by plantswomandesign | Jun 19, 2013 | gardening
Welcome back gardeners! Today we tackle the fear of planting. We all know the plant hoarder. This person goes to the nursery, (or neighbor, brother, mother) and brings home a plant and another and another and so on. Soon the driveway is covered in black pots and the edges of the garage have things tucked around the corner. All these plants are ‘heeled in’ because their owner can’t commit to where to put them. I once dug a Japanese maple out of a front bed of a condo. It had been in the pot for 5 years…a small 2 gallon wooden pot. The root had grown out of the pot and under the drive way (the septic was over there). The pot was wrapped around the trunk like a tight waistband and the plant had grown sideways trying to stay upright. Unbelievably it survived the surgery required to release it into the garden and was given to a home that took many other sad unhappy plants. If you don’t look to closely it looks great. It responded well to water, manure and mulch, oh, and soil.
OK so plant it!
1. Plants can be moved. Those little babies are not meant to be permanently in nursery pots. sometimes just sticking it in the ground where it can grow will give you the inspiration you need to put it in a permanent place. It looks different in the ground believe me.
2. You can learn a lot from your plant choices. It is amazing when I see 20 kinds of Hosta and I say “I guess you like Hostas?” The answer I guess so. Pay attention to your plant choices and it will direct you to the proper planting space.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask for professional help in this area also. Many people ask at the nursery. They give vague or detailed descriptions of a area to get advice about what plant to buy. It is REALLY hard to do this without visiting the site. A garden designer knows what questions to ask (what kind of sun, when, how long, etc.) By looking at the site a professional can really help find the perfect spot to put that treasure.
4. Don’t get sucked into media that shows us new plants and fads. It is not always the plant for you. Just like the new colored skinny jeans… not everyone can or should wear them. Plant what you like and what appeals to you.
5. Most of the time I see one of each kind of plant. If you really like a plant think about adding three or more. I leave the one of a kind for a central focal point in a bed and plant companions around them to create a foil for them to shine. A bed looks much better if it is filled out right away. The weeding and upkeep is easier because the new ‘sweep’ of plants is filing the space that can be a weed problem. Sometimes I see a person with a slow growing plant by nature waiting for it to fill in when it may be 5 to 7 years before it can accomplish that.
I will confess I do have quite a few plants sitting around not planted. Usually I make myself set aside a time to plant at least once a month. I don’t plan anything else, don’t prune, don’t weed. don’t rake, just plant. My garden is full and mature and sometimes I do have to dig out a plant to plant a new one and sometimes the wander around the garden with a pot in hand trying to find the right spot… it can take a while. The upside is after the black pots are gone there is no reason not to buy more!
Here are some great examples of how planting in multiples is helpful for filling out a garden space.
Stay tuned for tomorrow when we explore growing our own food!
by plantswomandesign | Jun 19, 2013 | gardening
Next in our series is the ‘organic’, native gardener. They love to garden however they don’t use any artificial fertilizers, pest killers, weed killers. They also don’t use manure, compost, water or a hand weeder. They understand that organic gardening is difficult, slow, and you don’t get the best results but they are committed to gardening that way (and enjoy letting everyone know how hard it is). They like to use natives whenever possible because that is what grows best in the Pacific Northwest but they don’t really notice the conditions that ferns, salal, and mahonia like best. Instead they follow the example of many city municipalities and plant them in the full sun or put a Western Red cedar 5 feet from their front door never thinking about the ones in the back yard that are 100 feet tall. It looks so cute when it is small (see Gardens Gone Wild for results of that).
Help!. I want to be organic but don’t know how.
1. Decide why and how organic you want to be. Dyed in the wool organic gardeners are often that way after they have control over their piece of earth. Sometimes it takes lots of digging out and renovation to create an organic garden space. If you have invasive weeds it may be so frustrating you will give up. Start in an area that has a good base to start from, or create a manageable smaller area to start with. As you get into it you will learn (that’s a good thing), and expand on it.
2. Be sure and use all the sources you can to get good plant growth. This includes water, manure, vegetable based fertilizers, compost, and mulching. If you have happy plants you will be happy. Follow clean gardening practices by cleaning tools and preventing contamination from non-organic things.
