Sunday 26 May 2013

Plant Markers

For decades now I have saved a fortune by making my own plant markers. I resent spending $$$ on little bits of white plastic. So I use old food containers. Depending on the size you need you can use anything from a yoghurt tub to an ice cream bucket. It's so easy, and you get a free saucer as a bonus.




Friday 10 May 2013

Composting


People assume that because I'm an organic gardener I am some great guru on composting.

"Do you compost?" they ask me. "Yes" I say. Then they get all technical, and I'm lost.

When we moved here 15 years ago, we build a big composter from wood (3 feet across both ways, and 4 feet high). We had to stop adding to it last year as the wood has rotted. In other words, our composter is now composting. For many years however, it gave us good service. We'd put stuff in the top and take compost out of the bottom on a continuous basis.  We have built a new one, obviously.

So, if I am a successful composter, why can't I teach composting? Well, I don't really DO anything. I leave it to it. Nature invented composting after all (that's why we have soil) and is perfectly capable of doing it inside a wooden box, without any help from me.

But I think I know why some people have problems.

1. They buy a commercially-made composter. This may have 420 features, but most of them hinder rather than help.

2. It's not big enough. The thing is supposed to be warm. So a lot of compost works better than a little as the outside insulates the inside.

3. They don't add to it often enough, or add too much of the same thing, or it's not broken up enough. If you bury a head of lettuce, it takes over 20 years to decompose (they found one in a landfill). Egg shells need to be crushed, BTW or you'll be pulling them out whole.

The reason a big, wooden composter works, is that it allows Nature to do its thing. The rain can get in (and out) easily because the lid is slatted and not watertight.

When I was a child we had a compost PILE. This is obviously not pretty. Compost isn't pretty. Compost is not supposed to be pretty.

But maybe you have no space for a pile or a huge wooden box. Maybe the only composter you are permitted/can live with is small and commercially made. I know little about them. I do know they have to be "started".

Pee in it.

Yep.

OK then, get a child's potty and dump that in. OR.........most small boys will be happy to oblige. And some bigger ones too.

What can you put in a composter? Anything organic. If it can be eaten by any species it can go in. Just don't add too much paper or grass. You can put grass cuttings in, but don't overdo it.

There's a question of protein, from kitchen scraps. You'll hear people tell you not to add meat, cheese, and eggs. I compost these without any problem at all, actually, but it WILL attract critters, and that's the real reason for not adding it. If you have critters anyway, or don't care, then don't worry about it. My barn cats help themselves.

"Do you need worms?" Yes you do, and lots of other small helpers, but in a big wooden box they arrive of their own accord. If you are using a commercial composter, you will need to add some of them, consult the instructions, it's not my area.

Now talk among yourselves.

Wednesday 8 May 2013

Shade

I have very few places where shade is an issue, and as a percentage of garden, it's irrelevant. For many of you with a small garden, and where most or all of it is in shade, there is a huge challenge finding suitable plants. I have plenty of other places to plant, so I pretty much just ignore the shady spots.

So the north-east side of our house is a neglected place. It's been neglected a long time. Grass grew to the wall, except it didn't. It gets so little sun (only early mornings) that even that was patchy, weedy and ugly.

Tyler dug out a strip along half the wall. In this photo you can see both his handywork, and the ugliness of the location, with the electricity meter piping, a vent, and a tap that has left rust marks all down the wall, plus the standard ugly basement window.


The back half of the wall is covered by the pool deck, so I only have a strip about 12 feet long to worry about. I shall put shade plants there and then gravel and rocks around them for low maintenance. I really don't need any more weeding to do.

Now I have to find suitable shade plants. Tyler's boss suggested boxwood, hostas, and spiraea.


Spiraea (Neon Flash)

Spiraea will work. I can plant it right in front of those pipes and it will hide them without preventing access to the meter at the top. We had one round there before, atop the well, but it was lost during the well repairs. So I know it will do well, and I liked it.


Boxwood (Variegated)

This is a possible. Again, had one before but it was in the front flower garden, and I prefer flowering plants. But for this purpose I think it has a place.


Hosta

I hate hostas. I am FAMOUS for hating hostas. I dug up all the ones that were here when I moved in, and have offended several friends over the years by refusing gifts of hostas. That will not be happening.

If you were wondering what you can plant in shade, first I'll offer the complete list, and then my choices.

Perennials for Light Shade or Part Sun (Those that take deep shade are marked with “*”)

Anchusa
Tall Phlox
Monarda (Bergamot)
Day Lily
Bergenia *
Bethlehem Sage*
Balloon Flower
Siberian Iris
Carpathian Harebell and other Campanula
Creeping Jenny
Meadowrue
Virginia Bluebells *
Foxglove *
Oriental Poppy
Astilbe *
Marsh Marigold
Trollius
Primrose
Feverfew
Gold Moss
Cimicifuga
Chives
Arabis
Trillium
Purple Coneflower
Planted Daisy
Filipendula
Shasta Daisy
Columbines
Gas Plant
Leopard’s Bane
Macleaya
Christmas Rose
Jacob’s Ladder
Hosta *
Cardinal Flower
Gooseneck and Yellow Loosestrife
Japanese Anemone
Peony
Brunnera
Solomon’s Seal *
Saxifrage *
Nepeta
Spiderwort *
Chrysanthemum
Viola
Aconitum
Bleeding Heart
Goatsbeard
Globe Thistle
Geum
Perennial Geraniums
Obedient Plant
Coral Bells
Veronica
Lupins

Perennial ground cover for shade

Ajuga
Goutweed *
Crown Vetch
Cotoneaster
Epimedium*
English Ivy
Hall’s Honeysuckle
Virginia Creeper
Pachysandra*
Creeping Potentialla
Periwinkle
Euonymus
All ferns *
Many ornamental grasses
Lily-of-the-Valley
Wild Ginger
Wintergreen *

Obviously not all of these will be suitable, as some would die in my winter.

My choices will be as follows:


Foxglove

Nice and tall, will cover ugly things. They aren't long lived, but they do self-seed and multiply. As before, I know they do well here.


Pulmonaria aka Bethlehem Sage (I often prefer Latin names)

This is a short one for in front of the window. The other one for this position will be:


See how nice that looks among gravel. 

I may put some annuals in this year while the perennials are small, and the obvious choice is pansies. I don't do impatiens, no, no, no. No.

Soon as it's in, I'll do an update here with photos.