Water is the source of all life, but too much water can cause significant problems even in the garden space. For instance, surplus water can promote root rot and diseases amongst plants.
21.07.2023 - 22:16 / awaytogarden.com / Joseph Tychonievich
I’VE BEEN EDGING as fast as I can. And mulching, raking, weeding, transplanting; you know the drill. Spring frenzy—both in to-do’s, and in the madness of what’s blooming in time for Saturday’s May 6 Open Day. The plants are cooperating, so how about you? Rain or shine—we’re here with garden visiting, Broken Arrow Nursery plant sale, and your choice of two talks by Joseph Tychonievich (or both!), one on rock-garden ideas and another on pollinator plants.
Lilacs, the ancient old apples, fothergilla, and more woody plants are in bloom, and the crabapples opening wider even as I type. I think the deciduous azaleas may pop today, too. On the ground layer, every manner of native spring wildflower jumbled with unusual Asian woodlanders are doing their things. Even the masses of hellebores are still at it, and more than half of the Narcissus. Sort of an old-fashioned spring so far—so please come say hello, won’t you? All the details and lecture-ticket info:
the lineup and visiting detailsGarden open 10-4 (directions are on the Conservancy site) Plant sale 10-4 by Broken Arrow Nursery no advance ticket required for garden access or plant sale, but tickets are recommended for the special events with Joseph (walk-ins welcome, assuming space is available). Note: There is a special discounted combination ticket for both talks, and time to come visit the garden between. Make a day of it! 11 AM Lecture: Rock Gardening, Reimagining a Classic Style: Inspired by the tiny plants and dramatic, rocky landscapes found on mountain tops, rock gardening uses a range of unusual, small plants in combination with beautiful stones to create miniaturized landscapes. This approach to gardening is water-wise, perfect for containers, small gardens, andWater is the source of all life, but too much water can cause significant problems even in the garden space. For instance, surplus water can promote root rot and diseases amongst plants.
The Russia-Ukraine grain deal that has been critical to keeping global food prices stable and preventing famine is currently in tatters. On July 17, 2023, Russia said it was pulling out of the year-old deal, which allowed shipments of grains and other foodstuffs to travel past the Russian naval blockade in the Black Sea. And to make matters worse, over the next two days Russia bombed the Ukrainian grain port of Odesa, destroying over 60,000 tons of grain.
Do you have an unsightly spot in your yard plagued by erosion? Or, how about an area that captures the majority of rain from your rooftop, driveway, or sidewalk? Rain gardens are the perfect management solution for these types of areas. Planted in depressed areas, rain gardens intercept stormwater runoff before it has the chance to enter our waterways, which often transports pollutants, such as sediment, fertilizer, and herbicide. Rain gardens slow down runoff, allowing it to infiltrate down into the ground and deeper into the groundwater. This helps to control erosion that may be problematic in the landscape, thus reducing the potential of flooding. As the water infiltrates, the soil filters nutrients and bacteria. The sediment is captured, and native plants remove the excess nutrients for their growth. This contributes to improved water quality downstream of the site.
Yes, you read that right – snowman hands. When I started teaching food safety practices to children I wondered how to teach them about proper hand washing. We all know how important it is to thoroughly wash our hands before preparing food, after touching raw meat and poultry or any other potentially contaminated surface. We can easily explain to children (and adults!) that singing happy birthday twice, while scrubbing hands, equals the prescribed 10 to 15 seconds that we should do while washing. However, how do you explain how much soap to use to create a good lather?? The answer: snowman hands! Use enough soap that your hands look like a snowman’s hands after rubbing them together! I have found great success with this tip while teaching children (and now my own children) to wash their hands properly. And guess what – it takes a good 10 to 15 seconds of scrubbing soapy hands together to create those snowman hands! Bonus to the singing of happy birthday while washing hands! So next time you are washing your hands, use enough soap to create snowman hands. This will help prevent the spread of food-borne illness (and those nasty cold and flu bugs too!).
