Gardener saves salad from neighborhood bullies.
The Pop-Up Net can be used over a 3x3-foot bed (as shown) or anchored right to the ground. |
It's the time of year when I walk the perimeter of our backyard and make repairs to the fence. It's the only thing that separates our perennials from the gang of woodchucks that terrorizes the gardens in my neighborhood. In the back corner, some of the boards have rotted and come loose. Through the wide gap (plenty of room for a woodchuck), I can see my neighbors' yards, including the garden of Vicki, who also works here at Gardener’s Supply.
For years, we have commiserated on the woodchuck problem in our neighborhood. I finally gained control by fencing the back yard and burying chicken wire along the perimeter. It's totally secure as long as the fence is maintained. Vicki, on the other hand, has an exposed yard and a fence would not be practical. Year after year, she'd tell me of lost crops: lettuce, broccoli, peas and more. Eventually, she succeeded in growing lettuce in Self-Watering Hanging Baskets. A small crop, but a victory nonetheless.
I felt a little guilty, knowing that the woodchucks I'd displaced were surely feasting on her crops while my asters and phlox were safe. So, I was excited to hear that she'd found a way to protect her crops from the woodchucks. What's more, no shots were fired! The secret is the Pop-Up Net, a self-supporting cube that protects a 3x3-foot zone. Vicki anchored it to the ground with the stakes that come with the net, but it also fits perfectly on a 3x3 Grow Bed — or any 3x3 raised bed. "Every night we had salad — thanks to the Pop-Up Nets," Vicki says. "I was worried the woodchucks would dig under the net, so I banked mulch around the edges. But, even when I forgot to maintain the mulch I had no problems. Maybe I just got lucky."
The nets come in two heights: a 20" tall and 48" tall. "This year, I plan to try more crops — probably beets, carrots or chard, and maybe some brassicas under tall net," Vicki says. "Also, I'm looking forward to having flowers in my hanging baskets again".
— David Grist,
Online Content Coordinator, Gardener's Supply
The first harvest of 2009 has begun here in the north country. It's maple, coming in drop by drop.
The first harvest of 2009 has begun here in the north country. It's maple, coming in drop by drop.
Much of the snow has melted, but the landscape remains brown and rumpled, showing no signs of life, no traces of green. Still, the days are longer. The sun is brighter. And the maples respond.
The harvest is pure and clear, sparkling in the sun like water, but this special liquid is so much more. At the sugar-maker's hand, it is transformed into amber syrup, the first taste of spring.
But this golden result does not come easy. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. So the sugar-maker must be dedicated, willing to work hard when Mother Nature decides she is ready to provide. But the effort pays off, and though winter lingers, the harvest has begun.
- David Grist Online Content Coordinator, Gardener's Supply
Sugaring in Vermont
A look at how maple syrup is made in Vermont's Champlain Valley, with Rick Renaud, a Gardener's Supply employee, who spends many hours in spring sugaring with friends and family. To see the captions, click on the photo..
|
Brighten someone’s day with home-grown flowers.
 |
|
 |
|
 |
My cutting garden last year, including: Hot Crayon Colors zinnias from Renee’s Garden Seeds; an electric orange gladiolus that I’ve been saving year to year (it first came in a bag of mixed colors); Green Star Gladiolus; Verbena bonariensis. |
It looks like another banner year for vegetable gardening. Results from the National Gardening Association’s 2009 Gallup Survey predicts a 19 percent increase — 43 million people are planning to grow a vegetable garden!
That’s music to our ears and we’re doing everything we can think of to fan the flames of this vegetable gardening enthusiasm (be sure to check out our new Kitchen Garden Planner).
The tough economic times are one of the reasons for this resurgence of interest in growing food. But we’ve seen the trend gathering speed for several years now. The appeal of home-grown veggies is really about freshness, flavor, organic and local. Of course there’s also the simple thrill of filling a harvest basket with food that you’ve grown yourself!
Hopefully you’ll be one of the millions of people growing some of your own food this summer. But how about growing a little food for the soul?
The other day, one of my workmates was telling me about the cutting garden he’s going to be planting this year, full of dahlias, zinnias, glads and asters. “Flowers are an affordable luxury,” said Tom. “A couple big dahlia tubers might cost me $12 or so, but over the course of the summer I’ll get dozens of flowers and weeks of bouquets.”
And what’s Tom going to do with all those bouquets? He’s planning to indulge his family, friends and neighbors with a bounty … of beauty! “It’s so easy to brighten someone’s day with a bouquet of flowers,” he said. “Especially in times like these, making people feel happier is really important!”
