Dirty Fingers Muddy Knees

Cold Weather With A Vengeance

by Susan | Jan 20, 2017 | gardening

Seems strange that winter technically started on December 21^st. It felt like winter before that but now it is really winter. Comparatively mild at 45-50 degrees before the solstice the temperatures have dropped and stayed cold. Very seldom do we get to see temperatures in the teens. It has been as low as 19 degrees in the garden here and the sustained cold has not reached above 35 degrees for several days and even weeks.

Of course, I had prepared for the regular cold here in the pacific northwest where it occasionally gets to 32 degrees. Zone 8 plants usually OK with some frost damage but this year it has been a lot more challenging.

cold weather plantswoman design red banana

Red bananas in the upper greenhouse are not happy because it has been freezing in there for over a week. Usually just a cover and protection from serious frost is enough to keep them alive. This year, in anticipation of a mild winter forecast, I left one in the ground with a bubble wrap cover. It’s not looking too good right now but neither are the ones in the greenhouse.

cold weather plantswoman design tree fern

A Tasmanian tree fern in the garden was covered with a shade cloth. Strangely enough the two in the greenhouse (although its been 30 degrees for several days) look fine with green fronds and good firm trunks. Dan Hinkley lives nearby and has had good luck with just wrapping the trunks in the winter so we will see how the one in the garden does.

cold weather plantswoman design rhodie 1

cold weather plantswoman design rhodie 2

cold weather plantswoman design cold plant

After a very wet October and November it has been dry during the cold. We had couple of days of snow but not a lot of soaking rain. Here are a couple of ways to help your plants survive the cold…

Withholding water in late autumn will help prepare the plants for cold by stressing them into protection mode.
When freezing weather hits a moist soil will help protect plants by keeping them insulated.
Covering the plants that are tender with sheets or ground cover cloth will also help. Mulching with leaf mould, straw, or bark mulch is also good protection. Choose something that is light and open for insulation without being heavy which will retain too much moisture. Don’t use plastic as it will create moisture that will freeze around the plant.
Don’t cut back leaves or branches on damaged plants until the weather gets warmer. Stressed plants need to recover before pruning encourages regrowth.

I’ll keep you posted on the recovery of the plants I tried to protect this winter. What’s going on in your garden? If you have effective tips to share please do!

The Building Season

by Susan | Nov 26, 2016 | gardening

It has been warm still in the Pacific Northwest, last week still in the upper sixties and warm at night too. Two days of light frost had no effect on the garden except the tomatoes. Leaves are still on trees and things are not completely dormant yet. But Winter is coming and winter is the best time to work on the bigger projects in the garden.

My list this winter includes removing dead and dying alder trees, rebuilding the larger shed at the top of the property, and moving the big greenhouse and getting it ready for moving plants inside. The koi pond needs some re-plumbing work and a more UV filters installed to keep algae down next year. The stone is waiting to be installed on it with more stone ready to be installed on the greenhouse foundation.

Wow, that seems like a lot!

OH yeah, and get the winter Veg garden better hoops for protection, moving some plants that need more room, put in a pump to pump water out of the stream for irrigation next year, and create a new bed for screening from upper neighbors.

Looks like a busy winter.

This week I had 6 trees downed next to the driveway. They were mostly dead with very little branching left and few leaves. After every windstorm the ground was littered with debris and big limbs. The stream runs through this area and was constantly clogged with debris. It is much more open now and ready for some trees. A craving for Katsura trees was satisfied this year in the upper pond garden but the craving for an October Glory Maple could be satisfied here. Look for an upcoming post on trees.

Inside projects include a new mosaic water dish for birds, labels for new plants that went in this year with only nursery tags. These usually get lost quickly in my garden so I use a galvanized metal tag in the ground with a plastic tape on it from a label maker. Both the botanical and common name go on it along with date of planting and nursery where it was purchased. Many times when writing a blog post, taking pictures, or looking for a specific plant for a customer the tag is so vital. Even though I have a garden journal that has all the same information it is by date so I have to remember when I planted it in to narrow down the many pages to find the information.

Mulch is also needed in several areas to combat weeds. This is the best time to do a big garden clean up, weeding and mulching for the year. Some plants will need extra protection that mulch can help with. Agapanthus, crinum, and leonitis are such plants in my garden.

What do you have on your winter projects list?

2016 Gardener’s Wish List

by Susan | Nov 19, 2016 | gardening

Yep already it is that time of year. Gardeners like me are still running out and working in the garden when we can. We are planning for the spring, looking at seed catalogs, and wondering what changes we are going to make next year. Help a gardener out this year with these great gift ideas.

Sometimes we find that one great book to help plan our edibles for next year. A great book for our area is the ‘Growing vegetables West of the Cascades’. This is a comprehensive book that gives suggestions for growing our cool, wet climate, and shade. We don’t always have the most opportune growing conditions and this book helps with great suggestions for growing plants well.

