The Commitment of Being a Gardener

Finding the balance between gardening I want to do and gardening I have to do is tricky.  I like to walk my garden and deadhead a daisy or coneflower.  This bit if tidying is rewarding when I look back at the refreshed looking garden.  But when I know that an hour of weeding is before me, I balk at the chore ahead.
 
 

Frequently, I get asked for a design plan for a ‘maintenance free’ garden.  Usually this request comes after the yard becomes overgrown, weedy, and unsightly.  Unfortunately, this stage of disrepair is usually too late for the ‘low maintenance’ garden desired.  Because to get the garden back into a reasonable state of acceptance some work is going to be required. 


Many times the trip to the Midas Well is to blame for this dilemma. 

As we gardeners find gratification in a successful project, like these colorful planters, we decide that we ‘might as well’ do something more.


Like planting the whole yard with color!


Or we have a lovely, bubbling urn to send peaceful sounds into the garden.


 And we ‘might as well’ do this!


We found a great set of lawn furniture and so we ‘might as well’ have somewhere to use it.


And this massive project takes over!


I caution gardeners to beware of this Midas Well thinking.  Because the bigger the project, the more maintenance is required to keep the look you desire. 

Maintenance such as trimming, mowing, watering, edging, raking, deadheading, weeding, and mulching are going to increase as the project gets bigger.  Here is where the commitment to gardening must be demonstrated.  Getting overwhelmed by the constant chores is the cause for many gardeners to throw in the trowel and give up. 

  Unedged walkways becomes unsightly.  Regular trimming is easier than a major dig out and an edged walk is more attractive.


Trimming or providing a barrier to limit grass from encroaching the garden may need to be considered.


Using stone, brick, wood timbers, or rubber edgings can define the garden as well as keep grass from creeping into the beds. 
Removing the grass as a recurring nuisance.  Usually the plants need to be dug out, and grass blades removed from the soil before replanting the plant back into it’s space.



If a well manicured garden is what is desired, remember that the plants grow all season, and that look of a pristine garden will come at a cost of routine trimming.
  


Overgrown paths, gardens, and shrubbery are overwhelming to many gardeners.  A few tools can make the difference in the difficulty factor of this chore.

Hand pruners, loppers, and a short saw can conquer an overgrown mess.

Keeping plants alive through summer heat and drought can really discourage many gardeners.  The hose is too short; the hose gets kinks; the hose tangles up into knots; and the hose drags across the garden and pulls plants out along the way. (Can you tell, I get REALLY frustrated with hoses?!)



Some helpful watering and hose attachments are hose guides placed around corners and edges of the garden.  This is supposed to keep the hose from tearing up the plants.  Also, these quick-snap accessories can help extend a hose , or remove a nozzle easily.


Money enters into the decision making process for the gardener as well.  Tools can be expensive.  Watering the large lawn and garden can add to the monthly household expenses.  If the budget cannot support this added expense, there are a few things that the gardener can do to reduce some of these expenses.

 


This picture from the Design Fanatic shows a well place pipe to bring water to the garden.  Mulch is another resource to help reduce water usage in the garden.  The layer of mulch holds moisture in the soil so plants do no need to be watered as often. 

Weeding is another of those chores that most gardeners avoid if possible.  Mulch can not only save on water usage, but can keep weed seeds from germinating; and even if there are a few weeds, their roots are easily pulled from mulch.

A well cared for garden is a delight. But any garden that is overgrown, weedy, or dried up is not a going to thrive and will be avoided.   If other life events carry more weight than the time the garden needs, rethink the scope and size of the gardening project.

If time to garden is limited, do not expand the garden beyond the limits it will take to keep it vibrant.



A gardener has a commitment to the plants, the style, and the on-going maintenance the garden requires.

  Gardening is supposed to be relaxing, rewarding and enjoyable.

Have you reneged on your commitment to your garden?

Garden Maintenance–Late Summer and Fall

Spent a couple of hours in the garden this past week doing the tidy-up. 


Late Summer is a good time of year for some simple maintenance and gives the garden a fresh look.  By removing all the brown, what is left is the green foliage, and blooms that were buried in the debris.


Here some coneflowers and Joe Pye Weed got some help standing tall. They were weighed down by the heavy heads and new bud that are forming. By propping them up, sun light and water can get to the plants, and freshen up the foliage.  Also removed some weeds that were hiding.

 


As I have said before, we lost several large trees last year, and this Caryopteris is liking the extra light.  New shoots and some great blue blossoms are a treat. The Liriope and it’s pale lavender spears are just beginning to bloom.
 



Yesterday, I trimmed back behind the rock border Sweet Woodruff.  The pathway was getting smaller and
needed to be groomed. 


Late summer is a great time to divide perennials.  Here I moved some daisies that were in another bed that is getting turned into lawn.  They do not look fresh at this time, but by keeping them moist for the next couple of weeks, the roots will take hold and will turn into a nice stand of daisies next spring.

Daylilies are another plant that divides and transplants well.  This area is where a Blue Spruce once stood, and is gradually getting filled in with my new plan for a border.  We also put some daylily root sections in these two red containers.  I hope they take hold and survive winter.  They may need some added winter protection which I’ll discuss later.