Though I have plenty of flowers in my own garden, I'm hoping maybe I’ll get on Tom’s list this summer. There’s no such thing as too many flowers — and few things better than being surprised with a bouquet that someone has grown and picked with you in mind!
The efforts of several plant breeders over the past decade have inundated the market with scores of new varieties. The result: improved flower size and color, new foliage colors, patterns and leaf shapes.
Caramel Heuchera is a runner-up for the 2010 Perennial Plant of the Year award. |
|
A trio of coral bells holds the corner of a shady Pennsylvania garden. |
|
Heucheras, commonly known as coral bells, have long been staples in shady perennial gardens, and with good reason. Their airy wands of hummingbird-attracting flowers bloom in late spring to early summer. They also make lovely cut flowers that I add to miniature bouquets of clove-scented dianthus, aquilegia, lady’s mantle (alchemilla), and Stachys ‘Hummelo’ — all of which bloom at the same time. The lobed, ornamental foliage forms neat, evergreen rosettes that look good almost all year, depending the climate. And another point in their favor, all the heucheras (pronounced HUE-ker-ah) species are native to North America.
The concentrated efforts of several plant breeders over the past decade have inundated the market with scores of new cultivars and hybrids between the species. Many have improved flower size and color, but the breeding focus has been mostly on new foliage colors and patterns and leaf shapes. Palace Purple, with deep maroon foliage, was the first heuchera I bought for my new shade garden in the early ’90s. Since then, I’ve added silvery Pewter Veil, Cinnabar Silver and Paris, chartreuse Lime Rickey deep-purple Obsidian and Amethyst Myst, and others with startling foliage.
Most Heucheras perform best in cooler climates, such as my Zone 4-5 garden, and none grow well in full sun. Hot, humid summers especially take a toll on these plants. But, recently, breeders have accepted this as a challenge to be overcome. Heuchera villosa, a species native to the southeast, has made its way into breeding programs, resulting in a number of beautiful new cultivars with greater heat and humidity tolerance.
French hybridizer Thierry Delabroye introduced the H. villosa hybrid Caramel in 2006 and it became an instant sensation. A runner up for 2010 Perennial Plant of the Year, the soft coppery foliage is accented by pink to red undersides. What's more, it holds its own against the humid dog days of late summer. In cooler climates, it tolerates more sun than most other Heuchera cultivars, too. Delabroye has since added Citronelle, Mocha, Tiramisu and half a dozen others with similar parentage to his lineup. These cultivars have somewhat fuzzy leaves in strong, solid colors and make sizable clumps more than a foot across. They bloom in late summer, although the flowers aren’t particularly showy.
Dubbed the “Heuchera King” by Allan Armitage for his prolific work with coral bells, Dan Heims of Terra Nova Nurseries, Oregon, also added H. villosa to his program in recent years. His resulting introductions include Georgia Peach, Crème Brûlée and Southern Comfort.
New Heucheras
To see the caption, click on the photo.
|
Just like an art museum, each time you visit a public garden there's always something new to appreciate and inspire.
The Japanese Garden in Portland, OR. |
Once springtime arrives and I’m finally out in the garden, it’s almost impossible to pry me away from home. I hate the thought of missing a single minute. When the weekend comes I’m up at 6 am Saturday and am still out there as darkness falls on Sunday night.
I don't mind missing out on days at the beach, hikes in the woods, paddles on the river and picnics by the lake, but being such a homebody, what I do miss is visiting public gardens in the peak of their glory. There are loads of wonderful public gardens within a day's drive of my own garden, and the same is probably true wherever you live.
Here in the Northeast, I am sorry to say that there are many, many public gardens that I have yet to visit: Innisfree, Stonecrop, the Cloisters, Garden in the Woods, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Wave Hill, Appledore Island, Naumkeag and Tower Hill, to name a few.
Just like an art museum, each time you visit a public garden there's always something new to appreciate and inspire. In times like these, we can all use some inspiration — and these public gardens really need our support.
Once the leaves start to fall, I’m willing to consider leaving the yard. Last September I even left the state, and while I was out, I visited the Portland Japanese Garden. In case you, like me, are still trapped indoors, here is a little slide show of the garden. One of the best things about a Japanese garden is that you don’t need to visit in the height of summer. It’s beautiful every single day of the year.
Portland Japanese Garden
To see the caption, click on the photo.
|
Check out our new, interactive tool for planning a vegetable garden.
