r u l y

Victory Gardens--for family and country. Sunday morning in many U.S. communities finds all the neighbors getting together for a good workout at the community Victory Garden. Through cooperation of local organizations, thousands of vacant lots in thousands of cities are being transformed into fruitful gardens, where everyone from grandpa to the youngster down the block puts in hours of patriotic labor (1943). Photo by Ann Rosener. From the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

It’s the end of another month and time to summarize this month’s posts and highlight some of my favorite comments. This month at Ruly we have been discussing strategies to bring more order to your yard and garden. We started off with 5 reasons to love your landscaping.

We covered gardening basics, beginning with knowing how much “free” water (i.e. rain) you receive and selecting native plants that are easier to maintain.

Watering My Garden commented:

i live in rome, italy where the local mains supply is extremely hard alkaline water…collecting and reusing rainwater is essential if i’m to enjoy acid loving plants like gardenias on my terrace!

Isn’t it delightful to know that someone is out there watering gardenias on the terrace in Rome? It makes me smile to think about it.

We also discussed weed prevention strategies including mulching and discussed when there can be too much mulch.

Diadia commented:

The best time to de-weed the garden and yard is right after the rain.
With garden gloves and a dandelion digger and a weed bag, it is fast work.

My four year old now points out all the mulch to me when we are in parking lots at various stores. While driving down one of the main roads in town, I saw this unique mulching technique in the median strip that I thought was rather pretty. The edges of the mulch bed are lined with rocks. It had never occurred to me to use two different types of mulching materials. The designer of this bed cleverly used mulch as a design element.

Median strip using rock edging and organic mulch.

Foraging into landscape design, we discussed evergreen plantings and noted that at least 25% of your plantings should be evergreens but that too many evergreens make a space gloomy and depressing.

We had a fun post on topiary plantings, showing the artistry than can be created by shaping plants.

We gave a quick pruning lesson to spruce up your bushes, shrubs and trees.

We discussed 5 signs of the perfectionist gardener.

Mary commented:

I personally know several garden perfectionists, and I agree, it becomes more stressful than enjoyable. I even have a family member who stays glued to the weather reports so he can fertilize the lawn EVERY time before it rains!!!! And then he grumbles about constantly having to mow it and pay an outrageous water bill so it doesn’t burn up. No fun.

We shared strategies for controlling garden predators like deer, rabbits and birds.

Lou commented:

Best line, ” …if you really want to screen these animals out, you essentially need to fence yourself in!” How true. We once tried crushed garlic to get rid of rabbits and squirrels as we were told they were repelled by the smell. Problem was, so were we!

Danny Stewart-Smith provided a soothing and reflective Ruly Mix to help you relax in your favorite outdoor space.

Ruly Ruth discussed the challenges of adjusting to life in the desert both from a landscaping and quality of life point of view. We also discussed 10 reasons people insist on using grass in the desert. After thinking on this list for a bit I would add two more to the list.

11)  Homeowners Associations. Sometimes planting grass is not a choice and is required by the covenants of those who live in planned communities. In those cases, getting rid of grass requires a concerted effort by the entire community. The political challenges of effecting such a change can be tough.

12) The Man Factor. Historically, men have been in charge of maintaining the yard and garden. There is nothing feminine about grass. It does not flower. It is not a pretty plant that is cut and used in arrangements. It largely requires gasoline-powered tools to cut it. If you had to pick the most manly plant, it would be hard to beat grass. Would men be willing to use the same effort to plant groundcovers or flowering shrubs? Hard to say.

We reviewed James Wong’s clever book, “Grow Your Own Drugs,” providing medicinal uses for common garden plants.

Guest blogger Kathy Jentz of Washington Gardener magazine provided 9 landscaping design suggestions to use instead of turfgrass in your yard.

Finally, I leave you with a Ruly Challenge for the month.  This month’s challenge is an ongoing effort that you don’t need to do right away but can be chipped away at continually:

The Challenge: Locate a list of native plants for your area. Look up pictures of each plant and learn to identify them in the wild spaces near your home. Determine which, if any, of these plants you might like to grow in your own garden.

I am still working through a list of Virginia native plants but it has been a lot of fun to learn to identify some of these plants. I discovered that I really like the Loblolly pine! In addition to having a wonderful name it is also a very interesting pine tree that looks a bit like a cross between a weeping willow and a pine tree. It’s needles are long and a bit shaggy looking. The sensitive plant is also a fun one that closes up its leaves when touched.

I hope that you have enjoyed this month at Ruly and perhaps learned a few tips to organize your yard and garden and keep it looking great. Please check back on Wednesday when we start a new month and a new topic!

I will close noting that today is Memorial Day in the United States, a day to remember those who have lost their lives in military conflicts. Thinking today of all those who were not able to see victory but who made the freedoms we enjoy today possible.

Garden party for wounded soldiers (May 21, 1925) President Coolidge speaking with a wounded soldier in a wheelchair pushed by a nurse in white, as Mrs. Coolidge looks on. From the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

by Kathy Jentz, editor of Washington Gardener Magazine.

We’re coming up on the season for lawn renewal. Before you go to all that trouble, take a few minutes to consider replacing all that turf with some easier, more attractive, and Earth-friendly alternatives.

Maintaining a lawn of turf grass is one of the most expensive and time-consuming uses for your land. Constant mowing, fertilizing, weeding, watering, re-seeding, edging, and aerating not only eat up your resources, but it can be harsh on the environment. Lawns do not absorb water run-off as well as planting beds and many of the chemicals you use to maintain it are toxic to the nearby streambeds and Chesapeake Bay.

Our DC area lawns are not necessarily the green dream we envision. For a better part of the summer and again in the winter, your yard is a brown mess. In additions, with encroaching weeds and attacking insects (such as grubs), the dream of a solid green field of glossy grass is next to impossible to achieve.

Why put yourself through the stress and heartache? Here are a few ideas to get you started in reclaiming that lawn for better use:

1)  Expand your planting beds and establish new ones. Fill them with a mix of perennials, annuals, bulbs, ornamental trees, and shrubs. Once established the maintenance is minimal, just cut back the perennials in late winter and replant the annuals in late spring.

2) Cover slopes with shrubs that grow to form solid plantings. You’ll be relieved not to have to push a mower up and down that hill ever again. For full sun look at groundcover roses and for slopes in shade try out cotoneaster. Both will give you year-round interest and will flower nicely each spring.

