Gardening with Aches and Pains
Posted on Wednesday, September 25, 2013 · Leave a Comment
As we get older, most of us develop aches and pains. As gardeners, we need to learn how to move and use our bodies so that we don’t end up feeling like a quarterback after a sacking. I love working as a garden coach, partly because I am, at heart, a school teacher; I also like finding solutions to almost anything. One of my clients, a woman with a bad shoulder, got me thinking about all the tricks I have learned over the years to minimize pain caused by gardening.
My client and I were planting some pretty big hostas. They were in large plastic pots and probably weighed about 15 pounds each. I showed her how to hold the pot upside down in one hand, and smack the bottom of the pot with the other so that the roots and soil would slide out of the pot. But with her bad shoulder, she couldn’t do that.
Slice open a pot to get out the plant
I taught her to cut open the pot instead. It’s a technique I use when working with trees in pots. I placed the pot on the ground and inserted the blade of my ever-present pruners into one of the drain holes at the bottom of the black plastic pot. I slit up the side to the top, and then sliced again across the bottom. Then I rolled the rootball free of the pot. Finally, I tickled the roots to loosen them up – so they will be ready to explore their new environment.
Getting down on your knees to plant anything (or to pull weeds) is tough if you have arthritic knees or hips. I can recommend a couple of ways to deal with it. My late friend Marguerite Tewksbury, a lifelong organic gardener who lived in Windsor, VT, started carrying a hoe in the garden in her late eighties. She used it not only like a walking stick, it helped her getting down – or up. By leaning on a hoe, you can distribute your weight and make a more stable, 3-point stance.
Of course I am young and healthy at 67, so I don’t need any aids getting down to weed. But sometimes at the end of the day, it’s nice to have something to lean on when on getting up. I like a 5-gallon pail for that, I can push up on it and get up more easily, with less strain on my back. Or sometimes I use my CobraHead weeder to help push me up a little.
Picking beans recently I found bending over tiresome for the length of time I needed to pick all my beans. So I used a 5-gallon pail to sit on. Gardener’s Supply (www.gardeners.com) makes something that looks very good, their “garden kneeler”; it has hand rails at the sides for getting up when kneeling or that allow you to convert it into a seat.
If you suffer from carpal tunnel, pruning may be painful for you. Most manufacturers now make hand pruners with a rotating grip that allegedly minimizes the problem. The Fiskars company has come out with a series of pruners and lopers that offer a different technology – gears to reduce the amount of pressure it takes to make a cut. I have a pair of their biggest loppers, and find them fabulous. The gears really do reduce the work of cutting larger diameter hardwood branches.
One of the most ingenious tools I ever saw used was a homemade corn planter used – and made – by a man in his 90’s. I saw him using it as I drove down the road, and I stopped to talk. He could no longer bend down to plant the seeds, so after his garden was rototilled by his son-in-law, he used a hoe to make a furrow for the seeds. Then he planted using a 30-inch piece of garden hose to get the seeds from his hand to the ground.
A common hoe works like a cane and helps getting up
The hose poked up through a wide tin can (perhaps a fruit cake or cookie tin). He put all his corn seeds in the can, and then picked them up one at a time and dropped them into the hose (which poked a couple of inches into the can). Then he moved on a few inches and did it again. I’m sure that corn tasted mighty good to him, in part, because he had figured out how to keep on gardening.
Some of my friends who have moved to retirement communities keep their hand in gardening by planting in pots on a deck. Instead of 20 tomato plants, one or two in self-watering containers is what they manage. A pot roughly the size of a 5-gallon pail will do nicely for a tomato – and not have much room for weeds. Smaller pots sitting on railings can handle lettuce or basil very nicely.
If your back bothers you, be careful when hoeing or raking. Don’t lean forward. Keep your back straight. And if you need to pick up a bucket of weeds, place one foot forward and as you bend, tighten your tummy muscles.
None of us is getting any younger. But if you like gardening, you should be able to garden forever. I intend to. Please write or e-mail me if you have a good tip or trick. I’ll post them on my Web site, www.Gardening-Guy.com. Thanks.
Contact Henry at P.O. Box 364 Cornish Flat, NH 03746 or e-mailing him at henry.homeyer@comcast.net. He is the author of 4 gardening books and a recent children’s book about a boy and a cougar, Wobar and the Quest for the Magic Calumet.
Putting the Garden to Bed
Posted on Tuesday, September 17, 2013 · Leave a Comment
Cutting Back Perennials
When you think of the weeks ahead, do you think that putting the garden to bed means simply raking the leaves and cutting back a few perennial flowers? Or maybe just putting the lawnmower in the garage and the tomato plants on the compost pile? Then you are a minimalist. To have maximum success in the garden, there are many tasks to do between now and the time when snow flies.
If you moved your houseplants plants outside for the summer, begin bringing them in now. Many don’t tolerate even a taste of frost. Wash the leaves on both sides and rinse the surface of the potting mix it’s growing in, too. That will help to wash off aphids and aphid eggs. Inside there are no good bugs to keep the ever-present aphids under control.
If you have an amaryllis that you put outside (either in a pot or in the soil), and want to make it bloom again this winter, bring it inside now. Let it rest un-watered in a dark, dry place for 45 days, then re-pot it (if it was in the ground) and put it on a windowsill. If re-potting, use a fluffy potting mix with lots of peat moss. Garden soil will rot the bulb.
