March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Brewer Couple’s Gardens “rooms of a house”

I could tell when Ken and Brenda Nadeau of Brewer didn’t blink an eye as my 2-year-old ran rampant through their beautiful plantings of phlox and lilies that the award-winning gardeners are an exceptional pair.

Two weeks ago, Bangor Beautiful named the Nadeaus overall winners in its first Outdoor Gardening Competition. I waited for the rest of the media to retreat before I dropped in on the Nadeaus for a peek at their gardens. I was most pleasantly greeted by the excited gardeners, who, surprisingly, haven’t been too shell-shocked by all the publicity their enthusiasm for gardening has generated.

The gardens that the Nadeaus have created over the past five years surround each side of their slate-stone home. Brenda says that creating their gardens was “like decorating rooms of a house. We have an English cottage garden, a pink-and-white garden, a vibrant `Shades of Flames’ garden, a shade garden and shrubbery-edged paths which meander into the woodlands” behind their home. She notes that Ken is the primary designer of the gardens, as he has a photographer’s eye for color and form. She and their children select new plants for him to use.

During the past 10 years, the Nadeaus have created many pleasant memories through their gardening hobby. As they recount a few of their delightful stories, it becomes apparent that gardening harbors a spiritual and therapeutic element for them. These qualities they already are passing on to their two children. Sons Ryan, 5, and Evan, 3, run about the yard as their parents confess that the garden tools they received as an award for winning the gardening competition probably won’t be used by the elder gardeners. After they were given their award, Ryan promptly took the tools on an excursion into the woods — excited with the prospects of unearthing some entomological treasures.

Both Brenda and Ken grew up in northern Maine and come from close-knit families. They credit family members and close friends for spreading this “infectious” hobby to them. For years and even generations, gardening has been a source of joy, therapy and enrichment. The liveliness of gardens is one of the things that makes living in Maine so wonderful for the Nadeaus.

As Brenda puts it, “When the winters get long and cold, you can dream ahead to the warmer days that will share all the beautiful colors of a rainbow. The sign of that first plant springing up or the first blossom showing is a true sign that spring is around the corner; you can burst at times with anticipation.”

During the past few weeks, letters full of questions and remarks again have come in from readers throughout the state. This is great — keep them coming!

Before I answer a couple of these, I’d like to clear something up that seems to have been bothering a few readers. Regarding my question-and-answer column in the March 25 column, I responded to a question in which a reader was wondering if ants would harm her peony plants. Some gardeners felt that I caused alarm when I wrote, “It’s not your peony plants the ants want. If you look carefully at the peony stems, you’ll likely see what they are really after. Aphids are your real problem. Aphids feed on peony plants and leave behind a sticky substance which attracts ants. Some people refer to this as ants `farming’ aphids.”

I must apologize for not acknowledging that ants also enjoy eating the sweet syrupy substance secreted by developing peony buds. Many people believe that the peony plants need the ants in order to bloom. At any rate, the peonies usually are not harmed by the ants, although the hard-working insects may spread botrytis blight disease throughout the plant.

Now for some recent questions.

I work all day inside an office building and am only able to enjoy my garden in the evening. Any suggestions for plants which look best at that time of day? D.B., Skowhegan

White-flowered plants, along with those with silver or gray foliage, show up best in the diffused light of early evening in the summer months. Oriental poppies, petunias, gladiolus, artemisias, rue, Russian sage, lamb’s ears, dusty miller, snow-on-the-mountain, phlox and nierembergia all provide flowers and foliage to enhance an evening garden. Russian olive, hydrangea and euonymous are excellent shrubs which provide the same effect.

Can I dry herbs in the microwave? P.M., Calais

Yes! Simply place a single layer of herbs between two paper towels and dry them for two minutes on high. If they aren’t brittle to the touch after two minutes, continue to dry them at 30-second intervals until they become so. You can dry some of the more sturdy garden flowers using the same method.

In addition to questions, in response to my column two weeks ago, several readers have reported that they too have spotted Japanese beetles in their gardens. Three interesting antidotes for ridding your garden of Japanese beetles have come in from Nancy Oden of Jonesboro. First, try planting a trap crop of soybeans. Soybeans are especially susceptible (in other words, are especially attractive) to Japanese beetles. They will effectively lure the beetles away from your desirable food crops. Second, prepare a wide-mouth jar half-full of soapy water. During the middle of the day when the beetles are most active, go to the garden, hold the jar below the beetles and flick them into the solution. They die instantly, Oden contends. Third, for nonfood plants, Oden uses Bt — Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterial insecticide — to target the tenacious pest when it is in grub form.

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, 1243 State St., #2, Veazie 04401. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include your name, address and telephone number.


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