Are you itching to get out and do some work in your garden? So are we! We’ve recently been discussing early spring garden and landscape maintenance tips from our resident gardening expert, Mary Palmer Dargan. Here are some more of her tips to give your green thumb some more exercise this week:
I love gardening in a raised bed as it improves drainage. Raised beds improve drainage because they raise the level of soil above the surrounding ground. Other benefits of raised beds include less soil compaction, easier weed control, warmer soil temperature in spring, ease of access, reduced soil erosion and beauty.
These raised beds at the Chicago Botanic Garden are featured in the “Gardening is Therapy” chapter of my book Lifelong Landscape Design.
I’m potting up my dahlias I pulled last winter and am rather appalled at how shriveled up the roots are… You walk a fine line on saving tubers and lots of unnecessary work if they are not viable. I’ll report on this later!
Plant asparagus crowns and radishes and transplant cold-season plants such as broccoli, cabbage and kale indoors. I have way too many baby plants, so I am juicing my leftovers and making microgreen salads. It is most nutritious!
Wait until six weeks before planting time for most vegetables to start them indoors… Otherwise they get very leggy and transplant poorly unless grown with bottom heat like forcing lights. Christmas tree lights are an excellent option for bottom heat! Just remember to be patient throughout the process – Your patience will be rewarded with a thriving garden this summer.
Lawns need fertilization if they are cool-season grasses. I am an organic gardener, so I highly recommend taking a soil sample and finding what your soil actually needs instead of just putting on the gas with fertilizer. You can obtain a soil sample for free from most local cooperative extension offices.
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Also, think twice about enjoying a mixed lawn and turn a blind eye to “weeds.” I think once mown, a green lawn is a green lawn no matter its tapestry makeup! Plus, you’ll save on buying weed killer.
What else are you doing in your garden now that we’re experiencing a few warmer days? Let us know by leaving a comment.
If you’re ready to discuss a master plan or tune up for your landscape, contact Dargan Landscape Architects. We can help you formulate a plan that will bring your dreams to life as we heal the Earth one garden at a time!
After months of bitter cold and snow this winter, spring is finally here and it’s time to show your garden some love. However, be sure you’re ready for a roller coaster of a season. One day the sap is rising and the next it falls for a quick drop below the freeze line, but you can still crank up your gardening chores.
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So, get out your mud boots, put on your gardening gloves and head outdoors to get to work. Bring with you these early spring garden and landscape maintenance tips straight from Mary Palmer Dargan, our resident gardening expert:
I like to cut back my hydrangeas, both the tardiva and limelight varieties, waiting until after the last frost to cut the blue macrocarpa varieties and grape vines. You’ll have beautiful blooms later this season!
Now is the time to plant nuts and berries, such as blueberries, strawberries and berries on canes. Just the thought of fresh picked berries from the garden is enough to keep you warm until summer! For established vines and fruit trees, it’s best to wait until the worst weather has passed before pruning. Fertilize fruit trees as soon as possible after the ground thaws.
Watch for seed starting opportunities and send off your orders. Spring planting will result in a bountiful harvest to enjoy this summer. Plan to grow at least one new vegetable this year! I am growing leafy Chinese types. What do you have in mind?
Hugh and I plant our vegetables in whiskey barrels at our Highcote home, as shown in this photo from Lifelong Landscape Design. We rotate what we plant in each barrel from year to year.
Break up garden beds and turn the cover crop. Be careful not to double dig as this disrupts the delicate mycorrhizae system that makes a healthy soil. Mycorrhizal fungi are valuable natural allies that assist with the biological processes of gardens, such as helping plants take up more phosphorous, as well as accumulating carbon in the soil and improving its clumping ability.
That should be enough to keep you busy this week, but be sure to watch for more of Mary Palmer’s early spring garden and landscape maintenance tips on our blog in the near future.
For help designing a master plan or tune-up for your garden or landscape, contact Dargan Landscape Architects.
If you haven’t registered to receive Dargan Landscape Architects’ Landscape Your Life ezine, you’re missing out on some great information! Our ezines are filled with great landscape design inspiration and tips, videos from the field, our latest events and appearances and more. Here’s a look at what we shared in our latest ezine!