"Cotoneaster." Photo by Muffet. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

"Shrub Groundcover Rose 'Kent'." Photo by Drew Avery. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

3) Replace wide-swaths of lawn with green ground covers: ajuga, vinca, ivy, and pachysandra do well here under many growing conditions. Bishop’s Weed, hardy Geranium, and Lamium are all also nice lawn alternatives especially under shade trees. Others to try include different varieties of sedums, lily of the valley, liriope, daylilies, creeping phlox, and creeping jenny.

"Ajuga Reptans." Photo by belgianchocolate. From the Flickr Creative Commons.	"Lesser Periwinkle (Vinca Minor)." Photo by Phil Sellens. From the Flickr Creative Commons.
"Pachysandra terminalis." Photo by Carl E. Lewis. From the Flickr Creative Commons.	"Ridolfia segetum (Bishop's Weed)." Photo by aviplot. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

4) Get trendy. One of the newest ground cover fads is moss. From a distance, you’ll achieve the same solid green look without anywhere near the maintenance. Moss is an ideal lawn alternative for areas in deep shade that stay moist such as near your gutter drains. You can also lay it out in interesting color patterns and styles. For a touch of whimsy, try a checkerboard or plaid.

"Moss garden (Hondo-ji(temple), Matsudo city Chiba-ken(Prefecture), Japan)." Photo by TANAKA Juuyoh. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

5)  Go to back to basics: growing your own edibles at home is a vast improvement on constant lawn grooming. Start a vegetable patch, plant a fruit tree, or an herb garden. Get the kids involved and make it a family project.

6)  Dig in and build a water feature. A pond, waterfall, or stream-bed is one of the most charming and desirable elements you can add to your home landscape. You’ll soon find that your water feature is a gathering place for friends, family, and many types of wildlife as well.

"Lee Garden Pond (at the National Arboretum)." Photo by cliff1066. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

7)  Map out hard-scaping. Is there a space where lawn is being worn into a natural path from foot traffic? Stop fighting it and go with the flow. Put in pavers, stepping stones, or formal brick walkways. Line it with interesting plants. Add a bench or hammock at convenient resting points.

"ipe deck, grass and grid." Photo by RO/LU. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

8 ) Let it go wild. Establish a wildlife habitat by re-seeding part of your property with native wildflowers. Joe-Pye weed, black-eyed susans, and goldenrods are just a few of the flower seeds you can buy by the pound and grow to attract birds, bees, and butterflies to your yard.

"Joe Pye Weed." Photo by Muffet. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

9) Consider other uses for your lawn. Look at places where your turf grass or other ground covers never get established. If nothing will grow in an area, maybe that is the place for your deck/patio, children’s playhouse, compost pile, storage shed, or wood pile.

"In the Patio de los Leones." Photo by amerune. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

"Trellis and Deck." Photo by Jeremy Levine Design. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Go ahead and try one of these lawn alternatives out this weekend. Once you get started reclaiming that sod for better uses, you won’t want to stop!

Kathy has worked diligently to rid her yard of turf grass and is now down to just one small patch that is slowly being overtaken by moss. She is editor of Washington Gardener magazine (www.WashingtonGardener.com) and a long-time DC area gardening enthusiast. Kathy can be reached at washingtongardener@rcn.com and welcomes your gardening questions.

# # #

P.S.  From Anne:  For more total lawn replacement landscape designs, check out this Flickr Photostream from Sustainable Gardener.

Has Kathy inspired you to replace some or all of your lawn?  Please share in the comments.

Intrigued by the title of this month’s Ruly Bookshelf choice? I certainly was. After hearing about this book on NPR, I had to read it. The book’s topic was also a great way to do both a Ruly Bookshelf and a Ruly Survival post in one.

If you think that gardening is an old person’s hobby, I would like you to meet the rock star of gardening, James Wong! Mr. Wong is a self-described “ethnobotanist.” As a young boy, he grew up in Malaysia watching his grandmother prepare various plant-based remedies. He went on to obtain a Master’s degree in botany, where he studied the plant-harvesting strategies of indigenous women in rural Ecuador. He trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He created an award-winning landscape design company, Amphibian Designs. He’s young. He’s handsome. He’s wickedly smart. It’s no wonder that someone thought he would do well on TV and he has hosted the show “Grow Your Own Drugs” on the BBC.

The book, “Grow Your Own Drugs” is based on the television show. It is beautifully produced with gorgeous pictures and quick-reading text. There are a few brief introductory sections but most of the book reads like a cookbook with recipes for teas, salves, soups, soaps and even hot chocolate! Each recipe has a medicinal aspect, incorporating plants known to have health-enhancing properties. There is an index at the back with the “top 100 medicinal plants” which gives a quick overview of each plant, its medicinal aspects and suggestions for how to use it.

“[P]erhaps the most exciting news for horticultural novices is that medicinal herbs are normally the easiest of plants to grow. In fact, many are actually invasive weeds in their country of origin. . . .”

–James Wong, Grow Your Own Drugs

Anyone who writes a book about medicinal plants, particularly for an American audience, is likely to face criticism that the book is anti-medicine. Mr. Wong is not attacking doctors and hospitals. His plant remedies are not a substitute for prescription drugs and medical treatments but rather supplements to naturally enhance health.

“Indeed, the natural origins behind major drugs such as aspirin, morphine, penicillin and even contraceptive pills reveal that ‘natural’ medicine is not as separate from ‘conventional’ medicine as it is popularly conceived to be. In fact, the World Health Organization estimates that up to 80 percent of the world’s population relies on plant-based medicine as the key form of health care and actively promotes its use.

–James Wong, Grow Your Own Drugs

Artichokes, for example, are known to have cholesterol-lowering properties and one of the recipes in the book is for a fruit leather made from hawthorn berries and artichokes. (You can get the recipe here from the BBC’s website.) There are many fun “cosmeceutical” recipes too, adding some medicinal aspects to cosmetic therapies, like face scrubs and even deodorant!

Some may also worry that these recipes and instructions will take too much time to make. Some are a bit involved but most are quick. Take for example this “recipe” for a bath oil made from dandelions:

Dandelion Flower Bath Oil
Pick enough fresh flowerheads to fill a small Mason jar. Pour olive oil over to cover, pushing a knife around inside to get rid of any air pockets. Cover and leave on a sunny windowsill for 2 weeks, or until the flowers have lost their color. Strain, then pour into a sterilized bottle.

–James Wong, Grow Your Own Drugs

You are sure to learn something new about plants from reading this book as well. Two of the plants that stuck with me are eyebright and marshmallow.

“Eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis)” Photo by Phil Sellens. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

“The flowers of eyebright are extremely striking . . . In fact, they look rather like eyes. From the sixteenth century onward, the idea that a plant’s appearance offered clues to its medicinal use was very popular–a concept called the Doctrine of Signatures. . . . There has been little research regarding eyebright’s efficacy, but one recent study showed positive results for use in the treatment of conjunctivitis.” –James Wong, Grow Your Own Drugs

“Marsh-mallow (Althaea officinalis)” Photo by Phil Sellens. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Marshmallow (which I never knew was actually a plant) was used to make the first marshmallow candies. Since the process of making a marshmallow was so labor intensive, chefs eventually figured out how to use egg whites, gelatin and corn starch to create the same texture.

What I like the most about this book is that it puts a new spin on gardening and transforms growing plants into a “cool” activity for a new generation.

“I was brought up to see plants as solutions in life rather than as just a pretty backdrop to it.”

–James Wong, Grow Your Own Drugs

I hope that you take the opportunity to read this wonderful book.  You are sure to come away with a deeper appreciation of plants for the experience.

I leave you with a YouTube clip of James Wong in action on his BBC show. From the way he dices the vegetables at the end of the clip, I wonder if he has also trained as a chef!

Are you willing to consider plant-based therapies to improve your health? Do you currently use any plant-based therapies? Please share in the comments.

"Saguaro Cactus at Camelback Mountain," Photo by laszlo-photo. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

This month at Ruly we have been discussing strategies to organize your lawn and garden. Ruly Ruth has left several comments on the posts this month complaining that she currently lives in the desert where traditional plants don’t grow or require a lot of water.

There are many people in Ruly Ruth’s situation. In recent years, a huge number of people have relocated to the “Sun Belt” regions of the United States, taxing already scarce water resources.

So, for this month’s Ruly Ruth post, I asked her to discuss her experience transitioning from an eastern state with higher than average rainfall to the desert.

The joke here in the middle of the Mojave Desert is that there is grass……the housing areas have grass, which when you have kids is a wonderful quality of life!

Our version of evergreens would be sagebrush (not sure I really am up to mass cultivating of that!) And when these sagebrushes dry out, they become tumbleweeds. And if you have seasonal allergies–the dust and dirt and sage parts becomes unbearable during the really windy times which lasts half of fall and almost all of spring….even today is insanely windy here!

The parks we have in this town of 25K–the closest “major” town to Death Valley–are like oases in the desert clime. We flock to them with our kiddos–and the soccer and baseball fields during sports seasons. They are a welcome reprieve for all of us. And an opportunity to burn energy in a positive manner for our kids. Love that!

But we also have rock climbing relatively nearby in the Alabama Hills. There is a weekly B Mountain climb–which is a small mountain on China Lake military base. And as my Facebook profile pic shows–Land Sailing! It’s a 3-wheeled dune buggy driven by a large sail. We got up to a little less than 30 mph on a slightly windy day. Apparently records up to 60 mph have been recorded–I don’t know if I’m up for record-setting, but it’s a lot of fun–and something we can use our local dry lake beds for as they are in pristine condition.

The local museums and environmental advocates are pushing for water conservation. Go figure–with California pulling such massive amounts of water in general, and in an area where water is naturally scarce, it makes sense. So the Maturango Museum in town has desert landscape surrounding it, with a sign saying “Landscaped by Earth”. Presentations on natural landscaping are made almost quarterly with experts telling which plants are best for the desert.

People do have gardens here, with a lot of up-front work, that do quite well to my surprise. A good fertilizer base is crucial, and I’ve heard you actually get two growing seasons here. One from about March to June, and then the heat of summer dries everything out, with plants coming back about Sept-Nov.

We do not have deer, nor raccoons, but loads of rabbits and coyotes, mountain lions and bobcats. My son once saw a “dog” without a collar, ran inside to tell us he wants it as a pet….not happening to his dismay! Rattlesnakes are abundant, with local missiles being named after them. The sidewinder missile is named after that type of rattlesnake. Desert tortoises are unique to the area, and numerous types of lizards. Wild donkeys, aka burrows, are also around Death Valley. Sand spiders and scorpions as well as a variety of common spiders are our local insects, with ants as well. It’s a wild adventure out here!

Unique birds include roadrunners, hummingbirds, quail, desert owls that live in burrows in the ground, and ravens and vultures, as every cartoon shows.

Ruly Ruth "Land Sailing"

It’s a wild, wild west even today! I can’t imagine living here 100 years ago with no air conditioning in summer. We are so spoiled in that respect. It takes some getting used to, but taking advantage of the outdoor activities in the surrounding area, which there are loads, really helps you to appreciate the environment in which you live. And that goes for any environment and climate! It’s summer time—go ride those bikes, hike, run/walk….whatever your mode of transportation, it’s time to GO OUTSIDE! Enjoy!! And in the meantime, I’m going to appeal to our city council to create a Japanese Rock Garden. Wish us luck!

In preparation for this post, I looked around at desert landscaping choices.  There are so many gorgeous and beautiful desert plants, I have a hard time understanding why people don’t look into them for their landscaping choices.  The selection is much broader than just cactus and sand but even if cactus and sand were all that were available, I would love to have cacti in my yard!  Cacti are very sculptural and elegant and I imagine low maintenance!

Why do some people insist on growing lawns in the desert?  Based on the Frequently Asked Questions from synthetic lawn companies, below is my list of the top 10 reasons people insist on growing grass in the desert.

1. Having grass and greenery helps me feel more at home since it recreates the environment where I just came from.
2. I want grass for my kids to play on, just like I had as a kid.
3. I am not familiar with how to plant or take care of anything other than grass, shrubs and other traditional plants and I don’t want to take the time to learn.
4. I am worried my property value will decline if I don’t have grass because everyone expects grass in a yard.
5. I want grass for my pet.
6. I love the smell of fresh cut lawn in the summertime.
7. Grass helps to lower the temperature and natural grass is cooler than synthetic.
8. Lawns help prevent erosion and provide a “sponge” to soak up water.
9. Green plants, including lawns, soak up carbon dioxide and provide oxygen.
10. I just like the way it looks.

When you review this list, you see that there is almost no logical justification for having a lawn in the desert.  If you need a lawn for kids or pets, you can use synthetic grass.  If you are concerned about oxygen production or soaking up runoff water, there are a ton of other plant choices that will also do the job.  If you just want a lawn because you like greenery, there are many other types of drought-tolerant plants that might do the job better.  It is hard to replace the smell of fresh-cut lawn but if you experiment with native plants perhaps there is a native scent to your area that you prefer.