A fun way to spend the winter is working on garden art. I have so many plans for my garden. Often in the gardening year, when things are growing like crazy and tasks in the garden are piling on, I just have time to keep up with the everyday tasks. In the winter, though, when things are dormant in the garden, there is a chance to work on things that aren’t growing but make the garden beautiful. Inside and out there are chances to create great hardscape in the garden. Mosaic Garden Projects is a book that gives great ideas for embellishing your existing features as well as creating new ones.

While shopping at my local nursery Bainbridge Gardens, I found these great earrings. I tried them on and they are so very fun. I also think they would make great Christmas tree ornaments. Can’t you just see them hanging on a little Christmas tree? Fun stuff! Air plants need some good moisture 2 – 3 times a week. The first time I had one I never watered it thinking it was an ‘air plant’. It did not survive. Yep, turns out it really did need water too. So, if you get these, don’t forget to water your earrings.

Fun in the garden can come inside with some great garden sayings. Great quotes from gardeners, poets, and writers remind you why you do it. This great sign from Ravenna Gardens reminds me why I garden in my pajamas before breakfast.

Of course the gift list wouldn’t be complete without plants and I have two suggestions for you. Experienced gardeners will enjoy a little bonsai plant. Fun to experiment with and learn to grow, it can inspire gardeners to try something new. They grow outside but can be enjoyed indoors when blooming or fruiting. Then put them back outside for the rest of the year. They are easy to grow in sheltered area outside with water. For the bonsai lover there are many tools and books that can be given with the new plant.

New gardeners, or people you want to share the love of gardening with can start out with a grow pot from Urban Agriculture. These stylish pots can grow herbs, flowers, and vegetables inside on a window sill. They can be grow almost all year inside, or brought out in the spring to be in the garden. Few things are more magical than planting a seed and seeing it grow for the first time.

Share the magic or grow your own.

Am I behind?

by Susan | Sep 2, 2016 | gardening, plants

Sometimes you keep waiting for a moment to cut back, weed, move, etc. Then all the sudden it is too late. What to do? Should I just leave it or should I cut it back and just deal with the consequences? It is always a dilemma in gardening.

This year it has been the Lavender. It has needed to be cut back. Don’t get me wrong, it was pretty with bees everywhere, looking pretty good but just like a good haircut one day you wake up and it needs cut. This week was the time however, lavender can die if cut back too severely at this time of year. A Mediterranean plant like lavender needs to have a good root system, dry soil and the chance to go dormant before a wet winter hits. If they are pruned back too hard they will start to push out new growth extending their growth period while delaying their dormancy. Usually lavender should be cut back after the first full flowering, about end of June/July. If you keep the plant trimmed back tightly each year they will reward you with good shape, good flowers and a hardy long lived plant. If you don’t keep it cut back it can get woody, separate, and break off. Bad pruning will eventually cause your lavender to be ugly and short lived.

You can see this lavender has been tidy in the past. This time of year I only prune off the flowers and the top layer foliage. This is not the time to cut into the wood of the plant. I love saving the flowers to dry and use through out my home while the rest of the foliage and stems are tossed into the compost. The benches in the greenhouse are perfect for drying out the lavender flowers for use all over the house.

It is better to cut lavender back gently at this time of year rather than letting it get too out of control. The bad weather and snow can cause the plants to split out and have a hard time recovering during the spring.

Raised Bed Gardening

by Susan | Apr 1, 2016 | gardening, LB Tutorial: Growing Food

As I wait for the seeds to arrive it’s time to start working on my garden beds. I choose to use raised bed gardening for my vegetable beds and have helped many customers to do the same.

Raised bed gardening has several advantages. They give a greater depth of soil (which results in better roots), improve drainage, and the soil is quicker to warm up in the Spring. The beds don’t require tilling or double digging to improve the soil. In fact the more you stay off of them and don’t compact the soil the better it is.

I’ve made raised beds out of galvanized tubs, cedar, concrete, and stone. All of these bring the garden up to a level that it is easy to work in. My method is open box wood built with leftover planks from a long ago garden show. The grass was removed and boxes built and put in place. Some people just leave the grass and pile soil on top but I feel the breakdown of possibility of grass and weeds coming through is not worth the chance.

Here are some tips to get your raised bed garden ready for the spring.

Remove any old plants and weeds out of the beds. I have some broccoli and leeks left in the garden from last year. Now it is time to remove them and create space for the next planting. There are some weeds that seem to return every year and now is the time to get the jump on them. I leave the onions and garlic that I planted last fall alone except to add some bone meal to the sides to give them a little boost. Living with a zone 7 garden the ground is not frozen but this year it is absolutely saturated with water. When pulling the old plants from the beds I try to knock most of the soil from the roots so the soil stays in the bed. The roots and tops of the leeks go into the compost bin, the weeds into the debris pile, and the leafy bits to the chickens. Everybody is happy.