If you grew dahlias and gladiolas, the bulbs will need to be pulled and stored in a paper bag in a cool, dark place until spring. Wait until the tops die back after the first frost – but don’t wait until the ground is near freezing. In the bag with bulbs you can put some slightly damp cedar gerbil bedding. That will help to keep them from drying out over the winter.
Fall is the time to get ahead on next summer’s weeds in garden. Do this by getting rid of all weeds in the flower beds (hopefully before they drop seeds) and in the vegetable garden, which should be clean and weed-free before snow flies. As you harvest vegetables, also weed and clean up. Getting rid of the dead plants in the vegetable garden will minimize the overwintering of things like beetles and fungi.
Lawn Needing Re-Seeding
Now is the time to improve your lawn. Got dead spots, worn out spots? Re-seed in the fall, earlier rather than later. You want to get the new grass plants well established before the soil gets too cold. Germination is quicker now than in the spring – August’s warmth is still held in the soil. Just be sure to keep the soil lightly moist. I usually cover grass seed with a light layer of mulch hay or straw to provide shade on the hot Indian summer days.
Fall is also a good time to give your lawn a dose of limestone and organic fertilizer. It will slowly be incorporated into the soil over the months ahead. You can have the lawn soil tested by your Cooperative Extension, or just Google “soil testing” and learn how to take a sample and where to send it. Most lawns will benefit from some compost. Just fling it with a shovel, and spread it around with the back side of a lawn rake (with the tines in the air).
At some point before winter, prepare your beds for planting next year’s vegetable garden. That will allow you to plant early crops like spinach and peas much earlier if we have, as we usually do, a wet spring. It’s never good to work in wet soil. And rototilling should be avoided until the soil dries out (though I personally don’t till anymore). Later, after I’ve raked up my leaves, I’ll spread them over my mounded, raised beds. Raised beds dry out and warm up faster than beds that are flat.
Flower beds get better each year. Or they do if you pay attention to your soil by adding organic matter. If you have mulch on your beds, rake it off and spread some compost or sheep manure over the surface. Then scratch it in a little and put back the mulch. Sheep, goat, llama and rabbit manure is all relatively free of weed seeds and adds organic matter and minerals to the soil. A top dressing of organic fertilizer will improve the soil, too. Unlike many chemical fertilizers, most components of organic fertilizer are not water soluble.
You can divide big clumps of purple cone flowers, black-eyed Susan, phlox, asters, hostas, iris, daylilies and most other perennials either now or in the spring. The more you do now, the less you will have to do in spring. Moving or dividing peonies is generally recommended for the fall, after the plants have begun to go dormant.
There’s plenty more to do before the snow flies, and I will nag you again later to do more including cleaning up your berry patch and cutting back this years’ fruiting canes, pruning hardwood trees and deciduous shrubs after leaf drop, planting bulbs and more. Meanwhile, enjoy the crisp days of fall and find time to watch the butterflies feeding on our last flowers of summer.
Henry Homeyer is the author of 4 gardening books and a Wobar, a fantasy-adventure book for children. His Web site is www.Gardening-guy.com.
Designing a Garden, and Expanding Your Plant Palette
Posted on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 · Leave a Comment
Want to have a spectacular flower garden? Nothing beats visiting a good garden when it comes to learning how to make your own better. I recently visited Kirkwood Garden on Rte 3 in Holderness, NH. I had visited it last spring when I was invited to speak at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center. I was bowled over by the plant diversity, the beauty of the layout, and the tranquility of the garden. But I didn’t have my camera and notebook, so I went back in August and was once again delighted – and instructed – by the garden.
Broad view of Kirkwood
It is easy to look at a professionally designed and maintained garden and say, “I could never do that.” And for many gardens that’s true. Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania or the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens encompass dozens of acres and are maintained by teams of workers year round. But Kirkwood Garden is less than an acre (in my estimation) and I’m told it is maintained by a single gardener. And it has not been around for decades. It was installed in 1996 – largely by volunteers, and with many donated plants.
So what pleases me so much about this garden? First is the overall design and layout. If you walk down three broad stone steps, you are on a large central lawn – but one that is carved up and delineated by curved flower beds, islands and walkways that head off to shady nooks. No straight lines here. I like that. And there are places to sit, with nice 2-foot square flagstones laid out in front, so that dozens of daily feet will not create bare spots. And there are shady places as well as sunny places to sit.
Each bed is backed by shrubbery, with the tallest plants towards the back. When I visited in spring, the rhododendrons, azaleas and mountain laurels were in bloom. Many different varieties, each with a different color and slightly different bloom time. Now there is summersweet clethra (Clethra alternifolia) with its intense sweet blossoms, and a lovely viburnum (Viburnum sieboldii) loaded with red berries held upright on bright yellow stems.
Also in the back of the beds – and blooming now – are many tall perennials. I grow and love snakeroot (also called bugbane, but technically Cimicifuga racemosa). But instead of a couple of plants, someone has planted many, or allowed them to spread over the 17-year life of the garden. I tend to have many varieties of plants inter mingled. They have many large stands of a single species, which makes a bold design statement.