A lot of desert gardening is not really about lawns and aesthetics but rather about the psychological adjustment of living in a new place.  (The AZ Plant Lady has a great post called “What Planet Have I Landed On?” discussing her transition from California to Arizona and her new passion for desert landscaping.)  Every place on earth has its benefits and its drawbacks.  In our “have-it-all” society, nobody wants to admit that their home has any deficiencies.  Grass and lawns have become part of the American ideal.  Giving up grass is a step toward being different and out of the mainstream but also part of creating a new (and perhaps even better) reality for yourself.  But to get to that new and better place, you have to be ready to embrace change.  For many people, that is the toughest part.

How attached are you to your lawn? Would you be willing to give it up for native plants?  How have you adjusted to a change in your natural environment?  Please share in the comments.

Danny Stewart-Smith. http://www.ddeprod.com

Danny Stewart-Smith is back this month with another great Ruly Mix! This month’s free download, “The Flow,” is designed to help you relax in your outdoor oasis.

Tell us about the sound in “The Flow.”

The Flow was composed with relaxation and spiritual healing in mind. My mother is an alternative therapist and practices Whole Body Focusing, a method of de-stressing and attuning with oneself for physical, mental, and spiritual well being. I wrote the music to kind of reflect the inner journey one might experience when focusing, and also to reflect the fact that as human beings we are all deeply rooted in nature and the cycles of the planet and that these are things we should not forget, hence the natural sounds featured in it. One part features Shinto Monks chanting and also a Japanese singing bowl which is a large metal bowl that is gently banged during Shinto prayer to resonate with all natural entities and call the attention of all the gods. It is very beautiful, and when I experienced it I just had to get a recording of it! That part of the music to me symbolizes breathing, an unconscious act that all living entities do, a prerequisite and innate function of life. The piano part is kind of just improvised, hence it is organic, and the timing of the chord changes and the percussion and beat is not uniform, again like many things in nature. It changes as it bubbles along and evolves with each twist or turn much like a stream…at least that is what I was aiming at! But whether it means all that to you or not does not matter so much, most importantly the music is there for you to enjoy, to relax and think deeper thoughts to, away from the daily grind and beyond the confines of modern working life.

I also asked Danny if he could give us any insight into unique Japanese garden features, like rock gardens or bonsai. His honest answer was “No.” but he did have these wonderful pictures of a beautiful public park in Tokyo to share with us.

This park is located about 15 minutes from central Tokyo and is only a 20 minute walk from my house. It’s centered around a dual level pond of median size which features a single step fall the spans the breadth of the pond. It boasts many Koi, and is overlooked by a traditional Kominkan style building. The building itself which was built only a couple of decades back, is open to public, and may be reserved for private parties. On occasion traditional tea ceremonies can be attended there.

To one side of the pond is a small water fall that feeds it, as far as I understand a network of pumps cycle the water around the pond and back through the fall. The pond as the centerpiece, is flanked with white and pink azalea, maple and crocus studded paths that create a rich array of colors in spring and summer, and rich shocks of red and orange (from the maples) in autumn.

I don’t know the name of this style of landscaping, but as far as I understand it, the ponds are meant to represent ocean and the stones, rolling hills and mountains. There is also another style of Japanese garden which instead employs white gravel to represent the ocean.

It is an excellent place to relax and what’s more it is free to enter. As you can see from the photos hardly a building can be seen from within the park. There are many other parks like this in suburban Tokyo, and I really appreciate having such parks within walking distance of my home.

As an example of the rock garden landscaping Danny mentions, I will share these photos of the rock garden at the Japanese embassy here in Washington.

Rock garden at the Japanese embassy in Washington.

A rock pathway at the Japanese embassy garden.

Whether your garden is as lovely as the Japanese gardens above or is little more than a patch of weeds, Danny’s music is sure to help you enjoy your greenspace.  Click the picture below to play or right-click to download. (If the picture is not working for you, you can also download by clicking here.)

To respect the rights of the musician, please comply with the simple Ruly License terms below.

Ruly License: You may download and play any Ruly Mix song for your own personal use so long as you keep the voiceover tags intact indicating the name of the artist and that the song came from beruly.com. Businesses may also download this song to play as background music in their establishments so long as the voiceover tags remain intact. Any other uses of the song (such as in videos, etc.) must be pre-approved by the musician. Questions about license permissions can be addressed to info@beruly.com.

If you enjoy this mix, please comment, give a “like” on Facebook or share this link with others!

Have a great weekend!

Previous Ruly Mix artists: Danny Stewart-Smith (“Insights”), Danny Stewart-Smith feat. Evin Gibson, Joe Hanley, Jamie Smith, Rajiv Agarwal

Sometimes it is a hard thing to remember that we share our garden spaces with all of nature, including wildlife who may treat our gardens with what we consider to be appalling manners. Consider this raccoon, for example, who used to empty our birdfeeder every two days, until we caught him on film and figured out the source of our problem and ultimately got rid of the feeder.

One of the favorite discussion topics of gardeners in my neighborhood is how to prevent the deer from eating all the plants. Many neighbors have horror stories about walking out to their gardens to find all the new plants devoured and the trees completely denuded of their foliage. It seems that some gardens are yummier than others to the deer and the very best gardeners seem to be disproportionately affected.

Facebook friends have recently posted similar questions about rabbits and birds. What’s a novice gardener to do? Below are some hints for controlling garden predators.

Deer

Signs of deer damage

• Foliage, buds, flowers eaten
• Plants trampled
• Tree bark damaged due to antler rubbing
• Ragged bite patterns

Favorite garden foods for deer

• Azaleas
• Rhododendrons
• Atlantic white cedar
• Hollyhocks
• Impatiens
• Daylillies
• Hosta
• Tulips
• and many more!

Most Effective Deer Deterrent

• Woven wire fencing at least 8 feet in height

Other Deer Deterrents

• Single wire fencing configurations
• Electrified fencing
• Natural repellants (bags of human hair, animal feces, soap, etc.)
• Commercial deer repellants (Liquid Fence is often mentioned in our neighborhood)
• Dogs
• Hunting
• Choosing plants less tasty to deer (See an extensive list here but note that “when natural, preferred foods become scarce, there are relatively few species that deer will not eat”

Interesting Deer Facts

• White-tailed deer were considered threatened in the early 1900’s numbering 500,000 or less. Today the species numbers more than 15 million!
• Deer are polygamous.
• Deer lack upper front incisors and tear plants to eat them.
• Deer prefer to go under or through a fence rather than jump over it.
• Deer mate in October and November and fawns are born in May or June.

