Streamside Planting

by Susan | Sep 12, 2020 | gardening, LB Tutorial: Design Challenge, Plantswoman Design

Opportunity Knocks

Often a bad situation brings about an opportunity to create something new. In this case, a property line definition blocked off access between two sections of my garden. The wildflower garden and the shade garden have a stream between them with lots of brushy weedy plants that I hadn’t really attended to yet. To take full advantage of this opportunity I created a new path and a bridge made of an old pallet, then brought in all the plants. The boggy ground is perfect for ligularia, primrose, rodgersia, gunnera, Salix, red twig dogwood, and ferns. A couple of trees in the center of it all hold the platform of a treehouse for visiting kids. Taking adversity and turning it around is a principle we should all practice more.

stream side garden

Jack in the pulpit

plants

stream side garden

ALL

the

Ferns

plants

stream side garden

Prim-ula

plants

Stream side Garden

Invite kids into the garden with structures

structure

stream side garden

recycled pallets made into the bridge

structure

Stream Side Garden

create a tree platform from recycled decking

structure

Spring Border

by Susan | May 13, 2019 | LB Tutorial: Design Challenge

Spring borders are always a little challenging. Some plants are stubborn and refuse to bloom at the same time every year. Other plants are just emerging and are not partial to competition (I took out Galium Oderatum for that very reason). Planning the spring border is one of the most important things to plan. You want to be sure to plant things that are amazing in the spring but not leave a big blank space for the rest of the year. We have all seen a huge swath of spring bulbs in a garden that looks great for a couple of weeks but then becomes dying foliage, then blank space. If you go to the nursery in the spring you will only find things that are blooming at that time. The sales factor in the nursery is bloom. With planning, you can buy things that are either not in bloom or will be in the nursery later in the year. The border should have interest into the summer and autumn. Evergreen pieces will provide a totally different look in the winter when the perennials are dormant and deciduous shrubs are bare.

I enjoy plants that are bright and stand out in our gray days. This one has bright red/pink in the background that gradually turns purple as the season progresses. Remember that variegated foliage can add to the color combination as well as blooms.

If you have an area you want to renovate and create a more cohesive design, start by removing plants that won’t fit into the plan. Be ruthless and move the ones you love to other areas of the garden, and get rid of ones that no longer appeal, or are invasive. Starting from scratch is really a fun project. Divide the area into layers and plan to have larger plants in the back as a background if it is an edge bed. If it is an island bed the larger plants go in the middle and graduate levels of plants down. I plan the bed to be amazing in the spring and more muted later in the year. If you only put ½ of the plants as spring plants then the rest of the plants that bloom at different times it is more of a mixed border, not a spring border.

Cardamine Trifolia

Bleeding Heart

Hellebore ‘Pacific Frost’

The front of the border is one of my favorite ground covers Cardamine trifolia. It is evergreen with three leaves held above the ground. The sweet white flowers come up above the foliage in a rush of bloom early in the year. It continues to bloom over the remainder of the summer and fall. This slow spreader it is slug proof (A huge plus in my garden) and easy to care for.

The Galanthus are finished blooming and only the green/blue strappy foliage is left. A white epimedium is throwing airy white blooms and purple new foliage to cover the dying foliage of the Galanthus. Mixing a couple of different types of hellebores add to the drama of white both in bloom and in foliage. The hellebores are a great variegated leaf ‘Pacific Frost’ the green and white look great even later in the year after the flowering has stopped. A double white hellebore ‘Florence Picotee’ is at the back and single white hellebore (probably a mardi-gras mix) in the center, and behind is an amazing green one called ‘Jade Star’. Many of my hellebores are from Northwest Garden Nursery in Eugene Oregon, for many years a producer of fabulous cultivars of Helleborus.

As this planting evolves in later spring the purple/red starts coming on. The bleeding heart (dicentra bacchanal) with dark purple-red blooms, the new foliage on the ‘Pacific Frost’ hellebore is blushed with purple, and the new leaves of the epimedium also are a muted purple.

In this border, the background is a large red/pink camellia in the garden when I purchased the house blooming a little ahead of time. There is also a Hydrangea ‘Golden Crane’ that will bloom later in the year in the background. A camellia ‘yuletide’ is finished blooming near the ‘Golden Crane’. The camellias serve as background for the rest of the bed. As spring turns into summer the greens take over, the variegated leaves are beautiful and the cardamine and hydrangea bloom. A muted palette in the summer and fall but still full and lush.