3. Think about organic pest control. No I don’t mean a pellet gun. Introducing ladybugs, nemotodes, and praying manthis into the garden help. Sticky traps for aphids, and beer traps for slugs will also do the trick. Deer fencing, and bird netting help keep larger plant predators away.
4. Ask, Ask, Ask. It is amazing what other people know and have overcome. People don’t know that a farmer controls thistle by cutting it off before it goes to flower and it will die. Solutions can be found in many books and on line but getting to know other gardeners has other far reaching benefits.
5. Natives should be put into native situations. Look at nature and see where the plant grows naturally. If you drive along a highway where the timber has just been cut out you will see lots of struggling plants Vine maples exposed for the first time to direct sun, crisp and prematurely red, ferns brown and curling are examples of wrong plant wrong place.
Now I realize there are gardeners that garden with natives but are not organic, and organic gardeners that don’t use exclusively natives. I know many that want to be as ‘green’ as possible and contribute to the world around them by careful gardening practices and these two things go hand in hand.
by plantswomandesign | Jun 17, 2013 | gardening
Welcome to our first installment of our “Fear of Gardening” series. Today we tackle the out of control garden. Imagine with me a moment… You’ve just purchased your dream home. When you looked at it the first, second and third times the garden was well maintained and beautiful. But after waiting for weeks to close the once well maintained garden is now a crazy huge mess that seems about to swallow up your new home with you in it.
So, what do you do???
Unfortunately many folks rush to get the biggest pruning implement they can find and start hacking away at the over growth. After all smaller is better… right? Experienced gardeners know that plants can’t read. The plant doesn’t know the tag says 6-8 feet and they really like the water or drain field they are planted next to and decide they want to be 18 feet tall. The inexperienced gardener may complain that it ‘got to big’ or it’s too close to the foundation/car/fence/roof/neighbor, etc…
Here are a few things I suggest for that new plant / garden owner:
1. Live with it for a while, explore your new place and the plants that live there. They were abandoned and need a little understanding.
2. Educate yourself and learn about the plants you’ve inherited. There are great resources on-line (Daves Garden, Monrovia and a plant finder) and at your local nursery. Many professionals are really plant nerds at heart and love to see what you have.
3. Think about moving the plants that are out of control or too close to the house. Usually waiting until your plant’s dormant season will improve your success rate.
4. There are great pruning books DK Pruning and Training is one of my favorites. It helps you understand how to prune almost anything. You can also pick up Cass Turnbulls book for a great education and a laugh at the same time. She is a local and knows a lot about good and BAD pruning.
5. Be wiling to part with the previous owner’s style/mistakes. My rule of thumb – If you don’t love it and it is just taking up space, get rid of it. It can be expensive and take a lot of love, time, effort and nurturing to move a plant. If it only cost $ 5.99 in the first place why not start over with something you love.
Take a look at these gardens that are lush but under control and come back tomorrow as we face some of the issues of going “au natural”.
by plantswomandesign | Jun 14, 2013 | gardening
I’ve been a garden designer for 15 years. I have met people in many different situations and many different locations. I am often called upon to help people with already installed gardens that are ‘out of control’, or gardens that refuse to grow at all (water helps) and sometimes gardens that are still in the black nursery pots (for 3 years) that have never been set free into the soil. My diagnosis…
It happens to the best of us, even professionals have things they ‘fear’ in the garden. I can’t really complain though, it does keep me in business after all. I am usually able to help these gardening hopefuls by explaining some of the basics of gardening, helping them get things under control and organized and finding locations for most of the plants that are still alive in those pots. One of my favorite things is when the client becomes a gardener. I don’t mean the one who does a career change but someone who pokes at the soil and looks for results, one who enjoys the smell of earth warming in the spring, who will stand holding a hose until it is dark and shouts ‘I see green’ when the first lettuce pushes through the soil. I believe in connecting with the earth. It is really important that everyone gets a chance to go outside and smell, see, and feel growing things. It doesn’t have to be perfect but it should speak to you. One of best stress relievers in the world is being able to get out into your own back yard, deck or porch and be embraced by the life living out there.
