TIPS TO MAKE YOUR GARDEN BEAUTIFUL

 

Planning your garden design;

Did you dig in without considering garden design when you were starting out? That's what I did. I just kept making my beds a little wider each year to put in more perennials. It was a matter of learning by doing.

FIRST, HAVE A DESIGN ON A PAPER;

No, you don't have to draw out a plan, showing where every single perennial plant goes.
I was trained in garden design, and most of the time I don't have the patience for that!
The pros do it to figure out the exact number of plants to order, but home gardeners usually don't work that way.
When I make a drawing for myself, it's generally a simple one to show the layout of a bed, and a basic planting plan that shows the most important plants only.

 A logical planting scheme to follow;

 A lot of folks see gardening primarily as getting color into their yards. But if you focus on colorful flowers first and foremost, it's a bit like arranging the lamps, accessories and pictures before your house has even been built.

I once took a landscape design course taught by the British garden guru John Brooke, author of John Brooke Garden Design. He advises planning and planting in the following order: First, the "specials", usually large deciduous trees that serve as focal points; next the "skeletons," evergreens or hedges for year-round structure.
 
DECORATIVE FLOWERS;

 
Then come the "decorative", flowering shrubs or tall grasses. And, finally, you get to the "pretties" - spring and summer-blooming perennials and fillers such as bulbs, annuals or biennials.

Planting your garden will be easier if you take a little time to plan before you buy plants. Remember: nobody creates a prize-winning flower garden the first year - but you weren't going to invite the garden club over for coffee - not just yet anyway?

( HOW TO PLANT BULB )

 

How to plant

• Bulbs are some of the easiest garden plants to grow, needing only a well-drained soil and some sunshine. As a general rule, plant bulbs two to three times their own depth and around two bulb widths apart.
• It's important to plant bulbs with its top facing upwards. If unsure, plant the bulb on its side.
• Replace the soil after planting, breaking down any large clumps and firm in gently, making sure there are no air spaces around the bulbs.
• 
  

Bulbs in lawns

• Naturalise bulbs in lawns by taking a handful and dropping from waist height.
• Plant where they land with a strong trowel or bulb planter - these are ideal for digging into heavy clay soil. To use, push the cylindrical blade down, twist and pull up a plug of soil.

• Drop the bulb in, flattest side down, and crumble the plug into the hole.
• In order to save time, try planting a large number of small bulbs by lifting a piece of turf and planting a group of bulbs in the soil.

 

Bulbs in pots

• When growing bulbs in a pot, pick a container that is the right size and will complement your chosen bulbs.
• If you are using a clay pot with a large drainage hole in the base, cover it with a piece of broken pot.
• Fill pots with general-purpose compost, mixed with a handful of horticultural grit to improve drainage.
• Water after planting.

Aftercare

• Bulbs in pots need more care than those in soil.
• Keep the compost moist and protect from frost by wrapping with bubble wrap over winter. Cover with a piece of chicken wire to prevent squirrels, mice and voles from digging them out. Remove it when shoots appear.

HOW TO PLANT SEEDS

 

 The “Strawberry Factory” Patio Planter

This planter is built to last a lifetime. Just add one bag of garden soil, mix with the included soil amendments, and add your plants.

Features:

Ø    2” x 8” Western Red Cedar Construction

Ø    3” Stainless Steel Screws

Ø    Gorilla Glue^TM  Joints

Ø    36” x 14.25” Dimensions

Ø    Holds 1.5 cu. Ft. (12 Gallons)

Ø    3-Year Unconditional Warranty

Each planter comes with the following:

Ø    1 Gallon of Perlite

Ø    2 Gallons of Soil Amendment

Ø      Instructions with Planting Tips

The “Herb Factory” Patio Planter

Just add one bag of garden soil, mix with the included soil amendments, and add your seed (also included).

Features:

Ø    Same as above

Each planter comes with the following:

Ø    1 Gallon of Perlite

Ø    2 Gallons of Soil Amendment

Ø    8 Varieties of Herb Seed
Instructions with Planting Tips

The “Salad Factory” Patio Planter

Add one bag of garden soil, mix with the included soil amendments, and add your seed (also included).

Features:

Ø    Same as above
 

Each planter comes with the following:

Ø    1 Gallon of Perlite

Ø    2 Gallons of Soil Amendment

Ø    3 Packages of Lettuce Seeds- Black-Seeded Simpson, Red Romaine, & Buttercrunch.