A tall fall plant I have only tried once, and not found to be worth keeping, is Boltonia (Boltonia asteroides). They selected a variety called ‘Snowbank’, which my reference text tells me is unlike most boltonias, in that it is self supporting. It is 3-5 feet tall at Kirkwood and stands up without support, while the generic boltonia I tried was 5-6 feet tall and flopped over. At Kirkwood it has formed a cluster about 8 feet wide and 5 feet across and each stem supports a very small white daisy-like blossom. I shall try again.
Speaking of flopping, some annuals (purple cone flower, for one) were supported by horizontal grids of wire. Green wire mesh with 2 inch openings was supported on bamboo stakes about 18 inches off the ground (parallel to the ground) allowing stems to grow through the wire,. The wire was unobtrusive and kept the tall flowers from flopping. Very clever – but will I remember to do that next spring? And will you?
A shady nook at Kirkwood
An unusual fall bloomer at Kirkwood, which I have only rarely seen used, is yellow waxbells (Kirengeshoma palmata). This is a shade loving perennial with large maple-looking leaves and large yellow flowers. I have to admit it is slug bait, for me, but on a good year it can be a wonderful addition to a shady garden in the autumn. It is technically only hardy to Zone 5 (minus 20 in winter) but it has survived colder temperatures in my garden.
I learned there that the gorgeous bright red cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) will survive in ordinary garden soil – not just in wet places (which is where it grows in the wild, and where I have it in my garden). Just plant in with some afternoon shade. I shall try that, too.
What else did I like about Kirkwood Gardens? It has maps everywhere, which although initially difficult to figure out, actually work quite well. You can learn the names of lots of different plants, annuals, perennials and woodies. And the garden is open year round and free to all. Donations are gratefully accepted. So you can visit often and see how special plants look in the different seasons.
Last of all, I agree with Barbara Gillan of Stillwater, N.J, who I met while admiring the garden. She and her family visit every year and remarked, “It’s a great place to go when you want to daydream.”
Henry’s web site is www.Gardening-guy.com. His newest book is a fantasy-adventure for children, Wobar and the Quest for the Magic Calumet.
To Cut Down or Not?
Posted on Wednesday, September 4, 2013 · Leave a Comment
Twenty-five years ago or more I planted a couple of little pear trees behind my house. It was actually quite a big project, as fruit trees do not like growing in areas that are continually wet, and I didn’t have a good dry spot for them. Much of my full-sun property is near a stream where the water table is very high, especially in winter and spring. So I had to build a terrace first, buying soil and building an 80-foot long retaining wall. That provided a great place to grow fruit trees.
One of the pear trees, however, has always been a problem. It didn’t blossom for many years. And it wanted to reach for the sky, sending many competing leaders straight up. No matter how much pruning I did, the tree was never a handsome tree. The fruit was mealy and unpleasant. Finally this summer I cranked up my chain saw and cut it down.
Namibian aloe tree
I tell you this because I am, in general, a tree hugger. Sometimes literally. When I traveled in the Namibian desert some years ago my guide knew I was interested in all growing things, especially trees, so he took me way off the beaten track to see a tree growing all by itself. It was related to the aloe I grow as a houseplant, but this 25-foot tall tree had a reddish bark that was smooth and beautiful. I got out of the Land Rover, went over to it, and threw my arms around it. I couldn’t help myself.
I am prepared to get hate mail from tree huggers about cutting down that pear tree, but I think I did the right thing. Most of us have limited space. We tend our plants, we plant trees for our enjoyment, and to provide us with beauty (and sometimes fruit). So if a tree does not please us, I say, get out the chain saw and cut it down. I am a firm believer in the principle of “It’s my garden and I can do whatever I darn well please.”
But, as you may know, it is not always as easy as that. In some planned communities, one must get permission from a committee to take down a tree. And some trees, when cut down, send up many root suckers. Instead of one tree, you end up with dozens. I have a solution to the second problem, but not the first.
Common buckthorn and glossy buckthorn (Rhamnus spp.) are two species of small tree that have become real pests in many areas. They were probably introduced as fast –growing shrubs or small trees good at preventing soil erosion, and because they will grow in any type of soil. But they produce lots of berries liked by birds, so the seeds quickly become introduced everywhere near a planting. If you cut one down, more pop up. And pulling them out by the roots is not easy, especially for bigger specimens.
But I’ve learned that you can kill them off by double girdling the bark. Take a pruning saw and slice through the bark and the green cambium layer beneath it, going all the way around the trunk. But don’t cut into the hard wood below that green layer of cambium. The two cuts should be about a foot apart. If done this year, next year the tree will grow normally, but the following year it will not leaf out. It will be dead. And there should be no new sprouts that arise.
Last year I double girdled a staghorn sumac (Rhus typina) to see if the same technique would work on it. Sumac suckers readily, roots traveling long distances and sending up new shoots. In this case, the tree died in less than a year – and no new shoots have grown.
Once I was sitting with an acquaintance, admiring her landscape. But the view was largely blocked by some full-sized white pines. She turned to me and said, “Henry, I think I have to move those pines.” I was incredulous. Yes, I allowed, one can move a full sized tree – if you have the money. But a chain saw makes more sense. Roots extend farther from a tree than you might think – well beyond the drip line. Moving a tree with a trunk more than about 6 inches in diameter is risky because you will lose a lot of roots no matter how careful you are.
