Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Do As I Say, Not As I Do (Confessions of a Garden Coach)

 
I love teaching about gardening, but I am ashamed to admit I do not always practice what I preach in my community-gardening programs or when coaching a home gardener. I feel it is time I fessed up. They say that confession is good for the soul, so here are seven of my gardening sins. I will first state what I teach, and then tell what I actually do. (I'm illustrating this post with pictures that I took in my garden this morning.)

1. Give each plant the conditions it needs to thrive. We often describe this as putting "the right plant in the right place." However, I seem convinced I can defy Mother Nature. When I planted two red twig dogwoods last year, I placed one in full sun and one in part shade, knowing the color depends on the amount of sun that the shrub receives. The one in full sun is the most beautiful bright crimson color. The other will survive, but it is not such a vivid red. The reason I bought them was for the color, duh! This is not as terrible a sin as trying to grow a climbing rose over a trellis that is located in too much shade. Yes, I did that when I first started my gardens here. Yes, it died. I replaced it with a honeysuckle that loves the spot. 

Arctic Fire™ Red Twig Dogwood Cornus stolonifera 'Farrow' loves this sunny spot. I'm too ashamed to show you a picture of the one that I planted in the Horseshoe Garden.
 

2. Rotate your crops. I am pleased to say I do this faithfully with my vegetables. I have a four-year rotation system that ensures diseases are not passed on from year to year. Unfortunately, I do not always remember this with my annual flowers. I planted zinnias around a wall fountain every year for several years, resulting in zinnia leaf spot disease each time. Now I try to find new places for them each season, although that is difficult in my small cutting garden. Choosing more disease-resistant varieties helps.

 

The cutting garden is the long bed on the right. I plant it intensely with zinnias and other annuals. Can you see the new wind spinner at the end? A birthday present from my daughter, Duane calls it The Whirligig. I have weeded and raked the kitchen-garden beds ready for composting. We had a large load of mushroom compost delivered this morning.
3. Label plants when you put them in the ground.  This is important for locations as well as names, but I don't always do it. When there is no marker, I sometimes forget in the spring and have been known to pull out new growth thinking it is a weed. In the summer, when someone is admiring the plant, I am saved embarrassment by having its name right there. The old memory is not what it was.
  • I have no idea what this hellebore is called.
 
4. Don't buy by impulse! The consequences can be great. It can also be a disaster, such as the obedient plant that spread profusely, taking over my world. 
 
But who could resist this beauty? ...

There is always room for one more hellebore


5. Clean and sharpen your gardening tools every year. I have this on the Fall Tasks list for my students, and I tell them if not accomplished then, it must be done in the spring. Oops! I just butchered a shrub with blunt cross-secateurs. Fortunately, Duane came to my rescue with a new pair. 
 
6. Put peony supports in place before the plant grows too tall. Hurray, I have not missed the window of opportunity for several years .... 
 
Of course, I didn't take this picture today.


7. Get a soil test. You can purchase a kit at your local Extension office and the resulting information is invaluable. So why don't I do this? I will quickly change the subject ... please call it "soil" not "dirt." This is an American foible that I am sometimes guilty of myself. Remember ... Soil is the substance you grow plants in; dirt is the substance behind my refrigerator.
 
Seriously, dear gardening friends, I am wondering what advice you would give new gardeners? 
 
More Blooms in my March Garden

As the snowdrops faded in the Serenity Garden, these sweet daffodils began to flower in front of Helleborus 'Ivory Prince'.




The hellebores that Jon and I planted last year in the stumpery are blooming.

A young Japanese Andromeda, Pieris japonica 'Mountain Fire', sometimes called Lily-of-the-Valley plant, beginning to flower in the Woodland Walk.

The Bees are Back!

Glad to capture this picture before the deer ate all my crocuses!

I am linking with Sarah at Down by the Sea for her monthly 'Through the Garden Gate' meme. Thank you, Sarah, for hosting. I believe you have been getting some nice, warm weather in England, so I'm sure you have many more blooms than me this month. 

Stay safe and well.

Love, 

Pamela x


The first daffodil to bloom each year is in Abundance Garden.

I love reading your comments. I hope you leave one so I’ll know you visited! 

I look forward to visiting your blog in return.





20 comments:

  1. Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your columns! I have several hellebores blooming and just bought a new white one. They never do well but...
    I have removed all of last year’s tatty leaves...I notice your leaves stilllook good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoy my blog! I removed the tatty leaves on my hellebores before I took the pictures!

      Delete
  2. Well, whether or not you follow the rules, it is obvious that your garden flourishes, so you must be doing something right! Oh, and I do love those hellebores.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love them, too, and would like more. Just trying to figure out where to put them. ha.ha.

      Delete
  3. So what if you don't always follow your own advice, your garden is always beautiful. As for the impulse buys, surely we all do that, it's just so hard to resist some plants whether we have the ideal conditions to grow them or not, haha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I miss the garden centers in England, Jo, where there is so much more to buy than just plants -- even have a cup of tea and scone in their cafe -- I wasn't always so tempted to impulse buy. Here the garden centers are all plants and how can I leave without one, or two ...?

      Delete
  4. I'm new here! I love gardens and most especially English cottage gardens with a water garden. I admit that I truly don't know what I am doing and sadly my almost 70 year old frame work no longer has gardening knees. I have tried encouraging my granddaughter to help me. She dies her best. We are the blind leading the blind. I have been lucky to have some lovely results but an experienced gardener like you will see the flaws.

    I just bought this house 8 years ago and each year since 2016 I have had intentions on adding a cage to support mybone peony and haven't. Maybe this year will be different. I really want to do better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I visited your website -- you live in a lovely location. Your little pond is so sweet. I knew nothing about gardening in America when I retired to garden, so I took classes at Extension and got the gardening bug. I am lucky to have a grandson who helps but unfortunately he lives too far away to come here often.

      Delete
  5. Oh, I'm with you! We have to experiment, right? Regarding the labels, I put them in the ground, but the squirrels and chipmunks have other ideas. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My best markers are hand-painted rocks. But of course having them for every plant is not economical as I don't make them myself and have to pay for them.

      Delete
  6. It can be fun to take a gamble and a bonus when it works out. Your Cornus is just how my one should look. I put Cornus Sibirica in a very sunny position and in spite of pruning correctly, the stems are more of a browny red. I suspect it is wrongly labelled.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The one that I planted in the wrong place has been nibbled by deer. Supposed to be deer resistant, proving that they will eat anything. You don't have that problem, Alistair, in your beautiful enclosed garden.

      Delete
  7. I think we are all guilty in having one of those garden sins. My greatest one is impluse buying, my husband always asks where I will position plants before I buy them, I always know I can find a space for it somewhere! Lovely to see the bees back in your garden and signs of spring in your lovely garden. Sarah x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The signs of spring are so uplifting, Sarah, aren't they? I have masses of daffodils in bloom now -- such a joy!

      Delete
  8. Well, it’s good to know that I’m not the only one ignoring good gardening advice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love it when garden bloggers confess to their lacks of discretion. Makes me feel better about mine.

      Delete
  9. This is an enjoyable post Pam. I am guilty of the impulse buying sometimes and have been known to wander the garden for hours and maybe days looking for the perfect spot to plant the newest addition!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your response made me chuckle, Lee. Glad I'm not the only one.

      Delete
  10. The deer V crocus fight is real.
    As to the post, it is hard to resist the siren call of a new flower.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Guilty here of some of these sins, too. And I thought it was only me that committed them. Cleaning tools, not labeling ( and then planting something on top of it when it goes dormant .)
    -Ray

    ReplyDelete