Can you really fail at gardening?

An old adage I recently remembered about gardening is: first year sleeps, second year creeps & third year leaps.

As my perennial garden awakens from its first year sleep, anticipation takes center stage. Did I protect it well enough from the many mood swings of our north-central Utah winter?

April 20, 2007 is considered the birth date for my perennial garden, so according to this dictum this garden is about to wake up and begin crawling. Sort of anti-climatic since I want so much to see what it will look like in full bloom.

Several plants are beginning to show some sign of survival such as this Chrysanthemum Shasta Daisy Alaska.

And these Crocus.

Some, like this Dianthus Agatha, never lost their foliage, much to my surprise.

And still others, like this Nepeta Walker's Low, are a little slower to show any signs of life at all.

Having almost all of my experience in vegetables, and therefore starting each year anew from seeds, it never ceases to amaze me how roots can sit just below the soil’s surface mere inches from the frozen snow above and retain the energy necessary to continue their life cycle.

You see, I am no stranger to loss when it comes to growing flowers and herbs. And the memory of those disappointments won’t go away. Two one-year-old Butterfly Bushes that couldn’t withstand my overzealous trimming one spring, this really broke my heart. Two Clematis, one Niobe and one Hania, that couldn’t take the overly hot location I placed them in. One Hydrangea Parzifal, a bigleaf type having very large mophead blooms with what I expected to be a deeper shade of blue due to our alkaline soil. It was planted in a location that turned out to be a bit too sunny and dry. Borage, Spirea, Alyssum, Armeria, Astilbe, Basil, Echinacea, Heuchera, Hosta, Impatiens and Viburnum. All cut down in their prime due to my misunderstanding of what they could tolerate.

So if by loosing I am supposed to learn, then I must have learned a lot. The answer to whether or not these lessons will take hold will not be fully known until the end of this year. More anticipation.

I am not discouraged however, for there will be many opportunities to succeed or fail again. And again.

The thought occurred to me that nature was trying to teach me about what will grow here. I only need pay attention and try not to force it. Nature always wins in the end and the most beautiful lesson of all is that even when I fail it becomes a lesson.

Read more...

Can I rent your yard?

I can pay you in produce.

Wally Satzewich and Gail Vandersteen of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan started renting their neighbors yards when they realized that small-scale urban crops fetched a far higher profit than did the large-scale vegetable growing operation they had on a 20-acre farm north of the city. Most people don’t use their yards to their fullest potential and Wally and Gail are taking advantage of this unused ‘farmland’ themselves.

Vandersteen says, “They think it’s too much work, but the truth is, this is much less work than mechanized, large-scale farming. We used to have a tractor to hill potatoes and cultivate, but we find it’s more efficient to do things by hand.” You may be asking yourself how can this be more profitable?

Their savings over large-scale farming comes in operation costs. The city provides irrigation, there is always plenty of compost around, the urban setting repels pests, and the market is not far away. On such small plots as are found in urban lots, typically ¼ to ½ an acre, all the harvesting can be done by hand. And because the plots are usually unused anyway, rental costs are minimal. Many people volunteer their backyards in exchange for fresh produce and those who want money, charge very little.

What a wonderful way to help the environment too. More plants will of course attract more insect and wildlife. The added value of a ready-made garden plot could increase your property value. Maybe if enough people see what can be grown in their own yards they will be more inclined to carry on for themselves. This leads to less transportation of food to market.

Wally and Gail sold the 20-acre farm and now Wally operates Wally’s Urban Market Garden which is a multi-locational sub-acre urban farm. It is dispersed over 25 residential backyard garden plots in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, that are rented from homeowners. The sites range in size from 500 sq. ft. to 3000 sq. ft., and the growing area totals a half acre. The produce is sold at The Saskatoon Farmers Market.

Wally and Gail created a company called SPIN, Small Plot Intensive based on minimal mechanization an maximum fiscal discipline and planning. Their concept inspired Philadelphia’s Somerton Tanks Farm.

This concept is catching on because the idea is so simple that it can be done everywhere. It’s true, gardeners can be made as well as born.

Read more...

Is Gray water okay for plants?

The News & Observer of North Carolina reports that since the drought has gone on for so long now, it is okay to use gray water to water your pansies and grass. The leftover water from washing your dishes and your car is okay to re-use. However, piping water from your bathtub or shower is still against the law and considered a health risk.

They used to claim that re-using any gray water was illegal and a threat to public safety. But when you can’t get it naturally, then you have to adapt to new ways.

"If water's clean enough to bathe your child in or wash your dishes in, it should be clean enough to put on your flowers," said Bill Ross, secretary of the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Water has been on the minds of our southeastern friends a lot since last years drought turned into this years drought and now they have to get serious about conservation efforts.

The Southeast's worst drought in more than a century is forcing parched states and communities into crisis measures to conserve water and fight for more. The entire region is accustomed to plentiful rain from tropical storms and hurricanes but they are about to enter their second straight year of drought.

Small towns in North Carolina have already had to suffer from shuttered car washes and outdoor watering is completely banned in Atlanta. Georgia's top water official, environmental Commissioner Carol Couch, says industrial and commercial water users very likely will have to make "across-the-board reductions" next.

Maybe they can follow North Carolina’s example.

Now is a good time to learn about the alternative substances to replace the more toxic cleaners and chemicals around the house. Items such as vinegar, baking soda, borax, and ammonia.