If you really want to move a full-sized tree, there is something called a tree spade and a few are made big enough to move most trees. These are huge machines that can encircle a tree and send down – by hydraulic pressure – 6 large blades that cut through soil and roots and scoop out a huge root ball. The machine then lifts the tree out and it is transported to a new site that awaits it with a hole of exactly the same size and shape created earlier by the same machine. The larger models will dig out a hole 8 feet wide and nearly as deep. You can see this done on the Web by Googling “How to Move a Full Size Tree”. There are several good examples to watch.
So I won’t say that a chain saw is my best friend, but I do think that removing certain trees can make sense. After all, if we allow every feral tree grow, soon we would all be living in a green jungle.
Contact Henry at P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746 or henry.homeyer@comcast.net. Henry’s Web site is www.Gardening-Guy.com.
Keeping a Taste of the Garden to Eat This Winter
Posted on Wednesday, August 28, 2013 · Leave a Comment
Every year the vegetable garden produces food for me. Some years I have enough to eat and to share – with plenty left to put up for the winter. But every year is different and this year my garden is a bit of a disappointment. Here it is the end of August and I’m not able to gorge on tomatoes the way I usually do. And although I only planted one zucchini plant this year, so far I’ve only harvested just one zucchini. Still, I will put some produce in the freezer, just not as much as I’d like.
For those gardeners with plenty, let’s take a look at some easy ways to put produce aside for use this winter. First, tomatoes: freeze them whole. Just put clean, dry tomatoes into freezer bags and suck the air out with a straw after closing the bag 99% of the way. Use them this winter in soups and stews the way you would canned tomatoes. Knowing that they are your own makes them even better. You can use them with the skins on, if you wish, but running hot tap water over the frozen tomatoes and rubbing gently will remove them.
In past years I have always dehydrated cherry tomatoes in my Garden Master Pro dehydrator after cutting them in half. The result is a “sun dried” tomato that is sweet and wonderful for stir fries and soups. But last summer I tried putting some in the freezer whole and liked them for cooking. I just throw the whole frozen cherry tomatoes in soups and they are great – and much less work than drying them.
Tomatoes
Each year I use imperfect tomatoes to make paste. I cut out the bad parts, throw them in the food processor, and puree them. Then I boil down the resulting slurry in a heavy cast iron enameled pot until I can literally stand up a spoon in it. That takes all evening at low heat. I leave it overnight, cover off, and in the morning I spoon the paste into ice cube trays and freeze it. Later I put the cubes in freezer-grade zipper bags.
Many people don’t bother freezing summer squash and greens – or even green beans and broccoli because they’ve had bad luck with the results: mushy, overcooked veggies. But there are a few simple steps you can take to have wonderful, fresh-tasting crunchy vegetables in mid-winter – that were grown in your own garden.
Many vegetables taste better, mid-winter, if they have been blanched –briefly boiled – before freezing. Blanching is way of killing aging enzymes in veggies so that the produce put in the freezer does not get woody, old and tasteless. But many “experts” suggest blanching fresh veggies for 3 minutes, or even more. In my book, that is fully cooking them. And when you cook them again before eating,the result is mush.
The solution? Blanch for just 60 seconds or so. Depending on your stove, that may mean not even getting the water back up to a full boil. The trick is to have lots of water at a rolling boil, and not too many veggies. I watch the color of my vegetables as I blanch them. Kale, for example, will turn a brighter green – telling me that it’s ready to take off the heat.
It’s important to cool your blanched vegetables as soon as they come out of the pot. Some experts recommend dropping them in a big bowl of water with ice cubes. Me? I’m too cheap to buy ice cubes in the quantity I would need. I just fill the sink with cold tap water, and it works just fine. Next I spin dry the veggies in a salad spinner with a string-pull (Zyliss brand in one) and blot dry with tea towels before bagging and putting in the fridge.
My exceptions to blanching include tomatoes, peppers and all berries. Everything else gets a quick swim in boiling water. Last year a kind reader suggested that kale need not be blanched, so I tried freezing some without blanching. It was fine, but less kales fit into each bag.
Dehydrating fruits and vegetables is another good way to store food, particularly if you don’t have much freezer space. Apples and pears dry nicely and make for good winter snackage. Even if you don’t grow your own, you can buy/pick fresh apples cheaper than buying dried fruit. I dry apples and pears until they are dry, but not brittle. I store them in freezer grade bags in the pantry.
Peppers and tomatoes, sliced, dry well and are great in winter soups and stews. I dry most of my hot peppers until brittle and then grind them in my coffee grinder. That allows me to add just a smidgeon of hotness if having company – or a lot if it’s just for me. I have read that the seeds and the white fibers inside the pepper contain a lot of capsaicin, the chemical that gives hot peppers their heat, so I dry those, too.
I’ve gotten a lot of e-mail from discouraged gardeners this year. It wasn’t a great year for many of us. But there are still farm stands selling fresh produce, and often they will sell cheaply by the bushel if you want to store food for the winter. I may end up doing so myself.
Send questions, suggestions and laments to Henry by e-mail at henry.homeyer@comcast.net or by mail at P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746. Please include a stamped envelope if you wish an answer by mail.
