Rooted Ramblings: Starting over in your home gardens

Written by Judy Sewell, Portage County Master Gardener Volunteer

Our first backyard contained one Bradford Pear (later destroyed in a storm) and a topped white pine. Over 25 years we added trees, shrubs, perennials, a pergola, and two water features. Leaving the now shaded, full yard made my heart stop for a moment. After digging a few perennials to share at the PCMGV plant sale and telling the new owners to call with any questions, we moved on from our first home.

So how do you start over in gardening? When we moved to our new home our plan was to take a year to see what established items we inherited; of course, I failed to wait a year. First, we removed the willow that was too close to the house; then we pulled out eleven burning bushes. While beautiful, burning bushes (Euonymus alatus) are aggressive in northeast Ohio. We dug in the remaining mulch and uncovered a few plants: the clematis Diamanti (Clematis evipo039) is gorgeous! I added our clematis (Clematis Madame Edouard Andre) to share the trellis; both were doing well on the east side of the house. We trimmed the lovely hydrangeas and the overgrown viburnum (Viburnum dentatum). We had a professional arborist trim the trees. We planned for a mostly native plant yard.

And oh! We dug and trimmed and stomped on the thistle that loves to grow near the pond, but it reigned triumphant. Next, we dug deeply, disposed of the thistle roots, and established a new bed near the pond. We planted some wonderful Ohio natives purchased from the Portage County Soil and Water Conservation District  PCSWCD:). Once the snow clears, we’ll see how they overwintered under the mulch. We should have sweet shrubs (Calycanthus floridus), Allegheny serviceberry (Amelanchier spicata), and a nanny viburnum (Viburnum lentago). And there’s plenty of space for what I ordered this year: buttonbushes (Cephalanthus occidentalis), summer sweets (Clethra alnifolia), and red osier dogwoods (Cornus sericea). One day our natives may replace all those prickly weeds. Invasive Plants: Plant These Instead

And the front yard? It may gain a few northern red oaks (Quercus rubra) from PCSWCD. According to Doug Tallamy in Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard  (Timber Press, 2019), native red oaks are fabulous hosts for caterpillars. They also are significant in soil and water purification. Now we won’t be around once these oaks reach their beautiful maturity, some 50 to 75 years from now, but we will be happy to see birds in the branches. And knowing we are doing what we can to keep this environment beautiful and sustainable for future generations warms our aging hearts.

Ohio State University Extension Portage County Master Gardener Volunteer program. As OSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteers, our articles will never endorse specific products or companies. Questions/comments/suggestions/want to find out more/become a PCMGV: 330-296-6432 •  OSU PCMGV web • portco.mgv.oh@gmail.com • FB PCMGV • PCMGV Speaker’s Bureau