Planning a New Landscape-Time to Refocus

Caretaker of the Home Landscape

My landscape had a major face lift this past season. When we lost four big trees, the sun/shade dynamic was clearly changed. So..... I'd like to share my thoughts on the landscape makeover, and what we are considering.

A couple of years ago, I wrote an article for the Montgomery County Master Gardeners newsletter on Permaculture.  Two Australians, Bill Mollison and David Helmgren brought to the forefront the idea  that humans need to 'mimic' relationships we find in nature.  This idea translates into 'permanent agriculture,' and perhaps an even broader philosophy of, 'permanent culture'.

Becoming aware of patterns in nature, we can apply these patterns to our landscapes and our lives.  For a species to survive and reproduce, essential needs must be met.  Each species, whether plant or animal, has a natural expression and when these needs are met, harmony exists.

When we design an ecosystem with little or no stress on the plants chosen, the harmony is high.  (My collection of hosta is not going to be happy with the full sun it is going to get.)

I need to create niches for the plants with minimum competition for light, water, and nutrients for my plants to survive. By planting polycultures - groups of plants that work together - these companion plants thrive.

This concept goes further to expect us to take responsibility for our own existence and therefore, we must design our communities to be more self-sufficient.  Newly planned communities have shopping,  doctors, and schools nearby.  The plan not only saves us time, but also, fossil fuel use is greatly reduced. 

Three keywords that the Permaculture mindset embraces are Fairshare, Peoplecare, and Earthcare.

Fairshare  ideas have us limiting our consumption and using wisely and equitably products, foods, and fuels.  Reduce, reuse, recycle is a familiar mantra of sustainability and permaculture.  Share crops you cannot use, and buy locally grown (or made) products.  Local purchases reduce fuel and lower transportation costs.

Peoplecare  is supporting and helping others to embrace the concept of  'Do No Harm'.  Sharing ways to care for our water resources, soil nutrient, soil erosion, and air pollution are aspects of 'do no harm'.

Earthcare encourages us to design the way nature does - in layers.  Earth is the life source and with that in mind, we must treat it with care.  From micro-organisms in the soil that make nutrients available to plants, food those plants provide, the carbon dioxide the plants absorb, and the oxygen the plants give off to sustain our life - - Yes, Earth is indeed the source of life. 

All of this to say this.... If we put together the right things, in the right place, they will support each other and create harmony in our gardens, and in our lives.  Observe nature, then intervene at the right time.  Do not rush to impose your will. 

I have some planning to do before I redesign my yard.  And my foremost thought is to remember that these changes must be good for the Earth.  And that we are a PART of the Earth, not APART from it.

Companion Plants - Vegetable Garden

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The companion plants for the vegetable garden will aid the gardener in reducing plant damage from insects, and help reduce the need for chemical remedies.
Companion plants draw insects to the garden for several important tasks. One task is pollination. For plants to produce fruit or seeds, these plants need to be pollinated. 

The second task is survival.  The plant world has survived due to, in part, the relationship plants have made with others. Nature has a way to providing protections from insects and diseases just by having the right companion plants in the neighborhood. Some companion plants lure pests away from their target plant while, yet, others can repel insects in the vicinity all together.


Today, we are going to focus on Insectary plants – those plants that lure insects to the garden.  Insects that can prey on problem insects are called beneficial insects. Let’s focus on the plants that draw in the ‘good guys’.  Later, we will indicate the damage that the ‘pests’ can do to crops and plants.

Bee on cilantro

Dill blooms

Carrots, Queen Anne’s Lace, Dill and Cilantro plants are in a plant family called Umbellifers.  These plants will bring a host of beneficial insects to the garden.

 

Chamomile will bring many beneficial insects to the garden like hover-flies and wasps.
 
Alyssum, is a pretty little plants with tons of blooms and fragrance.  This plant will self-seed and adds a dainty ground cover around the garden.