Those of us who camp have known about environmentally friendly soaps for years, so now would be a good time to break it out of your backpacks and camping supplies and throw out your other not so friendly soaps.

Here’s a site that offers some examples of ways to stay clean and green with environmentally friendly soaps.

Oh, and if I were you I'd keep that gray water away from my vegetables and fruits.

Read more...

Next Winter, I’m growing color

Color in winter. Sounds like a nice change to the usual white, brown, black, and grey. After seeing this all winter I’m planning on adding some plants that actually produce color in the snow.

One of my favorite flowers is Iris, so naturally, I thought I would start here. After consulting the mother of all search engines, Google, I find that Iris reticulata is the earliest of all Iris, blooming in January in some gardens. Great, might be what I’m looking for.

It’s a beautiful blue, shorter than all the other Iris at 5”-6” tall, but that’s okay as long as its colorful, and it blooms it winter. But does it actually bloom in the snow? Despite what some reports say, I only found this one photo of it in snow. I searched through ten pages of photos on Flickr to find this one, thanks to Green Destiny. I am not told what zone the plant was grown in or when it bloomed but since there is snow there is hope that I can have some color in my part of the world.

This Iris goes by several names: Dwarf Wild Iris, Rockgarden Iris, and Netted Iris.

According to Paghat’s Garden, “Iris reticulata blooms late winter or early spring, in shades of blue & purple. In some gardens they bloom as early as January, but for us, this wild natural form begins flowering at the start of the second week of February & is done by mid-March”. Paghat, for those of you who don’t know, is Paghat the Ratgirl of Puget Sound in “old Charlestown” overlooking Sinclair Inlet Washington State. Paghat’s garden is USDA zone 8 and I am USDA zone 5 or 6 (I still haven’t gotten a definitive answer). I’m not sure how useful this information will be for me, so I think I will keep searching.

Here’s another dwarf Iris, Iris danfordiae. Wouldn’t this bright canary yellow go great with a bunch of deep blue Crocus? One caution I learned from the plant expert is that if left in the ground the bulbs will break up into tiny bulblets which may not bloom the next year. Disappointing. I’ll probably shy away from these unless I want to dig them up each year. Doesn’t sound very “low maintenance” to me. And I’m definitely into low maintenance. I found this beauty at van Bourgondien.

I know that there are several bulbs that will come up in the snow, such as snowdrop, glory of the snow, winter aconite and crocus, but these come up as winters snow is leaving us and I want to try some plants instead of bulbs.

Hellebore is one of the most popular perennial winter flowers and depending on the variety, can bloom anytime from December through March, or later. The flowers are various shades of green or cream to bright white or rose-pink. Not much of the color I’m looking for. I chose this photo because it looks more like its namesake ‘Christmas Rose’ and actually is colorful. These grow 18”-24” tall so they stand right up and broadcast their color very well. But, no pictures of Hellebores actually in the snow.

Pansies are early bloomers. Usually purple, blue, yellow, white and various shades and mixtures of any or all these colors. No photos of pansies in snow either. I find articles saying they grow in winter, but where is the proof? ‘Universal’ pansies were bred to flower in the short days of winter; they are tolerant of cold, wet and windy weather and they have the ability to stay compact and not stretch and flop over when mild weather eventually arrives. ‘Icicle Pansies’ were developed for northern and Canadian gardeners, bloom until winter's deep freeze, but don't die. They'll lie dormant until very early spring, when they bloom again! (Whisper: where are the photos of pansies in snow?)

Finally, a flower in the snow! A Primrose! I never would have guessed that primroses bloom this early. This photo was taken by lorelei and posted on the weather site I start every day off with, Wunderground. Primroses are nice looking plants with their thick almost leather-like leaves more like a succulent or cactus without the thorns. They are usually blue but can be found in yellow, too.

There are other flowering plants claiming to bring color to the winter garden, but I’m beginning to think there aren’t any flowers that actually grow in the snow. Maybe gardeners, in their haste to get away from the dreariness of winter, are stretching it a bit when they say we can have color in winter. We have plants that herald the arrival of spring by popping up as the snow recedes, but I don’t find many that grow in the snow.

Plants like lungwort, moss phlox, heartleaf brunnera are early bloomers. There are early-blooming shrubs: February daphne (March-April), Vernal witch hazel (January-March), Spring heath (March), and Winter jasmine (March-April). One site, the Independent, gave me a list of early bloomers that I had never heard of but none of them bloom in the snow.

I guess I got my hopes up too high. I’ll just have to resign myself to seeing only white, brown, black and grey next winter too.

Read more...

Finally updated my links to Fellow Gardeners

I apologize to the many wonderful bloggers out there for not showing you on my list of 'favorites'.

When I began using Google Reader to keep up to date on all of your writings and photos, I neglected to add some of your links to my blog.

When I went to do so, two weeks ago, I discovered that Blogger would not allow me to scroll down in the Page Elements editor. I sent a request for help and realized many people have experienced the same problem. Blogger still has not fixed the problem.

Finally, this morning I read another person's request to Blogger to fix the problem and he had explained a band-aid fix. After following his instructions I was able to update my favorites list.

Hopefully, none of you have felt slighted, if so, I apologize again and will attempt to keep up on it in the future.

Happy Gardening to all.

Read more...