Nov. 18, 2008
As autumn leaves copiously descend, I continue to tuck
potted plants into the ground. Fall smells wonderfully earthy! I received
an email from a fellow gardener in another climate zone – colder, since
she mentioned their frost occurred a month ago. We are still lucky here,
so far no frost. I can’t remember living here in the past 18 years when it
has been this late. I guess we might attribute it to climate changes, but
I’m not sure. In the email she mentioned she had a very dry summer and
could not water as needed. It reminded me of another gardener and her
garden that I saw this summer. It was a fully sustainable garden and
included a good-sized plot for edibles. She had allowed spring rains to
water the garden and then mulched it quite heavily with hay, then only
watered it maybe twice the rest of the summer! We were there in
mid-September and by that time, some of the things had died back, but
there were still some things to harvest. Mulching and loads of compost
seemed to be her ‘secret’. I know that this is one of things that I will
include in my planning for our garden next year.
The email gardener also mentioned that it got so hot
and sunny, that it was hard to get out and deadhead. Maybe the best time
to do that is during the morning or evening, when it is cooler. You know
what they say about mad dogs & Englishmen… She also planted Ajuga on a
bare slope, which seems to be successful, since Ajuga is a very aggressive
groundcover. It will grow anywhere in my garden! In fact, for me it has
become a weed. It’s common name is Bugle Weed. Fair warning. She asked me
if I have a suggestion of another vine to plant rather than morning
glories, since they bloomed so late and only for 3 weeks. Black-eyed susan
vine comes to mind, but then I can’t speak from experience, since I don’t
grow many flowering annual vines.
She also tried growing some California poppies, but did
not know that they are summer dormant. Here in my zone 7, they have
started to pop up again this fall, as do my perennial Oriental poppies.
Nov. 11, 2008
It's a dark and stormy night here in the PNW.
While rain is pounding the roof it serves as a reminder to me that this is
ideal planning weather. I encourage my clients to take advantage of this
time to get started with the design of their gardens for next year. There
is so much affecting garden design right now! I feel like we are at the
apex of numerous converging points. The economy continues to tank affect
scores of individuals, businesses, communities, and nations. Global
climate changes affect our weather in new and unpredictable ways. An
energy crisis means learning how to get along with less oil, but
provokes research into new resources. Speaking of resources, water is
beginning to loom on the horizon as a big issue partly due to increasing
demand. Our food comes to us
questionably grown. Who can we trust to grow food we can safely eat? Sustainability is beginning to catch on for many of
these reasons and because we want to be responsible earth stewards.
Biodiversity is declining as many species are challenged to stay alive
with so many pressures against them. Back to the economy - it's affecting
our livelihoods and our lives. Fewer jobs, less money mean more stress -
as if we didn't have enough already! How can we, as gardeners, turn these
challenges into opportunities? I'll be blogging about ways we can all
contribute - one garden at a time.
Oct. 28, 2008
If you want to have a good-looking vegetable garden, you have company.
This economy could well affect many people in the coming year in ways we
can only imagine right now. My husband and I are giving considerable
thought to turning part of our sunny parking area into a kitchen garden.
However, because the parking area is right at the entry to our house and
garden, it will have to look good, too. It will be challenging to make
wandering tomato plants look fabulous. We will probably do some raised
beds, since the ground is a thick layer of gravel - which will drain well!
Stay tuned for a design and planning this new garden area. It may prove
useful for those of you that are eyeing the only sunny part of your
property that just happens to be the front yard.
-
I’m
also researching interesting methods of growing more food in less space.
Here are a few:
Growing potatoes in a tower:
you lay starter potatoes on the ground inside a round wire fencing of
about 3’ in diameter. You throw a little soil/compost over the potatoes
and wait for some shoots. When you see shoots going up, continue to
layer on compost, soil, leaves, grass clippings, etc. The potato plant
will grow up using very little ground space to get a lot of potatoes!
-
Growing 3
vegetables together (the 3 sisters of Native Americans): corn, beans &
squash are mutually beneficial when grown together. The corn supports
the beans, but is a heavy nitrogen user. The beans fix nitrogen for the
corn. The squash shades the roots of all of them to reduce the need for
water. All of these vegetables also can be canned, frozen, and easily
stored for winter.
-
Espaliered fruit trees or "pole" trees
such as apples
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A raspberry “fence”
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A blueberry hedge
Another
interesting idea is using plants like marigolds and garlic as mutually
beneficial to other plants to help deter pests and disease. Naturally,
I'll be particularly keen on growing everything organically and in the
most sustainable manner possible. Stay tuned for progress reports!