Dealing with Invasives
Posted on Wednesday, August 21, 2013 · Leave a Comment
Purple loosestrife closeup
I’m sure you know purple loosestrife, even if you don’t know its name. It’s a big, tall clumping plant bearing bright pinkish-purple flowers and it’s appearing now in your neighborhood, especially in wet areas. What you may not know is that it’s an aggressive foreign invader that can out-compete many of our native species. It has been around for a couple of centuries – it came over, allegedly, in soil used as ballast in sailing vessels in the late 1700’s.
But if it grows well and it’s pretty, what’s the problem, you may wonder? A number of things. It’s a big plant that can dominate the landscape and shade out smaller, less vigorous native plants. A mature loosestrife can produce up to a million seeds, seeds that can be carried by streams to new locations. Wildlife can be negatively impacted. Many insects and birds depend on native plants for food and nesting materials- native plants that evolved with them. Invasives like purple loosestrife often do not meet their needs.
According to Barbara McIlroy of Etna, NH, who has been active in the movement to control invasive species, the number of bird and butterfly species present on properties that grow native species is much, much higher. “I’m converted,” she told me. “Grow natives. Period. The positive effect on the wildlife is dramatic.”
Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to rid your property of purple loosestrife. These plants have amazingly tenacious roots. Before I knew better I tried digging out some large plants from a swampy area on my property. Yes, I got the plants out – but some of the roots broke off and re-sprouted. And by clearing out a space, I also opened up a new site for seeds to grow. If you have had purple loosestrife in the past, there are seeds waiting for a chance to germinate – like little time bombs.
Loosestrife
But there is good news: two species of beetle (Galerucella calmariensis and G. pusilla) have been approved for and found effective in controlling purple loosestrife. These beetles cannot eliminate the loosestrife, but can reduce the numbers dramatically. Loosestrife is not a problem in Europe the way it is here, in part because it has natural enemies – the beetles. By introducing the beetles, an effort has been made to help Mother Nature keep loosestrife under control. Once established, they eat enough of the leaves and stems that the plants do not bloom. And theses beetles have been well tested: they will not eat your garden plants or valuable crops.
In 2001 Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, NH released two species of beetles to see if they could control the purple loosestrife that was taking over the wetlands at Blow-Me-Down pond. I met recently with Steve Walasewcz, who monitored the effort from 2001 to 2008. He explained that the beetles did not have an immediate effect. In fact, from 5.75 stems per square meter in 2001, the numbers increased to 10.5 by 2003. But then they declined each year until reaching only 1.05 in 2008 – a tenth the number of stems.
I went to the area where the beetles were released in 2001 and although there were a few blooming stems of purple loosestrife, there were very few. According to a report done for Saint-Gaudens NHS, it is believed that even low numbers of beetles prevent flowering; at higher numbers, “the beetles can strip the plants of its photosynthetic layer, resulting in high mortality in the winter due to a depleted starch reserve.”
Unfortunately, the beetles are not readily available for purchase. But for several years I have been experimenting with my own way of controlling the problem near my brook. Each year in early July I take pruners and cut back the plants to the ground. I identify them by their square stems that have a reddish color near the ground, and of course their leaves. Then a month later, I do it again – in essence, acting like a beetle. By cutting back the plants, few are able to bloom, greatly reducing the number of seeds spilling into my environment.
As a second step, I planted some big, tall native plants that I hoped would compete with the purple loosestrife: Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium purpureum) and Canadian burnet (Sanguisorba canadensis). I also added marsh marigold (Caltha palustris), which though not tall, is tough. These natives have given purple loosestrife a run for its money. Instead of filling 3 wheelbarrows with cut loosestrife in early July, I was able to get it all in one.
Purple loosestrife is just one of many invasive plants. If you see a new, vigorous plant show up on your property, try to learn its name and find out if it’s a problem elsewhere. Meanwhile, there is good news: scientists are working on biological controls for both Japanese knotweed (commonly called bamboo) and garlic mustard. In England, certain beetles are now well established to reduce the vigor of Japanese knotweed.
Henry Homeyer is the author of 4 gardening books and a new children’s fantasy-adventure about a boy and a cougar. His web site is www.Gardening-guy.com.
What To Do When Company is Coming
Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2013 · Leave a Comment
I’ve got company coming this weekend, and I want my gardens to look nice. I can’t make them perfect, but here are some of the things I’m doing – and that you can, too, whether company is coming or if you just want to get on top of garden tasks.
First of all, I am getting rid of all the tall weeds. A flower bed with 4-foot tall weeds is much less attractive than a flower bed with the same number of short things creeping around the bed. So golden rod that towers over the daylilies is much more of a problem than 6-inch tall creeping Charlie that scurries around their base.
Now a big clump of goldenrod can be a fearsome opponent. It holds on fiercely. But if you are truly in a hurry, you can fix the problem – in the short term- by cutting it off with pruners or a sharp serrated knife. That makes it disappear to the casual viewer. Later, when you have more time, you can dig up that big clump of tenacious weeds with a shovel.
Next I am buying some plants to fill in spaces. Each year a few perennials die over the winter, and I try to replace them each spring and summer. But this year was so wet that I never got around to doing so. There are places where, I must admit, some flower beds have patches of pure weeds. Nothing but weeds. As I weed them out, I am discovering spaces where I can plant new things.
