Think you don't have space for a vegetable garden? Think again.
Karen shows that you can grow what you eat, even if there's no space for a garden at home.
If you drive around the employee parking lot at our Burlington, VT, offices, you'll notice a potted pepper, placed on the pavement, just behind a gold car. It's there Monday through Friday, basking in the sun, always behind the same car.
Ask around and you'll find out that the plant belongs to Karen, who works in our customer contact center. She doesn't have a suitable place for a vegetable garden at home, but she's found a way to garden anyway. Her garden commutes with her each day, safe in the back seat of her car.
Knowing that peppers love sun and heat, and that there's usually plenty of that in the parking lot here at Gardener's Supply, Karen bought a pepper plant and a bright green pot. The pot is light enough for her to lift, and can be nested inside another pot for the commute. When she arrives for work, she takes the pot out of the back seat and places it behind her car, where it spends the next 8 hours basking in the sun. As the only plant in Karen's garden, it gets lots of attention — and is already setting fruit.
So, if you think you don't have space for a garden, think again.
Another example of asphalt gardening: This raised bed sits on the parking lot in front of our Burlington store. So far, the harvest has been bountiful.
Soaker hoses ensure that water percolates to the root zone of your plants. This Flat Soaker Hose is especially good for smaller beds because it forms curves easily.
Whenever I plant a new flower garden for one of my clients, I give the "watering talk," in which I underscore the importance of watering during the first year. I note that standing at the garden's edge with a hose and a sprayer (one hand on the hip), is not watering. Sure, it might feel good, but it's not watering.
Watering is a slow process, best done by the drop. By using soaker hose or drip irrigation, you ensure that water percolates to the root zone. I recommend adding a soaker hose to any new garden, putting it in place before the mulch goes down. Another good addition: a timer. That way, you don't have to remember to shut the hose off. I like soakers better than drip systems because they're more temporary. It's easy to move or reconfigure as the garden evolves and plants are added or moved. Although you can leave the soaker in place through the winter, I take the whole thing up in fall because it's easier to do garden clean-up.
Even existing garden beds benefit from a soaker hose because it makes it easy to water efficiently and thoroughly. No need to set up a sprinkler and adjust its coverage. No wasted water due to runoff. Just hook up the hose and let it soak. No excuses, no problem!
My most recent project was a 50 x 50-foot flower garden that's on a 45-degree slope. Because of the 45-degree site, the garden looks magnificent, especially when viewed from the porch. At the top of the slope, the surrounding woodland forms a nice backdrop. However, the clients found it difficult to water the bed because of the size and the incline. Plus, the upper section of the garden is often dry while the lower section remains on the wet side. We solved the problem with four 50-foot soaker hoses. Near the top of the slope, I set up a four-way valve with a length of soaker hose connected to each opening. From there, I ran the hoses across the slope — not up and down, which would affect the flow of water. By having four zones, the clients can water the drier sections as needed. I used Earth Staples to anchor the soaker hose and then covered the whole thing with bark mulch.
These soaker hose gardens always thrive because watering is easy and effective. Did I say that it's easy? Now, if I could just get my clients to remember to feed their plants.
When possible, overlap the fabric to avoid any unnecessary cuts. Tuck the edges under, giving yourself a 5" or 6" hem, and anchor securely on ends and sides to prevent fraying.
Headed for the dahlias, his life was cut short …
It was about six or seven years ago that I began to realize I’d created more gardens than I could handle. Feeling like something had to go, it was the cutting garden that seemed the most expendable. Since it was filled annuals, in addition to the usual maintenance tasks I also needed to start hundreds of seedlings, prep the beds each spring, replant the whole garden and then clean it all out again at the end of the season.
So I decided to turn the area back to lawn (easier for me, since I rarely do the mowing!). But, as the season went on, the area never got reseeded. I found that I missed the bouquets and having all that floral abundance around – especially in late summer and fall. Most of all I missed my zinnias.
So the next spring I turned what had become a big weed patch back into a cutting garden — with one big innovation. I would never spend another minute weeding the paths.
