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margaret roach, head gardener

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a kousa dogwood i’m certain about

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variegated-kousaREMEMBER THE GREAT KOUSA CONTROVERSY, when I wanted to evict my nursed-from-infancy weeping Kousa dogwood? You all helped me see the error of my ways, and we’re still together. Though I’ve often waffled on the weeper, there’s one Kousa I never have regretted planting, and that’s the showy white-variegated ‘Wolf Eyes.’ That’s it beaming at you hundreds of feet beyond my back yard in the photo, shining like a beacon, even at a smallish size. Wow.

Standard Kousas can get to be quite big things, 20 or 30 feet high and as wide or wider, making quite an impression when they’re in bloom. ‘Wolf Eyes’ is a comparative baby among the Cornus kousa clan, but a beautiful baby at that. Some references say it will get to just 6 feet high and 10 wide; I have no idea, but lust for mine to look like the one documented by University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.

wolfeye-kousa-detailEven at barely 5 feet high and maybe 6 or 7 wide, my ‘Wolf Eyes’ simply lures me out to pay it a visit on a regular basis. I cannot resist. If that axis-creating eye-catchery isn’t enough, it also has long-lasting white flowers in late spring, big red fruits, and good fall color.

This one, I’m not letting go of—at least not willingly. No matter what you say.

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32 comments
July 29, 2008

comments

  1. Sod Lawn Guy says

    November 14, 2008 at 2:21 pm

    You have an impressively beautiful and manicured lawn. I don’t mean to ignore the dogwood, but even with all that shade, it seems to shine.

    Nice work.

    Reply
  2. margaret says

    November 15, 2008 at 7:36 am

    Welcome, Sod Lawn Guy. I am smiling at your complimenting my lawn, which is basically a mix of whatever grows. I don’t feed or do anything…as you can see from my basic lawn-care post here.

    Reply
  3. Maria Nation says

    July 23, 2009 at 1:58 pm

    Margaret! You kill me with this post! The Wolf Eye seems to be the only thing I simply can’t get to grow here. I bought 2 a couple of years ago. Loved them so much I created a whole, huge shrub border just for them. They died. Replaced with two more. That summer they seemed fine. This spring: dead. Now I have the 3 year old shrub border and two ….Hicksii. I have since heard from others that the Wolf Eye just ups and dies for them. I have gobs of other dogwoods, and regular Kousas that are 20 feet high. But the Wolf Eye? Zippo. What’s the deal? (beside you tormenting me?) Maria

    Reply
  4. Carole Ferguson says

    October 23, 2011 at 9:28 pm

    A luxurious winter to think of what tree I want at the top of a stone wall at the end of my driveway after taking out a hedge of junipers. I think I want a dogwood. It is good exposure with east, south and west light and some protection from north (about thirty feet from the house). What would you pick? Could be 15 to 30 feet tall…..

    Reply
  5. Carolyn Faulkner says

    October 18, 2013 at 2:13 pm

    Hi Margaret,
    My kousa dogwood is covered in fruit right now and I was wondering if they could be dried and used to make holiday decorations?? I love your website!
    Carolyn

    Reply
  6. Amy says

    April 22, 2015 at 8:36 am

    Magaret,

    I planted two Kousas 4 years ago on the edge of the woods which I read was their natural habitat. Never any flowers or flower buds. Any ideas?

    Reply
    • margaret says

      April 22, 2015 at 9:12 am

      Yes, Amy, they can/do grow in such spots, but I find in the North where we both garden they do with a pretty sunny spot, too, and flower heavily. Note that it’s “normal” for transplanted things to sulk and skip a year (usually not two) of bloom. Also: young plants that are seedlings, versus named varieties, may not be of an age to bloom yet (I don’t know how big/old the plants re and whether they are named cultivars or random seedlings). Cause #3: If you fertilize them they may be leafy but no flowers.

      Reply
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Podcast: Soups, Soups & More Soups

I’VE FOLLOWED a vegetarian diet for decades, but it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I mastered a really good vegetable soup. Now I’m learning variations on vegetable-based soups, plus ones with beans and even ideas for mushroom soups, too–all thanks to Alexandra Stafford and these recipes. (Stream it below, read the transcript or subscribe free.)

https://robinhoodradioondemand.com/podcast-player/6211/vegetable-soup-ideas-with-ali-stafford-november-5-a-way-to-garden-with-margaret-roach.mp3

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mad gardener, nature addict, award-winning writer & podcaster, rural resident, corporate dropout, creator of awaytogarden dot com and matching book.

