• Gaiety Hollow: Elizabeth Lord and Edith Schryver

Lord & Schryver Conservancy blog

~ A personal look at the ideas, inspiration, and hard work that go into the Lord & Schryver gardens.

Lord & Schryver Conservancy blog

Tag Archives: Garden in winter

January chores

17 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by Lord & Schryver Curator/Garden Manager in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, gardening, Pruning, trees, Uncategorized, weeds, winter

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

chores, compost, Garden in winter, gardening, January, Oregon, seeds, trees, weeds, winter

Is it winter or is it spring? This weather has me totally confused. I thought I had at least a month to sit in my office and write, but the sunshine these past few days has me anxiously staring at the hellebores and daffodils in bud. Should I drop everything and garden?

My answer to that is Yes, but judiciously.

There are lots of simple tasks that can be done in the garden in January that will save you from insanity in March. Why not tackle them on sunny days? Here’s what we’ll be doing at Gaiety Hollow in the next month.

  • Removing the leaves from hellebores (so that flowers are visible)
    Cut leaves
    Cut leaves
    Before
    Before
    After
    After
  • Trimming leaves from Epimedium (so that flowers will be visible)20180116_133200
  • Cutting back sword ferns
  • Weeding out invasives (like Arum italicum, Ficaria verna, and ivy) and the cool-season weeds like bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta)
    Arum italicum
    Arum italicum
    Ficaria verna
    Ficaria verna
  • Cleaning up the herbaceous perennials left standing over the winter (like peonies or phlox)
  • Composting perennials no longer up to snuff
  • Transplanting self-sown hardy annuals (like forget-me-nots and violas)
    Forget-me-not
    Forget-me-not
    Viola
    Viola
  • Top dress with compost

Now is also a good time to look at the structure of your deciduous trees and shrubs. Look for dead branches, crossing branches, and branches that are growing towards the center of the plant. Call an arborist now and get on their work schedule. If you plan to do it yourself, make notes, take pictures, or tie tape on branches you plan to remove later in the season.

Don’t get too hasty on pruning! I am very tempted to start pruning our overgrown boxwood, but I have been warned that it is better to wait until February. Roses are another plant you might have an urge to cut. Don’t do it. Severe cold weather–like we had around this time last year–could damage or kill recently pruned plants. It’s not worth the risk.

To prevent soil compaction, limit the amount you walk in flower beds and grass. Put down sheets of plywood if you must walk on ground that is soggy. Is the ground too wet and you don’t have plywood? Sounds like the perfect excuse to go inside and have a cup of tea.

What about all of those rainy days coming up? Stay inside and dream big dreams for your garden! It’s time to order seeds and spring planted bulbs, like Dahlia, Canna, and Gladiolus. Don’t forget to purchase seed starting supplies and new tools while you are at it. You can use this calendar to help know when to start your seeds (Salem’s average last frost date is 5/22).

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Need some inspiration? There are so many wonderful books on gardening to get you started. I recently picked up Clyde Waschsberger’s gardening memoir and loved it. What’s your favorite garden related book? Or which gardening book are you reading now?

20180117_091533_edit

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Spring ??

23 Monday Jan 2017

Posted by Lord & Schryver Conservancy in Driveway, Drying Garden, Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver

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Gaiety Hollow, garden, Garden in winter, Historic Gardens, Lord & Schryver, Lord & Schryver Conservancy, Restoration

Probably not, but today, in this part of the world, it was sunny and 46 degrees and it felt so spring-like I thought that Gaiety Hollow might be the place to go.  I wanted to see how the sod had survived in the new garden “room” and what progress had been made on the driveway…I’ll let the pictures tell the tale…

spring-1

new-garden-2

driveway-1

driveway-2

and there were a few little signs, even though we know very well there’s more winter ahead!

spring-2

Bonnie Hull, Garden Correspondent

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Happy New Year!

