21! More to come. A few favorite pots, plants and scenes from the past couple of weeks. #gardenwriter #mngarden #containergardening #gardenart #beautifulgardens
This container in the volunteer garden is just get This container in the volunteer garden is just getting better and better. I love the drama of the Jurassic Jr Strawberry Rex begonia in front and the Whopper White begonia is filling in nicely around it. The Canna Cannova at the back of the pot is about to bloom again and the spillers give the container some movement. Having a great container to put it all in makes it even more fun. 

#ballingenuity #containergarden #mngarden #urbangarden
Today’s harvest at the community garden: 4 Glaci Today’s harvest at the community garden: 4 Glacier tomatoes (a variety for northern gardeners, as the name implies), a turnip, a few greens and a big bouquet. Since the community garden is my biggest garden space this year, flowers are a must. Zinnias, cosmos, salvia, snap dragons, marigolds and Tithonia are there for pollinators and picking. I’m giving up on sunflowers this year because the local deer chomp their heads off every time! They walk by everything else and go for the sunflowers! 🌻 who knew? 
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#communitygarden #growyourownflowers #zinnias #mngardening
Tomato leaf diseases are interesting, if discourag Tomato leaf diseases are interesting, if discouraging. In this case, all of my Cherry Falls tomato plants — a container or basket variety — have a leaf disease. I think it’s septoria leaf spot, but I could be wrong. The fruit is fine, but the plants have stopped growing and the leaves look terrible. Time to harvest and put something else (not a tomato!) in these pots.

I started these with six other varieties — all in the same soil mix, all grown the same way. All of the Cherry Falls tomatoes I started are sick. All my other varieties are great. Anyone else have this problem with particular tomato varieties? 

#tomatoproblems #tomatodiseases #cherryfallstomato #containervegetablegardener #containertomatoes
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