This is the Solar Eclipse Redbud we planted last spring.  A rainbow of orange, peach, lime, and gold are present in the new leaves as they mature.
The green border of the mature leaf here is certainly living up to my expectations.





Maintenance of the late summer garden includes providing water.  Yesterday, this hydrangea was drooping and blossoms were hanging low.  After a good drink, today this side of the garden is perky and vibrant.


This pile of debris is from the front garden where I cut back Spider Wort, Tradescantia, and dead fronds of daylilies. 


The pathway is visible once again after Lamium was trimmed back.  Just another bit of tidying once in a while.

 
This rose is the Sunny Yellow Knockout® rose.  I choose to leave the rose hips on the shrub.  It is a bit of color in the winter, and besides, pruning it is just one less thing I need to do on the fall maintenance list. 


The spent blooms of Hosta have been trimmed off.  I’ll wait till the rest have faded to remove them.  The Astilbe in this bed will get to keep their seed heads through winter.  As I told a fellow gardener recently, I’m a lazy gardener, and if I can keep from one more chore I will and call it ‘winter interest’.


These tarps of debris will get added to the compost pile.  With visions of future ‘black gold’ ready for the garden in spring.
This large amount of debris is really misleading as to the time and effort it took me to gather it.  Over several days I spent less than two hours in the garden removing the brown and renewing the garden for a few more weeks of beauty.

Watering took a day of moving sprinklers every hour to cover the whole yard.  Even though we have had some more rain this year than during the drought of 2012, our area in Ohio is still about 4 inches below average rainfall for the year. Trees, shrubs, perennials, and lawn all needed this supplemental watering at this time.  And if the rains remain scarce, I will continue to water through the fall and into early winter until the ground freezes.

Thanks for stopping by today.  And enjoy your time among the plants.

Trees and Lawns–Water Both Deeply

Watering Is Essential

Ansel Ash – from Nebraska submitted these pictures recently on Facebook.  I really think they are shocking. The trees and lawns need to live and thrive.  I am amazed at the underground ecosystem that is being sabotaged by a well meaning homeowner.

Ansel wrote “And if you wonder if lawn irrigation systems are doing a service for tree roots - this photo says it all. Frequent high intensity watering is great for turf grasses, but infrequent deep watering is necessary for tree roots to develop deeper, healthier root systems. We will see more of this in the future I am afraid throughout many of our landscapes.”

“Ever wonder what a healthy root system for a tree looks like? Well here ya go - in comparison to my last photo. Roots do not grown down like a carrot but spread out far beyond the canopy with deep anchoring roots which stabilize the tree and provide access to subsoil moisture. A vast majority of the roots (75% in most species) are located within the top 12" of the soil profile allowing the tree to  quickly capture and utilize available water and nutrients for health and vigor. This works great for trees in forested environments....but not so well for trees in our community landscapes. Turf grasses will out compete tree roots every time. So mulch and mulch and mulch and recreate that forested floor....but NOT TOO DEEP. Do not need any more of that volcano mulching!”
 
The volcano mulching looks like this.   The crown of the tree where the trunk meets the soil is suffocating.  Air cannot penetrate this heavy layer.  The moisture wrapped around the trunk is an invitation for fungal growth. It also weakens the bark which will promote a safe haven for insects.

These trees have mulch to cover the surface of the root, but allow air and water to find the root zone with a few inches of mulch. Mulch with a degradable material like wood chips or compost. Mulch and adding compost to the base of trees will add nutrients to the soil and will mimic the forest environment.


Since landscape trees are not able to rely on the natural nutrition that the forest offers, it may be necessary to offer fertilizer to them.  Some symptoms that a tree is stressed include smaller than normal leaves, tip die back, dead branches, and leaf color that is not typical.  Frequently our trees are surrounded by concrete, sidewalks, drives, or streets.  These conditions limit the nutrients available to the tree.
There are professional tree services that can fertilize trees, or lawn and garden centers have products specifically for trees and shrubs for the homeowners to do themselves. 


 
 If the trees in the landscape are indicating a problem, don’t assume that fertilizer is the answer.  A soil test will tell the tale.  Send to a lab, and indicate what type of tree is growing in the area.  Different trees have unique nutritional needs, so by telling the lab what tree is being tested will allow the lab to name amendments to supplement the nutrient deficiencies. Soil pH may also be addressed.
Sometimes the tree health is threatened by improper planting.  The root ball was not unwrapped from cables or plastic.  This can cause the roots to grow in circles at the base and never stretch out into the soil. 

Construction on the site can also affect a tree’s health, if not it’s very life.  Since roots are not buried too deeply, as we can see in the above photo,  they can be damaged by heavy equipment by pushing out water from the soil and compacting the soil.

A friend of mine recently built a new home with a woods coming up to the lawn at the rear of the lot.  In each of the next three years a tree on the lawn perimeter died - three trees in three years.  The arborist consulted blames the heavy equipment of the construction and grading of the lot as the cause of  unseen damage to the roots. 


Thanks to Ansel Ash for bringing the picture of the lawn and downed tree.  With more drought conditions, and more irrigation in the home landscape, we may not have seen the end of this destruction.  Watering lawns more deeply and less frequently is the formula for not only a healthy lawn, but also, healthy trees.

Good gardening practices are going to pay great dividend in protecting our landscapes, trees and lawns.