Oct. 20, 2008
This weekend I spent considerable time trying to plant as many pots in the
garden, with priorities given to the zone limits of plants. The higher the
zone, the higher their priority for planting. In addition, plants that are
not hardy that I overwinter in the garage were potted up and moved into or
towards the garage. This week’s weather isn’t anticipating freezing
weather, but I am–just in case. Plants in the garage category are cannas &
tuberous begonias. I wait to dig dahlias (if I dig them) until after first
frost. Last winter I successfully overwintered my Meyer Improved Lemon on
our covered patio on the southwest side of the house. It’s a very
sheltered area that stays warmer than any other area around the house
during the winter. On the coldest nights (down to around 18 degrees) I
threw a tarp over the top and used some lounge chair cushions to wrap the
pot’s base. This year I’m going to try and keep my tender succulents in
this area using similar techniques. My fancy-leaf begonias usually spend
the winter in our laundry room, but this year I’m considering putting them
in our furnace room (part of the basement) under some plant lights. This
room stays a pretty even 60-65 degrees during the winter – plus they won’t
take up space in our laundry room.
A few fancy leaf begonias
Oct. 14, 2008
One of the most important aspects of a garden is its
entry. This past weekend found me rethinking the planting material at the
entry to the back garden and next to our parking area. While I like the
announcement and interaction of the pots with the bronze Chinese bell, I
find that the variety of plant material is too distracting from this
important focal point. In the north view, I planted a new Pittosporum,
which may not make it through the winter. IF it does, it will be because I
throw a box over it on really cold nights. The reason I planted this one,
is because it has a dense form and a pale blue-green color which boldly
contrasts with the dark green Raphiolepis behind it. I find it important
to punctuate the end of a path-especially if its a little long-to
foreshorten the length. If artwork would make the area too busy with art,
as in this case, then plants will do very well. The blue-green color ties
in with the bell, the Fescue Grass, and the blue-green of the junipers in
the pots. It's still small, but if it grows to the size Monrovia
mentioned, it will be about 3 feet tall and wide. Some Pittosporums are
questionably hardy in my area (somewhere in the range of Zone 7 to Zone
8), but I have found that the protection given overhead by our tall
Douglas firs from snow, rain, and frost, and their root competition for
water works very well for Pittosporum. Our fir trees are limbed up due to
natural occurrences. This allows plenty of sun through the area during the
day. The view towards the west with my cat, Tashi peeking around the pot,
displays the red fall coloration of Syringa 'Miss Kim'. Plants mound
upwards in this area to buffer the view of the parking spaces from the
main garden. I have a variety of plants there that is in desperate need of
editing. It's crammed with plant treasures and visually very noisy.
Editing is the most difficult thing to do if you are both a plant
collector and designer. I'll tell you how it goes next time.
Entry Bell & Pots
Entry-north view
Entry-west view towards parking
Sept. 29, 2008
Who needs more work in the garden?
One of the
goals I set for myself this fall, particularly because I have a large
garden, is to reduce the amount of time it takes to maintain it. A new
rule of thumb has emerged for editing: no perennials or groundcovers that
seed too much or are too difficult to weed nearby. Thinking "Off With
Their Heads" as I marched into the garden yesterday, I reduced
the amount of Euphorbia characias ‘Wulfenii’. While I love its chartreuse
flowers in late winter, it seeds around if
their flowers aren’t trimmed early enough. Since I’m usually so busy in
spring doing
other things when it needs deadheading, it makes sense to reduce the
amount I need to do, so it gets done. The hardy geraniums that fall in
this category (and they all don’t) will be toast. Lamium will find its
locations reduced. Have you ever noticed that weeds select the plants they
like to be near because the leaf shapes are similar? I think Michael
Pollan was on to something.
 September
29 2008: A wonderful plant combination I saw in Darcy
Daniel's garden
Sept. 24, 2008
It's not unusual for me to hear the words "When do you sleep?" I have a
full plate. I took the old saying "If you want something done, ask a
busy woman" to heart. This fall I'm thrilled to catch up with garden
projects I wanted to do this spring, but sustained an injury to my right
foot. I am chomping at the bit to move, remove, and add plants.
All summer I have nursed along plants in pots as I gathered them. I
was so anxious to dig up some plants, I didn't wait for cool fall weather.
Rather, I dug some drought-tolerant penstemons, asters, & sedums earlier,
knowing they would survive with a little shady shelter. They are all
adapted to their pots now and ready to rock & roll. I've decided
to add a blog to my website after attending the GWA symposium in Portland,
OR. Yup-a full plate. Topics I plan to cover are what I'm
doing in my garden (and more importantly - why) and some of the areas that
I am mulling over while writing my book on garden design. |
Vanessa
Gardner Nagel: fanatic gardener, garden writer, and
garden designer
 |
Dragonfly
Hollow:
a continuous garden experiment
- see new photos periodically of my garden or another garden.