Instagram post 2190297402408409324_444552553 Snow day. To be followed by a snow night. #awaytogarden #wavehillchairs
Instagram post 2177779417009402040_444552553 No matter that it was 11F and 17F on mornings this week; my lifelong companions and I are all tucked in, each in our respective offseason spots. Three giant pots of #cliviaminiata that are actually pieces of my long-gone grandmother’s original plant from many, many decades ago, love the offseason bright cold of the mudroom, and get no water till around the new year or so. They need a chill (under 50 but above 35) for about 40 days to trigger timely bloom in late winter/early spring (without it they will bloom whenever, later, like June or even summer). The #alocasia reacts to the cold of the mudroom by shutting down and going dormant and leafless, and then I’ll let it sleep till late winter, when I give it a drink to see if it awakens. That one sleeps and wakes on its own timetable because I do not have a proper spot for it (ideally warm, like 60 or 65 at least, and humid and bright...no can do the humid part here). We have been together probably 10 years anyhow, despite my shortcomings as a #plantparent . #alocasiaamazonica #clivias #houseplantsofinstagram #houseplants #awaytogarden
Instagram post 2172580656557749859_444552553 Gardener: “I raked all the leaves!” Nature: “Oh, really?” (Cue sound of demonic laughter from on high.)
Instagram post 2170506606641504178_444552553 I wanna tell you how it’s gonna be You’re gonna give your love to me I wanna love you night and day You know my love will not fade away Not fade away Nope. Not this #cotinus leaf’s fiery hot love at least. Like the 1957 #buddyholly song I first heard by #therollingstones in 1964, it keeps going. #awaytogarden #fallfoliage2019 #cotinusgrace #notfadeaway
Instagram post 2168987273989949378_444552553 “Jack Frost nipping at your, er, geraniums...” And here it comes.
Instagram post 2166837817953503284_444552553 Constant companions: If you want to keep good company all winter, grow some good keepers. My house is stuffed with piles of #cucurbita awaiting their time in the oven or soup kettle. Each one is a character, distinctive. On one chair in the mudroom two close cousins in #cucurbitamoschata — the horse collar-shaped one called ‘Tromboncino’ or ‘Tromboncino Rampicante’ snuggles with some ‘Butternut.’ The ‘Tromboncino’ are better eaten green and small as #zucchini but I can’t resist their eventual mad size and shape, big enough to wear around your neck. I use their meat for enriching vegetable stock; the ‘Butternut’ are far more rich and delicious. Seed respectively from sandhillpreservation.com #sandhillpreservationcenter and @turtle_tree_seed (whose ‘Butternut,’ selected for “lastingness” for decades, will keep and keep into next spring or more). #wintersquash #awaytogarden #goodkeeper #cucurbitaceae
Instagram post 2162565040882902064_444552553 Furry fall friend: I look forward to crossing paths with this woolly caterpillar of the #giantleopardmoth this time of year, when its fiery intersegmental bands and plush coat seem to be just the right autumn-into-winter look. Miraculously this tiny animal will overwinter in a woodpile or in the leaf litter, even here in the North, building up a concentration of antifreeze (glycerol I think?) in its cells before the worst weather begins to avoid disaster. (Reminds me of the super-hardy #woodfrog who does similarly. Such heroes.) Swipe to see a beat-up pic of the adult moth, tattered with scales missing at its wing margins, but still dramatic. Unlike various spine-covered caterpillars that can sting you, this one’s hairs (or setae) won’t, but he will roll up tight if touched, in self-defense. I am in awe of such complex strategies of survival, I am. #mothsofinstagram #caterpillars #awaytogarden #hypercompescribonia #hypercompe
Instagram post 2161992098629435854_444552553 Beans are life. I mean, not only do I live on them daily (as I have as a vegetarian for 40+ years) but each one is a seed, a living embryo, a distinct and gorgeous little DNA miracle. I have been inspired by the hashtag #31daysofbeans by @lukasvolger lately, loving watching someone unknown to me (um, who shares my oatmeal thing too apparently...also see his #28daysofoatmeal) dish up the #phaseolus. We both admire bean ambassador Steve Sando @rancho_gordo and this photo might be my fave bean of all that I “met” via Steve years back, big and flat and chestnutty ‘Christmas Lima.’ My advice: don’t wait till Dec. 25 to dig in.
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Welcome! I’m Margaret Roach, a leading garden writer for 25 years—at ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ ‘Newsday,’ and in three books. I host a public-radio podcast; I also lecture, plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 5B garden, and always say no to chemicals and yes to great plants.

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