Recently, an impressive amount of rain has fallen in South Carolina. With excess rainfall, also comes an increased potential for stormwater runoff. A landscape feature that can help mediate stormwater is a rain garden. Rain gardens are landscaped depressions that receive stormwater runoff and allow the water to infiltrate the soil slowly, eventually reaching the groundwater table. (See Figure 1). A rain garden can add both beauty and functionality to any landscape. Multiple plant species can be used in a rain garden, including shrubs, perennials (both shade and sun-loving), and grasses. Please see the plant lists below for rain garden plant recommendations.
Pyrus calleryana ‘Bradford’ was once touted as the perfect, sterile garden or landscape tree. It has now bred prolifically with other pear species and spread so extensively that it is now on South Carolina’s invasive plant list. Now is an excellent time to replace these pest trees with something more ecologically sound. We have several options to choose from at the South Carolina Plant Sale or visit your local nursery to find alternatives. The SCBG plant sale is online again this spring; details are here: https://www.clemson.edu/public/scbg/plant-sale/index.html
Growing up, my father loved growing vegetables. He was proud of his produce, always sharing the harvest with friends and neighbors. He would even encourage compliments at the dinner table by saying, “those green beans are really good, aren’t they?” Of course, we quickly responded to the affirmative, lest the question would be posed again. But I must say, the beans were always good, along with the squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, and many other vegetables that came out of his garden.
As summer fades and fall’s cool temperatures and moist days arrive, this is a fantastic time for planting perennials, shrubs, and trees. Under these conditions, plants get time to establish roots without the stresses of summer heat and dryness. Luckily, this is also time for the South Carolina Botanical Garden’s semi-annual plant sale. As well as offering great quality plants of all kinds, plant sales are our major fundraiser. Through them, you support our operations and the enhancements made to this unique and free public garden. The catalog is available online for pre-sale planning Preview the Catalog (PDF). Garden staff, volunteers, and Clemson University students will be available at the sale to help with plant selection. In addition, several partner organizations set up booths at the sale to answer questions about gardening-related topics and activities. To find out who will be here this year, check the catalog. For additional information, please contact Misty Shealy, Nursery Manager, at [email protected].
“Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. Gardening is an instrument of grace.” ~May Sarton~
Sarton, who today is sometimes mentioned in the same breath as phrases like “women’s literature,” or covered in women’s studies curriculums, wrote more than 50 books. She actually came to my attention thanks to two men, at different times in my life. I might have missed her altogether if not for a one-two punch by Sydney Schanberg, an ex-New York Times colleague who thirty-odd years ago offhandedly said, “You would like May Sarton,” and then years later my therapist (who gave me “Journal of a Solitude”).It wasn’t her emerging influence on feminism that provoked their decades-ago recommendations. They knew that the natural world, and specifically the garden, called to me, as it did Sarton.“A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself,” she wrote.SARTON, A PROLIFIC POET and author of fiction, also wrote memoir
On Saturday, June 8, join me and Adam Wheeler of Broken Arrow Nursery in my garden for tours and a giant plant sale, and select from among an entire day of plant-themed offerings celebrating both herbs and flowers in nearby Hillsdale: herb cooking and flower arranging and growing.Plus, learn to be a better birder in a morning talk and guided walk/workshop, with Kathryn Schneider, past president of the NY State Ornithological Association and author of “Birding the Hudson Valley.” Don
Full lecture and class descriptions below, along with ticket ordering for succulent events:11 am lecture: ‘succulent love’PRACTICALLY carefree, with low water needs and available in amazing forms in nuanced colors that mix and match beautifully…that’s why succulents have been the rage in horticulture in recent years.In this visually rich talk, longtime collector, nursery owner and garden designer Katherine Tracey will share some of her favorite ways of using both hardy and tender succulents in Northeastern gardens, including using them as ingredients in mixed planters, vertical gardens and lately as the subject of long-lasting cut material for