Tag: Country Gardening

Ready for Guests in the Garden

I spent a wonderful, if warm, afternoon in the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden. The 2nd Annual Pancake Breakfast fundraiser takes place there tomorrow, and everything was being spruced up for the event – including the garden. The paths received a close haircut – even those patches that require the extra effort of the weed whacker. The “to be disposed of” pile had been disposed of, and the beds are looking great.

Deb’s Dahlias are just beginning to poke through. She installed branches for support that add grace and just the right touch in a country garden. I planted some Sage in the back side of our bed to anchor it visually and provide height and beautiful late fall purple spikes long after the Dahlias have faded. Some Nepeta and annuals fill in the holes left by spring bulbs and blooms: Cosmos, Zinnia and Black-Eyed Susan. The more space we can fill, the less room for weeds!

Maria added a Honeysuckle vine and some potted flowers to the Whimsy Garden, while her Sunflowers reach for the sky in the Bed Garden.

Vonnie and Randy’s Butterfly Garden is newly planted, while the flowers in Sue’s Circle Garden are creating quite a colorful show. Her little creatures make me smile.

Ina’a Cottage Garden is thriving under a heavy layer of mulch and with the new drip irrigation installed.

The biggest surprise was Jody’s bed; now completely covered in bark to keep the weeds at bay, and filling up with shrubs that will add structure year-round. She heard that I threatened not to return until the bark was completed. I’m not sure where the rumor started, but I have to admit that I like the result.

The Garden looks ready for guests tomorrow; our volunteer gardeners should be proud of their efforts. Everything seems to be finding its home – including another lucky Golden Retriever that was adopted today. There is nothing more rewarding than working in the garden while a family gets to know – and love – a soon-to-be adopted Golden in the adjacent yard. What a great way to spend a weekend afternoon.

Finding a Garden Fix

Sometimes you just have to get your garden fix in unexpected places. I missed the Homeward Bound gardens last weekend to travel to Las Vegas for a birthday celebration. I saw a whole lot of concrete and neon, but few trees or flowers until I made my way to the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Garden where my need for green was satisfied. 

While brilliance abounds, a closer look reveals that this is a display – not a true garden. Each and every plant is in a container that is no doubt quickly removed when it loses its luster.

At the Homeward Bound Memorial Garden, we don’t have the luxury – or the desire – to discard less than perfect plants. We rescue and nurture – just as Homeward Bound rescues, nurtures and places hundreds of dogs each year.

The Bellagio “garden” is certainly spectacular and worth spending time in – especially when you get tired of the chaos of Vegas. Still, it cannot hold a candle to the joy of our country garden where good things grow and develop over time from the earth. I will happily return this weekend.

The Dahlias were planted; the drip system is being fine-tuned; I hear the sunflowers are growing like weeds; and I imagine the weeds are growing like weeds as well! Rumor has it that a new shovel was graciously donated after my last clay-digging mishap. I’ll be sure to bring my own and steer clear of it! Something tells me the gardeners will appreciate that. We hope to see  all of them on Sunday after the Pancake Breakfast.

Is it the weekend yet?

The Benefits of Clay

I confess to being a little apprehensive about planting in the clay soil at the Homeward Bound Memorial Gardens, having little experience with it. I did the simple (very unscientific!) home test, and found it less heavy than I expected. Still, I know from weeding this spring, and the caked mud on my shoes, that there is much more than I am accustomed to.  This weekend, I learned its benefits!

While it is still April, temperatures were in the 90’s this weekend in Sacramento – and our plantings in the perennial garden are only two weeks established. I was expecting some droop, but found thriving, happy plants instead. The soil, under a good layer of bark, was lightly dry on the surface, but retaining moisture very well just an inch below. This, and the dappled shade the lower section of the bed receives in late afternoon, will be a real blessing in the hot Sacramento Valley summer.

Clay in moderation? I’m sold!

Beating Clay Soil

Necessity is not the only mother of invention; in the garden, pain is a pretty good motivator.

The Homeward Bound Memorial Garden is filled with heavy clay soil. While clay soils are nutrient-rich and hold water well, they are not fun to work with. To deep weed, or turn them using a rototiller, you have to time things just right. If the soil is too wet, you will only compact it. Too dry, and it is hard as rock.  Trying to time “moist, but not wet” when you are volunteering your efforts and your time is limited mainly to weekends is problematic. Thus, I have been weeding Jody’s garden by hand.

Hard on the back and knees, I discovered a better way to deal with these thigh-high weeds and grasses. Someone probably “discovered” it centuries ago, but it is new to me – and maybe to you. I share it in case there are others, like me, who love the garden, but have reached a point in life where the gardens sometimes does not love me!

With the spade shovel, I dig across and down, cutting out big, heavy clods of long weeds and root-packed soil. To free the weeds from the soil, I place the spade shovel lengthwise in the ground with its sharp, long side edge exposed.

Then I beat the weed clod against it, as if you were taking a broom to a rug. With just a couple of blows, the soil separates itself from the roots, leaving a soil-free clump that’s ready for the goat’s enjoyment. The clod gets smashed into small pieces in the process, which helps lighten the soil. Adding organic amendments and compost boosts the results. Most importantly, a thick layer of mulch is needed to keep any shaken off roots from re-sprouting.

I do stacks of clods, and then attack each with the shovel technique, so the back and knees each get a breather. Finish the job with a hot shower and a glass of wine, and you’re good to go!

Soggy Gardens

I am either a hopeless optimist, or a very foolish gardener.

Last weekend, I hit hard clay while weeding Jody’s bed at the Homeward Bound Memorial Gardens. (As the founders of Homeward Bound, Jody and Mike Jones devote long hours to rescuing and caring for dogs in need. Weeding is way down on the list, so I’m happy to help!) I made it halfway through the bed without resistance, but this stuff was like digging in rock. I figured that the rain this week would loosen things up. Oh boy!

What I discovered was a soggy mess, with clay-packed mud and weeds that have gone wild in just a week’s time. That sucking sound? That was my feet lifting from thick muck. Ina’s Cottage Garden has a river running through it at the moment, and the only way to traverse the gardens without getting completely soaked is by hopping from one bark-covered bed to another. Unfortunately, Jody’s half-weeded bed is not yet bark-covered, so it was more like stepping into sludge along a river bed!

It was immediately clear how the gardens got so out of control last year; and how much work we will have to do once the rains subside to keep it from being reclaimed by those thorny beasts again. Country gardens are not for the faint of heart!