That Picture Perfect Garden
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- Carol Wallace
- mica
- Chola
- Carol Wallace
- Carol Wallace
- mica
- Carol Wallace
- Chola
- Carol Wallace
- Cottage_Garden
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» Carol Wallace - I didn't even think about that!
I always remember the nicotiana, but for some reason the poppies, borage and other annuals that reseed (not to mention my Gaura - it reseeds like MAD) never seem to figure into the plan. Then when that day comes when things look all choked, all these things are in glorious flower, and even though I KNOW things would look better without them - I just can't pull them up!-- posted by Carol Wallace
» mica - Garden journal
I have the same problem in midsummer. My non-gardening friends are blown away by the number of flowers, so I've fooled them into thinking my garden is fabulous. But I'd be scared to allow anyone with real plant sense into my garden... they'd see it for the mess it really is!! Oh well....Anyways, my approach to fixing it is to keep a garden journal. It's not really fancy; it's just a notebook where I write myself reminders of what I should do sometime. My journal has notes like: 'Throw out ugly veronica'.... or 'move asters to blue garden'... or, in big letters, "TOO CROWDED!!"
The other thing I do is label my disappearing perennials and bulbs with those fancy metal labels from Lee Valley Tools. Somebody made fun of me and said that my garden looked like a botanical garden, but after decapitating one too many lily bulbs, I learned my lesson.
The other thing I try to do is to visit great display gardens right at the beginning of the growing season. I tend to put my plants WAY too close together; seeing how they do it reminds me how mine should be looking.
In spring I'm so excited to see anything growing, that I almost can't bear to throw anything out. My journal helps me to remember which plants I didn't really like that much anyway.
-- posted by mica
» Chola - Question on soil improvement. Zone 4, Ontario, Canada
Hi: Would you please help me improving tthe soil in my cottage up North? The top soil in the front of the cottage was removed (my guess is that someone needed it to backfill his/her property). Now we are trying to have a flower garden there and find it very costly to buy top soil. Do you have any ideas? I have been told that I could use a mizture of newspaper (ripped), top soil, shredded leaves and cut grass in the area. Any other ideas to improve the soil? What I have been doing is selecting small areas and working on that particular spot. It was worked so far but would like to do more. Please help as I am on a tight budget. Thank you very much.-- posted by Chola
» Carol Wallace - I've tried that, mica
And you're right - the notes (and I even draw little maps when I remember) are invaluable. So many things starting out of the ground in spring can be anything that it helps to have notes and reminders. And this year I do have several plants slated for demolition - they just don't do anything for me, and I'd rather either make the room for something else - or maybe just make room! Actually, my plan (and we'll see if I actually do it!) is to take everything out of my main raised bed garden, compost the boring stuff and then replant everything else - this time properly spaced. That way I can at least start out the season with some promise of success.But then, I'm bound to see something at the nursery that is just too intriguing to pass up - and it always looks so small and innocent in its little pot - and in it goes - and here we go again!
Visiting "proper" gardens is a good idea. In fact, it reminds me of the one time my husband went with me to see a nice display garden. On the way home he looked at me, somewhat confused, remarking "They had DIRT showing between their plants."
I need to remember that it's ok to see dirt!
-- posted by Carol Wallace
» Carol Wallace - Hi Maria,
I've seen you in the Scribbles! Now welcome to Virtually Gardening.You mean that all of your top soil was removed and you're down to bare subsoil! That's a crime. But I think we can help.
The suggestion about using newspapers and mulch is a good one - although it may be a bit late now for this year. I usually do this in the fall for springplanting. Only I don't shred the newspaper - I lay it downover the ground several sheets thick, making sure there is no overlap between sheets. This helps to suppress the weeds, and the newspaper will eventually biodegrade and turn into earth. You can cover this with several inches of shredded leaves, compost, manure, straw - anything compostable - and just leave it over the winter. By spring it will have begun to break down into lovely compost, prefect for planting. If you continue to mulch with the shredded leaves every fall eventually you will have really lovely soil.
But this is spring, and you want to plant NOW, I assume. I'll tell you about one garden I made - and many people may tell you that this is pure folly, but it worked. I used the newspaper, and then piled shredded bark about a foot high over it. Now, as shredded bark decomposes, it uses up notrogen, so it would be folly to plant in it without doing something about this. So I also added liberal sprinklings of dried blood, which is high nitrogen, as well as mixing alfalfa pellets in with the bark. And then I planted. Everything came up beautifully, and by now, two years later, the whole thing has turned into a daylily bed with really nice soil.
Do you have access to a chipper/shredder? We keep ours going all summer, shredding plants that I deadhead, falling limbs, and leaves. This makes great mulch, and because itis shredded it decomposes quickly. My husband usually tosses in a bag of alfalfa pellets and a bag of milorganite to give it some nutrition value for the plants right off the bat.
Here is one article by Tom Clothier about Making your own Soil. You might also want to look at our Gardening in Ireland editor's account of creating a scree bed where he planted directly in shredded leaves over a mound of gravel - two wayf of gardening without buying a ton of topsoil.
-- posted by Carol Wallace
» Carol Wallace - Nerve
Well, shall I confess that I'm not actually uprooting EVERYTHING??The David Austin roses and the red-twigged dogwoods are fine where they are. So are the two Miscanthus gracillimus 'Morning Lights' - no need to disturb them unless they are truly in the way fo something that needs to come up. The Japanese maple in the center is also safe from my shovel. But everything else is slated to go up and out - and some to go back.
I usually don't think about doing thsi until spring, and then I find the excuse to wriggle out of the job - what will happen to all the nicotiana and nigella and poppies that are starting to sprout? But this year I'm going to be reckless - I have seeds from all of those, ready to go in - so I'm afraid I've run out of excuses.
-- posted by Carol Wallace
» Chola - Improving soil. Zone 4
Thank you very much Carol. Your suggestions are great! I will try a smaller site this spring and in the fall, will prepare the rest for next year. I did want to plant Lillies, Asiatic and Oriental. Day Lillies too. Love them and they are so easy and hardy. Right now I have several yellow double Lillies, dont't remember the name, which I had to plant in a big container with top soil mixed with mulch. I have them for 2 years, this will be the 3rd so probably will have to divide them. The flowers are gorgeous! and they have survived our winters and little water in the summer. Thank you again. Maria.-- posted by Chola
» Carol Wallace - Double lilies?
REAL double lilies? Or daylilies? I never much liked yellow in the garden, but I do have a pale yellow double daylily that is so gorgeous it converted me - I've begun to sneak in more soft yellows, and gradually, a few brights. But I'm not sure I've seen any double true lilies.-- posted by Carol Wallace
» Cottage_Garden - Lilies and soil for new beds
The newspaper topped by organic stuff (grass clippings, chopped leaves, aged manure and stable bedding, old shredded bark mulch, etc etc etc) has worked for me, too. But true lilies (lilium) seem to do best in the long run in a nicer soil, one that is moist but well drained and rich.I don't know what type of soil you are starting with, but it might be a good idea to have it tested so you know what it is (or isn't) lacking in addition to lousy texture.
In the meantime, collecting and adding as much organic stuff as you can get your hands on is the best thing you can do to build your soil. Piling it on top works, but forking it in or digging it in as deep as you can stand (at least 6 or 8 inches but a foot is even better) is preferable because it aerates the soil and avoids creating two separate very different soil layers without that transitional zone. Worms will mix it and move it around eventually, but digging a bit is faster. ;)
It's also free if you do it yourself. Be sure to bury or compost the sod -- don't throw it away!!!
-- posted by Cottage_Garden
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