Plant Talk

Make Your Garden Easier to Care For in 2011 With These Tips from Readers...And We Have a Contest Winner!

We'll all garden a little smarter in 2011, thanks to the great low-maintenance advice you sent in response to our last contest. Thanks for all your comments - I appreciate your sharing the nitty gritty of your gardening lives with other Plant Talk readers.

I'm thinking it's time for a revised edition of "The New Low Maintenance Garden" so I can include all your great tips (see last week's comments to read all the entries). In the meantime - we have a contest winner who will receive an autographed copy of the current edition of my book....

Simplify your gardening life with a few of these favorite tips:

"Raised beds! They seem to discourage the weeds, slugs and snails – and I’m hoping…the bunnies as well." (Like these raised beds in Jennifer Carlson's Magnolia garden....)

"Do research before you buy your plant…and find out that it grows too fast or needs more light, or better drainage, or is invasive…"

"One of the most time consuming aspects of our property was the huge, water guzzling lawn….we replaced it with beautiful, creeping, flowering thyme…no more mowing, fertilizing or water…and it’s a bumble bee magnet. It is much gentler on the earth and us."

"Weed in the rain, or right after it…it’s so much easier."

"My hori hori knife is the best garden tool I ever purchased. It does everything…flips out weeds, plants annuals, cuts roots, unpots root-bound plants....a woman with a knife in her hand gets respect in the garden."

And the winning comment from Alexandra Ross in Tacoma... I appreciated her simple practicality, and her wisdom in whittling her garden down, making it more self-sufficient, so that she enjoys gardening again:

"I got rid of 27 high-maintenance hybrid tea roses. After the deer came twice this last spring I gave away the few survivors and put in deer-resistant shrubs and perennials. Low maintenance and I'm back to what I love about gardening."

 

Picasso Exhibit at SAM is a Visual Feast - Gardeners Must Go For the Sheer Thrill of Color, if Nothing Else....

I was lucky enough to have lunch with  British author Anna Pavord ("The Tulip") when she visited Seattle last spring. Over soup at Swanson's Nursery she deplored how much time gardeners waste on Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc. etc. "Gardeners are getting ingrown!" she declared. Her prescription is to read, tour cities, get out and go to galleries and art museums, for we develop our eye, discrimination, and color sense not just from gardens, but from the greater world around us. Such experiences enrich our lives and thus our gardens.

We have a thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime (unless you plan to go to the Musée National Picasso in Paris once it's reopened) chance to see a mind-bending, sensory overload of Picasso's work at the Seattle Art Museum through January 17. I've been twice and hope to go again; an artist friend of mine has already been to the exhibit five times. Whether you're a Picasso admirer or not, you can't help but feel you're in the presence of such exuberance, genius and originality...

The explosion of color, the bits and pieces of fractured compositions, the landscapes and views looking in and out of windows - all speak especially to those of us who ponder such things in our gardens. I was surprised how much nature is in these paintings...for every painting I had to look away from in disgust or even anger (his attitude toward women can be hard to take) many others I studied in awe and amazement. It's surprisingly easy to get tickets...just order online, print them out, and show up at the appointed time....you'll never see your garden, and perhaps the world, in quite the same way again after this mind-boggling tour through Picasso's world...

Need a Break from the Holidays? Fresh Air and Plenty of Plants Await You at the Arboretum, the Seattle Japanese Garden, and Kubota Gardens

Too much food, too much family (or is that just me?) ...a garden expedition is the perfect tonic for too many hours spent indoors.

Several Seattle gardens are at their best, or at least well worth a visit, in December and earliest January. My first choice this time of year is always the Witt Winter Garden, a short stroll from the Graham Visitor's Center at the Washington Park Arboretum. If it isn't too cold, witch hazels will be wafting their sweetly astringent scent on the air. A hit of the vanilla-esque perfume of sarcococca alone is worth the trip, and, weather permitting, hellebores will be coming into bloom.