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Tips for a Four Season Garden Much like woodland creatures, we tend to let our gardens hibernate in the winter and early spring. However, gardens are meant to entertain us all year long! At the 1st Camellia & Garden Symposium a few weeks ago, Mary Palmer and Hugh gave the keynote lecture sharing planting design ideas, camellia underplantings, edgings and two case studies, as well as how camellias can be used to enhance our landscapes all year long for a true four season garden.
Lessons From the Field In another video, we show how Mary Palmer and Hugh tag teamed to transform what was best described as a “Sticky Widget” of a landscape into a lush, gorgeous landscape. With our clients’ vision in place, Hugh began work on the bare bones of the landscape, while Mary Palmer later added the embellishments to the family home landscape.
Fertile Thoughts? With spring right around the corner, there’s no better time to make plans to turn your landscape design dreams into a reality. Think about where your landscape and home environment are now and where you’d like for it to be this year, and then contact us online or at 404-231-3889 for a free worksheet and a complementary garden design consultation.
For more landscape design tips, ideas and information, be sure to check out our blog. Also, register your email address with Landscape Your Life to receive our ezines, as well as free worksheets and webinars covering a variety of topics to help you create a healthy and vibrant landscape you and your family can enjoy!
Winter weather can wreak havoc on your landscape and hardscapes if they’re left unprotected. But a little maintenance can help prevent serious damage to plants, pathways and more.
Source: Personal Touch Lawn Care, Inc. via Houzz
Here are some tips:
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First, you need to determine which of your plants are the most sensitive to cold and frost. Many plants are cold-hardy and don’t need special care, but some species such as gardenias, aucuba and lantana do, according to gardening expert Walter Reeves.
To keep plants frost-free, you can place old towels and sheets over them with tree stakes or poles. The idea is to keep the materials from resting directly on top of the plants while still keeping them covered. This preserves air flow to the plant. During the day, covers should be removed to allow plants to absorb sunlight. Hedges or shrubs can be wrapped thinly with burlap, just not directly on top. Be sure your mulch is deep enough to offer adequate insulation as well. Potted plants should be brought indoors.
Black plastic sheeting can also be used to cover and protect plants from cold. Similarly, evergreens can be wrapped in twine prior to a snow or ice event to offer additional protection. Smaller trees can be anchored to taller, more sturdy trees with rope.
Hardscapes
Hardscapes are just as important as landscapes when it comes to cold weather protection. Be sure to seal and reseal your hardscapes such as driveways, paths and patios to prevent damage from the freeze/thaw cycle. You should also paint or seal any wooden hardscape features such as arbors and decks for the same reason.
Be sure all patio furniture is covered, and watch out for rusting metal, which can stain hardscapes in damp weather.
Draining out water in your swimming pool and above ground ponds will help prevent damage from the freeze/thaw cycle. Pools should also be professionally winterized and covered for the season.
For more landscaping tips and ideas, follow Dargan Landscape Architects on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
Did you know that every plant in your garden is 90 to 98 percent water? As Janet Macunovich of Fine Gardening explains, “All the nutrients plants need to grow, color, flower, multiply, and defend their tissues against pests are produced by the solar-powered chemical reactions that take place in the watery soup within the cells.”
Source: J. Peterson Garden Design via Houzz
But providing plants with just the right amount of water is actually tricker than simply making sure they get an inch of water a week. As Dennis Patton of Kansas State University reminds us, “Learning when and how much to water is one of the most difficult gardening practices.”
The first step to effective and efficient watering is to conduct a capacity test to learn exactly how much water your soil holds. A simple water-holding capacity test will reveal the best times to water without having to wait until plants wilt.
To conduct the test, use a watering hose to soak a spot (around 12 inches in diameter) for about two minutes. Next, stick a trowel into this spot so it is about 3 or 4 inches underground and pull towards you to create a small hole where you can feel the soil with your hand. Do this every day until the soil is no longer cool and damp to determine how many days you can go without water in a rainless period. With this new information, you can now establish a watering schedule.
Once you have your watering regime in place, it’s time to make sure you are applying water as efficiently as you can to achieve a water-smart landscape. As Kathy LaLiberte of Gardeners.com reminds us, watering will not help the plants unless it reaches the root ball. Whether you are using sprinklers, drip hoses, a water-sensed labeled irrigation system or something else, make sure no water is being wasted on driveways or walkways and that it’s being applied slowly so it is able to soak deeply and thoroughly into soil.