So pick your color combinations then start at the bottom layer with ground cover that is in the main color, right placement (Sun or shade), and same bloom time as the rest of the bed will bloom. The second layer is next with accent color at about 50%, and the rest in the main color with the same bloom time and placement. The final top layer would be more of the main color and accent color at about 20%. Remember to try some fun textures (grassy, glossy leaf, variegated) mixed in and think about what it will look like in 3 months, and 6 months. Early summer and late summer plants can be added to continue the bloom (lightly) but it is important to remember that a full spring border cannot be a full summer and full fall border. Other beds can be planted in other areas of the garden that will bloom at different times.

Hope that this is helpful. If you have questions email me and I can possibly help.

Experiments with Food | Red Currant Jam

by Susan | Sep 7, 2018 | garden food, LB Tutorial: Recipes

The fun part about having a food garden is that you get the chance to experiment with food. I say food garden because food can be vegetables, herbs, and fruit. There are also chickens in the same place so I guess their eggs are food too! This year was the second year for my Current Shrub. It grew a lot last year but only had a handful of berries on it. This year, due to a better irrigation system there were huge clusters of hanging, almost transparent, red berries.

In the winter, red currant jam has many uses so this could be a good time to experiment with making my own. I searched several recipes but didn’t have a specific amount of berries that were called for. I didn’t want to buy any but to do this as if I was a true farmer that could use only what she grew. The recipe by David Lebovitz from his blog ‘Living the sweet life in Paris’ was perfect. It used what you had and measured the other ingredients by the processed fruit. I did pick some in succession because they ripen at different times. Over the course of 2 weeks I picked and stored the currants in the refrigerator until I had a good amount. Then proceeded with the jam. The recipe can be found by going to David’s website [https://www.davidlebovitz.com/red-currant-jam-recipe/] Here are the pictures from my kitchen.

Ready to grow your own? Check out Rain Tree Nursery online for mail order. Cascade Red Currant USDA Zone 3 – 8 Grows to 4 Ft Self Fertile Will live in Sun or shade Clusters of berries ripen in june and july.

Ready for another fall harvest challenge? Check out this Guilty Pleasures post about making apple butter…

Shady Characters: Planting for Shade

by Susan | Aug 24, 2018 | LB Tutorial: Design Challenge, LB Tutorial: Skills, plants

Shady Characters: Planting for Shade

Tall fir and cedar trees tower over this garden bed which can create a tough place for plants to live. The roots of the trees and their greed for water will make many plants give up and die. However, these plants, with supplemental irrigation, can not only hold their own but thrive.

Pulmonaria ‘Diane Clare’ Lungwort

The leaves of the PUlmonaria ‘Diane Clare’ Lungwort have both spotty variegation and solid white leaves. The blue flowers, which turn to lilac with age, bloom in May and June. The long graceful leaves lends a different texture to the combination. Zone 3, can take dry shade or moist soil.

Ophiopogon planiscapus nigerscens – Black Mondo grass

Once a rarity Black Mondo Grass is now becoming more readily available. Many times it is used in a sunny situation where the black leaves become scorched and sad looking. Here in the shade mixed with low growing Golden Spike Moss it is amazing. Not fussy about water and great next to a path it is able to spread to its hearts content. Zone 6, prefers moist soil, blooms in July-August, evergreen (or ever black).

Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’

Variegated spiderweb patterned leaves and floating blue flowers light up this area despite gray weather. Filtered sunlight and access to an adequate amount of water is all they need. Irrigation in this area helps to maintain their lushness and the shallow roots don’t have to compete with the deeper roots of the trees. ZONE: 5, likes moisture, blooms in April and May.

Selaginella krassiana ‘Aurea’ – Golden Spike Moss

This sweet little creepy thing really creates a matte of contrast to the black mondo grass. It disappears a little bit in the winter but comes back lushly in the spring. Zone 7, prefers moisture, part shade to shade, evergreen to semi evergreen.