I recently was at a Farmers market and saw a beautiful purple-blue perennial known as a speedwell or veronica. (Veronica spicata). It was in full bloom and magnificent with 16 inch spikes of small flowers. I should have purchased three, but was unsure how much space (and money) I had, so I only bought one. Maybe next week there will still be some left and I can buy more. I had a nice spot in mind for it.
Veronica spicata
This is the time of year when daylilies are particularly lovely, so next I went to Cider Hill Gardens in Windsor, VT to look through their selection. I bought some nice ‘spider’ daylilies. These are a type that differs from standard daylilies by having longer petals that are spaced farther apart – almost like the legs on a spider. I planted them with the veronica – a very nice contrast.
You can divide most flowers almost any time of the year (except peonies, which should only be done in the fall). I had a big clump of a late fall-blooming clear yellow daylily that, over time, was being overshadowed (literally) by a multi-stemmed shrub known as common ninebark, a variety called ‘Diablo’. Diablo has dark purplish leaves and grows fast. Very fast. Each year- right after it blooms in June – I cut off about two feet from each stem to keep it under control. But each year the shrub sends up more stems from the ground, expanding its diameter. And so this wonderful daylily was being crowded.
Drain spade
I used a drainspade to dig up that big daylily. This is a spade about 16 inches long and 6 inches wide. I pushed the spade into the soil at a 45 degree angle in 4 places around the perimeter. Each time it was fully inserted into the ground, I pushed down on the handle, lifting the clump a little. On the fourth and final push, I pried it out and carried it away.
At this time of year annuals are in short supply in most garden centers, but if you can find some, they are a great addition to the garden because most will bloom until frost. Just cut them back if they look ratty, and give them some liquid fertilizer.
Until recently, my window box by the front door was pretty pathetic. I yanked a lackadaisical dahlia and replaced it with a colorful pink ‘Superbena’. Superbenas are hybrids of annual verbenas that do very well in hot, dry locations like window boxes.
Potted plants can be used to spiff up the garden, too. I generally move all my potted plants outside in the summer, placing them on the north-facing deck. But when company comes, I am not above moving a few of the larger ones into the garden. I am careful not to put them in full sun, however, as they’ve been in a fairly shady location all summer and I could easily sunburn the leaves if I put them in too much sun. A nice clivia or papyrus in a decorative pot can be a nice addition to an otherwise drab location.
Last but least, mow the lawn the day before your mother-in-law or college roommate arrives. A well cut lawn is pleasing to the eye, especially if you use a push mower to go in all the corners, or use a string trimmer to do the edges. And it’s even okay to pay someone to do it. Then sit back, relax, and enjoy your property with your guests.
Henry Homeyer’s web site is www.Gardening-Guy.com. His is the author of 4 gardening books and a children’s book: Wobar and the Quest for the Magic Calumet.
Labor Savers
Posted on Wednesday, August 7, 2013 · Leave a Comment
Geranium macrorrhizum
As I get older – I’m 67 – I sometimes wonder how long I will be able to keep on gardening at the level I do now. I have a large vegetable garden, fruit bushes and trees, many flower beds, a variety of decorative trees and shrubs – and some lawn. I have already accepted that it makes more sense to have a teenager mow the grass and to help me with some of the heavier drudgery of the garden. I am looking at ways to make less work for myself, and thought I might share a few labor-savers with you.
In the vegetable garden, mulch is my friend. It’s mid-summer, and some beds I have weeded more than once because I have not paid attention to my own dictum that mulching saves a lot of labor. But this has been a soggy summer, and there have been many days when I could not get in the garden because the ground was water-logged. And some days I almost could have kayaked down the pathways of my garden. So I did not get my mulching done early. Even when I could have mulched, I didn’t because soil looses more moisture when exposed to the sun, and I needed to let the soil dry out.
This past week I have made a real effort to weed the vegetable garden and put down mulch. My basic technique is to weed, then cover the area weeded with something to keep the sun from reaching weeds that surely will germinate. I like newspapers covered with straw or mulch hay. Six pages of this paper covered with straw will prevent most weeds and grasses from growing. This year I got some jute coffee bags to use for mulching the pathways, and I like them, too.
Weeds in walkways can spread to the beds by root or seed, so keeping them weed-free is a great boon to the tired or over-ambitious gardener. Last fall I planted grass seed in some rows, and mow it. But the width of the mower required that I space beds farther apart than I usually do. And it is awkward to get the mower around corners of rows. So it is not a perfect solution, though it looks great if you have the space to maintain nice mowed paths.
Jewelweed
It’s tough to find good weeders to help. But a teenager can do a nice job if you just teach her to identify and pull one or two particular species of troublesome weeds. So I have someone just working on jewelweed, also called touch-me-not (Impatience capensis). It is a tall weed with orange or yellow flowers and a hollow, watery stem. It generally grows in shade or part shade. It’s not a perennial so it has a relatively small root system that pulls easily.
Jewelweed’s other common name, touch-me-not, does not indicate any poisonous properties. It has to do with the fact that ripe seed pods have built-in springs that will propel seeds some distance. Lightly squeeze a pod, and good-sized green seeds go flying.
For the past decade I‘ve been ignoring touch-me-not because my grandchildren enjoy squeezing the pods. Doing so always provokes a giggle. But over time, more and more touch-me-not has appeared, and recently I declared war on it. The plants are just starting to bloom for me, so I must get them – now! This will not preclude having some plants next year or the year after, as most seeds of garden plants are good for 3 years (and weed seeds may last even longer). There must be plenty of seeds already in my soil. So Rule #1 of reducing work in the garden: Get rid of weeds before they scatter their seeds.
