Archive for December, 2006

Hello,
Last summer I planted a mint plant in my garden without knowing how it spreads. Now I am worried.Is there a solution to keep the
mint growing?
Thanks.
L

Hi L,
Yes, mint can really be invasive. I’d dig it all up and then cut the bottom out of a gallon size plastic plant pot. Bury the pot in the ground and fill all but the top inch of the pot with soil. Plant your mint in the pot. This should help control the runners.
Katelyn

I love to hear from my readers. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me. I will be making my gardening advice column a regular feature.

Hi,
I was reading about how you go about some of you r overwintering of
certain plants. I have very little to no experience with gardening. I have several large Easter Lilies. They are still in flower and I understand that when they wilt we can transplant them outdoors and they will bloom again either later in the summer or next year… and will then continue to come back each year. Would it be appropriate to transplant the plants once the flowers go and just leave them, perhaps with some straw mulch if the weather actually
gets cold? or should we dig the bulbs up again in the fall before it gets
to freezing temperatures and store them to plant in the spring again?

AW
North Carolina

Hi AW,

Easter Lilies can go into the ground when they finish blooming and can remain in the ground year round. I live in zone 6b-7a, which is colder than NC and mine come back every year. You can place a few inches of mulch around the base of the plants to keep down weeds and conserve moisture.
Katelyn

As someone who prefers organic gardening methods and loves roses, I spend a lot of time experimenting with organic rose fertilizers. Here are my top five choices for rose food:

1. Compost – Roses love a nice, rich compost. You can substitute compost for mulch. Just be sure to keep an eye on the compost, as it will break down faster than shredded bark. You may need to spread another few inches partway through the summer.

2. Banana peels – They break down slowly, but these peels provide valuable nutrients in small doses. Bury a banana peel a few inches away from your rose bush and let it start feeding the bush.

3. Epsom salt – Not just for your gardening aches and pains anymore. Feed a quarter cup of Epsom salt to each bush by pushing back the mulch, working the Epsom salt carefully into the top few inches of soil near the bush’s base and then replacing the mulch.

4. Manure – Bunny or goat manure can be spread near roses almost immediately. Cow, horse and pig manure must be composted first or the roses will be damaged by the heat of the manure. Manure tea is a better option.

5. Coffee – Pour left over coffee near your rose at the base of the plant. (Never water the rose’s leaves with coffee.) You can also try spreading coffee grounds near your roses.

Hilly areas can be hard to maintain, especially if they are too steep for a lawnmower. They can also be very unsafe to mow. I have one hill in my yard that actually almost killed a man before I bought the house. He was permanantly wheelchair bound from his injuries.
Hills in shady or partial shade locations can be very tricky, since the plants in that area are competing with trees for water and nutrients. In addition, this particular hill is right beside a road, so plants need to be salt tolerant and able to withstand some pollution.
I began to plant the area by removing sod and laying down landscape fabric. I made sure to leave a 6-8 inch space below the fabric for the snow plow. If you prefer, you could remove all of the sod and then treat the area with Preen or a similar herbicide that stops seed germination, but I prefer to garden organically.
With the fabric in place, I began to look for plants that can handle shade and are very hardy. I chose several hosta varieties, euonymus, Irish moss and some of my favorite sedums. In addition, I selected several more delicate shade lovers for the top of the hilly area, such as pachysandra.
I planted the euonymus near the bottom of the hill, but left plenty of room for the snow plow to run off the road. Above these plants, I placed the hosta, alternating varieties for interest. I added irish moss (This plant is extremely invasive, so use with caution.)and sedums to a section of the hill that is part sun.
Now, instead of an area filled with sparse grass that is dangerous to mow, I have the beginnings of an attractive shade garden. When it fills out in 3 to 5 years, it will be gorgeous.

 

As a beginning gardener, I used to spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out which shrubs were which. Great Flowering Landscape Shrubs by Vincent Simeone is a useful basic reference for beginning gardeners that includes clear photos of the blossoms and berries of many of the more popular flowering shrubs. In fact, I was able to use the photos to identify my Carolina Allspice, which was one of the two shrubs in the yard when I bought my current home.

Besides the plant identification section, this book also has several other sections that would be useful to a new gardener. Site selection and plant care covers how to plant your shrubs and basic care, including how to properly prune different types of shrubs. Landscaping with flowering shrubs discusses basic landscaping points such as being sure you don’t crowd your shrubs.

This book is a nice resource for inexperienced gardeners, although gardeners with more experience may be a bit disappointed, since it does seem to be geared toward new gardeners. I give Great Flowering Landscape Shrubs four and 1/2 out of five sunflowers.

About the Book:
Title: Great Flowering Landscape Shrubs
Author: Vincent Simeone
Publisher: Ball Publishing
Date: 2005
Pages: 129
Price: $24.95
ISBN: 1-883052-42-4