Ø      Instructions with Planting Tips

‘Spring Flowers’

We have been slammed at the shop since this past Monday.  Detroit Garden Works conducts one sale a year.  From the day after Christmas until January the 8th, we put every holiday item on sale for 50% off-and everything and anything else in the shop at 20% off.  Should you be a gardener interested in a bit of a bargain-once a year, we oblige.   This gives us some time to travel, shop, repaint, clean, and plan.  So should you have a mind to drop by after January 8, email us, call ahead, or knock on my front door.      
Gardening might be best defined as a “this is it” pursuit. Should I neglect to plant crocus in the fall, I will have plenty of time regret it, come spring.  Should I not take the time to see and enjoy my March crocus, I might miss them. A two day span of exceptionally cold weather-those flowers will vanish-until next year.  There are times when I might turn back the clock, or ask for an extension-but time waits for no garden. Tune in to the crocus, or wait until next year. 
The hellebore flowers are not nearly so fragile.  They stay with me for a while in late March and April.  I make it my spring business to look at them every day.  Planting them on the driveway was no accident; I have two chances every day to enjoy them.   How the flowers emerge from the ground, mature, and dry right on the stalk is a process that takes weeks.  But once those weeks pass, hellebore heaven will have to wait until next year.  I leave the flowers be, hoping some seed will mature, drop and grow.      
I may photograph the tulips outside my office every day.  Like the hellebores, observing their manner of emerging from the ground and growing is a yearly treat.  The flowers are glorious.  They come in an extraordinary range of sizes, colors and forms.  For my pots in the garage, I bought smaller numbers and as great a variety as I could.  Why not try as many as possible?  I was caight flat footed by the early cold this fall; the pots were outdoors a little too long. Every time I look at these pots filled with dirt, I search for signs of a bulb-fest to come.  Nothing doing.  I’ll have my this is it moment, for better or for worse, months from now.   
With the exception of double bloodroot, no flower is more fleeting than the magnolia.  Really cold spring weather can shut down the show before it even opens.  No matter than you have a valid ticket. Should I be so fortunate to have a good show from my Galaxy magnolia, I can be assured it will not be a long one.  I have 2 chairs and a table on my upper deck.  They are placed to take advantage of the aerial view pictured above.   I may need a coat and hat, but I am out there. The ephemeral beauty of everything that blooms in my garden has much to do with why 2011 will be my 33rd gardening season. 
I cannot remember another year when the roses were this prolific. 2010 provided spectacularly great growing weather from early spring through June.  This John Davis rose of Janet’s was smothered in flowers for weeks. Wherever I saw roses, they were glorious.  Janet, who devotes her summer gardening life to her roses insisted that I come and spend some time with hers.  I am so glad I did.  On both of our minds-is this it?  Is this the best the roses will ever be? 
Even the Queen Anne’s Lace in the field was lush.  Regular rain early, and a very hot and dry July made the meadow next door look dreamy.  This was nature at its weediest best.    
The sunflower season is one of my favorites.  I buy them at market as often as I can.  There is not a form shape or color I do not like-although the orangy brown varieties seem a little silly.  I like my sunflowers to remind me of the sun, and sunny summer days.  I like to have bouquets of them throughout the season.  These stems I stuck into a large brick of oasis taped into a clear floral dish.  Sunflowers are big, heavy and unwieldy.  Worst of all, the water fouls quickly, and needs frequent changing.  I set this dish on top of a glas vase full of water which I tinted yellow with food coloring.  Amazingly, sunflowers last for days out of water altogether.

By the time my Honorine Jobert anemones start blooming, I know the end of the season is not long off. The cooler nights make this once a year display go on for quite some time.  But once the nights turn very cold, the flowers vanish-until next year. 

The fall color on the Boston Ivy was short lived this year.  Some leaves dropped from cold before they turned. The color-not so great as it was in 2009.  But I had no complaints.  Once a year, I have my chance to enjoy it.

SOMETHING ABOUT FLOWERS.....................