One of my joys is to help ‘make a gardener out of you’. Whether you have a small patch of earth or acres to play with there is gardening to be done and you can do it!
Over the next few weeks we will be conquering our fears of…
Gardens Gone Wild
Going “Au Natural”
Fear of Commitment
Growing Food
I will post a few pictures of gardens I’ve helped create to inspire ideas and offer encouragement as we head down this gardening path
Are you ready? Let’s go!
by plantswomandesign | Jun 1, 2013 | garden travel, gardening
Hello friends! I find myself in Boston this weekend. It’s hot! Unusual for this time of year but that won’t keep me from exploring what gardens this historic east coast city has to offer. Wandering thought the Arnold Arboretum definitely needed to be followed by refreshment in the oldest pub on the east coast.
Magnolias have almost finished blooming but their huge leaves feel lush and tropical. There are several specimens that are 50 feet or more.
This lirodendron tulipfera chinensis (tulip tree ) was also very tall. I’m sure if I could have looked at it from above I would have been in awe of the hundreds of blooms. I could see a few from the ground.
An unusual lilac, syringa Xswegiflexa, reminded me of my time in England. On my way to work at Harlow Carr Botanical Garden I would pass this tree outside the back gate. I would ask the other workers and staff there about it Nobody knew the name of it or cared. If it wasn’t inside the garden gates it didn’t really matter. It acted like it wanted to be inside the gate but didn’t get invited. I always thought it was worthy because I loved the way the blossoms are drooping and softly swaying in the breeze. Most lilacs have more upright blooms that are stiff and clumping. This one is graceful and lovely.
Clematis albicoma, a low growing clumping clematis has wonderful fuzzy flowers and leaves. It is in the shrub and vine section of the garden. The vines all have metal trellis that are free standing. You get a chance to see the vines up close and personal without looking above your head the whole time. (brilliant). The actinidia polygama (silver vine) below is a version of the kiwi vine I haven’t seen before. The actinidia kolomitka is the one I have seen more and it has pink on the tips. I love this one because of just the contrast in the silver and green.
The Arnold Arboretum is worth a visit. It is a beautiful oasis in the middle of the bustling (loud) city of Boston. It is the oldest public arboretum and one of the most prestigious places for the study of plants. Harvard university runs it and in this town Harvard seems to have its hand in everything.
by plantswomandesign | Apr 22, 2013 | gardening, plants
Ok … So I’m not done. As I was finishing up the last blog I discovered more little treasures in my garden. I have to admit they call to me… Little tulips, little iris, small anemones. In just a few weeks they will be covered by the Gunnera (it covers a lot of plants), out of bloom and forgotten until next spring.
Iris henryii is a tiny iris only 8 inches high. The leaves look like fine grass and the sweet yellow and white flowers shine through a cloudy spring day. Next to it is Anemonella ‘green dragon’. Small bright green leaves and bright green flowers softly glowing. This little gem has soft green leaves that look like aquilegia leaves.
It is underneath a ‘Lion’s Head’ Japanese Maple that is coming into leaf at the same time.
I have several little anenomes growing in the garden. I’m not a big fan of the fall blooming japanese anemones because they spread everywhere. I do like the small ones growing under small trees. This little gem is a double fringed blossom with a blue eye.
It is anemone nemerosa ‘Blue Eyes’. It has a slightly bigger flower than many of the other anemone nemerosa.
Two tiny tulips are also blooming now. One of them the little red,white, and lilac one is just new this year. The bulbs (2) I planted last year are doing well and starting to multiply. Tulip clusiana ‘cynthia’ will soon multiply like the Tulip batalinii in the next picture. This was only 3 small bulbs 4 years ago. It is planted in a rocky soil next to the rock steps on the japanese garden pathway. Happy to bloom where it is planted.
I’m hoping to get mulch down in the garden this week. We have had a lot of rain (not surprising in Seattle area) . I’m constantly looking for the right mulch. I may be leaning towards washed cow manure this year.
