Happy Friday GPODers!
20.08.2024 - 06:10 / finegardening.com / GPOD Contributor
Hi GPODers!
In case you missed it yesterday, this week we’re on a five-day, virtual Bitterroot Secret Garden Tour™ courtesy of the Tour’s president, Kielian DeWitt. Yesterday we visited the expansive garden of Gordon Nichols, and today we’re visiting the smaller, but equally as enchanting garden of Betsy Merrell.
Betsy grew up in Bakersfield, California, avoiding all aspects of gardening to the best of her ability. It was hot, where invasive grasses, goat-head sticker vines (Tribulus terrestris)and tumbleweeds thrived and could spring up in a garden overnight. But both her mother and grandmother found great pleasure in growing flowers, trees and vegetables and transformed their surroundings into shady havens of rest and pleasure. Family gatherings always took place at one or the other’s homes because of the beautiful surroundings. As she grew up, Betsy learned to appreciate eating sweet strawberries as she made her way up their driveway after school, and there were fresh vegetables on the table most any time of year. As she started planting her own gardens in Bakersfield, she learned to create the shade and coolness brought by ground covers, screening trees and shrubs and bringing in good soil and mulch to hold moisture.
When she found herself in Montana 30 years ago, ready to create flowerbeds, it was a shock to be unable to identify even one plant that grew here. She began to pay attention to friends’ gardens and looked to see what she liked and didn’t like, taking starts and cuttings from anyone who offered. Many “gifts” turned out to be hearty spreaders and filled a garden (too) quickly but Rudbeckia and Echinacea were her first brilliant successes. She says there will always be room for those two in her gardens. In
Happy Friday GPODers!
Rock gardens are an attractive way of displaying a variety of small plants including alpines, dwarf shrubs and low-growing perennials. They can be adapted to suit any space – an alpine trough, old stone wall or sunny border can all be used to create a form of rock garden. One of the first rock gardens was built at the Chelsea Physic Garden in London in the late 1770s, and they became a popular feature in Victorian and Edwardian gardens, providing a way to display alpine plants from around the world.
If you plan on setting up an entertainment system in your garden, there are many ways you can go about it, and there are many things to consider to ensure you get the most out of your space.
You've likely heard that burying banana peels in your garden is a good way to add important nutrients to the soil to grow healthy plants. Banana peels do contain nutrients, but not as many as you may think. Plus, it's not as simple as placing them in the soil and skipping fertilizer or compost.
Interior designer Veere Grenney's garden in Tangier
“Uncontrollable changes in a garden are inevitable and wonderful opportunities,” says Donald Pell, a landscape designer in Chester County, Pennsylvania. To prove this is true, Donald and his associates created an incredible series ofnaturalistic gardens around their studio. This landscape has become an invaluable laboratory where Donald and his team learn from failures and from the many years of watching this landscape design evolve. “Establishing a garden based on an initial plan (perhaps one even scribbled on paper) is a great place to start, but as plants, the setting, conditions, our knowledge, and our tastes change, so should our designs,” Donald says.
Header image: Cilantro seedlings grown in 100% recycled glass material. Image credit: Andrea Quezada
There is no way to sugarcoat the challenges many of us in the Mid-Atlantic region have faced this summer. The inconsistency of rainfall and the extreme high temperatures have greatly impacted our efforts to garden successfully. Even with valiant efforts to apply supplemental irrigation, I have witnessed a wide range of plant material showing signs of drought stress that I have rarely witnessed in my 15-plus years of gardening in this region. To say it is cause for concern would be an understatement. As a result, in the last few months I have been repeatedly asked how we can prepare our beloved gardens to reduce heat and moisture stress for future growing seasons. One answer to this conundrum is to add organic matter to the soil in the form of compost.
Are you tired of growing the same old plants in your garden year after year? Looking for something that adds a new dimension to your gardening experience? If you're eager to explore innovative options, feminised seeds might be the perfect choice for you. These seeds not only offer unique benefits but also provide a fresh challenge for both novice and experienced gardeners. Let's dive into the world of feminised seeds and discover how they can revolutionize your garden.
I heard a rustling behind me and turned to see a huge tortoise disappearing under a shrub! That was 25 years ago in South Africa. I was thrilled to see the creature but my fellow gardeners quickly loaded it onto a wheelbarrow bound for the veld (the open grassland) beyond the garden.