Mid-Century Updated Entry Walkway

by Susan | Jan 20, 2018 | LB Tutorial: Design Challenge

During the winter months pathways become more important. Just a way to get to a destination? No, but a way to keep out of the wet, above the often muddy, leaf covered beds and soggy grass. Often in the summer pathway edges are obscured by overhanging plants and seem to disappear. But during the winter they need to be easy to navigate, open and beautiful. Paths can also be a dominate design consideration. This mid-century house is amazing and deserving of an amazing entrance. The gravel and rock edged path was not at all appealing. Creating an entrance with rectangular slabs of concrete that was in keeping with the rest of the angles on the house was exactly right. The slabs are paced out with an offset, so the walker is able to walk and enjoy the journey through the updated garden without worrying about where to put their feet. The entry gate is offset from the entry to the house to provide the sense of expectation. The house can be seen from an angle becoming more visible as you walk down the path. Lights are placed in the rise of the steps to provide good visibility during the dark. The canopy of high fir trees makes it shady during the day and especially dark at night. Stone was added to edges to retain the soil and keep it from the pathway. Choosing a complementary stone and keeping the angles flat and squared up helps transition the concrete into the natural.

Front pathway before

Front pathway before

Front pathway after

Front pathway after

Updating the garden meant having to let go of some of the smaller Vine Maple trees (Acer circinatum). They grew in a thicket and needed to be thinned out. The remaining trees were limbed to accent the beautiful curves in the trunks. Planting pockets were found under the larger trees to add rhododendrons, sarcococca, and azaleas. The open ground around the pathway was filled in with Acorus, Low mosses, Heuchera, pachysandra, and fern. Specimen pines and Japanese maples that the owner had collected were replanted at intervals along the path. We had originally chosen Japanese forest grass to edge the path but the two dogs who live here grazed it like cows. The acorus was not nearly so tasty apparently and adds bright color and movement to the beds. The pallet of bright green, orange and purple lightens up the area during the daylight hours.

Dear Lazy Gardener, It’s Okay…

by Susan | Nov 17, 2017 | gardening, LB Tutorial: Garden Critters

Blowing, raining, storm after storm. Finally, the ground is showing signs of recovering from this summer’s drought. The fall leaves have been spectacular this year. Beautiful colors because we had a good rain followed by cold temperatures. The garden beds are a mess at my house and the thought of raking and raking makes me anxious. However, there is a new train of thought about fall clean up that is making its way to main stream. Leaf litter left lying on the ground is actually very useful. I will have to admit that sometimes the last leaf hits the ground before the rake comes out and that can be the end of November for alder leaves. Last year the sodden rainy winter we had the raking had to wait for a few dry days. Pulling off large branches from trees and uncovering plants that were buried was done but general raking, cutting back and tidying were much delayed. Even so, I observed that the beds under the leaf litter were soft, mostly weed free and soil looked amazing. This is evidence of a new school of thought, Garden Messy for Wildlife. Here are a few ideas for you…

plantswoman design lazy gardener leaf litter

Leave things with seeds (many things in my garden) up and not cut back until the birds and beasties have had their fill. This could mean January in some areas. Grasses, perennials, annuals, and shrubby fruits should all be left to provide winter habitat and food for birds, and other animals.
Leaf litter left undisturbed in many areas creates habitat for nesting mice, butterfly cocoons, caterpillars, ladybugs and many more beneficial insects. Snakes, although really yucky, are very useful in the garden and the leaf litter creates an insulating layer for their little dens. Some bees nest in the ground and the leaves provide cover for them too.
Speaking of insulation. Leaf litter will protect soil from being washed away and will insulate plants that may need protection from an extreme winter weather, including cold winds.
I have a big area of lawn grass that I let go to seed every year. Under the apple trees the grass can grow up to 3 feet high. Just before the weather gets so bad that the grass lays down I cut it down and leave it. The seeds go back into the ground or become food for overwintering birds, mice, voles, and other inhabitants of the grassy field. (yes I’m very careful, mow on highest setting, and go slow to give ample running away room for small animals living there) I mow it again in the spring when the weather becomes about 50 degrees and the first signs of new growth start to appear. This is the ultimate lazy method for sustainable pasture and mulching. With the added advantage of not mowing weekly as the former owner did.
Separating the fallen branches and leaving them on site in a pile will also create habitat for overwintering animals. After the weather warms in the spring (about 50) and the inhabitants have moved on or hatched out you can remove whatever hasn’t composted.

