The Coastal Gardener - May, 2006
May Roses and edible shrubs
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May is said to be the month of roses, and they certainly are in full flush in my Great Border. New this year is the intensely fragrant apricot 'Felicia', hybrid musk from Vintage Gardens (www.vintagegardens.com), and the yellow floribunda 'Julia Child'. Julia started the season out with a strong flush of disease resistant foliage and sent out buds while snow was on Mt. Manuel in late March. I had paired her with 'Smokey' bronze fennel, gold edged boxwood and 'Cottage Red' marigolds, an antique variety that exhibits small signet-style flowers on bushy plants to 2 feet. Behind this grouping is a fine specimen of Philadelphis. Often called Mock Orange, this is a tall arching shrub with intensely fragrant white flowers in summer. Tiny olive green leaves are nothing to write home about, but many of the new cultivars have long bloom seasons and compact habits.
Deciduous shrubs like Philadelphis are seldom used in west coast gardens. To be effective they need to have more than one season of interest, say from flowers in spring and bright foliage or berries in fall and winter, or from being paired with another plant. Mine is now host to some adventurous stems of the Lemon Peel Clematis, that found the shrub's long arching branches the perfect place to arrange it's 2 inch long yellow bell-like flowers in July and August. They match in care: the clematis likes to be cut back each year or two, which coincides with the removal of the oldest stems of the Philadelphis.
My garden until now had been purely ornamental with edibles shunted to the less desirable spots. But now several multi-use plants are making a show in the beds. For foliage contrast I have introduced the deep purple leaves of Mountain Spinach, Atriplex hortensis, among the zinnias and crocosmia. Its thick leaves can be harvested for salads.
In a spot with rich soil dwarf 'Top Hat' blueberries are making a promising start. This southern highbush type is well adapted to coastal gardens and forms a tight evergreen bush to 2 feet that flushes fine carmine in cold weather. Provided it receives a mulch of sawdust and a good amount of moisture in my relatively dry ridge top garden, I should harvest fruit in about 2 years.
Along the path through this area, several dwarf fruit trees are accents in large Asian pots. Pink flowered in spring; 'Bonanza' dwarf peaches will fruit enough to keep my little crew happy without any waste. The small trees at 3 feet are easy to cover with net to keep out those clever jays. I have also installed a fine set of espalier apples; special trees grown onto trellises like a tidy vine.
The last group of edibles is the citrus, which are nearly a requirement of any mild winter garden. A recent trip to Four Winds Growers (www.fourwindsgrowers.com) yielded some nice new dwarf oranges and the very ornamental calomondin, all for large pots. The calamondin is particularly beautiful with its heavy crop of golden orange tangy fruit in winter, just in time for the holidays.
Around the edges of the garden, special attention needs to be paid noxious weeds. The large Milk Thistle can be pulled completely, but make sure to remove the flower heads, which will mature even it the stem dies. Snap them off with a pair of very thick gloves and dispose of them in a sealed bag.
Patio pots need to have their soil renewed and May is the best month for this. Slide the root ball and out tease some of the spent soil away from eh outside inch or two. Pack new soil into the bottom of the pot, reset the root ball and fill in the gaps. Fresh soil gives the roots something healthy to grow into keeping your plants looking great for the whole summer.
Must have plant of the month: Artcostaphylos 'Paradise'. You might find this plant hard to find, but the native Pajaro Manzanita is worth it. A large open shrub to 6feet is flushed with copper colored new growth that fades to slate green. Pink flower clusters in December and January are host to honey bees and Monarch butterflies.
Enjoy your garden!
Dave Egbert