Sources

• Paul D. Curtis & Milo E. Richmond, “Reducing Deer Damage to Home Gardens and Landscape Plantings,” Cornell Cooperative Extension Service
• “Deer Control in Home Gardens,” West Virginia Division of Natural Resources & West Virginia University Cooperative Extension Service,
• “Identification of Deer Damage,” West Virginia University Cooperative Extension Service

Rabbits

Eastern Cottontail. Photo by Marit & Toomas Hinnosaar. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Signs of Rabbit Damage

• stripped bark on trees (especially fruit trees and conifers)
• 45 degree angled bite marks on branches
• sharp, clean bites on foliage

Favorite Garden Foods for Rabbits

• Impatiens
• Crocus
• Purple coneflower
• Pansy
• Black-Eyed Susan
• tree plantings
• vegetables
• herbs

Most Effective Rabbit Deterrent

• Fencing (esp. narrow-gauge chicken wire fencing buried 6 inches below the ground to prevent digging under the fence)

Other Rabbit Deterrents

• Commercial repellants (especially Hinder)
• Electric fencing
• Plastic netting
• “used kitty litter from a cat that hunts and kills wildlife in and around the garden”
• removing brush piles, weed patches, dumps, stone piles, and other debris where rabbits live and hide
• Encourage the rabbit’s natural enemies, including hawks, owls, foxes, mink, weasels, and snakes
• Cats
• Selecting plants rarely damaged by rabbits. (See a list here.)
• Hunting and Trapping

Interesting Rabbit Facts

• Rabbit breeding season typically lasts from mid-February through September. A female rabbit can produce 1 to 9 young per litter and can have as many as eight litters per year!
• Some rabbits carry tularemia (“rabbit fever”). The disease can be transferred to humans through insect bites (esp. ticks and deer flies), handling infected animals, eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water. Symptoms of tularemia infection in humans include skin ulcers and flu-like symptoms. Fortunately, tularemia can be treated with antibiotics and vaccines are available for high-risk groups.

Sources

• Missouri Department of Conservation, “Eastern Cottontail Rabbit”
• Extension, “Cottontail Rabbit Overview“
• Iowa State University Extension, “Susceptibility of Plants to Rabbit Damage”
• CDC, “Frequently Asked Questions About Tularemia“

Birds

Red-winged blackbird (male). Photo by hart_curt. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Red-winged blackbird (female). Photo by goingslo. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Starling of the Sidewalk. Photo by sultry. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Signs of bird damage

• Berries and food crops are eaten just prior to ripening
• Holes in the lawn where the birds scratch for insects, worms or seeds

Favorite garden foods for birds

• Birds are great in many ways for the garden because they eat weed seeds and many insects. Berries, fruits and vegetables, however, are irresistible to some birds, especially starlings and blackbirds. Red-winged blackbirds cause extensive damage to commercial rice and sunflower crops.

Most effective deterrent for birds

• Fencing and Netting. Some suggest putting old nylons over tomato cages. Special bird fencing/netting to totally enclose a garden is also suggested.

Other deterrents

• Owl/predator statues (so long as you move them around once a week)
• Scarecrows
• Reflective materials like mirrors, old CDs, aluminum plates
• Play sound recordings of birds in distress or bird predators
• Harvest your crops before they are fully ripe and let the fruits ripen off the vine
• Spray birds with water from a hose

Interesting Bird Facts

• Starlings were brought to the United States from Europe and were first released in New York in the 1890’s. The starling population in the United States is now estimated at 140 million!
• Like deer, red-winged blackbirds also have a polygamous mating system.

Sources

• “Starling Management in Agriculture,” Nebraska Cooperative Extension Service,
• “Tomato, Part I,” Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M System.
• Mona Zemsky for gardening.about.com, “Deterring Birds“
• “Local removal of Red-Winged Blackbirds: Potential for Management?,” North Dakota State University,

Of course, these are but a few of the wildlife friends you might encounter.  It was interesting for me to learn from researching the above that if you really want to screen these animals out, you essentially need to fence yourself in!

Voles, raccoons, lizards, squirrels, snakes, possum, turtles, even bears, wander through our neighborhood occasionally. One of the benefits of being a laid-back sort of gardener is that the presence of these animals is more amusing than antagonistic. We think of it as having our own personal zoo.

Do you have trouble with deer, rabbits or birds? What garden predators concern you most? Please share in the comments.

"Les femmes révées--ideal beauties. La passion des roses--the passion for roses," (1851). Illustration by Adolphe, M. From the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

There are many gardeners out there who take their yard and gardens very seriously. It makes sense in a way. Your yard and garden is the first thing people see when they come to visit you. It is on display all the time to friends and strangers alike. If you worry about appearances, it is understandable that you might get a complex about what your garden looks like.

As I have written about before, “tempered perfectionism” is healthy and helps us to achieve difficult goals. Perfectionism unchecked, however, is debilitating. In the garden, nature is “perfect” but not controlled. Many times the perfectionist gardener is attempting to insert a little more order into the natural process, to make things look better and to literally grow an ideal world.

Gayla Trail, author of the book, You Grow Girl, and the blog of the same name, recently wrote a very insightful post about perfectionism in gardening.

“I enjoyed [my] garden when I was alone, but still found myself feeling guilty or ashamed when people came to visit. I often pointed out the plants that weren’t thriving or the sections that looked terrible the second my visitor walked into the space. By calling out my garden’s faults, I was saying, “Hey, I know you’re judging me and I’m on board.” I was getting the judging out in the open before they could as a strategy to avoid added embarrassment and shame. And you know what? A lot of that judgment was in my own head. I very much doubt most of those people even noticed half of the so-called transgressions I pointed out to them, or cared for that matter. They were seeing what looked good. I was the one fixating on what didn’t.”

–Gayla Trail, What Makes A Good Gardener?, March 25, 2010

What are some of the things a perfectionist gardener might do? Below are 5 signs you might be a perfectionist gardener.

1.  Painting the grass. If your grass isn’t quite green enough for you (or not green at all), you can paint it to get a deep lush green color! There are special grass paints that must be used for this purpose. This technique is sometimes used on athletic fields or golf courses but is becoming more common on residential lawns as well. Below is one example:

2.  Braiding the leaves of daffodils and other bulbs after they have bloomed. Most horticultural experts agree that you have to let the daffodil leaves naturally die so that the bulb will gather energy to bloom next year. For many gardeners, however, the period after blooming until the leaves die is not a particularly attractive phase. Some gardeners want to either cut off the leaves or take measures like braiding or knotting the foliage in an attempt to hide it.

