by GardenLover | Oct 8, 2013 | Trendspotting
Old garden now abuzz with possibilities
Text by Michael Leach; photos by Debra Knapke and Teresa Woodard
When my neighbor John asked about putting a beehive behind my falling-down tool barn, I readily agreed. Keeping bees was on my bucket list because they are under such stress worldwide. The daily to-do list, however, usually trumps the bucket list. This was obviously a win-win deal.
I envisioned occasional jars of honey as rent, not a beekeeper’s suit and smoker. But John brought an extra white suit, complete with hood, veil and elbow-length gloves, along with the bees. When heading out to the hive, we look like a pair of hazmat techs with a wisp of white smoke trailing behind.
The bees have a safe home base in my acre-plus yard. Being overworked, plus being too lazy to keep up a spray schedule and too cheap to buy chemicals, makes me a mostly organic gardener by default. Signs of backyard eco-health are sometimes startling — a clod of dirt that hops. It’s only a toad.
More than my appearance has changed since the bees arrived. For several years garden planning focused mostly on coping with maintenance. Such is the price of allowing my passion to run wild years ago when there was more energy than insight into what I was creating. (Dr. Frankenstein no doubt suffered from a similar problem.)
From now on, when there’s time, money and gumption, landscape beds will be renovated with an eye toward flowers, whether on trees, shrubs, vines, perennials or annuals. Bees need plenty of food. For instance, a huge order of snow crocus is planned so there’ll be a treat for the bees when they emerge on those warmish days of early spring.
First they have to survive winter. John cooks up sugar-water syrup, similar to hummingbird food, to fill the hive’s feeder trays. The bees transform this into honey. When the stack of three wooden bee boxes becomes too heavy to lift, they should have sufficient honey stored for winter.
While our share of their efforts is perhaps a year away, the bees are already enriching my life. Their gentle humming is a welcome addition to the nature chorus of birds and summer insects. Plus there’s an amazing sense of interdependence that makes gardening seem vital. I grow flowers to enjoy, but now to feed bees as well. Someday they will feed me.
by GardenLover | Aug 13, 2013 | Trendspotting
By Teresa Woodard
I recently toured a 7-acre flower farm eager to photograph fields of flowers and hear the back story of the young couple that runs the urban Columbus farm but was surprised to also walk away with lessons on the economics of flower farming and many ideas that could transfer to my own backyard.
After each growing season, Steve and Gretel Adams, owners of Sunny Meadows Flower Farm, carefully evaluate their mix of flower crops. They pour over detailed logs and ask essential questions. Is it worth it to continue to battle the powdery mildew on their beloved sunflowers given the amount of land, labor and cooler space they require? Should they plant more specialty flowers like dahlias and lisianthus that command higher priced tickets? Are there ways to make the newly planted woody ornamentals more productive?
Inspired, I’ve committed to make a closer study of what’s growing in my own backyard by photographing and better recording the types of seeds and plants, planting times, bloom times, fertilizers, pest management techniques, pruning demands and weather conditions.
Call me a heart-less economist now, but look out time-sucking, resource-draining plants! If there’s no return on investment — stunning blooms, continuous flowers, beautiful foliage, sentimental ties or tasty fruits, you’re gone, especially if you’re stealing valuable real estate and resources from the star-performers in our garden.
by GardenLover | Jun 23, 2013 | Catch Us, Trendspotting
By Teresa Woodard
Lou Killilea, owner of DeMoyne’s Greenhouse in Columbus, Ohio, recently shared her clever succulent containers for a story, “Thrift Shop Chic”, in Ohio Gardener, Missouri Gardener, Indiana Gardener, Wisconsin Gardener and Pennsylvania Gardener. She and her daughter Kathy shop thrift stores for second-hand treasures to upcycle as garden containers. Check out the July/August issue to see their stylish succulents in boots, crocs, lipstick cases, handbags and more. Also, see Debra Knapke’s post about favorite succulents.
by GardenLover | Apr 10, 2013 | Trendspotting
By Debra Knapke (Abridged version of an article published in the Perennial Plant, Winter 2013, a publication of the Perennial Plant Association)
Plant Selection – We often think of this first, but it should come in much later in your planning process.
Tomato and basil
There is an overwhelming selection of food plants in an overwhelming number of catalogs. Plant what you want to eat. If you are a beginner, choose three to five fruits and vegetables and one to three cultivars, or selections, of each. As you become more experienced, expand your garden palette. The gardener with the most plants does not always win.
For the more experienced or adventurous gardener, take the next step: consider using the age-old practice of companion planting. In garden design we typically arrange plants by their physical attributes: height, width, growth rate, habit and seasonal interest. With companion planting we group plants together that support each other. For example: plant parsley with tomatoes. Why? Parsley attracts the parasitic wasp that preys on tomato and tobacco hornworms (caterpillars of sphinx moths). These hornworms eat tomato plants, the whole plant, in 1-3 days.
