DIRECTIONS TO COTTON-ARBO RETUM 597 Washington St. Winchester Ma. 01890 From the North: Take Rt 93 south (or from Rt. 128 to Rt 93 south, go 1 exit): Exit at Montvale Ave. /Stoneham. At end of ramp, turn right, turn left at Citgo Gas station (1st light) onto Washington St.. Look at your odometer. Go 0.6 miles, just past a strip of parkland on your left, and turn left onto Sunset Rd. and park. Walk back to Washington St., turn left and walk down 1st driveway on your left. This is the best entry to the Cotton-Arbo retum. **** PLEASE COME VISIT THE GARDENS **** **AT THE COTTON-ARBO RETUM IN WINCHESTER** The 21 year old Cotton-Arbo retum is located around a residential property in Winchester. Wishing to share the gardens with everyone,the owners have opened them permanently to the public 24/7 May through October of each year. The gardens are made up of a series of intensely planted garden rooms, linked by a series of sunken paths, ponds and waterfalls. Foliage guides the aesthetic, with great emphasis on Japanese maples, conifers, deciduous trees and shrubs. Herbaceous peonies and non-bearded iris have a strong presence in the perennials, accompanied by thousands of varieties of perennials, vines and ornamental grasses. There is a rustic shade hut and five waterfalls and ponds with sitting areas. With the changes in foliage and flowers, the gardens look quite different every two weeks or so. Peak bloom times are May, Mid June and September.The gardens were created to provide a beautiful quiet respite for everyone to enjoy. Feel free to bring a picnic lunch, or a book, or a dog (we love animals)!! We are often working in the gardens and are happy to answer questions. The Cotton-Arbo retum is open to the public, sunrise to sunset, daily, May through October. 597 Washington St. 01890 ***Remember: OPEN EVERY GATE!!! Nothing is private except the house.*** ~ The Way To Have What We Want Is To Share What We Have ~ PAST AND PRESENT IN THE COTTON-ARBO RETUM We moved to Winchester and began this garden 21 years ago. Aside from an evergreen hedge, and various mature maples, nothing that you now see - was here.There were no fences and the back of our property was a wild woodland of junk trees and scrub. We began our landscape design by laying out garden beds that were visible from key viewpoints in our house. After three years of intense garden development, our gardens were awarded the "Best in Show" prize in a competition sponsored by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and Boston Magazine. For our prize, we were sent to Holland, where, at Trompenberg, we discovered the wonderful world of conifers. This life-changing experience took us out of our perennials focus and raised our vision, literally and figuratively, so that we began to emphasize the' bones' of our gardens- with conifers, shrubs and trees. Visually, we like to play flowers off their surrounding foliage, with an emphasis everywhere on the foliage itself. As we and the gardens have grown older, we have come to realize that perennial beds are the most labor intensive of gardening, and that , while a perennial's flowers often last only 2 weeks, the foliage of shrub, vine and tree- lasts the entire gardening year- 3 seasons.The differences in foliage are like the differences in a person's fingerprints- innumerable! Size, shape, color, texture, variegation, smell, light reflectiveness, movement- all contribute to our fascination with foliage! If this is your first visit, you will be surprised how different the gardens look from one week to the next. In the spring, perennials are short, there are many empty spots, and the gardens have a much more open feeling. You can see from one area to the next. In the summer, plants grow taller and fill in so that the various gardens become their own 'garden rooms'. Fences disappear and flowering vines ramble over railings, shrubs, obelisks and arbors. By September, the plants are at their tallest, highlighted by the many ornamental grasses. Design elements we hope you will notice: The repetetive use of purple, yellow, blue and variegated foliage in providing continuity and in keeping the view lively; The role of varying plant heights in a garden bed; The role of varying garden levels and sunken paths in providing a sense of intimacy and privacy;The role of hidden elements and glimpses of vistas - in drawing you into the various garden areas; The role of water elements; The roles of garden art and architecture. We are so glad you have come to share our gardens. Please bring friends and come back often. **And remember- When you see a gate, open it and explore!!** Every gate takes you to a new garden area. Nothing is private except the house. The Way To Have What We Want Is To Share What We Have