Braided daffodil greenery. Not recommended but a sign of the perfectionist gardener.

“Braided daffodil leaves have got to be making a reference to psychological health. Some folks see gardening as a never-ending battle. There’s always an ongoing war with weeds, diseases, and insects. . . . Relax. Gardening is about releasing your mind and reducing stress. Don’t think of the dying foliage as ugly. Think of it as natural.”

–Gary Pierce, Ask the Horticultural Agent: Can I cut the leaves off my daffodil plants when they finish blooming?, Harnett County, North Carolina Cooperative Extension.

3.  Constant replacement of plants for a “perfect look.” Plants grown in professional nurseries are given exceptional growing conditions that we have no hope of replicating in a home garden. They are fed the exactly correct proportion of nutrients, given fresh water in exactly the correct amounts, the perfect amount of sunlight and are pruned and transplanted at the very best times. No wonder when these plants arrive at the garden center, it is hard to resist their beauty. For most gardeners, however, the perfect look starts to fade after a few weeks in the home garden. The plant might grow in a funny direction, it might show signs of stress from the new, less perfect growing conditions, or the blossoms might fade. The perfectionist gardener will pull out and replace the plant as soon as it doesn’t look perfect, replacing it with another perfect specimen.

4.  Faux Foliage. If you don’t appreciate the variability and unpredictability of Mother Nature, there are always “permanent botanicals,” i.e. artificial flowers, shrubs, trees and just about anything you would want for your garden. They are getting more lifelike all the time and being used outdoors as well as in.

“Faux plants today are so lifelike that no one will be able to tell the difference, and you may become the envy of your neighbors. . . . There are literally hundreds of faux plants like trees, flowers, shrubs, and bushes to choose from. . . . [Y]ou will never be more in love with your garden and you will have saved 50% of the cost and about 90% of the time it takes to grow all those plants.”

–Rachel Pickett, Gardening with Fake Plants

5.  Digital Enhancement. When manual efforts to make your garden perfect fail, there is always the opportunity to remedy things in the virtual world. All of the gardens in magazines and books are gorgeous and flawless. There is not a weed in site, the plants are all lush, green and healthy and perhaps even in full bloom. It was not until a few weeks ago that I read this interesting secret revealed:

“Goaded by the lush pictures in shelter magazines you can set unrealistic standards that only homeowners with hired staff can uphold. Learn to live with imperfections such as a few weeds and flowers past their prime. Those gardens in magazine layouts have been primped by professionals and, like fashion spreads, the photos sometimes are even digitally doctored.”

–Bart Ziegler, 10 Lessons, Learned the Hard Way, The Wall Street Journal, March 26, 2010.

It never even crossed my mind before that gardens and flowers are Photoshopped! It really seems unnecessary. Apparently even Mother Nature is not perfect enough for magazine editors. With Photoshop, anything can be manipulated. Colors are enhanced, flowers can be “corrected” to remove insect damage, plants can be added in (or removed). The end result might not be anything like a “real” garden. If you want to see an example of the capabilities of Photoshop see the video below showing artist Breathe1909 transforming a vacant lot full of garbage into a community garden–all with Photoshop.

While I wouldn’t begrudge anyone who needed to take a little “cheat” here and there to spruce up a garden for a special occasion or to help sell a house, maintaining a mirage of perfectionism all the time is unproductive and unhealthy. I would hate to see the day when we are all so afraid of a few weeds, dead leaves or spent flowers that our yards consist entirely of fake plants and painted grass.

There is beauty in nature, in variation and even in failure. Here’s hoping you don’t take your gardening too seriously and that you find the right balance between creating a personal eden to enjoy and beating yourself up over every leaf out of place.

Do you struggle with perfectionism in your garden? What gardening “cheats” have you tried? Please share in the comments.

Pruning fruit tree. Placer County, California (1940). Photo by Russell Lee for the Farm Security Administration. From the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

I have a lot to do to tune-up my front entrance plantings. We have let them become rather jungle-like over the years in part due to lack of time but also because of lack of knowledge. Most of our front entrance plantings are various bushes and shrubs. What are you supposed to do to make bushes and shrubs look good? Apparently a key requirement is good pruning.

Pruning is an old-fashioned sounding word that basically means trimming the plant either for aesthetic reasons or to improve the health of the plant. Most of us have probably never learned how to prune correctly. When I told my husband about this post, his first reaction was, “I probably have been too aggressive with the hedge trimmer, eh?”

I don’t doubt that most people assume that pruning requires power tools. Yesterday I was a little surprised to see two men from the park service with chainsaws cutting off relatively small branches from trees and bushes as they walked along a path in a local park!

Pruning done right is more of a delicate process and not a mass hacking off of branches.

“In most cases, it is better not to prune than to do it incorrectly.”

–Douglas F. Welsh and Everett Janne, “Follow Proper Pruning Techniques,” Texas Agricultural Extension Service, the Texas A&M University System

How do trees and shrubs grow?

Now is a great time to look around your garden to see where your trees and bushes are growing. The new growth occurs at the ends of branches and is generally much lighter in color than the old growth. You can see some examples below:

Spring growth on a holly branch.

Spring growth on an azalea bush.

At first, I thought that this must be the ideal time to prune–when you can see where the new growth is coming in. Apparently this is not so.

“Do not prune at the convenience of the pruner, but rather when it results in the least damage to the plant. . . . In general, the best time to prune most plants is during late winter or early spring before growth begins. . . The least desirable time is immediately after new growth develops in the spring. A great amount of food stored in roots and stems is used in developing new growth. This food should be replaced by new foliage before it is removed; if not, considerable dwarfing of the plant may occur.”

–Douglas F. Welsh and Everett Janne, “Follow Proper Pruning Techniques,” Texas Agricultural Extension Service, the Texas A&M University System

What are the best tools for pruning?

There are a variety of tools that can be used for pruning. Pruning shears and lopping shears are probably the most common and easy for anyone to use with little effort. I really like the Fiskars shears we have. I initially chose them because Fiskars makes really nice scissors for sewing and I have not been disappointed. They cut very well. If you are skilled with power tools and you are doing a lot of pruning, electric hedge trimmers or a chainsaw may be useful.

Fiskars pruning shears at amazon.com.

Fiskars lopping shears at amazon.com.

It is very important that your pruning tools be kept clean and sharp. In a way, you are performing surgery on the plant and just like surgery on people you want the cuts to be quick and sharp and not spread disease to the “patient” in the process. If you are cutting a diseased plant it is recommended that you clean your pruning tools with bleach or alcohol after every cut!

