A Gardener's Notebook - Rejuvenation - December 12, 1999
Douglas E. Welch
December 12, 1999
© 1999 Douglas E. Welch
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Gardening projects have been going well lately and I have seen a big change
in the back garden. Ever so slowly we are turning back the out of control
trees and plants and exerting some control. As with any good garden, though,
we try to allow for a certain amount of synchronicity. The volunteer that
just happens to come up in the edge of a path; The vine that has reached out
to cover a new section of fence; The yellow rose reaching over from the
neighbors yard. It always helps to remember that we are more custodians of
our gardens than military generals. I am sure there are gardeners who would
disagree with that assessment, but this is how I like to think of my role.
The Back Garden
Overgrown with trees in the past, the back garden is now starting to receive
much more sun as we carefully prune and edit out trees that were encroaching
on other trees and plants. Unfortunately, there are areas that appear to
have become almost sterile. Nothing seems to grow there, even when regular
watering is applied. I am guessing that the lack of sunlight, combined with
the overabundance of tree roots has left the soil with too little organic
matter to grow smaller plants well, or even retain water. Even after a heavy
soaking the ground turns dry very quickly.
My first plan for these areas is to compost them heavily to try to develop a
nice bed for new plantings. It seems fruitless (all puns intended) to try
and place new plants without first doing some preparation. I have the
ability to visit my local city composting center and pick up an entire
truckload of compost.
Of course, I need to make the time to pickup the compost and then also to
spread it. The holiday season is not the best time to make plans like this
with all the other activities. Of course, this time of year is exactly when
most of us would benefit from spending some time in our garden or
greenhouse, just to help center us and let us relax for a few hours. This
will probably have to wait until after the turn of the New Year, but I can,
at the least, plan for it. Planning is sometimes the best part of gardening,
after all.
Several of the beds will need to have their edging reinforced or replaced
completely. The previous owners used the typical brown plastic edging around
everything in the garden. We have removed much of it, but that which remains
needs to be set back into the ground. Most of it is merely sitting on the
surface and this allows any mulch or amendments to spill out into the gravel
paths. Even if I can't get the compost right now I can work on replacing
this edging in little sections as time allows.
If you have any ideas that might help me rejuvenate these areas in the back
garden, send them along to the AGN Mailing List. <mailto:a...@onelist.com> I
am sure everyone there would be interested.
The Front Garden
After removing the pine tree last week
<http://www.welchwrite.com/agn/gn991205.asp> we added it to the collection
of other tree trunks we have been gathering since we started the tree
editing project. With this last section we were able to finally line the
entire front garden bed, along the street, with these 4"-6" trunks. We like
the look of using natural materials for lining beds, but these tree trunks
also serve a practical purpose. Our neighborhood has no sidewalks so the
area in front of each property is used as parking space by ourselves and our
neighbors. Unfortunately, every so often a driver will try and get a little
too far off of the street and drive into our flower bed. This tree trunk
edging will give people a clear indication of where the parking space ends
and the garden begins.
It is always so nice when we can re-use the products of our garden to
improve the garden itself. We keep a small compost pile of our own and
regularly use leaf mold and other trimmings for mulch on the rose beds. A
year ago, a neighbor chipped up an entire tree that they had removed from
their yard. We gathered 30 or more garbage bags full of these wood chips and
mulched every bed we could. Some of this mulch is still in place and doing
its job today.
A Few More Holiday Book Ideas
Outwitting Deer
by Bill Jr Adler
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1558216294/thewelchwritecom>
The Pressed Plant: The Art of Botanical Specimens, Nature Prints, and Sun
Prints
by Andrea Dinoto, David Winter
< http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1556709366/thewelchwritecom>
See Also: Plant Press by Educational Insights
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000ISTW/thewelchwritecom>
Ancient Trees : Trees That Live for 1000 Years
by Anna Lewington, Edward Parker, Anna Levington
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1855857049/thewelchwritecom>
Gardens of Obsession : Eccentric and Extravagant Visions
by Gordon Taylor, Guy Cooper
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0297823736/thewelchwritecom>
Shocking Beauty: Thomas Hobbs' Innovative Garden Vision
by Thomas Hobbs
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/9625935428/thewelchwritecom>
Designing With Plants
by Piet Oudolf, Noel Kingsbury
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0881924377/thewelchwritecom>
The California Landscape Garden: Ecology, Culture, and Design
by Mark Francis, Andreas Reimann, Yan Nascimbene (Illustrator)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520217640/thewelchwritecom>
Dried Flowers for All Seasons : Creating the Fresh-Flower Look Year-Round
by Jan Gertley, Michael Gertley
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1561582859/thewelchwritecom>
The Hummingbird Garden: Turning Your Garden, Window Box, or Backyard into a
Beautiful Home for Hummingbirds
by Mathew Tekulsky
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1558321535/thewelchwritecom>
Gardens of the Imagination : A Literary Anthology
by Sophie Biriotti (Editor), Peter Malone (Illustrator)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0811818845/thewelchwritecom>
A Contemplation upon Flowers: Garden Plants in Myth and Literature
by Bobby J. Ward
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0881924695/thewelchwritecom>
Until next weekŠ
Keep digging!
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