There are three areas that I do clean up right away. The area under the large maple in the front yard has so many leaves that it will actually kill the lawn underneath it. I blow them into a hollow near the stream or mulch them and add them to the compost pile. I also clean up rose leaves and pull plants from the vegetable garden. Rose leaves can keep mold and mildew close to the rose plants which will transfer back on to the new leaves in the spring. The veg garden needs to be cleaned up so pests can’t stay in the beds ready to pounce in the spring. Snails and slugs would hang out in the rotting vegetation if left in the beds. I also continue to use slug control by the kale, broccoli and leafy greens throughout the year. We never get so cold that they die completely. Here is a link to “Garden Messy, Pledge to be a Lazy Gardener” It has a lot of great information about conserving habitat in the garden. You can even pledge to be the Lazy Gardener on the site. So have a seat, look outside and enjoy the lazy days in front of the fire.

Protecting Your Vegetable Garden: Galvanized Fencing

by Susan | Nov 4, 2017 | LB Tutorial: Growing Food, LB Tutorial: Skills

When Autumn comes along, it is hard for me to give up my vegetables. I especially miss the ability to go out and grab just a few leaves of something to make a salad or to add to an omelet. Every year I reserve a small section of my veg garden for my fall crop of salad leaves. Planted at the middle of September the small plants are coming along just fine. During the summer, my local rabbits munched on some of my salad greens, a few peas, and tops of carrots. Not liking to spread stinking spray or trap, I just let them have a few bites. However, every leaf counts in the fall and I’m not willing to share with those fuzzy little beasties. Their munching makes a big dent in my fall harvest and they will have to be kept out.

plantswoman design vegetable garden protection

I have used pot trays to keep the leaves from being eaten until now but as the leaves get bigger they will need more room to grow.

plantswoman design vegetable garden protection, galvanized fencing panels,

One on the most useful things I’ve found for my veg garden are pieces of galvanized fencing. Purchasing one big panel can provide several pieces that have multi-use functions. The fencing can be cut with bolt cutters so a saw isn’t needed. Cutting off the bottom cross sections (either one or two) make them self staking. For my small plot of winter salad greens, they can be used to keep out the munchers. But because the rabbits are pretty small netting needs to be attached to the fencing to keep them from getting through the holes. Using netting from the fruit trees is a great way to re-purpose and reuse.

The netting can be placed around 3 sides of the panel with the bottom tucked under the self-made stakes that are created from cutting the larger panel into smaller ones. As the smaller panels are forced into the ground the mesh is caught and held tight. Use garden twine to secure the top portion of the netting. Since the rabbits don’t really jump, 2 – 3 feet is all that is needed to keep them out. Cover the fourth panel in netting independently so it can be removed when you need to work inside the bed. For added weather protection grow cover can be spread over the top to increase heat and keep frost off, either attached or just laid on top depending on wind conditions. It has been sunny and warm in the daytime and about 45 or so at night in my area. You can find seeds that are suitable to the conditions in your area at your local nursery. Spinach, arugula, and leaf lettuce are good to start with. Usually you want to start fall crops about 4 – 6 weeks before the first frost date in your area.

Six Ways To Use Galvanized Fencing In Your Garden:

Support for vines like squash to keep them off the ground.
Permanent fencing
Support for peas and beans. They will climb up them easily. They can also support bush beans from falling over.
Permanent espalier support
Temporary fencing to keep out animals (including chickens).
Walls for compost bins to help with air circulation.

Let me know if you have ever used galvanized fencing and what you did with it! Comment below.

Mason Bee Harvest 2017

by Susan | Oct 13, 2017 | LB Tutorial: Garden Critters

It is time once again to harvest the Mason Bees. One of my bee houses is full this year, the other one not so much. I’m wondering if birds helped themselves to the cocoons before they had a chance to hatch out. Last year I harvested about 100 bees. I gave some to my sister as her Christmas gift and put the rest back in the garden. The location near the vegetable garden was full of bees but the one by the apple tree was mostly empty. That is not to say there was no pollination. My apple trees were amazing this year. Here are the things I observed this year. Mason Bees will live in the bee houses but also in the ground. There is a sandy area by one of the vegetable beds that had many bees going in and out of all season long. They had created their own little colony in the ground. Remember these are Mason Bees so they don’t sting and aren’t aggressive. If you see yellow and black wasps these are not mason bees. Those would be not good to have in a ground nest as they do sting and are aggressive.