Where do you cut?

While most plants are fairly resilient and will withstand rough treatment, a bad pruning cut could make the tree or shrub susceptible to disease or structurally weakened. The correct place to make a pruning cut is to follow the branch down to the “branch collar,” i.e. its connection to the trunk or main stem, and then cut the branch off at the branch collar. The branch collar is like a natural band-aid for the tree or shrub and has special properties that helps protect the plant from disease and seals off the cuts.

Where is the branch collar? Generally it is kind of hard to see but it is about 1/4” or so away from the intersection of the branch to be cut with the main stem or trunk. Fortunately, the holly tree in my front yard provides an easily-viewable color-coded example. The branch collar is the brown trunk-like protrusion where the new green growth starts. To prune, you just cut at a slight angle at the branch collar.

Close-up of the branch collar on a holly tree. (The swollen portion where the green growth begins.)

Pruning at the branch collar.

On most branches, the branch collar is not so easy to view. Below is an example pruning of my azalea bush. You can see from the photo that I missed the branch collar by just a bit and should have cut a little closer. Sometimes, however, your cutting angle makes it hard to get a precise cut, so you just have to do the best you can.

Point of intersection of dead branch with main stem on an azalea bush.

Azalea pruning. I could have been a bit closer to the leaf collar.

Be careful cutting the top-most branches.

If your idea of pruning is just taking the hedge trimmers and cutting along the top of the tree or bush, you might end up “topping” the tree. Topping means cutting off the main leader stem. This somehow sends a message to the rest of the plant that it needs to stop growing upward. You will still see growth on the tree but it is generally not as healthy as what you would see if you left the leader in place.

My Conservative Pruning Results

Armed with all this information, I headed out to my yard. It was still a bit confusing to know where to start. Cutting the “suckers” (i.e. the very small branches trying to grow on established tree trunks) was easy and a no-brainer. I cleaned up the holly tree and the dogwood.

Trunk of holly tree before pruning. Covered with "sucker" branches.

Trunk of holly tree after pruning. Clear, clean lower branches.

Next, I noticed a dead branch hanging from the dogwood tree. It was not too high off the ground and was relatively small so I felt comfortable cutting it down myself. (Note, for larger, heavier branches, be very careful! You might need a professional.) Using my ladder and lopping shears, it was quickly gone.

Dead branch hanging from the dogwood tree.

Dogwood tree canopy after removing dead branch and a few suckers.

Next it was time to tackle the various hedges. Almost every hedge had new growth on it. While it would have been easy to just cut the new growth, I am going to wait a bit per the advice above and will prune again in a few months once the new growth is more mature. One thing that was fairly easy to do, however, was to cut out dead branches. The dead branches are a bit hard to find at first glance but once you study the bush, you can pick them out and cut them off. It is a subtle difference but it does help the yard look better maintained. I did this on the azalea, boxwood and the rhododendron. Every once in a while, I made an “oops” cut and took out a branch with good growth on it but not very often. Sometimes the dead branches have small leaf-like growth on them. You can still cut these off.

Overgrown boxwood before pruning to remove dead branches.	Boxwood after removal of dead branches.
Rhododendron before pruning. It's chaotic shape is due to snow damage. I kind of like it.	Rhododendron after pruning to remove dead branches. Subtle improvement.

As I went along, I found a lot of small dead branches that appeared to be leftover from my husband’s hedge trimming. I just picked these up by hand. My front yard still has a ways to go but it does look a bit more organized now. I have a garbage can full of dead branches to show for my efforts.

Do you prune? What is your pruning tool of choice? Have a pruning horror story? Please share in the comments. Have a great weekend!

"Topiary2-Mendocino Coast." Photo by seligmanwaite. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Since I am focusing this month on yard and garden, I find myself examining plantings wherever I go. On a recent walk, I looked closely at the natural forest and saw how random and scattered natural plantings are. The plants grow clustered together in such a way that it is hard to tell one plant from another. The random patterns sometimes look like a cluttered jungle and other times beautiful art.

In human-planted gardens, we set rigid boundaries for plants, we mulch them and control them to grow where and how we want them. It is interesting to see people’s personalities expressed through their gardens. Some people have very tightly clipped and controlled gardens and others a more flowing, looser style.

After posting about evergreens on Monday, I have also been looking more closely at evergreens in various plantings. I decided that I really like the look of evergreen shrubbery when it is clipped into topiary forms. But is topiary possible for a beginning gardener? Today’s post asks exactly that.

What is topiary?

Topiary is an old art form that first surfaced in ancient Egypt and classical Rome. It involves training a plant to take on a desired form. In a way the topiary is a form of plant abuse. You clip and prune the branches in ways they ordinarily don’t grow. The plant, under stress from this process, produces growth in other directions to compensate for the loss of the clipped branches. This may not be the healthiest way for the plant to grow but it does allow for a lot of creative possibilities.

Lion topiary at Disney's Epcot Center. Photo by dbking. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Topiary fell out of fashion in the early 1700’s but was revived in the 1840’s. In the United States, we owe the revival of topiary forms largely to Walt Disney, who wanted Disney characters recreated in topiary at his Disneyland theme parks. You can click here to watch a short movie showing the process Disney uses to create the topiary frames for their characters. Note that Disney even builds an irrigation system inside the frame! The Disney topiaries are really quite incredible, using a variety of plants as decorations for hair, clothing, etc.

What plants can be used for topiary?

A variety of different types of plants can be used for topiary. Generally evergreen plants are used so that the topiary shape can be admired year-round. Herbs, especially rosemary, can be used for topiary as can houseplants like ivy. Below is a list of some of the most common plants used for topiary:

Evergreens
hollies
boxwood
arborvitae
bay laurel
myrtle
yew
privet

Herbs
rosemary
lemon verbena
fringed lavender
dwarf sage
sweet bay

Other
ivy
flowering plants such as lantana, fuchsia, and hydrangeas.
small-leaved scented geraniums

How difficult is it to make a topiary?

Topiaries look really difficult to make but watch the videos below and you will see that they aren’t all that complicated. Below are some videos showing the process. First, a quick video showing how you can quickly just put a cage form over an existing plant to start growing a topiary.

If you are not keen on cutesy metal forms, you can also freehand simple designs like lollipop trees. Mike and Marlis Stribbling show you how in the two videos below. First, how to create a simple lollipop tree form.

Second, how to trim a more mature topiary hedge.

What tools do you need for topiaries?