The High-Yield Garden is one of six pre-planned gardens in the Kitchen Garden Planner. You can also use the planner to design your own garden. |
Here's some good news! It sounds like more people than ever before are planning to grow a vegetable garden this year. We want make sure that this wave of eager vegetable gardeners will have a fun and rewarding experience right from the start.
Our solution is an easy, interactive planning tool that removes any worries about “What should I grow?” and “How do I start?” Because we know that a raised-bed garden is the easiest and most efficient way to grow vegetables, we based this new tool on the footprint of a 3x6 raised bed garden.
Our Kitchen Garden Planner gives you:
- six pre-planned vegetable gardens, each with its own planting map
- an interactive design tool for creating your own customized planting map
- step-by-step instructions for planting and care
- a vegetable encyclopedia with 30 different entries
- recommended supplies and accessories
This new design tool is located right on our website and it’s totally free for anyone to use. Take the 60-second tour to learn about the key features. Use it out yourself or pass it along to friends and family. And let us know what you think of it!
See How It Works!
When your garden is designed, you can print a map that shows exactly what you need to plant. |
Starting with the native species, perennial plant breeders are developing new cultivars with improved traits.
Creeping phlox (Phlox subulata) is a good native groundcover for sharply drained soils. |
|
Spring Symphony foamflower (Tiarella) brightens a woodland garden. |
|
Espresso cranesbill (Geranium maculatum) has darker foliage than its native parents. |
|
Native plants are all the rage in perennial and landscape gardening, and that’s a relatively new trend. Collecting and growing exotic plants began centuries ago as European explorers discovered new species in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. As long as ornamental gardening has existed, new, exotic plants have been the most desirable and highly prized specimens.
Well, it’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt. The injury occurred when aggressive, non-native plants escaped from cultivation and upset the delicate natural balance in wetlands, waterways, meadows, and forests throughout the country. The consequences have been dire and expensive to control.
That’s where native garden plants come in. Many North American plants have been garden staples for years because they’re well adapted to their local climate and soil, and bloom reliably. Every perennial gardener knows black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia), coneflower (Echinacea), phlox, and tickseed (Coreopsis) because they’re low-maintenance, high-performing plants. Starting with the native species, perennial plant breeders are developing new cultivars with improved traits, such as flower and foliage size or color, disease resistance, and growth habit. Allan Armitage, University of Georgia, refers to the improved versions of our native plants as nativars.
I’ve grown quite fond of some of these nativars and have several of them thriving in dappled shade at the edge of a sunny border. All bloom for weeks in spring to early summer.
- Espresso geranium (Geranium maculatum 'Espresso') was discovered in Landenberg, PA, as a darker-leafed version of our native geranium, also known as cranesbill. This perennial thrives in shade to part sun and is deer-resistant. The deeply incised, burgundy-bronze foliage is a perfect foil for the lavender-pink flowers in early summer.
- Spring Symphony tiarella has frothy, pale-pink flower spikes and palm-shaped leaves that add cool contrast to Espresso’s dramatic colors. When I remember to deadhead, it blooms sporadically throughout the summer.
- Corbett columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), with its nectar-rich, yellow flowers, this early summer bloomer brings in hummingbirds like a magnet. Its cool blue-green leaves are a bit more resistant to leaf miners than non-native columbines.
- Creeping phlox (Phlox subulata) carpets the edge of the garden where it basks in the afternoon sun. Starry pink flowers twinkle against the emerald, needle-like foliage.
In addition, many state agencies also offer plant lists and information on their websites. Type "landscaping with native plants" into your favorite search engine and explore!
Control pests with environmentally-friendly substances derived from natural sources.
Delphinium seedlings are prone to damping-off disease. |
The sowing instructions for the delphinium seed I ordered from New Zealand recommend adding a fungus to the germinating mix. Say again? Researchers discovered that a beneficial trichoderma fungus protects plant roots from other, disease-causing, fungi. The trichoderma fungus grows on the seedlings’ roots and prevents damping off and root rot, both of which are caused by pathogenic fungi. The product containing trichoderma, Rootshield®, is safe to use on all vegetable and garden plants, trees, bulbs, and houseplants. It’s one of the new environmentally-friendly biopesticides derived from natural sources. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), biopesticides are "certain types of pesticides derived from such natural materials as animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals. For example, canola oil and baking soda have pesticidal applications and are considered biopesticides."
