- Author: Tina Saravia
I simply love that we have so many pine trees in this neighborhood. Yesterday, I gathered my lawn rake and tied a 20-gallon nursery pot to my little hand truck and walked a few blocks to gather pine needles to mulch my blueberry bed.
Pine needles are a great mulch for acid-loving plants like blueberries because of their acidic nature. They are slow to decompose so the effect of acidifying the soil can take many years.
That's not the only reason I use pine needles for my blueberry bed. I use them because the mulch protects the soil from losing water to evaporation from the sun and wind, reducing the frequency of watering and the amount of water. (We are in a drought.) It also controls weeds by blocking sunlight that weeds need to grow, and when it breaks down it adds its nutrients to the soil, reducing fertilizer needs.
It saves me time and money. How could I not love that? And did I mention it's free for the taking? And close to my house.
For more information on mulching and watering, check out this link to a delightful web page — the Ruth Risdon Storer Garden - A Valley-Wise Garden.
http://www.arboretum.ucdavis.edu/downloads/storer_exhibits.pdf
- Author: Jennifer Baumbach
Sometimes you just can't figure out what is going on with a plant. One day it looks great and the next time you look at it-not so much. I had this happen to me recently. Long ago, I planted two Ceanothus 'Dark Star'. If you've never seen this ceanothus, you'd be in awe of it's bloom. It's a deep, rich purple flower. Much darker than the normal light blue ceanothus flowers you normally see.
About a year ago, the older ceanothus of the two started to leak sap and limb by limb it descended into death. I was really bummed about this as the ceanothus compliments the bright yellow, waxy flowers of the California flannelbush (Fremontodendron californicum) I planted it by. I eventually pulled out the ceanothus and discarded it, thinking great, I at least have the other 'Dark Star' more like the Death Star.
Just this season, I noted the second ceanthous was looking sickly. I was hoping it was just the drought and that it would show new life in spring after the winter rains. Upon closer inspection, I found that the whole plant was indeed dead, dead, dead. I decided to dig the hole plant up and inspect the roots to see if I could perform a post mortem exam. I found that there were roots circling and girdling the main part of the trunk not allowing the flow of nutrients or water to the plant. In essence, starving the plant by strangling it-mystery solved.
It could be that I didn't loosen up the roots enough when first planting or maybe another factor is the hard clay it was planted in not allowing it to penetrate the soil outside the hole I dug. My guess would be that I didn't see a root that was kinked when it was smaller. I have had experience with plants that actually had their smaller pot still attached, but was so buried and hidden in the roots it was undetectable until you did that post mortem inspection.
- Author: Lowell Cooper
Recently I have been going out to my garden and realizing that many of the plants I relied on to give me color and solace are getting more barren. I also exercise around my neighborhood and have the same experience there too. The fall to winter transition can be rough, I tell myself. And I believe it is true. My rose growing friends are all focusing on beginning to get their roses cleaned, pruned, mulched and ready for the other side of winter; stop fertilizing them now and pick up the dead leaves. Time to let the plants that have produced fully during the spring and summer have a rest. I recently read 2 articles in the New York Times about the fall colors on the trees in the northeast. That seemed to me a glorious way to make the transition. The botanical explanations of the color change are all well and good, but the bottom line – as a leaf tourist – is that I can still look up and see the dazzling changes in the trees. The operative notion: I can still look up at them. This seems the normal way to look at trees for their color.
Yesterday, however, I went outside and saw a whole bunch of birds poking around the ground. It really caught my eye because it looked like they were seeing something edible that I couldn't see and certainly had not provided. As I watched them, I realized that the ground was covered with green sprouts and lots of them. The alyssum was returning in clumps, the naked ladys (Amaryllis belladonna) had reappearing foliage, and there were at least a half-dozen patches of bulbs that had clearly found a home. Crocuses, ranunculus, narcissus, irises sand several others from past years that had been tucked away during the hot, dry months. There was nothing slack about their growth, however, in this chilly and wet weather.