 Aren't you starved for color right now? The golden and russet witch hazel flowers,, the pale ghost brambles and the glowing canes of red and yellow twig dogwood embedded in a sea of spidery black mondo grass will help your mid-winter sensory deprivation.  If you're lucky you'll see our native Anna's hummingbirds feeding on the huge golden flower sprays atop jagged-leafed Mahonia 'Arthur Menzies'.

The Seattle Japanese Garden isn't far away (at 1075 Lake Washington Boulevard East). Now with the leaves off the trees, the stripped down garden is an elegant lesson in structure and shape. Revel in the austerity of mossy branches, the serenity of stone, and the promise of pathways in this zen-like garden.

Kubota Gardens in the south end (9817 55th Avenue South) is a treat of a winter destination, with bridges, ponds, and beautifully pruned pines....

So no need to stay indoors - get outside, breath deeply, and let the quiet, subtle beauty of the winter garden work its magic on your holiday-weary soul.....

 

Winter Blooming Beauty - A New Red Hellebore for Christmas

 
Thank goodness for hellebores, with pretty, durable flowers in the depths of winter, and handsome foliage year-round. These little perennials are tough, tolerate shade, and are surprisingly deer-proof. Best of all their flowers really are the jewels of the winter garden, blooming when not much else is happening out there.

And now there's a gorgeous new ruby- colored hellebore called 'Red Racer', which seems an unfortunate name. But that's the only thing about this little beauty that's unfortunate. The flower is especially large, up to three inches across, and it flowers late winter into spring. I love hellebores as cut flowers - split their stems and stick them in a vase, or float the flowers in a bowl - especially pretty when you grow a variety of colors....

'Red Racer' should be in nurseries this winter....find more information on the Great Garden Plants website. Photos courtesy of Great Garden Plants.

 

Christmas Contest - Win a Copy of "The New Low Maintenance Garden"

Whether "Plant Talk" readers are competing to win boots or books, I so appreciate your comments. It's been great  fun getting a glimpse into your gardens....we all have so much to teach each other.

Okay, here's our last Christmas-season contest....send in a comment with your favorite, most effective low-maintenance gardening tip. From downscaling to a new tool or gadget, what innovation, practice, or technique  makes your gardening life easier?

The most inspiring comment will win the contributor an autographed copy of my newest book "The New Low Maintenance Garden" (Timber Press, 2009, chosen as one of amazon.com's "Ten Best Home and Garden Books of 2009). Can't wait to hear from you - I'll pick a winning response the week after Christmas....thanks for participating...

Art In The Garden - Readers Respond, and We Have a Contest Winner!

Thanks for all the fabulous responses about your favorite garden art - from rustic benches to trees crafted of rusty rebar, "Plant Talk" readers have an expanded concept of what art can mean in the garden....and you're such good writers! Here's an especially lovely excerpt from Chris:

  "St. Francis... is standing on my beautiful...also old, rock wall...partially hidden among the salal and rhodys that surround him....he is covered with a beautiful patina of tiny lichens and moss. When it snows he gets the most lovely white hat!".

So it was again hard to pick a winner...but since I believe that the best art is personal and heart-driven, Maria Carlos is the winner....an autographed copy of "Artists In Their Gardens" is in the mail...Here's Maria's comment in full:

"My favorite garden art brings love into the garden, honoring cherished people and memories. It's hard to choose just one piece. Today, December 12, in honor of her feast day, I'll tell you about the colorful tile of La Virgen de Guadalupe placed on a yellow-painted wooden Mexican folk-art chair, and planted among maroon daylilies and Cotinus 'Grace'. It honors my Chicano father, and my heart fills when I see this in the garden."

Congratulations, Maria....stay tuned for our last December contest; to be announced Monday, Dec. 20th..

Bring the Outdoors In for Christmas - Decorating with Fresh Greens, Amaryllis, and Paperwhites...

