Ep 176. Revisiting Cicadas and How Gardens Glow

Mary Stone reflects on her recent trip to California and the joy of reconnecting with a lifelong friend. She discusses listener responses to previous episodes, including Lorraine's recent solution for her Bowing Blossoms of Limelight Hydrangeas.

She reminisces about a cicada encounter during a project at Morristown Airport, explaining the difference between annual and periodical cicadas and gardening tips for late summer. Then shares Marty Carson's luminous garden design idea for Morristown Airport and how selections of White Flowers (and foliage) in Gardens Glow. 

Mary concludes by emphasizing the importance of learning and growth over perfection. 

Thank you for tuning in! 

Related Stories:
 
Cicadas sing 'Back to School'

White Flowers in Gardens Glow

Link to the post with an update on Lorraine's latest idea for  Fixing Flopping Limelight Hydrangeas

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I'd love to hear your garden and nature stories and your thoughts about topics for future podcast episodes. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com. 

You can Follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook and Instagram #MaryElaineStone.

Episode web page —Garden Dilemmas Podcast Page

 Thank you for sharing the Garden of Life,

Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer

                                        AskMaryStone.com

More about the Podcast and Column:

Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.

It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.

Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page

Transcript

Ep 176 Revisiting Cicadas and How Gardens Glow 

Sun, Sept 1, 2024 9:32AM • 9:04

Summary Keywords

cicada, garden, white, emerge, glow, sat, left, dilemmas, branches, learn, sharing, day, gardens, seed, morristown, porch, photo, airport, rabbit, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration

 Speakers Mary Stone

Mary Stone 0:00

 Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens. It's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learn from Mother Nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So let's jump in, in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about. 

Mary Stone 0:26

 Hello there. It's Mary Stone on the screen porch. And I am back from California. It was a long flight, and it was delayed, so I am a little bit flip flopping on what time zone I'm in. Anyway. It was such a fun visit to see my college roommate, and we got to visit her folks. It's amazing how, with lifelong friends that you haven't seen in years, you pick up right where you left off. It's such a gift. I hope you have such friends in your life. 

 Mary Stone 0:55

 I want to thank those who wrote back after our last episode about Koleen's Dagnabbit Rabbit Dilemma. Wasn't Koleen's delivery so wonderful? I really enjoyed it, and I hope you did, too. As if on cue, while walking around Dana Point in California, there was a gathering of a Cottontail rabbit and several squirrels and crows all getting along in a small space. I'd say it was only like 10 by 20 foot in this park, the crows were feeding on trash carelessly left behind, while the squirrels were seeking nuts and seeds and a rabbit quietly munched away on the turf. I snagged a photo, and the little fella is now gracing Koleen's Dagnabbit Rabbit Dilemma post. 

 Mary Stone 1:41

 And there's an update on Episode 174, Bowing Blossoms of Limelights. Lorraine, whose lovely garden we featured, wrote, Hi Mary. I agree that the newer and smaller cultivars are not as floppy and have more flowers, but they're smaller. I think I've been able to semi-remedy my issue by trimming all branches that face outward and keeping upward branches. But after tonight's monsoon, they may be all on the ground. She, of course, sent photos of her garden, of her workaround that worked, and I put that new photo on the column post. I'll include that link in the show notes. 

 Mary Stone 2:17

In recent weeks, I've mentioned somewhat apologetically the sounds of the cicadas in the trees intruding on our chats that ignite right after the chorus of night singers subsides, though often their songs overlap as some nighttime singers sing by day, you likely hear the fall field crickets this morning. It inspired digging in to learn about the nighttime chorus of insects, which I look forward to sharing next time. But first, I'd like to revisit portions of Episode Three. Cicadas Sing Back to School from way back in 2019. Can you believe we've been visiting each other for five years? Thank you, kind listeners. And it starts like this. 

 Mary Stone 3:01

 Hello, fellow listeners and readers. The sound of the late summer cicadas brings back the memory of a nagging indication it's time to return to school. The trepidation was more about the nervousness of being in a new class. Once the newness wore off, it wasn't that bad. There's much to learn in the Garden of Life beyond the classroom for those who remain curious. 

Mary Stone 3:25

While overseeing a project designed for Morristown Airport in New Jersey, a cicada sat down beside me on a boulder we placed in a garden. The Little Miss Muffet poem came to mind, though he didn't frighten me away. Indeed, I sat in awe of his big green eyes and translucent wings, and asked out loud, are you okay? Then came curious looks from the landscapers. I wondered if the digging brought the little guy to the surface before he was ready to emerge. By the way, I really did talk to the little guy. I tend to do that. Do you? 