I started by making the paths wider than they had been. Planting edge to edge in the beds meant that late in the season, the old paths always became too narrow. Now there’s more room to get around comfortably, and the plants appreciate the improved air circulation.
Next, I covered the pathways with a professional-grade weed-proof fabric. Pro Weed Mat is made of woven polypropylene. It’s the exact same material used in many commercial nurseries. The 3-foot width was perfect for my wider paths. The edges and ends are anchored to the soil with Earth Staples, at about 3-foot intervals.
This summer is year five for my lower-maintenance cutting garden. The original fabric has been in place, uncovered and exposed to the elements, the entire time and still looks and works fine. Occasionally I’ve had to reposition the Earth Staples, when winter winds have pulled at the edges. And you need to carefully fold under and secure any cut edges to keep them from fraying. That’s it.
What I love best, other than the fact I never have to pull a single weed from the paths, is that I can clean up the garden with a push broom. Soil and any garden debris that winds up in the pathways just gets swept to one end of the row and onto the grass. Wow, huh?
Oh, one other thing. Slugs and snails seem to love hanging out on the matting. Great for me. Not so good for them.
I was amazed to see these clematis bloom so well the first year after planting. That's General Sikorski on the right and Venosa Violacea in the middle.
Betty Corning blooms early and has delicate, pendulous, recurved flowers. Look closely and you can see how the leaf stems bend and twist to grab on.
This spring, the clematis on the left (Betty Corning) raced to the top and was blooming by mid-June. The three little yellow shrubs growing at the base are a dwarf Japanese barberry called Golden Nugget.
I use wax-coated twine to make sure that the bulkiest parts of the vine are well-attached to the trellis.
I have yet to meet a clematis I didn't covet. This means I’m constantly on the lookout for more places to plant them. The tricky thing is, of course, that they need something to climb on.
I have four clematis growing up cedar posts that I’ve encircled with reinforcing wire. Another is growing up twine and twigs at the base of a white birch. A couple are growing up more traditional trellises. That makes seven.
Last spring I made room for three more. We used some panels of cedar lattice to enclose the walkout door from my basement and hide a utilitarian storage area under the deck. Voila! Another clematis-friendly trellis.
Unlike peas, which have tendrils that can be up to 6" long, clematis must use their leaf stems to climb. It’s sort of like having a little spring between the main stem of the vine and the leaf cluster. This device is somewhat limiting. Twine, poly trellis netting and steel wire work well because they’re thin enough for the spring-like stems to grab onto. (See David’s post last year about how we grow clematis in our display gardens.)
Turns out they all like this trellis just fine. I do use some waxed twine to secure the bulkiest parts of the vine, at a couple points from top to bottom.
The woodchucks in our neighborhood have broken the perimeter in our backyard. Since late spring, they have found ways to penetrate the forcefield that protects our phlox, asters, echinacea and balloonflowers. As soon as one breach is sealed, they find another weak point. They've even threatened to chew a very special New Zealand delphinium that my friend Kathy grew from seed.
I never thought I'd say it, but here goes: This means war.
Here's the most recent breach. They dug under the new poultry fence I'd put in just a week ago.
Many summers ago, I spent hour after sweaty hour digging a trench to bury chicken wire that I attached to the bottom of the fence. The system was worth the effort because it worked — until this year. In some places, the chicken wire has rusted and the woodchucks have been able to push through. In areas where the woodchucks have penetrated, I've re-dug the trench and replaced the chicken wire with poultry fence, which is made with wire that's heavier gauge. It's stiff and hard to work with. On top of that, there's very little space to work in at this time of year. The perennials are growing and looking beautiful. I don't want to ruin the flower border with major excavations. So, I compromised and dug a 12" trench instead of 18-24". And those persistent beasts dug deep enough to get under the wire, coming up right behind my new black hollyhocks.
This is how phlox looks when it's been mauled by woodchucks.
Alcea rosea 'Nigra', the so-called black hollyhock, is protected by a wire harvest basket, anchored with Earth Staples.