The tools for topiaries are fairly simple. You need to have a good pair of topiary shears, some plant stakes or metal forms and a means of attaching the plant to the form, such as a Tapener machine or ties.

Poodle Topiary Frame from Green Piece Wire Art at amazon.com	Topiary Shears from amazon.com.
Grape shears at amazon.com.	Velcro plant ties at amazon.com.

I hope that this discussion of topiary gives you the courage to give it a try. Topiary is a great way to add an element of sophistication to your garden. If you have some boring hedges that you are not too fond of, perhaps you will like them better with a topiary twist. If all you have is an indoor garden, you can also share in the topiary fun. Some of the hilarious animal shapes could give personality to a garden and perhaps encourage children to take an interest in plants.

One caution on topiary, however. I wouldn’t try topiary on a plant that I absolutely loved and couldn’t stand to lose. Because it is possible that the severe pruning involved could gradually weaken a plant and cause it to die, I would only experiment with topiary on a plant that I could easily replace.

I will end this post with some unbelievable topiary examples from around the world. Please share your thoughts on topiary in the comments.

Rabbit Topiary at Palace, Bangkok, Thailand. Photo by Arthur Chapman. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Lady and gent topiary in Columbus, Ohio. Photo by ptc24. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Brontosaurus Topiary at the Musee de Paleantologique in Villers-sure-mer, France. Photo by Parksy19644. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Bedfont Church Topiary, London. Photo by Dick Penn. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Squared off shrubbery in the Jardins de Valloires, France. Photo by Pot Noodle. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

Square trees in Paris. Photo by srboisvert. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

When I look at the landscaping installed by the previous owners of our home, it overwhelms me. The previous owners had some knowledge of plants and installed a great variety. For the first several years we lived in our home, we simply waited to see what was going to come up next. Now that the landscaping is getting mature and in need of a refresh, it is hard to know where to start.

Several sources I consulted suggested that when you are thinking about planning a landscape, you aim for “year-round beauty.” The landscape should be attractive in a variety of seasons from spring flowers to winter berries and evergreens! This is also an overwhelming concept for a beginning gardener. Breaking down this concept, however, yields the manageable topic of basic things to know about evergreen plants.

Selecting Your Evergreens

“Too many evergreens can make an outdoor space gloomy and depressing.”

–”Choosing Landscape Evergreens,” University of Minnesota Extension Service

While most of us think of pine trees when we hear the word “evergreen,” it turns out there are a variety of plants that are called evergreens. Some have needles, like pine trees, and are called conifers. Others have flat, broad leaves, like magnolia and holly and are called broadleaf evergreens.

Below is a list of some of the native conifers and broadleaf evergreens in Virginia (extracted from this list from Green Spring Gardens and this list from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation). You can find evergreen plants native to your region by consulting your local cooperative extension service.

VIRGINIA CONIFERS

Eastern White Pine. Photo by sciondriver. From the Flickr Creative Commons.	Loblolly Pine. Photo by Alicia Pimental. From the Flickr Creative Commons.	Virginia Pine. Photo by Peter Leitheiser. From the Wikimedia Commons.
Eastern Red Cedar. Photo by Quadell. From the Wikimedia Commons.	Atlantic White Cedar. Photo by James Henderson, Gulf South Research Corporation at Forestry Images, operated by The Bugwood Network at the University of Georgia and the USDA Forest Service. From the Wikimedia Commons.	Eastern Arborvitae. Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture. From the Wikimedia Commons.

VIRGINIA BROADLEAF EVERGREENS

American Holly. Photo by the the Natural Resources Conservation Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. From the Wikimedia Commons.	Close-up of a magnolia blossom. Photo taken at the Chanticleer Garden by Derek Ramsay. From the Wikimedia Commons.	Rhododendron. Image copyright Ruly, LLC.
Wintergreen. Photo by John Delano. From the Wikimedia Commons.	Winterberry. (Not technically an evergreen but provides attractive winter berries.) From http://www.landscaping.about.com, taken by David Beaulieu.

There are, of course, many other non-native evergreens grown in Virginia. One of the most common is boxwood, a reference to the English colonial heritage of the area. Groundcover-like evergreen shrubs are also fairly common in many yards here.

I have always had difficulty growing conifer evergreens in Virginia. It turns out that the soil and climate of the Virginia area is not particularly well-suited for evergreens. According to the University of Alabama Huntsville, the high nighttime temperatures as well as the tendency of the clay soils in the southeastern region to be waterlogged often cause conifers to respire at an increased rate as well as suffer from root death. What I have tended to see is that the needles get dry and fall out, even when the plant is well-watered.

Landscaping with Evergreens

Once you have your evergreens selected what are some attractive options for planting them?

First, several sites warn that before you plant an evergreen you make sure you know how large it will grow at maturity, especially if you are planting it anywhere near your home and foundation. Make sure you are not planting a giant tree if you only want a small hedge.

The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension suggests that approximately 25% of your plants be evergreens in order to support bird life in the area.

Broadleaf evergreens are relatively easy to mix in with your other plantings visually because the leaves, while thicker, have a plant-like feel to them. Some may even be flowering evergreens (like the rhododendron), which could coordinate with other flowering plants.

There is not much advice out there about how to mix deciduous and conifer evergreen plants together in a landscape design. In the natural forest surrounding our house, pine trees randomly insert themselves among the oak trees. They look OK but I don’t know that I would plant them that way if I was purposely designing the landscape. There is quite a contrast between the textures and it gives a cluttered appearance. Generally, trees look most attractive in groupings when they are all of the same kind (i.e. all pines, all oaks, etc.)

There are exceptions, however, and the photo below contrasting grasses with pines is quite beautiful. Perhaps our eye is recognizing the commonality of the pointed ends of the grass and the pointed needles of the trees.

Photo of Honduras pines in Puerto Rico by Oquendo. From the Flickr Creative Commons.

The University of Minnesota Extension Service provides the following design guidance.

“Landscape plantings, whether for home properties or large public grounds, are most satisfying when a clear pattern is apparent to people using the space. Simplicity and serenity are important for outdoor design. Use the fewest possible varieties of evergreen plants and select them for an obvious purpose.”

–”Choosing Landscape Evergreens,” University of Minnesota Extension Service

So, you might have better success with your conifer evergreens if you set them apart from other plantings. But heed the advice about not planting too many evergreens together, particularly hedges and groundcovers. A little evergreen goes a long way. As I think about my front landscaping I am now wondering if we have perhaps too much evergreen.

Do you have evergreens in your yard? How do you use evergreens in your own landscaping? Please share your thoughts on evergreens in the comments.