(see the notes below about how I sort my garden piles)

Check for holes and needed repairs to make sure every thing is sound for the upcoming year. There are some rodent holes in the edges of the beds so I work in some large rocks under the corners to block up holes. My chickens can also be messy in there so sorting out the soil and raking it is needed. I don’t dig into the soil at all right now for two reasons. First, the soil is too saturated with water and digging through it will break down the structure of the soil. Second, resting the soil and adding amendments on top create good worm action.

Add mushroom compost to the top of the beds. During the gardening year the beds can lose soil from harvesting. Topping up the beds with mushroom compost creates a perfect bed for new seedlings. Usually the compost from the bin is saved for the non-vegetable beds. The ornamental beds love it and if there are a few weeds left in the compost they are easily dealt with.

Garden Piles:

Compost

gets vegetable leftovers, leaves, cuttings, and prunings. It also gets the clean out of the chicken coop including the white pine chips and manure. Newspaper and cardboard too.

Debris

gets weeds, clumps of grass, cedar branches, any invasive plants like lamium, horsetail, or bamboo.

Woody

gets bamboo stakes, left over wood from projects, larger branches from fallen trees or wind damage

Looking for some raised bed inspiration?

Green is the Color of Spring

by Susan | Mar 18, 2016 | gardening

While I wait for the seeds I ordered to arrive, while I wait for bulbs I planted to come up, while I wait for it to quit raining so I can start working the soil, I can enjoy the colors of green.

It has been an incredibly rainy spring so far. Yes, you say it always rains in the Pacific Northwest, but we have been keeping our dryer springs a secret. I guess it wasn’t a secret last year when the cry of ‘drought’ even reached our corner of the U.S. This year, not a worry in the world. The snow pack in the mountains is a 125% of normal and still climbing. We can feel it down in the lowlands even if we can’t see it. That is because the cloud cover has been low and wet. We know the peaks are there white and beautiful, but we only get to see them if we tweet, facebook, or text all our friends when a sighting occurs.

So while we wait the plants don’t. The herbaceous greens are pushing out and the warmth of the winter has things leafing out a little sooner. I even have hosta leaves showing along with trilliums. I thought I would share the brilliant green colors in my garden right now. You should picture me with a camera in my hand, waterproof boots, down vest under a raincoat and hood covering my head. Wait a minute, that has been my attire since January. That is the wardrobe of spring this year.

Even the dog is waiting for it to stop raining.

Trillium

Anemone

Hydrangea ‘Lemon Daddy’

Pulmonia ‘Dark Vader’

Day lily ‘golden zebra’ (hemerocallis)

Frittilaria

Aquilegia ‘Leprechan Gold’

Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’

Dactylorhiza maculata

Spotty Dotty

Podophyllum pleianthum

Silver Frost Garden Art

by Susan | Jan 8, 2016 | gardening

Winter solstice is an amazing day. This is the shortest day of the year and here in the Pacific Northwest it is really short. The day starts at 7:55 am and finishes at 4:20. The eight hours and 26 minutes seems shorter still if it is cloudy and the sunrise and sunset are not seen. In comparison on June 10^th the day was 7hrs and 34 minutes more. As we start the new year I can already feel that the difference. There are feelings of antsy frustration of short days and long nights. I am often pacing in front of the window waiting for the sun to rise so I can go outside. But there is also a feeling of hope. The stretch of beautiful cold weather has lifted my spirits and helped to lift the weight of dark days. The moisture in the air has created a thick frost that builds up day after day. In areas where the sun doesn’t reach it creates a silver sparkled world.

A wander through the garden was an absolute must. While looking for signs of spring I had the chance to observe frost coating on leaves. Even ordinary grass and fallen leaves are turned into beautiful sculptures.

Observation and stillness are needed in the winter garden. Birds take over and can be seen taking seed heads, grubs and sidling up to the bird feeder. Conifers, evergreen ferns, and broad leaved evergreens create the bones of the garden. Even in the cold buds of Camellias are swelling, tips of bulbs are pushing, and hellebores are beginning to lift their heads. Back in the house, warming up again, I start to plan.

One of the best things about the winter garden is there isn’t much to be done. I see the trees that will need pruned next month but the ground is frozen so I can’t dig, even weeds are wedged tightly in the soil. Usually my enjoyment of the garden is lessened by the work that needs to be done. In the winter I can just observe and enjoy.

November Gardening

by Susan | Nov 20, 2015 | gardening

Extreme weather is starting to be the no around here! What a blustery rainy way to finish the year. It is good to see snow in the mountains and the rivers rushing through the woods. This is a time to remember, with thankfulness, the bounty of the summer and share a meal, drink or fireplace with friends.