Monarda, or Bee Balm, is a taller Insectary plant that blooms in the mid-season.  Many different bees, wasps, and hummingbirds adore this plant.

Cornflower, or perennial bachelor’s button, can be a great companion plant for inviting beneficial insects.  And any member of the Aster family, like yarrow, tansy, cosmos and coreopsis will certainly draw the insects to the garden. The pollen and nectar of these plants entices the beneficial insects to the garden.

Plants starting at top left: Buckwheat, Calendula, Yarrow, Poppy, Marigolds, Cornflower, Goldenrod, Tansy.

Chives and catnip are garden favorites.  Mint and oregano act as Insectary plants in addition to enhancing the herb garden.

Chives in flower.

Tachinid fly on catnip.

Mint with metallic flies.

Bee on Oregano

Borage , annual Herb

Sunflowers in Garden

Comfrey in Bloom in May

Nasturtiums  in Cabbage Bed

Planning a vegetable garden with beneficial companion plants is going to 1) help remedy some insect damage of crops, and 2) can dress up the garden with color. By inter-planting these vegetables with Insectary plants the garden will not only look great, but the crops will thrive.

Companion Plants–Benefits In The Garden

Companion plants are a tradition that has been followed throughout time.  The benefits are tried and tested so that many books have been written on the subject of companion plants. Finding good plants to pair together is fairly easy.  But, why do some plants work with others, and what are those benefits?
Companion plants are grouped together for several reasons. 
1)  One plant can repel insects that typically attack the other plant.

Some scented herbs are repulsive to some insects that may want to devour other plants in the neighborhood. Mint, for instance, will repel ants and aphids.  Fennel repels fleas and is known by the cute, but appropriate rhyme ‘plants fennel around the kennel’. Other aromatic plants that are unattractive by pests are scented geraniums, camphor, lavender, rosemary, and sage.  Inter-plant these in the garden to drive pests away.

A natural insect repellent made from Chrysanthemums is call pyrethrums. When planted as companion plants, chrysanthemums repel insects such as aphids, ticks, bedbugs, spiders and certain insect pests on broccoli.

Basil planted with tomatoes will repel the tomato hornworm. And these two plants make a great combination at dinner time for the family.

2)  Some companion plants can improve the soil for the other.

Legumes are an example of nitrogen-fixing plants.  Legumes can extract nitrogen from the air, and bring this essential element down into the root zone for their neighbors benefit.  Vetches and clovers also have this ability of nitrogen-fixing, and when used as a cover crop, they not only draw down nitrogen, but when they are plowed under, they provide organic material to the soil.

3)  Some plants have similar growing needs and do well together.

Many plants have similar growing requirements.  Some need full sun, some need shade.  Some plants like moist soil, while others do not.  Familiarizing yourself with the growing needs of plants and placing together those that like the same conditions is good companion planting.  Plants that need full sun and little supplementary water make good bedfellows.  Similarly, plants that require moist soils, will be together and make watering more efficient.

Study plant tags or ask the staff at a garden center which plants need a similar environment.

4)  Some companions just look good together.

Textures, colors, and forms of plants that play off of each other make good companion plants.  Colors that match make a good color garden – i.e. a white garden. Colors that are opposite on the color wheel contrast and are pleasing to the eye. Yellow opposite purple, or blue opposite orange, make good aesthetic combinations for companion plants.

5)  Some plants improve the health of it’s neighbor.

Herbs make great neighbors in the garden.  Their aroma is a sensory compliment to roses, and  Marigolds planted around the garden may even encourage growth.
Insectary plants are used to draw beneficial insects to the garden. The pollinators are attracted to plants that have little flower heads, and many florets. These composite flowers of asters, marigolds, zinnias, and lettuces have many parts for the insect to draw nectar called inflorescences.

Trap plants are those that draw insects and are sacrificed to the pests.  Some trap plants are nasturtiums and Chinese cabbage.When the insects are feasting on the nasturtium, they leave the crop plant alone.

