![]() (The space isn't heated and hovers around 45.) In the winter, though, the room is just too cool. I love having my morning tea while basking in the early sunshine. I actually do spend quite a bit of time in the sunroom in the spring and fall. So, if I have this beautiful space of my own, why don't I just cloister myself in there when the winter blues strike? I have a comfy chair for leafing thorugh gardening books and a fountain for ambience. I've stuffed it with tender plants and hung more vegetation, birdcages, and lights from the ceiling. It is nothing fancy, just a screened (and glassed) in porch facing south. I have a quasi-conservatory of my own, our sunroom. Until then, stuff your laundry under the bed and call the room clean! When the curtains reveal visible lumps, or items start falling off the shelves, it's probably time to take more drastic measures and edit your collection. The CD player is now behind the curtain, where it can be heard but not seen. The floorlength curtain also screens the snarled cords below the shelf. To hide your mess, all you need is a cafe rod (with brackets) and fabric. Thankfully, curtains serve much the same purpose and are easier to make. In my perfect world, all bookcases have doors to hide whatever I may stuff inside. Instead of artfully arranged leather-bound volumes, my bedroom bookcase holds a jumble of decorating and gardening books, music, scripts, choreography notes, binders, CDs, and assorted odds and ends. Unless your bookcase serves a purely decorative purpose, odds are that it collects junk. So, I got organic cat toys and a little education out of the pruning experience. Sweet gums are one of the cidaca's favorite hosts and the limbs of my tree show heavy cicada damage (probably from summer 2004). Apparently the leaves are also aromatic when crushed, but I'll have to wait until spring to try it for myself. Because the tree was dormant, my cuts didn't produce any of the fragrant, sweet resin that was once used as chewing gum. I consulted Trees of Ohio, and identified the tree as a sweet gum. I was ignorantly sure that this tree was a maple until my kitties started attacking the spiny balls dangling from the detached limbs. Here in the Midwest, that method of identification doesn't work as well. Where I grew up (Pacific Northwest) if a tree was deciduous and had lobed leaves, it was a maple. Not only have I increased the amount of sunlight my future secret garden gets, but I also managed to identify the tree. Our big shade tree is an investment, though, so I bided my time and trimmed the lower branches during a warm spell just after Christmas. I disregarded these rules when I pruned the honeysuckle trees, because if they become stressed and die, I'll be glad. This means waiting until not only the leaves have fallen, but we've been through a few hard freezes. Somewhere in the internet's vast expanse, I read that trees should be pruned when they're dormant in order to reduce stress and the chance of infection or even death. I decided to limb up our tree months ago, but, with a great deal of difficulty, forced myself to wait until the proper time. This fall, Mike whacked some of the overhanging limbs from the neighbor's locust tree to let in more light. (The lowest point of the yard is just to the left of the tree.) I doubt I can improve upon the present french drain system, so I will live with the corner's seasonally soggy state and plant appropriately. mas is definitely no exception to the rich redness we desire and expect.You've heard me moan about the north corner before. We love our dogwoods for their magnificent, flaming orange-reds. Personally, I love sour things and this year I harvested, pitted, and am trying my hand at making a jam similar to sour-cherry jam with the Cornus mas drupes (very exciting).įall: When autumn comes we are drawn to the magnificent colors of the chlorophyll-bereft leaves left on trees leaving only their remaining pigments for nature’s color palette. Next comes a powerful tart like sour-cherries making you salivate again but be careful, the nut in the center is as hard as a rock. First it is extremely astringent, your mouth puckers intensely as the moisture is sucked from your tongue and cheeks. Biting into one of the fruits straight from the tree is a unique and intense experience. And what’s more? They are edible, with flavor to boot. The tree sets elongated drupes that hang heavily from the tree like red olives. Fruit trees have a special place in my heart and the dog days present the abundance promised from a long spring of flowering and pollinating. mas becomes a reliable, shady tree as Spring fades into summer. Summer: Covered with lovely, simple dogwood leaves C. The summer face of Cornus mas covered with lovely, simple dogwood leaves.
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