Mary Stone 4:00

 You may recall the cicada invasion just south of here a few years ago, but what sat beside me was not a periodical cicada that emerges every 13 or 17 years. The little guy was an annual cicada, also known as a dog day, or North American cicada, that emerges in late summer every year. Their cycle is similar, but shorter, only remaining underground for two to five years, then they surface and molt to become adults with wings. They find their way onto deciduous trees and shrubs to mate. The loud shrill are the males singing to attract females. Leave it to the boys to make such a ruckus, but it's the girls that cause damage when cutting slits into branches to lay eggs. The damage is not problematic, though, because they are relatively few annual cicadas, unlike when the swarms of the periodic cicadas emerge. They don't sting or bite and provide protein for wildlife such as birds and foxes. 

 Mary Stone 4:59

The Back-to-school cicada sound draws me back into the garden. It's a perfect time to weed out the undesirables, such as Japanese stilt grass before it goes to seed. That remains viable for several years. It looks like mini bamboo that seems to be taking over the world in shady forest floors and sunny garden spots. It's also an ideal time to tweak your gardens with end-of-season perennial finds you can gather from your local nursery. And for lawn enthusiasts, late August into September is a good time to fill in bald patches aerate and seed. Nights become cooler, and morning dew will return, making it easier for seeds to germinate. 

Mary Stone 5:40

Legend has it that when annual cicadas first emerge, frost will arrive six weeks later to the day, plenty of time to get out and garden. Garden Dilemmas? Askmarystone.com 

Mary Stone 5:54

Of course, I'll have a link to the Cicadas sing Back to School story where you can see the cute little guy on the rock. He really is quite adorable. I hope you think so, too. And there's more to the original episode, which was recorded during Miss Ellie Mae's last days. And it has a reflection on my brother Bill's heart shaped stones. And as I sit here five years later, there has been so much growth in my garden of life, and I hope in yours, too. 

 Mary Stone 6:23

We have a little more time, so I thought I would share the remarkable garden design story for Morristown airport and the lessons gained from how white gardens glow. It was during the installation that that little cicada came and sat down beside me.

 Mary Stone 6:38

 Do you recall waiting until the last minute to finish your homework as a kid? As adults, it's not about waiting but more about not having a minute to spare. Rush, rush, rush, you know the drill. Last on the list is my garden. When I make the time, it brings joy, but frustration too, as I focus on what could be better if I only could keep up. I'll bet you know that drill as well. It seems most of us are equipped with a not good enough button. 

 Mary Stone 7:05

 This week, I delivered a presentation to Morristown airport. What an honor to be invited to help with their beautification program. The site's industrial characteristics and low maintenance requirements felt overwhelming. How do you make a massive facility of macadam runways, buildings, chain link, fences, heat and drying winds, beautiful with little effort. Then, of course, there's the dilemma of deer. To the rescue came a colleague with a depth of plant knowledge and a gift of combining them beyond the ordinary. My modest mentor and friend Marty always blushes when I mention her name, I shared the assignment, and she willingly slogged in the heat to help take measurements while we brainstormed ideas. 

 Mary Stone 7:49

A few days before the homework was due, we met again, and pow-wowed over the site's challenges, which require large-scale consecutive plantings to connect each area with a consistent style. My colleague came up with the most luminous idea, a green and white color theme will be fresh and visually cooling. The White blooms and foliage will glow at dusk and dawn, which, of course, is when most of the small planes come and go from that airport. She suggested horse chestnut to set the stage with companion plants of Kousa dogwood, the white variety, as well as Bottle Brush Buckeye and Butterfly Bush, White perfusion, to offer a sequence of Blooms throughout the growing season. Variegated Japanese silver grass and salvia, White Rain, plus white potentilla will be the icing on the cake. 

 Mary Stone 8:44

At 5 am the Light barely breaking, I rose to put the finishing touches on the presentation and glanced outside in my garden, the shasta daisies glowed in their glory. Next to them, the husky leaves of oak leaf hydrangea and the refined elegance of variegated silver grass. I marveled at the vignette of perfect plant combinations, and at that moment, my garden spoke to me: I'm glorious enough. It's not about being perfect, it's about learning, growing and serving others to help light up the world. Thank you, my dear friend, for sharing your glow. 

Mary Stone 9:23

 So, I hope you enjoyed revisiting those stories. It is a feeling of going back to school while I was in California, the sounds of the kids playing in the playground because they had already started a week or two earlier than here. I hope you have a feeling of going back to school, a new start, and always something to learn in this garden of life. And I so appreciate you sharing that journey with me. I look forward to next time on the screen porch. Have a great day. 

 Mary Stone 9:52

 You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden Dilemmas.com and on Instagram at the hashtag Mary. Elaine Stone. Garden, Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries, as produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch, and always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.