Garlic is said to help prevent leaf curl in peach trees, and stop scab in apple trees.  Garlic near tomatoes may repel red spider mites. 


Beneficial habitats, or refugia, are companion plantings that provide good growing environments for plants.  Good insects, including pollinators and parasitic insects, keep pests under control.

Here, nurse crops, help protect others.  the tall plants can help shade plants that may suffer in too much sun or heat. 
Cucumbers are shading lettuce.  Sunflowers can cast shadows on shorter plants - both nurse croppings and good companions plantings. 

 The seed catalogs are out and nurseries are getting their seeds into the stores, so it is planning time for this year’s garden. This is a great time to pair plants that make good companions in the garden.

What companion plants do you rely on?  Which ones disappointed you?  Share your comments, so we all can benefit.  Thanks for stopping by today. 

Designing an Herb Garden

  An Herb Garden Design to Suit your Needs

When starting an herb garden, one of the things you need to decide on is your herb garden design. This means selecting the herbs you will be planting and how you will locate them in your garden.

An excellent herb garden design has a lot of benefits. For one, it is essential to making sure that the herbs you plant are given the right conditions to thrive. Another benefit is you create a garden that is pleasing to look at and easy to care for. And lastly, having a design from the outset will prevent you from making mistakes in placing your herbs.

Designing an herb garden to suit your needs can be daunting for a beginner herb gardener. To help with this crucial first step, consulting veteran herb gardeners and guides like “Healthy Happy Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide to Herbs and Herb Gardening” will really go a long way in making sure you get to enjoy a thriving garden as well as a rewarding hobby.
Designing your own herb garden depends on several factors: lifestyle, needs, overall purposes and personal preferences. Let’s take a look at some of these factors.
Designing and creating your herb garden based on your lifestyle means finding herbs that you have uses for. It also means choosing herbs that you will be able to easily care for given the amount of attention that you can actually give your garden.
For example, you decide that you want an herb garden that will provide you fresh and flavorful herbs for cooking. In this case, your choice of herbs would be those that are used most often in cooking. You may want to plant these herbs in movable containers so that you can put them in your kitchen, where it will be convenient for you to use them.

Some people want to grow herbs for aromatherapy or as raw material for various crafts. In this case, their hobby will influence the types of herbs that they will want to grow in their garden. For aromatherapy, popular herbs are chamomile and lavender.

Let’s say you decide that you want an herb garden design that’s great for entertaining guests. In this case, you may choose herbs depending on how big they grow or if they bear flowers or not. You may also decide to allot a bigger space for your garden and build an outdoor patio for full effect.
 

If you have limited space available for your garden, then you need to choose herbs that don’t grow to big. Herbs that can thrive indoors or in container gardens are excellent choices. Container herb gardening is specially great for those who live in apartments but still want to engage in gardening.

There are also herb plants that you will need to pay special attention to. Take note that chives, lavender and mint are invasive herbs - they tend to spread easily and overrun your garden. So when growing these, putting them in containers and away from your other herbs is important.

Some plants that are grown next to each other tend to influence each other’s properties. For example, tomatoes when planted beside basil or thyme will acquire the flavor of the herb.
You can also choose an herb garden design based on various themes. For example, you can have an Italian theme and plant herbs like basil, parsley, rosemary, oregano, sage and other herbs mostly used in Italian dishes. Or you can also to make a theme out of a certain herb and plant different varieties of it in your garden.
More formal herb garden designs usually involve designing around geometrical shapes with paths, walkways or kiosks. Herbs of various heights are selected for their pleasing and complementary appearance. 

If you are serious about cultivating an organic herb garden, be sure to check out “Healthy Happy Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide To Herbs and Herb Gardening” by Jeannie Woods. It’s a book packed with all the information you need to be able to successful start and keep a thriving organic herb garden. You can read more about it here: http://www.healthyhappyherbs.com.
Please check out Jeannie’s guide.  I know it is full of great ideas. (As an affiliate I receive compensation .)  Claudia