More gardeners are familiar with the group of Bt or Bacillus thuringiensis biopesticides used to control white grubs in their lawns, Colorado potato beetles, and mosquitoes. These beneficial bacteria infect and kill the target insects without harming any other organisms or polluting the environment. The beauty of Milky Spore, the bacteria that kills Japanese beetle grubs, is that it multiplies in the soil and can remain effective for up to 20 years.
Other biopesticides include beneficial nematodes, which are microscopic wormlike organisms that prey on insects, such as Japanese beetle grubs and cutworms. Nematodes even work on fungus gnats, those annoying and destructive little black bugs that infest houseplant soil.
I’m starting more vegetable and flowers from seed this year and Rootshield will help ensure that those seedlings will be strong, vigorous, and ready for the garden this spring.
For more information on natural pest control, see the Pest and Disease Finder.
Here are a few of my favorites, including aloes, agaves and echeverias.
I took this photograph in the garden of Thomas Hobbs, author of The Jewel Box Garden. His garden in Vancouver is filled with tiny wonders like this one. Here, he has combined some incredibly beautiful, tender succulents called echeverias, with some seashells, bits of colored glass and a sea fan. It's a living work of art! |
|
In an earlier post I talked about several interesting new container plants for 2009, which were featured at an event for the nursery trade late last summer. Besides all the great new coleus, begonias, angelonias and calibrachoas on display, there were also lots of terrific succulents. Here are a few of my favorites, which should be generally available at the larger garden centers this spring.
It was my friend and fellow Gardener’s Supply blogger, David Grist, who first lured me into the world of agaves. Last summer he gave me a stunning blue and white striped agave in a little pot and I loved having it on my front step. It’s spending the winter in my basement and will hopefully make it back for a second appearance. This was a “pup” or offshoot from a larger plant that he has managed to overwinter for several years now.
Novalis is a company that supplies lots of interesting new plant varieties to nurseries and independent garden centers. Working with breeders and propagators from around the world, they select varieties they believe will be dependable performers and of great interest to U.S. gardeners. One of the new succulents in their 2009 Plants That Work line is a beautiful agave that’s grown in Japan as a collector’s plant. Kissho
Kan has blue-green leaves with wide, creamy-white margins. The end of each leaf is “stitched” with prominent reddish-brown spikes. I sure hope I can find this locally! If not, it’s available online from Plant Delights Nursery.
Proven Winners, which is another great source for new plants, also has a couple nice agaves this year. Look for Blue Glow, which has pale green/white leaves outlined in burgundy, and Nova, which has elegant, wide, silver-blue leaves in a perfect rosette.
Proven Winners is also introducing (through nurseries and independent garden centers) more than a dozen new aloes, all with flashy variegation and lots with beautiful red, pink and orange highlights. Hardy only to zone 9, they’ll be happy for the summer growing in a pot or trough, and can be brought indoors for the winter months. It’s hard not to want one of every variety, but here are two I’ll be looking for:
Aloe ‘Carmine’ has the classic aloe stippling on its leaves, but its stipples are a mix of white, pale green and orange. The really stunning thing about Carmine is the way each leaf is completely outlined in a fringe of brilliant red-orange. I can imagine just exactly how great it will look in a little terra cotta pot, sitting along the walkway on the west side of my house. After several years it will top out at 8-10” H.
Aloe ‘Donnie’ is another variety with prominent white stippling on its leaves. It’s very short (just 3-5” H) and its special charm is a wide, coral-pink band of color on each side of the leaf. Wow.
Oh, how I love echeverias. I first fell in love with them on a tour of Thomas Hobbs’ garden in Vancouver (check out his book The Jewel Box Garden).
Here in
New England,
echeverias are not hardy, so are usually quite difficult to find. But, hopefully, the fact that Proven Winners is now offering a few, they’ll be more available. Keep your eye out for Echeveria x ‘Electric Glo’ and ‘Red Glo’. Both have loose rosettes of blue leaves with crinkled pink/orange edges. They’re tender (zones 9-11) and even at maturity are no more than 6-8” H.
One more new succulent on my list is Kalanchoe thyrsifolia ‘Copper Haze’, which has smooth, curvy leaves that shade from green to wine and rose. It’s another tender one, hardy only in zones 9-11, but would make a great specimen plant in a little pot or trough as it gets no more than about 8” high.
If you decide to try one or more of these plants this summer, be sure to pot them up in a sandy soil mix that’s specially formulated for cactus and succulents. The roots of these plants will rot in a heavy soil mix that stays too moist. I find they are usually happiest in full sun, and in pots that are porous, such as those made of terra cotta or hypertufa. Have fun!
|
Posts