Some groundcovers can be great weed inhibitors in flower beds. Others spread so fast that they become weed-like themselves. If you want to plant groundcovers, be sure to weed the area well before planting them. Get not only the tops of your weeds, but their roots as well. Use a weeding tool that can get underneath a weed, loosen the soil, and lift the entire root system. I like the CobraHead weeder for that task.
Lamium
There are lots of good groundcovers – too many to mention them all here. For dry shady areas, I like dead nettles (which I call by its scientific name, Lamium, because it is not related to stinging nettles). It has pink or white flowers reminiscent of snapdragons, and some varieties have nice silver and green leaves. It spreads and grows densely enough to keep many weeds from starting up under and between the plants.
Bigfoot geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum) is another good one. It’s not related to your mother’s potted red geranium (which is actually not a geranium but a Pelargonium). It makes a very dense mound of leaves a foot tall or more. It blooms in early summer, but I grow it for the foliage and because it shades out most things. And it will grow in dense, dry shade – or full sun.
Lungwort (Pulmonaria spp.) spreads by root in either sun or shade, as does lily of the valley (Convalaria majalis). I like the former, but find the latter a bit too aggressive to keep.
There are many ways to save labor, but most important of all is getting rid of any weed that is blooming now. It will save you labor later.
Henry Homeyer is a gardening consultant and the author of 4 gardening books. His Web site is www.Gardening-Guy.com.
Hydrangeas
Posted on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 · Leave a Comment
Although I think of August as the month for hydrangeas, there are many kinds and some have been blooming for weeks while others are still in bud. Coming on now for me is the PeeGee (from the scientific name, Hydrangea paniculata grandifolia). I’ve had one for 20 years or so, and I love it.
Like all mid-and late-summer bloomers, PeeGee hydrangeas bloom on “new wood” – this year’s growth. Mine sends out perhaps a hundred 2 to 3-foot long stems, each with a big white panicle made up of hundreds of little flowers. Over time, the white changes to pink on many, and frost turns the panicles brown.
The flowers clusters on my PeeGee hydrangea are so big that their pencil-thick stems often cannot hold them up when they’re in full bloom. The flowers bend down the stems, particularly after a rain. Some years I snip off the tips of the panicles with pruning shears before they get to full size. This lessens the weight and the stems do not bend so much. The shrub is 8-10 feet tall and wide.
In one sense, the PeeGee hydrangeas are like daylilies: they will bloom every year, no matter what. They do best in full sun, but put will still on a good show in part shade. It prefers rich, moist, well drained soil – but will grow anywhere.
Another variety of hydrangea is the ‘Tardiva’ type. The flower panicles contain fewer florets and are a mix of fertile and infertile blossoms. The infertile ones have wider petals, and help to attract pollinators with their looks. The panicles are longer and more tapered than PeeGee hydrangeas, and rarely flop, even when wet. I have a cultivar named ‘Pink Diamond’ that I just love. It fades to a light pink. ‘Pinky Winky’ is another nice one that develops a deeper pink color.
‘Snow Hill’ Hydrangea arborescens
The smooth hydrangea (H. arborescens) is another popular hydrangea, and one that will bloom well in shade. I particularly like ‘Snow Hill,’ which flowers well even in deep shade, and which produces nice small to medium-sized panicles that rarely flop. More popular, however, is ‘Annabelle’ because it produces huge flower panicles. But this variety always flops, especially after a rain, and I think they look as messy as an unmade bed. Annabelle is often used in perennial beds, even in full sun. In full sun it may require regular watering. The flowers start green, then go to white, and finally to brown, putting on a nice show for 6-8 weeks. The smooth hydrangea can be cut to the ground each fall or early winter and allowed to start anew each spring. I cut back ‘Snow Hill’ each fall, but do not cut it to the ground.
For those of us in cold climates, the blue or pink hydrangeas are best considered as annuals. Yes, many will survive a Zone 4 winter, but most times they will not produce many flowers after the first year. They are called bigleaf hydrangeas (H. macrophylla) for their handsome foliage, but we buy them for the color.
Bigleaf hydrangeas need very acidic soil (pH of 5.0 to 5.8) to have blue flowers, and a pH of 6.0 to 6.5 to be pink. On planting, you can add soil acidifier to get the blue color or limestone to get pink. Most blue ones come with some acidifier –usually sulfur- in the soil, but it goes away after a while.
Several years ago there was a huge fuss made over a variety of bigleaf hydrangea called ‘Endless Summer’ that was promised to thrive in Zone 4 (despite winters of minus 30 degrees). I often refer to it as ‘Endless Disappointment’ as I have tried it twice, and after Year #1 have only gotten a few blossoms very late in the summer.
Twist and Shout
This year I was given a nice blue one called ‘Twist and Shout’ At the website, it noted that it is a hybrid developed by Michael Dirr, one of America’s most noted horticulturists, and the author of the book I depend on to learn about trees and shrubs: Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Propagation and Uses.
I have my Twist and Shout in a large self watering container by the front door, but now that I know it was developed by Professor Dirr, I shall acidify a spot in full sun and plant it in the ground in the fall. The website says it is a re-bloomer, so does not just bloom on buds set the summer before, but on new wood, too.