When I look over the fence into the neighbor's yard, I often see the evil beasts, nibbling on the lawn. They see me and scurry under the neighbor's back porch, where they live. We've seen as many as five. My partner thought it might be good to make peace with the animals, and he bought a large bag of broccoli florets. We threw some over the fence, and the critters fought with one another over the treasures. This did not appease them. They still want in.
Until we can really get in there and dig a proper trench, we've been repairing the breaches as they come up, usually by filling the holes with large rocks.This seems to work OK, but we're running out of rocks.
My friend Sarah has offered to loan us her dog, who has already shown and ability to control woodchucks. Earlier this spring, she brought the dog to a friend's backyard party. At one point, the dog returned with a woodchuck it had hunted and killed. "I thought they'd be psyched," Sarah said. But, not so much.
I try to think of this as a lesson to me as a gardener. It teaches me that persistence is my most essential tool. Despite my best efforts, weeds, pests, diseases and bad weather will always give me trouble. But if I keep trying — if I persist — I am a pretty good gardener.
So, I'll keep repairing the breaches, occassionally flipping the bird to those cute critters in the neighbor's yard. I will keep bringing in more rocks. I will persist. Might even have to release the dogs of war.
Make room for a planter of unusual, moisture-loving plants.
After placing a fiberglass screen over the bottom of the bowl, I filled it with dampened peat.
Long-fiber sphagnum peat moss covers the surface to prevent soil splashing and give a natural finished look.
Bog and pond plants intrigue me, but I don’t have a pond or bog in which to plant them. But, when the water plants arrived at our garden center a couple of weeks ago, I just had to have some of them anyway. The bold, deep purple leaves of Colocasia ‘Black Magic’ would contrast beautifully with the grassy foliage of star grass (Dichromena), Carex ‘Golden Bowles’ and tall papyrus (cyperus). I’m also a big fan of carnivorous plants, which tend to live in bogs, so I added red-leaved Sarracenia ‘Judith Hindle’, a Venus flytrap, and a couple of sundew plants to my shopping list. As a bonus, the sundews may help keep the mosquito population down, at least on my deck!
Natural bogs are constantly wet, so pottery without drainage holes make perfect containers for bog and water gardens. I chose the Acanthus Planter because the bowl depth is about right and the base is hollow for holding extra water. To make the water reservoir, I fitted a piece of fiberglass screen over the hole between the bowl and the base and secured it with a flat rock.
To reproduce the acidic natural soil found in bogs, I moistened a trug full of finely ground peat moss. Dried peat doesn’t absorb water very well, so I let it sit for a few hours before planting in it.
After tucking in all the plants, I covered the soil surface with moistened, long-fiber sphagnum peat moss. The moss prevents the soil from splashing on the plants and gives the planter a more natural, finished look. As the summer progresses, I expect the moss will turn green from algae and sprouting moss spores, which will add to its character.
Slideshow: A Vermont garden in high summer. Click on the images to see captions or go to full-screen mode.
I love visiting my friend Sue's house. She's the best flower gardener I know. We could talk about flowers nonstop for days on end. In fact, we did just that several years ago when we took a two-week trip to England together. Sue put together the itinerary (she grew up in England) and we visited no less than two and often three public gardens per day. It is so much fun to tour a garden when there's someone at your side who is ooh-ing and ahh-ing as much as you are!
One of the gardens we loved best was Great Dixter, home of the late Christopher Lloyd. At the very heart of the gardens is Christopher Lloyd's family home, a 15th century half-timber house that's ever-so-gently slouching into the landscape. The house is entered through a covered portico that's always flanked with an incredible assortment of fabulous potted plants. Inspired by this ever-changing horticultural tableaux at Great Dixter, my friend Sue has taken to creating her own entryway theatre.
Clustering potted plants in a protected area like this, lets you experiment with tender exotics, wild colors and weird foliage. Part of the fun is changing the plants around every few weeks. Sue has integrated some outdoor sculpture, antiques, found objects and more. Something you might want to try at your house!
Do you grow what you eat? Check out our slideshow of gardeners who've taken the Grow What You Eat pledge. To see captions and full-size images, go to Flickr.
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