Two Hour Gardening Project: Stage 18 – Selecting Shrubs and Planning Rockery

Fall turns to winter: time to browse catalogs and garden centers for shrubs—great investments. Don't buy impulsively: check mature height/spread, hardiness, soil suitability. Our picks suit most gardens/areas; consult local nurseryman if unsure.

Needs: 6 assorted flowering shrubs. Time: 5 hours in 2 weeks.

Flower of the Fortnight: Hypericum patulum

St. John's wort—ideal for modern small gardens. Compact, 90–120 cm, huge golden yellow flowers high summer to late fall, bright red fruits. Semi-evergreen (loses leaves only in hard winters). Tolerates almost any soil (not waterlogged), thrives in poor soil. Only needs light pruning.

Late November Weather/Soil

Hard frosts in north; south may lag. Catch up on construction (patio, trellis, drainage). Heavy snow crushes plants—shake off branches.

Groundwork

Cut dahlias to 10 cm above base. Lift carefully—don't fork tubers. Dry 2 weeks in cool airy place, rub off mud. Check firmness; discard mushy. Store firm tubers in dry moss peat trays, crowns above peat. Cool, dark, frost-free until spring.

Clean/store stakes/canes. Cut chrysanthemum tops to 2.5 cm; leave in ground.

Garden friends: (1) Ichneumon fly—parasitic on caterpillars; (2) caddis fly larvae eat aphids. Don't destroy. New lawn: don't water—pans soil. Clean, grease, store mower.

Project Work: Shrub Selection; Rockery Stone Collecting

Shrubs in every garden, but as accents—not everywhere. All-shrub garden dull 9 months/year. Need all plant types. Shrubs offer widest range: flowers, fruit, autumn color, upright or sprawling habits, berries, colored leaves.

Most container-grown. Store shaded/sheltered if ground frozen/wet (like trees, Stage 13). Plant: hole 60 cm wide, 45 cm deep, mound soilless mix, position on dome, backfill with same mix, firm every 7–10 cm, final firm, soak, mulch. Prune broken twigs.

Recommended: Berberis thunbergii (orange flowers, autumn color); B. thunbergii atropurpurea (bronze leaves—flower arrangers' favorite); Chaenomeles 'Rowallane' (red flowers pre-leaf, yellow fruits, good against wall); Mahonia aquifolium (sculptural evergreen leaves, crimson winter, yellow flowers, blue spring fruits); Viburnum opulus 'Compactum' (white flowers, showy red berries, compact); dwarf evergreen azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias (strictly acid soil—check neighbors or grow in peat-filled containers). Space per catalog mature sizes; plant so branches meet, tallest back, smallest front.

Plan rockery: collect interesting stone, masonry, demolition rocks, quarry/hillside finds.