I didn't expect these little beauties to flower for a while, but they imply so much life and embody the excitement of having a garden and watching it grown throughout the whole year. My roses, the olive tree, the fig tree and other wonderful specimens of summer expansiveness are lying fallow, but are giving other features of the landscape a chance to express themselves. With the rain, as modest as it has been, the new sprouts are clean and shiny and newborn and hopeful. Seems like a good way to greet the end of daylight savings time and the chilly weeks and months ahead.
I am the kind of gardener who goes out and fusses with the plants no matter what the weather, when the urge strikes me. It renews my spirit to realize that I can look down to see what is coming up. I have faith that by the time they are themselves growing up, they will point towards the reawakening of spring drama.
- Author: Betty Homer
As we are approaching the winter months, I have been missing some of my summer herbs like cilantro which is a culinary staple in my household. Even while cilantro is growing in full swing, I have struggled with keeping it from going to seed quickly, even with slow-bolt varieties. On one of the urban farm tours I took in the last few years, I learned that an herb called Rau Ram (Persicaria odorata) also known as Vietnamese coriander, can be used as a substitute for cilantro. For those unfamiliar with Rau Ram, it is an herb whose leaves are commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisine, most notably in Vietnamese cooking where the herb is eaten fresh with salads and summer eggrolls, and cooked in soups and stews. Rau Ram's flavor is reminiscent of a fruity cilantro. Rau Ram prefers sun and warm and damp conditions in the garden, but it is frost tender so it must be covered or brought inside during the winter (similar to lemongrass). I can attest that after the first winter my Rau Ram spent in my garden, it was in a sorry state (I left it outside, uncovered). Much to my surprise, it recovered the following spring and summer in spite of me, and has been going strong ever since, even with the current cold temperatures.
I have read that Rau Ram grows rapidly to 1 foot tall and can sprawl to several feet across, although mine has remained compact, mostly due to my neglect. Moreover, unlike cilantro, my Rau Ram is a perennial and has never bolted, although I have read that it does have the ability to bolt. For readers whose cuisine commonly utilizes cilantro, consider planting Rau Ram in your garden this year, which will do in a pinch in lieu of cilantro and perhaps even give your food a new twist.
- Author: Sharon L. Rico
Having a small yard and a husband who loves fruit trees, we decided about 10 years ago if we added any more trees they would have to be espaliered. Although we both had seen this technique in books and had observed a friend who lined his front stucco wall with espaliered trees we were apprehensive about undertaking such a project.
Well we jumped in and purchased not one but two apple trees (a Gala and a Fuji) and espaliered them against our backyard fence. This project turned out very successful and beyond our wildest dreams. The trees are beautifully leafed out in the summer, supporting clusters of apples that ripen early since the sunshine kisses each apple. In the winter, after the leaves have fallen, the branches flat against the fence are lovely to see and very architectural.
My husband took an old picture frame, lined it with cement board and covered the front with plastic lath. The frame, cement board and lath were recycled items from our junk pile. Soil was added between the cement board and lath. Between the spaces in the lath, I placed snippets of small succulents. It has been hanging in our backyard for 5 years and it comes down every 6-8 weeks to be watered and thrives even on the hottest summer days. When originally planting this vertical wall, the newly planted frame sat flat for about 2 weeks to allow the plants to set roots and anchor into the soil. Over time I've had to replace succulents that have overgrown the lath.
I've seen pallets used for vertical gardens at the Solano Fair in Vallejo. They were simply made and held herbs, succulents and vegetable plants. Any plant will succeed if shallow rooted. (Do not use climbing plants). Vertical gardens require morning sun and afternoon shade. Potting soil works well and should be packed into the vertical spaces. Make sure your wood frame has not been treated with chemicals.
Vertical gardens can be portable, require less water and the best part-they do not need to be weeded. They add beauty to large blank walls and interest to any garden.
Vertical gardens are wonderful additions to residences that do not have space for plants. I've seen manufactured boxes in catalogs and online that are easy to fill with soil, plant and add to blank walls. These are fun, easy summertime projects.
A recent magazine article pictured a vertical garden in a living room. It had an assortment of plants placed into plastic pockets and sewn onto a burlap wall hanging. The article did not indicate how those plants were watered.
We will be seeing more creative ideas on vertical gardening as public interest increases and new gardens diminish in size.