I'd rather think of it as decorating for the solstice...and since the shortest day of the year is only six days away, and it's ten days until Christmas, it's time to break down and put up a tree.  Does anything smell better than a noble fir in a warm room when it's cold and wet outdoors?

We desperately need a hit of nature when we're indoors so much this time of year.  On these dark days, around our house it's all about candles, lights, fresh evergreens and flowers....

The amaryllis (left) is 'Orange Sovereign', and I'm not sure if I love the buds, with all their potential, or the open flowers best.

The Christmas tree is the skinniest noble we could find, with layered branches so our old collection of ornaments have room to dangle.

 

Pine, berries, candles and sparkles on the mantel...

The paperwhite narcissu were falling over in their pots, so I cut them for a second, fragrant life in a vase....

 

 

 

Before the Deluge

It's hard to remember, but before the rains set in, the sun made a brief December appearance. It coaxed me outside with my camera to capture the garden in this, the darkest month. Not even winter staples like sarcococca, hellebores and witch hazel are blooming yet, and that freezing November blast withered the buds on the Camellia sasanqua. It's time to rely on a garden's hardscape and furnishings for structure, color, and views from the windows - this is especially true in a garden as small as mine, without much room for evergreens....

Adirondacks hold the promise and memory of relaxing summer days. These two are made from recycled plastic, so stay bright, clean and unfaded through the worst winter weather.

Glass and ceramic spheres and a translucent moon almost make up for the lack of leaves on a Japanese maple....well, at least they bring some color, interest and shape to the pot during the winter months.

I love this birdhouse (from DIG Nursery on Vashon Island) hanging from the now-bare branches of the centerpiece tree in my garden, Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy'. I try to forget my neighbor's comment that it looks like an avocado!

While the vivid orange of this bistro table might look a little....obvious.... in summertime, in winter the color is a fine distraction from the sad looking 'Annabelle' hydrangeas behind it...right outside the French doors, that heart-warming orange serves as cheerful foreground to the winter garden...

Everyday Bouquets - Winter Simplicity

Winter strips our gardens down to their bones, and now before I get around to Christmas decorating, I especially love the clean simplicity of branches and buds brought inside. This paring down of the garden, the bleakness of winter, is worth celebrating every bit as much as spring's verdancy. Especially before the onslaught of holiday excess, bare branches look elegant and restful.

Here are a few branches of deciduous magnolia displaying their soft, fuzzy buds already plump with the promise of spring. The tall, opaque vase holds the heavy branches securely...the painting is by Whidbey artist Marianne Brabanski and it's called "Walking The Dog" - there's a leash in the woman's hand....the oil hangs in the hallway where I leash up my dog every morning for her walk...

Second Contest of the Season

Last week we gave away boots - thanks for all your informed and inspiring comments. This week, "Plant Talk" is giving away a copy of "Artists In Their Gardens". This is my first book (now out of print) co-written with David Laskin. It's about how visual artists go about garden-making, which is much more conceptual and less about plants than most of us...and the result is amazing, surprising, beautiful visuals, all captured by photographer Allan Mandell. You'll see inside the gardens of artists like Robert Bateman, Ginny Ruffner, and Whidbey island artists Johanna and Dick Marquis....gardens made by ceramicists, glass blowers, painters and sculptors....

To win an autographed copy of "Artists In Their Gardens" send in a comment about a favorite piece of art in your own garden, or in another garden - a special memory of an art-filled garden is great, but please describe a specific piece, not an entire garden.

Gardens pleasantly blur the line on art - mossy chairs and mosaic bits, rusty recyclables or a sleek steel sculpture - all are art in a garden setting, whatever pleases your eye qualifies. I'll pick a favorite comment by next Wednesday and mail a book to the winner...in the meantime, I hope you all enjoy reading the comments....isn't this a good way to spend December? I'm thinking this contest thing is a good idea....