28 Wednesday Dec 2016

Posted by Lord & Schryver Conservancy in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver, Vintage Photos

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"Documenting the Cultural Landscapes of Women", Gaiety Hollow, garden, Garden in winter, Historic Gardens, Lord & Schryver, Lord & Schryver Conservancy, vintage garden photos

I was back in the garden today, finally.

view-south

Winter in the garden means work of the chilliest sort.  Curator/garden manager Lindsey Kerr is working on the beds, and the workers from Autumn Leaf Landscaping are digging out the “Drying Garden”…

drying-garden

As I was having a chat with Lindsey Kerr and she mentioned to me a couple of photos from the 1980’s of how that section of the garden used to look… and sent them along…

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We cordially invite you to join in the efforts of the Lord and Schryver Conservancy to not only retrieve this beautiful 20th century garden, but to help it survive on into the 21st century with new audiences and new activities…none of which can go forward without the help of our generous donors.  Thanking you in advance!

Note original grass, espaliered Camellia sasanqua.

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Spring is on the Way!

18 Thursday Feb 2016

Posted by Lord & Schryver Conservancy in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver, Uncategorized, Vintage Photos

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

"Documenting the Cultural Landscapes of Women", brick pathways, camellias, Gaiety Hollow, Garden in winter, Historic Gardens, Lord & Schryver, vintage garden photos

I headed to Gaiety Hollow yesterday to check progress on the reflecting pool…this work generously funded by an anonymous donor.  I always know when there’s a truck in the driveway SOMETHING is under way!

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It was the guys from Autumn Leaf Landscaping…

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GH3GH4

the little reflecting pool used to look like this…

ice on the pond

and was never plumbed…maybe just filled with the garden hose.  Thanks to the donor the pool will be plumbed and have a pump that will pump recycled water keeping the pool fresh…and the process included this (i.e. electrical AND plumbing)…

GH6

GH1

and in the meantime board members Ross Sutherland and David Lichter managed to locate a putto to go in the center of the pool when complete…

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Take a look at this vintage photo showing the original…

Knight Library Home Garden Ev Garden, Lantern Slide

After checking work progress I strolled the garden with Board President Bobbie Dolp who told me these pavers are coming up this spring to be replaced with grass, as it was originally…

GH12

and the garden is still beautiful in in its shaggy late winter state…with lots blooming…

GH12 (1)

GH11

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GH9

And Bobbie mentioned the plan to replace the entire pergola, bit by bit, this coming summer…

gartden 2

Additionally Dolp said…

“There is much that is glorious.  The camellias, viburnum and daphne are in full glory at the moment.  The flowering trees are just waiting for a few more days of warmth.

This week the reflecting pool is being restored.  There is even an appropriate putto to grace the scene.  The carpentry crew has continued to work on the perimeter fences.  We also have some grant money for new tools so some of those old gems can be replaced.

There is much to do; the grape on the pergola needs to be cut back along with some of the epimediums that got by the trimming last fall.  Roses need pruning.  And then of course there are those plants that love to challenge our determination.”

Friday volunteer work parties begin soon…consider coming to work in an amazing garden…

 

 

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Happy New Year!

02 Saturday Jan 2016

Posted by Lord & Schryver Conservancy in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

brick pathways, camellias, Gaiety Hollow, garden, Garden in winter, Historic Gardens, Lord & Schryver, Lord & Schryver Conservancy, white oak

What better thing to do to start the new year than to take a stroll through the garden at Gaiety Hollow?  We’ve had a very mild winter so far, but the last few days, including today (brrr) have been COLD.