I’m excited to take a journey down the primrose path next week. I think of how many pathways we have in our lives and choices we make to go or stay, to follow or to turn back. Sometimes our greatest challenge is really our greatest triumph waiting around the bend. Choosing the path is important but choosing to move is key. Standing, afraid or unable to decide, will make you miss the journey. Until next time
by plantswomandesign | Apr 12, 2013 | gardening, plants
Thanks for the responses on my last posts. Congratulations to Whitney who received the gift card, here are the answers (in no particular order)!
I love these little treasures in the garden. I used to avoid anything I had to get down close to the ground to see, BUT I have grown to appreciate the small things too. When you get close you can smell the earth warming in early spring. Sometimes you see the stirring of insects and see other plants starting to push through that will come to the foreground later in the year.
This little treasure , Hacquetica epipactis, is so sweet growing under a small Japanese Maple. It’s green flowers, leaves, and stems are the essence of spring.
This is a small tree, Camellia transarisanensis. A lovely evergreen Camellia with light branching and small white flowers with slight pink buds. It grows to 6-8 ft in time and is happy in sun to half shade.
This is Ranunculus ficara. The Ranunculus we love instead of the invasive buttercup (Ranunculus repens). It’s bright yellow flowers are amazing with the purple foliage underneath. Flowers close at night but open again when the sun comes out.
This one is a Polypodium ‘spotty dotty’. I once coveted this plant so bad that a gardener friend let me dig out a portion and bring it home. I have since found it at Dragonfly Farms Nursery but still have my bit happily growing in my garden.
And here is an extra for you… I love being out and about and meeting with new customers. This is a picture from a parking strip near a very old house in Seattle. These little white flowers have probably been growing in the crook of this old mossy tree for many years. Even though I don’t know exactly what it is I love that it is happy to just be and provide someone who looks closely a little bit of spring. I think about the gardener who planted it and wonder if they know it still brings joy.
Well friends, that about wraps it up today. What are you finding when you look closer to the ground this spring?
by plantswomandesign | Mar 29, 2013 | gardening
An editor is a great thing. That person is an expert at taking miscellaneous ramblings and making sense of them. They keep thoughts in line and get rid of crazy notions that have no bearing on the actual text.
In many ways the garden designer has the same job. That person corrals and sorts lots of plant purchases (some times impulse buys), and puts them in order. She can add more of the same, or relegate it to a —–neighbor, friend, or enemy. She can figure out contrasts or similarities in color, shape or growth conditions. She may move your lavender away from your hosta ( a good thing), and place all the different types of hosta together so you can appreciate their differences. That great bouganvillia that doesn’t really go with anything else in your garden can have a place of importance by a warm south wall or go in the greenhouse to come out into a container in the summer to say ‘Wow’!
I go into my garden at different times of the year and edit.
I tried a tasmanian tree fern (dicksonia antarctica) for the 4th time only to throw away the stump again. ( I should have a grave yard for the darling little things with the date of demise on a stake above their remains). I wonder why I took that Lamium galeobdolon variegata from a customer that loved it then found it quite out of control at another site. Many people were wondering how to control it, kill it, and even annihilate it from the planet. I immediately went back and dug out every piece of it just to find it coming up again and again. I like to try different combinations in my garden and try out new plants to see if they are ‘client worthy’. Only great things make it into my plant palette for my clients.
This week I went around my garden to look for ‘edits’. I was excited to see the progress of some of my more unusual plants. I thought it might be fun to see if my readers might know what they are. Since I’m a little bit of a plant nerd so they might not be easy to identify. Let’s see what you think and if my editor doesn’t edit it out we will give a Starbucks card to the first person to get all three of them right.
Ready, set… Go!
Photo one growing in the shade of a Cryptomeria elegans. ( I know, I couldn’t resist a hint.)
Photo Two Just emerging in a shady place.
Photo three. Green flowers, green leaves, yellow centers. What could be better?
Photo Four. A sweet small tree about 6 feet high right now.
Ok …. so there is four. Couldn’t help myself. Leave a comment below with your answers and I will announce the winner next week. Good luck!