Vegetable Garden

Still harvesting kale, leeks, beets, parsnips, carrots and lots of broccoli from the garden. I tucked some horticultural fleece around the lettuce and spinach. Even a little frost hasn’t really hurt them. Purple Brussels sprouts are very cool looking.

The rest of the garden has been cleaned up and dead plants have been added to the compost pile. A weed through of all the beds and compost on the top will help to winterize the beds. You mainly want to keep the soil working and not washing away. The layer of compost protects the soil.

Ornamental Beds

Now is the time to clear away broken branches, dead leaves, and plants that have crashed into dormancy. The most recent consensus is that most gardeners leave the seed heads in the beds until the spring. In the early spring they will need to be cut back, disposed of and mulch added to the beds. I’m a little compulsive about the beds and have a tenancy to clean up and add compost now. I like to be sure that weeds aren’t hiding under the leaves and broken stalks. Weeds are one thing that will continue to grow and spread in the winter. I always leave the grasses up for the birds and enjoy the color of the dry stalks against the low winter sun. They are simply amazing.

Planning, Planning, Planning

Take some time to look back through your notes, take a walk in the garden and compare what your garden looks like now and what you want it to look like. This is a great time to say what you loved about the garden and what you didn’t.

My neighbor is taking out trees now. She has decided that they were getting too big for the space and shading out some more desirable things. Garden editing is just one of the fun things about gardening. A chance to change things and move things now is great and a chance to plan for the changes next spring is also important.

I keep a garden journal to keep track of when and where I planted things. I make notes about varieties, when I got them, and how they are doing. Yes there are some entries that say ‘died’, ‘died again’ and ‘maybe the third time is a charm’. After 3 times I usually move on and don’t try again.

Some of the planning for next year for me consists of Northwest Flower and Garden Show in February 2016, working on a bog garden/children’s garden at my place, and expanding the fruits in the Vegetable Garden.

Coming Up on the Blog

Taking starts from non-hardy plants for overwintering.
December Favorite Plants
Gardeners Christmas List.
Gathering (usually including a kids project).
Hedgerow Planting

2015 Fall Checklist

by Susan | Sep 18, 2015 | gardening

After a terrific summer fall seems to be hitting me hard. I HATE wearing socks, putting on long sleeves and even wearing long pants again. Even though I love being a ‘Child of Winter’ (Warren Miller ski film term) I think I may also be a Child of Summer. The winds of fall are throwing branches and trees down already and the tomato crop is furiously producing fruit, almost as if it knows the time is limited.

As the season pushes through the remains of summer I start to think of the things I need to get ready to do for fall. Everybody’s list is a little different but gardening tasks never really cease, they just change.

Clean-up: Finish the last bit of weeding and mulching. If the garden is weedy at the onset of winter the weeds will remain and gather strength through the fall and winter. Just like fall planting the roots grow well in the fall and winter. Getting your areas cleaned up and weeded through will give you a head start on spring.

Mulching: I mulch with compost in the fall and spring. This year the mulch was spread most of the year through. When planting a new bed I spread mulch as the final top dressing. This means I don’t have to use much in the way of fertilizers. Healthy soil is the best way to have amazing gardens.

Compost: Speaking of compost now is the time to add to the pile. I actually have two separate piles of compost. One is weeds and invasive plants. This weed pile grows throughout the summer and is removed at the end of the year or whenever it gets large. I don’t attempt to compost weeds because I also have horsetail on my property so I want it gone. The actual compost pile is vegetables, leaves, pruning bits, and some grass. I build layers with cardboard and will use it in the spring. Many times I add a top of Black plastic to help heat it up and keep it from getting too wet (I live in a wet climate).

Pruning: Some plants need to be cut back now. Many times I wait and enjoy the shapes of the dead flowers and grasses in the winter. Birds love any seeds left on the plants and I get to enjoy their gathering. I like to wait until the first frost and clean up the flopped plants. Often our fall lasts until October or November with dahlias and cannas still in bloom.

Greenhouse: If you have a greenhouse it needs to be cleaned out and hosed out. If you have had pest problems a good cleaning with an environmentally friendly disinfectant will insure a good success for the winter. My greenhouse will overwinter tropicals and other non-hardy plants. Most of the summer it houses my orchids but remains mostly empty. I clean pots and get rid of dead plants. Glass needs to be cleaned and insulation checked.

Seeds: Collect seed from plants now for next year. As the world changes it may be vital someday to collect seed. I use non-GMO seeds so all my vegetable seeds can be collected and replanted. Look for an upcoming post on seed collecting.

Enjoy: Enjoy the beautiful season. Collect and gather leaves, nuts, seed heads and see the amazing world in your garden go dormant. Take a hike to see massive amounts of leaves in color and the freshening of the forest as the mushrooms re-emerge and mosses start to grow again.

What are you doing in your garden this fall?