Some frost on the bricks, selectively…

IMG_5715

toward the allee

ice on the little pond…

ice on the pond

the frost on the grass…still there at 4:00 p.m. …

frost

the mistletoe in the big oak…

misteltoe

and the plants that have been tricked into early bloom…

camellias 2camellias

everything is trying to grow…

flowers 1

flowers 2 (1)

privet (1)

3600 people walked with us through this garden in 2015 on this blog, and we appreciate it.  We hope you’ll continue to join us in 2016 as things grow and change, we take on some new projects, and continue to work to make the garden at Gaiety Hollow thrive.

cold view (1)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

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November News…

18 Wednesday Nov 2015

Posted by Lord & Schryver Conservancy in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, House, Lord & Schryver, Pruning

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Tags

boxwood, Gaiety Hollow, garden, garden design, Garden in winter, Historic Gardens, Historic House and Garden, Lord & Schryver, pruning, pruning boxwood hedges

We entered the garden through the back gate today, late in the afternoon, and there was a meeting going on so the lights were all on and the house looked inviting…

lights on

A walk through Gaiety Hollow this blustery afternoon revealed that MUCH work has been done in my absence…volunteers have finished trimming all the boxwood and it looks very good, even on a dark, wet and dreary day…

alle looking north (1)

-25

Elwood’s Tree Service has done some professional trimming (best done by somebody nimble on the top of a ladder)-26

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-4

-7

and the holly hedge is amazing…-27

-39

holly 1

holly 2

There has been lots of planting…two white lilacs…

Lilaclilac 2

a crab apple…

crabapple

and a beautifully shaped Japanese maple near the house…

Japanese maple

a small holly near the back porch…

-41-42-40

lights on (1)

always more to do though…foundation plantings…

foundation

and then the wear and tear of time and weather always brings new projects…

fence 1 (1)

fence 2 (1)

but in spite of the wind and rain, this garden always makes me happy…and now beginning to feel festive…!

skimmia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Garden Party

23 Wednesday Sep 2015

Posted by Lord & Schryver Conservancy in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver, Uncategorized, Vintage Photos

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Tags

Deepwood Gardens, donors, garden, Garden in winter, garden party, Historic Gardens, Lord & Schryver, Lord & Schryver Conservancy

A good way to celebrate the many donors that have supported the garden at Gaiety Hollow was a garden party.  Sunday was one of the last days of summer, sunny and mild.  The garden (thanks to volunteer labor!) was looking lovely, there was food and music and wine…and donors.  A lovely afternoon…Garden 1

Garden 2

Garden 4

Garden 3

caterers

musicians

guests 1

desserts

Guests 2

The newest Lord and Schryver excitement at Gaiety Hollow has been the return of the urn that originally stood in the Lord and Schryver designed scroll garden at Deepwood Gardens…on the brick plinth at the back of this photo…

L&SArchiveImages1108 236

and here’s how it looked one snowy winter many decades ago…

urn in winter

Lord and Schryver chose the large ceramic urn and imported it from the Philippines where Lord’s brother was living.  The scroll garden these days is too unprotected of a place for the urn, so it is now at Gaiety Hollow…a donation from Alice Brown’s heirs.

urn 1

urn 2

Thank you donors, one and all.

 

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Spring in the House and Garden!!

07 Saturday Mar 2015

Posted by Lord & Schryver Conservancy in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, House, Lord & Schryver, Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

brick pathways, Etahn Allen, Gaiety Hollow, Garden in winter, Lord & Schryver, Lord & Schryver Conservancy, NW Rugs, Spencer's Antiques, spring garden

While the rest of the country has been suffering a severe winter, here in the Pacific Northwest we have been happily in the “spring-time” mood for a month or so, brought on by sunshine and warm temperatures.  Gaiety Hollow is coming back to life and beautifully so…I was in the garden very early Tuesday morning, all alone, and it was lovely…even though a tiny bit frosty…

GH 1

Friday, though, I was back to check-in with the cadre of volunteers that keep this place looking good.  I wonder if even our most committed readers realize that this beautiful garden would not have been saved, and would not be thriving, without the continued and total commitment of people who love the place and believe in the mission.  Of course they don’t want to be mentioned…but sometimes I can sneak a photo or two…