Currants and garlic
David Jacke, in his two volume set Edible Forest Gardens, has categorized plants by their architecture or physical attributes and their functions in the garden: N2 fixer, dynamic accumulator, wildlife attractor, nectary, shelter, breeding habitat, groundcover, and others. You may be familiar with N2 fixers – many species of the pea and bean family – and the groundcovers that go a long way in preventing weeds. You may not be as familiar with dynamic accumulators, plants that take up and store nutrients and then release them back into the soil as they decompose. Nectary plants attract the “good” bugs that eat or parasitize the “bad” bugs. This is the wisdom our grandparents knew and what we are now rediscovering.
Think of this as plant-profiling. David Jacke in Edible Forest Gardens, Vol. 2, and Robert Kouric in Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally have created lists based on plant functions that will help you decide which plants will play well with others.
Asparagus and pumpkin
One final note about plant selection – while many plants support, there are some that inhibit. Plants cannot move from their rooted place, so they have developed strategies to be successful. Consider the black walnut. It is just as well-known for its allelopathic action on the potato/tomato and rose families as it is for its tasty nuts. Have you noticed that plants, other than sunflowers, do not grow as well under birdfeeders filled with sunflower seeds? The discarded seedcoats inhibit seed germination of other plants. Antagonistic plant relationships often explain why some plants and gardens fail to thrive.
Many find the idea of creating and maintaining food gardens to be a daunting task. There is no replacement for experience, but there are many resources for the novice and expert alike. Check out your state extension office and look around your neighborhood. The closest “expert” may be your neighbor.
Jacke, D. and E. Toensmeier. 2005. Edible Forest Gardens (2 volumes). Chelsea Green Publishing Co., White River Junction, VT; Kourik, R. 1986. Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally. Metamorphic Press, Santa Rosa, CA. Republished: 2005. Chelsea Green Publishing Co., White River Junction, VT.; Soler, I. 2011. The Edible Front Yard: the Mow-less, Grow-more Plan for a Beautiful, Bountiful Garden. Timber Press, Portland OR.
by GardenLover | Mar 21, 2013 | Trendspotting
By Michael Leach
What long-lived perennial has winter flowers and boasts handsome, evergreen foliage year-round?
Hellebores of course. The modern hybrids of the flowers commonly known as Lenten and Christmas roses are anything but demure. The old-fashioned, low-growing plants bear down-facing blossoms that are hard to see. The newbies show off their pastel flowers well above the ground level and have outward-facing flowers. You can’t help but notice and admire them during the dreary winter days.
One of the best places to view a huge range of blossoms is Yew Dell Botanical Gardens near Louisville, Ky. (Please see our post on Yew Dell of May 4, 2012.) The hellebores are found mainly in The Secret Garden. They are part of a collection of more than 70 winter and spring-flowering hellebores used throughout the gardens. The show is such as success that this month’s Horticulture magazine has an article.
Along with the hellebore display, Yew Dell holds a sale from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday April 6.
by GardenLover | Mar 11, 2013 | Trendspotting
Trendspotting: Patio Fruits
By Teresa Woodard
Gardeners no longer need an orchard for fruit growing. Rather, they’re growing fruits on patios, balconies, and other small spaces.
Thanks to recent introductions in the nursery industry and some ages-old techniques, gardeners have a number of options for growing fruits in limited spaces. Check out these five ideas:
- Columnar apple trees – These trees grow straight up 8 to 10 feet with no side branches. They bear fruit their first year but require two apple or crabapple trees for pollination. Try Northpole or one of the Sentinel varieties in pots.
- Espaliered fruit trees – Fruit trees can also be “espaliered” — trained to grow vertically along a wall. This ancient pruning technique offers beauty and makes smart use of limited space. Learn more from Martha Stewart’s video or Fine Gardening’s detailed instructions.
- Dwarf Raspberry Shortcake — A new dwarf, thornless red raspberry from the BrazelBerries™
Collection has an endearing, rounded growth habit and is perfectly suited to large patio containers.
Dwarf blueberries – Loaded with antioxidants, these super-fruits prefer soil that’s more acidic (pH above 7). So for folks like me with alkaline soil, try growing blueberries in containers. Two dwarf favorites are Top Hat or the new Peach Sorbet that’s self-sterile and doesn’t need a second plant for pollination. This variety’s evergreen foliage also looks great in the landscape as it changes from green to deep purple in winter.
- Strawberries in hanging baskets – Strawberries grow well in hanging baskets as the plants naturally cascade over the edges with fruit hanging down. Try potting three or four everbearing varieties like Tristar, Mara des Bois or Ozark Beauty.