I dipped a toe into growing teas last season with some success and tried a few more this season. I am in zone 6b south of Cincy in south central Kentucky. I started with containers which I overwintered near my house's south facing brick wall (I'm too lazy, I have no basement, and my garage is too cramped to move them inside.) I was successful with Mme. Lombard, Devoniensis (the bush form) and Georgetown Tea. I had actually planted GT in the ground in the fall of '06 after growing it in a pot all summer. It came back with flying colors. I lost the Cl. Devoniensis however - remember we had that Easter freeze after a warm spell and it developed canker and did it in. Poor little Mme. Lombard, a one cane wonder, survived all summer and through the winter in the little one gallon pot it came from the nursery in - and half the soil was gone! I had to find a place in the garden for this tough gal, so I finally planted it this fall, after another summer in that same pot (bad gardener!) It has three blooms on it now, what a trooper! This year I tried Mlle. Franziska Kruger, Rhodologue Jules Gravereaux, Marie Van Houtte, Souvenir d'un Ami, Miss Atwood, Mme Jules Gravereaux (not to be confused with Rhodologue JG), and Lady Hillingdon. Most were grown on in BIG pots this time, with only Rhodologue JG and Mme. JG immediately going into the garden. LH grew a lot over the summer, it's a real beauty. I would definitely try it, at least in a pot for the first year to see how it does for you. Use a large foam or fiberglass pot and you'll be able to overwinter it outside. The foam pots provide root insulation and there is no worry about the pot cracking. I have 16 different roses in pots on my deck (this year) that I am overwintering. The varieties and number of roses change from year to year. Some go in the garden after a season or two. Some just don't make the cut and are given away or composted. It's a good way to test them out and grow them on (all mine were own-root babies when I got them.) On top of that I can justify my "pot ghetto" if they are in "real" pots and not the nursery pots they came in, decorative or not! BTW I also have Hermosa in the ground, it does very well, and has a very nice fall flush.

miguel, so your hypothesis is that it is not so simple as merely a longer warmer growing season that allows rebloom but specific light/nutrient/water conditions..? hmmm well right now, i only have one data point to give you - ramona from her post bloom haircut last year. i gave her a very severe 2/3 haircut last year and that could have some impact. i do not recall fertilizing with pellets/compost/liquid after pruning. i watered whenever it didn't rain for 2 weeks. ramona is planted right next to one of my multiblues, SSE facing with afternoon shade btw 1-4pm due to some big trees in our neighbor's yard, possibly in the fall they get less sun due to the angle of the sun.. also cultivar could very well be a consideration. ramona typically blooms at least 2-3 weeks later than my other group 2s... so i just pruned my multiblue today by 1/2 to see if it will rebloom this year. although the summer was late by 2-3 weeks this year so again that can throw the results. wow, this isn't going to be a very scientifically sound experiment - too many variables really. but sounds like fun nonetheless! entling and eden, i'm so excited you're going to do this with me! eden i don't think it is possible for you to plant too deep.. and i know what you're saying about wanting them to finish blooming. when i pruned nelly and multiblue this weekend, i clipped off a few flowers/pompoms that were still in bloom in my rush to clean up the plants.. it almost feels as if my OCCD (obsessive compulsive clematis disorder) is wearing off a little..

"The temperature description matches my local climate exactly. The snow pack here from lake effect snow isn't quite as much as described above but is pretty close and consistent from year to year. The summer dry spell is the only difference as we get sporadic summer rains keeping things moist and happy" One other significant difference is summer humidity, and consequent night temperatures. Low humidity and high altitude in the Sierra Nevada means summer nights are chilly, probably only rarely over 10�C, not easy growing conditions for fungi. Conversely, high summer humidity where you are traps heat at night (I'd guess you often have nights that don't drop below 20�C?). These conditions are much better for fungal diseases; that's a major reason why so many western N American trees perform poorly in the east of the continent. Resin