If you should be a card carrying gardener in my area, no doubt you have been to Telly’s.  If you have not, it is located on John R north of Big Beaver.  I have been shopping there for over 20 years.  I have never known anyone who had a better working knowledge of an incredible range of plants.  I have known few whose enthusiasm for plants matches his.  Wildflowers-he is a source.  Great roses, unusual hostas, specimen hostas, great grasses, the largest population of dianthus and other rock garden plants, the tried and true, and the cutting edge on perennials of all descriptions, great annuals-great tropicals.  His place is the physical incarnation of a first rate horticultural encyclopedia.  Plan to spend some time. It will be time well spent, no matter what time of year you go.   
I called George today-I have 3 large marble planters in a very contemporary conservatory to get planted.  My calls to George with a need for unusual plants, or plants in big numbers have invariably been answered.  The time and effort he has spent sourcing plant material over the past umpteen years-He deserves a seat with a brass plaque at the Library of Congress, department of plants.  I would vote for this.    I have great respect for George-as well I should. We send people to him all the time.  Detroit Garden Works features plants of size, plants I take a fancy to, some of this and a little more of that.  Telly’s is a plant nation.  Of course George says-I just got back from Florida with some very cool plants-when can you get here?
My holiday and winter work is over, as are the holidays.  My buying trip to Atlanta-over. Coming down with a cold-a given.  I have time now to have a stinking cold, so why not.  A visit to Tellys today helped reduce my irritation level..  The idea of standing in a working greenhouse full of very interesting plants sounded good.  Steve and I got on the road first thing this morning. I am sure you can tell from these pictures that George likes succulents.  We are not talking hens and chicks.  We are talking echeverias.  OK, the sum total of my knowledge is out there, once I say the e word.  Want more info-go see George.  Though I have no name for this plant, I so like how it looks.  I like even better how these 15 e’s look in the case.  
Tray after tray of gorgeous succulents-I snapped this wavy edged turquoise rosette succulent flat up in a second.  George immediately rolled his eyes-do you need all of them?  Mais Oui, George-I need them all.  He gets over it quickly-he can reorder.  But I understand his reaction.  Gorgeous plants are so tough to let go of.  We gardeners are just ordinary people after all-but we have a true passion for plants and growing that can take us over the line.  Over the line-I am happy to be a member of that group.   
Drocera, commonly known as sundew, is the largest genus of carviverous plants on the planet-there are at least 194 species.  Plants that attract bugs, dissolve them, and ingest nutrients from them-creepy.  But George has them, should you be interested.  They are fascinating looking.  They also look like trouble, but I did not mind this case of trouble plants one bit.  January 24 I am happy to have a greenhouse to visit.  How a greenhouse smells in the winter, delicious. The air is heavy with water, and the smell of soil comforts me.  This winter promises to be a long one.  I will be back, regularly.
Tropical plants are not my forte.  I am better when I am outside. But I have no problem spending time in a warm spot, with strangers. We have had overnight lows recently of 2 degrees, and 8 degrees.  My choices for gardening company-not so great.  Whatever gardening company I might find-fine.  Telly’s is looking really good right now.
I bought box after box of tropical plants for my conservatory installation tomorrow.  Black, grey, and white leaved plants of a number of sizes and shapes.  Different than these green and red plants whose name I do not know.  No matter. I know the growing conditions for my client.  I know how it is heated.  I know how it is cared for.  This makes it possible for me to design and plant plants whose names do not know.  Margaret Dixon, who may have been the best gardener it has ever been my privilege to know, knew no names.  But she could grow anything and everything, beautifully.  Though she has been gone 15 years, I can still hear her saying.  Ask the name last.  Ask about what makes it happy first.  Should you be a new gardener, skip the name, and move on to the ideal conditions.  Should you be more that 100 feet away from good conditions, consider another plant.
Phalaenopsis orchids mostly require what I cannot provide.  Though the flowers are lovely beyond belief, I do not attempt to grow them. I like looking at them at Telly’s, and at orchid shows, and at my local botanical garden greenhouse.  Shouild I ever decide to turn over my entire gardening life to the cultivation of orchids, I might consider them.  But in general, I welcome plants into my gardening life that like my gardening life to start with.   

OK, I might make an exception for this amaryllis.  Only as I might possibly provide the conditions they require to flourish.  And successfully summer them over for flowers next year.  This one flower alone was worth the trip today-yes, we had daytime ultra cold and snow.  I am sure there is a greenhouse near you.  My advice? Get out your gardening passport, and go somewhere.

Plant pathology: Problems with peas

Downy Mildew Peronospora viciae

This fungal disease causes the upper surface of the leaf to turn yellow while beneath the leaf a grey brown furry growth develops. This is worse during humid weather. Watering late in the day should be avoided.

Powdery mildew fungus (Erisphe pisi) showing as white powdery coating on leaves while parasitic fungi 'black leg' (Mycosphaerella pinodes) and 'chocolate spot' (Ascochyta pisi) cause brown or black marks or spots on the stems and leaves.
In Australia, the pea variety Greenfeast, a New Zealand selection from Lincoln, has long been regarded as having good disease resistance though it may not be entirely free from an attack by powdery mildew. It is a recessive gene in peas so that even wild peas from which the modern cultivars have been developed are sensitive to it.The theory behind this is that mildew is encouraged by the plant as it attracts beneficial insects such as ladybirds which appear to feed on the fungal colonies, thus protecting the peas from a worse insect invader.

Other resistant varieties include the American bred Knight, Kodiak, Mayfair, Rascal, dwarf Oregon Snow Pea and the sugar snap variety Super Sugar Mel. Not all these varieties are available here.
A degree of control of fungal diseases in peas can be achieved by spraying with potassium bicarbonate or by using a sulfur powder.

Baeckea virgata 'Minima' & Diosma album,, When 2 becomes 1

Baeckea virgata 'Minima' & Diosma album

Merging to form one low growing compact shrub are these two fine leaved plants. The Baeckea at the front now goes by the name of Babingtonia similis 'Minima' and Diosma also goes by the name of Coleonema. Another case of botanists changing plant names while the old names stick around for a lot longer in the nursery and horticultural industry, often because they are easier to pronounce!