My first ever leaf cutter bees. (Megachilidae) I found bees going in the ground by the fountain pulling bits of leaves in with them. This was during July and August. Mason bees are going dormant by then and leaf cutter bees take over. You can purchase leaf cutter bees by mail order or in the nursery to help pollination continue throughout the year.

When I opened up my mason bee tubes I also found some little larvae in with them. They had pollen with them (the food for hatchlings). They are actually leaf cutter bees that have used the mason bee house for a home instead of making one out of leaves. I did not find these bees in the house last year and probably would have thought that they were not supposed to be there.

Cleaning the Cocoons:

Separate the tubes either by splitting the bamboo or unwrapping the paper tube. Carefully pull the cocoons from the tube and put on paper towel.

Prepare a solution of water with bleach. I use 1 tsp of bleach per 2 gallons of water.

Drop the cocoons in the water and swish around gently for several minutes. The debris will drop to the bottom and cocoons will be mostly clean. If there is a little pollen (yellow dust) on them I don’t worry about it. Rinse twice in clean water with about 5 minutes of washing time.

Spread on a paper towel to dry. Pack into a plastic tray with paper towel under the babies. Mist gently with water and poke some holes in the tray for air circulation. AS they rest in the refrigerator over the winter (or consistently cool 45 degrees) or shed outside. Mist them occasionally so they don’t dry out.

It is a privilege to share the word about bees that are so important for pollination. Remember: Native bees are 100 times more effective at pollination than honey bees. This makes a big difference in the production of the food we all eat. Be sure to catch up on our Mason Bee journey by clicking on the blog posts below.

Dear Lazy Gardener, It’s Okay…

by Susan | Nov 17, 2017 | gardening, LB Tutorial: Garden Critters | 0 Comments

Blowing, raining, storm after storm. Finally, the ground is showing signs of recovering from this summer’s drought. The fall leaves have been spectacular this year. Beautiful colors because we had a good rain followed by cold temperatures. The garden beds...

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Mason Bee Harvest 2017

by Susan | Oct 13, 2017 | LB Tutorial: Garden Critters | 0 Comments

It is time once again to harvest the Mason Bees. One of my bee houses is full this year, the other one not so much. I’m wondering if birds helped themselves to the cocoons before they had a chance to hatch out. Last year I harvested about 100 bees. I gave...

Mason Bee Harvest: 2016

by Susan | Oct 21, 2016 | LB Tutorial: Garden Critters | 0 Comments

This has been a good year for my mason bees and they were fabulous in my garden. The apple trees were loaded with fruit and the veg garden did well. Now It is time to harvest the bees again this year. One of things I did different this year was to use cardboard tubes...

Vegetable Harvesting

by Susan | Sep 29, 2017 | LB Tutorial: Growing Food

As the harvesting duties start to pile up I needed an easy way to clean vegetables before bringing them into the house for processing. Cleaning dirt out of the kitchen sink is never fun and after trying to hold the hose and the vegetables at the same time I figured there must be a better way… I found an old metal washtub on legs at the local secondhand store. But just sloshing them around inside didn’t make sense because they didn’t get really clean.

After searching around I found a couple of things to make it easier. First, using a plastic plant tray to harvest helped to sift out the dirt back into the beds before taking them to the wash basin. Keeping the soil in the beds is a good thing since it took so long to get that lovely soil to be lovely soil.

Second, using a board across the top ½ of the basin gave me a shelf to set the harvest on while I work and a place to sit while it dries out. You can also use the tray to keep vegs from shifting in the standing water. A hose on spray will knock most of the dirt into the water while a soft vegetable scrub brush might be needed to get the root veg really clean. Some Vegs do not like to be totally dried off before storage including, leafy things, some cucumbers, and kale. As soon as they are mostly dry (don’t leave them out for days) store them as they would normally be stored.

I store leafy greens and kale in clean plastic bags slightly moist. Cucumbers like to be slightly moist and carrots, leeks and beets humid but dry. Hang the onions and garlic to dry or store in baskets. Tomatoes, eat or process when you can refrigerate until used. I also dry my hot peppers, basil, thyme and dill by hanging them in bundles inside the greenhouse (unheated and not humid yet) or in the house.

Remember to use your water wisely. Collect the dirty water into buckets or watering can to be added back into the garden. Don’t let it just run onto the ground. How are you processing your harvest this year? Be sure to share back any ideas you have had for making harvesting easier. Happy Vegetables make Happy Bodies!