GH5

GH 4

This week they added forget-me-not and pansies to the tulips…”place holders” in the perennial beds for the time being…

GH 2GH3

And inside the house things are looking good.  Many many thanks to neighbor Marian Milligan who recently donated these two little art pieces that she purchased back in the 1980’s from the estate sale at the house…they are the only things we have that are original to the house…(anybody else out there have something they bought from that sale????  Donations happily accepted…)

GH11

GH12

GH 18

The intention of the conservancy is NOT to run the house as a house museum, but to have it be a working place, a place for meetings, seminars, etc.  But it is nice to have a few civilizing touches and many thanks this week to Ethan Allen, NW rugs and Spencer’s Antigues for keeping our recent purchases well within budget.   An alabaster lamp, a new rug, and the little graceful game table that now warm the entry of the house are nice touches…

GH6

The garden sparkles outside the windows…calling us back out…

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GH9

Once outside we notice the terrific laminated garden plan that gardeners can use and mark on with erasable markers…

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GH15

GH8

a final look around…

GH17

and we’re off…stay tuned for the coming story of recreating the front gate…Happy Gardening!!

GH16

 

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The Garden Comes Back to Life!

28 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by Lord & Schryver Conservancy in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

camellias, Gaiety Hollow, garden, Garden in winter, Historic Gardens, Lord & Schryver, pruning, pruning boxwood hedges, pruning camellias, snow damage, tree planting, white oak

Gaiety Hollow is an old garden, as you know.  The lovely small hedges and decorative trees have become huge, so the problem of scale is now on the agenda…big time!  The problem becomes how to strike a balance between the original intent when the garden was planted, and the fact of maturity in an historic garden.  It took Darin 12 hours to prune the massively overgrown hedges at the front of the house.  He saved some sections for infill and when we got there today Gretchen Carnaby, David Lichter and Joyce Zook were hard at work…take a look…

hedges 3

hedges 4

hedges 2

blue wheelbarrowhedges 4.5hedges 5

hedges Joyce

He didn’t prune the inside of the hedges…Gretchen said next year or the year after for that…when the street-side has filled out…

Hedges 1

but the BIG news for today was the arrival and planting of the new white oak to replace the fallen giant, the donation of John Miller.  Adam volunteered to work on digging the chips from the old oak out of the dirt left in the hole.  Any chips of the old tree will rob nitrogen from the new tree and retard healthy growth…

Adam 1

David and Joyce jumped in to help, along with arborist Woody Dukes assessing the chip-to-dirt ratio… (it looked a little like a needle in a haystack…)

chip removal

COFFEE BREAK!

equipment

coffee break

(I DIDN’T get a shot of the Townsend’s Warbler with it’s nose in the camellia)

camellia

Woody pointed out the snow damage in the camellias…

snow damage

and worse yet, the squirrel damage.  The squirrels are killing off the tops of various camellias by girdling the trees to eat the bark.  Look just above Woody’s finger and you can see where the bark has been gnawed off…

squirrel damage

just below the stripped trunk is a strong shoot in healthy bark, so in due course Woody will remove the now yellowed and dying top and the new shoot will fill in.

Gretchen pointed out to me one of the next projects…an espaliered camellia that is very overgrown, and is going to be massively pruned…here it is today, with Gretchen’s note that it has a strong interior structure…so stay tuned for the results…

future prune

interior

On our way out we checked the new little white oak, waiting to be planted…

new oak

A lot of activity for the sunny and bright last day of February!

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The February Snow

24 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by Lord & Schryver Conservancy in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, Lord & Schryver

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Tags

Gaiety Hollow, garden, Garden in winter, Snow in the Garden

Gaiety Hollow neighbor Susan Miller sent along these images of snow in the garden…beautiful, but (we hope) just a memory, for this year anyway…

L&S Snow 4

L&S Snow 3

L&S SNow 2L&S Snow 1

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