Climbing hydrangea
Another great hydrangea that I grow is the climbing hydrangea (H. anomala subspecies petiolaris). It can take up to six years for a small plant to get established and start growing, but then it takes off and grows like mad. It is a vine that will thrive in shade, though it also can grow in sun, if provided adequate moisture. The north or east side of a building is perfect. It easily attaches to brick, stone or trees, but needs help to grow on a wood building. Mine sends flower shoots out horizontally and can support its handsome flowers without flopping 3 feet or more from the barn.
Henry Homeyer can be reached at P.O. Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746 or at henry.homeyer@comcast.net. He is the author of 4 gardening books, and a children’s fantasy-adventure about a boy and a cougar called Wobar and the Quest for the Magic Calumet.
Rock Gardens
Posted on Wednesday, July 24, 2013 · Leave a Comment
Many plants that do well in rock gardens originally come from places with extreme growing conditions such as deserts or the rocky slopes of mountains. Most have tight foliage, low profiles and deep tap roots to keep from blowing away when the wind blows. But generally in those difficult locations, pollinators are few and far between. In order to attract them, these plants favor big flowers (in relation to the size of the plants), bright colors and strong scents. “Hey, it’s me! Come visit!” they seem to be saying with their floral displays. And those flowers also attract gardeners who are willing to tend them, pull weeds and build soils to their particular needs.
Rock garden overview
I recently visited Lisa Palmer and Dan Drew in Plainfield, NH where they have a splendid rock garden. In fact, Lisa is so avid a rock gardener that she was one of just 5 Americans who attended the Second International Rock Garden Society’s meetings in Czech Republic this May.
I asked Lisa what is critical for success with a rock garden. Without pausing to think, she said, “Perfect drainage.” Rich soil and lots of compost? Save it for the veggies. Good rock gardens are made with sandy soil and very little organic matter.
Seventeen years ago Lisa and Dan started a rock garden after they had an artesian well drilled which provided them with plenty of sand and ground rock. Dan enjoys hard physical labor, so he agreed to dig out the existing soil in the area where the rock garden was planned and spread the sandy, gravelly mess.
Dan dug out 18 inches of soil, replacing it with coarse sand and gravel. He also moved some good –sized river stones up to the garden, which gave it some “bones” to work with. Their subsoil was well drained and somewhat sandy, which was good for a rock garden. Lisa explained that you must work with what you have. If you have a heavy clay soil and live in a low place, you can’t easily create a rock garden.
Daphne x schlyteri
Many of the plants in the rock garden of Dan and Lisa are related to plants I know, but not species I can grow in my rich garden soil. They have a number of kinds of daphne including rose daphne (Dapne cneorum) and a lovely hybrid in bloom right now, Daphne x schlyteri. This is an evergreen daphne that grows to just 8 to 12 inches tall and roughly twice as wide – much smaller than the daphne I grow. The leaves are narrow and dark green; they grow out from each stem like spokes on a series of increasingly large wheels. The flowers are small, pink and highly fragrant.
Dwarf conifers are the backbone of many rock gardens as they are slow growing and are as beautiful in winter as they are in summer – and perhaps more so, as they contrast nicely against the snow. One that Lisa and Dan use effectively is hinoki cypress, also called hinoki falsecypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana’).Whenever you see “Nana” in a scientific name ti means that the plant stays small – just like my grandmother, who we called Nana.
Hinoki cypress
Hinoki cypress reminds me of a something from the sea, perhaps a type of coral or seaweed. Its dark green foliage forms twisting fan-shaped little branches in dense tiered layers. It is hardy to Zone 4 – if it has the proper growing conditions: moist, well drained soil. It can grow to a foot or two tall and up to three feet wide. I’ve tried growing it without success – I somehow can’t plant something and not give it compost.
Gentians are good rock garden plants. I grow a nice fall blooming gentian, one called Gentiana makinoi ‘Marsha’ which blooms in ordinary garden soil with sky-blue flowers in September. Blooming now in their rock garden is one called star gentian (Gentiana cruciata.) In the spring they have others called Gentiana acaulis and Gentiana vern – plants that Lisa consider the gems of the genus. Both have wonderful blue flowers.
Star gentian
Cactus does well in rock gardens, some surviving in Zone 4 (with winter temperatures dropping to minus 30 degrees F on occasion). Prickly pear cactus (Opuntia spp.) grows well for Lisa and Dan, spreading to form small colonies. Sedums and hens and chicks also do well.
Lewisia is another genus of rock garden plant they like. Originally observed in 1806 by Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, it needs very fast drainage to avoid rotting the root (which is edible, though since the common name of Lewisia is “bitterroot”, it is not likely to grace my table). The rosette –shaped flowers come in a variety of cheerful colors.
Maintaining a rock garden is a labor of love. Common weeds can choke out or overcome some rock garden plants unless you keep after them. Dan told me that he mulches most areas with pea stone (3/8 inch smooth gravel). It gets very hot in summer, effectively burning off young weeds. Still, I’m not ready to commit to creating and maintaining a rock garden. Well maybe … after I retire.
Henry Homeyer is a gardening consultant, public speaker and the author of 4 gardening books. His web site is www.Gardening-Guy.com. He lives in Cornish Flat, NH.
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