Congratulations, If you are reading this you have made it thru tax time and winter!
Below in a attempt to be proactive, since I wear many hats within our company is my summer garden blog. I picked three things that I am interested in, hopefully you will find them informative and fun. As always you can message me on Facebook, thru our website or leave a message at 812-477-2869. Make the most of your summer and more importantly have some fun out there!
SUMMER BLOG TOPICS
- TROUGH GARDENING
- NATIVE PERENNIALS
- KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL PLANT HEALTH
Trough Gardening
- Troughs, also known as stock tanks, make a great and attractive alternative to wooden raised beds. They’re easy to use (no building required!) and cost-wise not a bad investment as they will last forever and keep burrowing animals out. If you pick one 36″ or higher, they’ll also keep bunnies out, too.
- Look for used stock tanks at farm sales or on Craig’s list. New stock tanks can be purchased at farm stores or some garden centers. If you don’t see them where you buy your garden products, ask the manager to special order troughs for you.
- Troughs come in a variety of sizes, shapes and heights and the taller ones provide a great option for those who don’t want to bend down to garden.
- You can get really creative with stock tanks – they don’t just have to be a single lozenge shaped tank. Use your imagination and have fun with the possibilities!
- Troughs are heavy so think carefully about where you want to place it. It will be hard to move once filled.
- You will also want to consider reflection from the sun hitting the metal tough when you’re placing them – they may look lovely out your kitchen window but if the glare is blinding you as you wash the dishes, that’s not a great thing.
- Most of the principles that apply to container planting also apply to troughs.
- Make sure you have good drainage! You’ll want to drill holes in the bottom of your trough to allow for drainage. You will also want to set your trough on cinder blocks or bricks to allow the water to drain out thoroughly. If you raise the trough to facilitate drainage, make sure you have enough support under the trough so it doesn’t buckle due to the weight.
- You will want to put 3-6″ of gravel, broken pot shards or other material at the bottom of the trough to help with drainage. You might want to put a fine mesh over the drainage material to keep your soil from slowly leaking out (and potentially clogging drainage holes).
- Like other containers, troughs can dry out faster than in ground plantings or raised beds in hot weather. Be sure to check if the trough needs water frequently by putting your fingers into the soil. If you detect moisture 2-3″ down, you’re good.
- Don’t over compensate by watering too much. Plants don’t like their roots in soupy soil – it prevents them from “breathing”.
- Soil rich in compost is great for veggies and works in a trough.
- Your trough will warm up faster in the spring so you can plant a little earlier. But it will also warm up significantly in the summer so be careful when touching the metal that it isn’t too hot – ouch! “Hot crops” like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant will most likely love the extra soil warmth a trough will provide.
- From a decorative perspective, troughs can be painted on the outside to match a color scheme.
- Troughs are great for water gardens too, although different rules apply. But, consider your trough a very large container and come up with all sorts of ideas that suit your particular gardening situation!
Native Perennials
What makes native plants so great? Put simply, they are built to thrive in the conditions of a specific region, often without complaint, and are an essential component in the preservation of wildlife and the overall ecology of a region. Yet the topic of native plants can spark a debate like no other in the gardening world. Some arguments are based on fact; some are purely fiction—for example, native plants aren’t necessarily lower-maintenance options that thrive on zero care if they’re sited in conditions outside of their preferred light exposure or soil requirements.
The overload of info has left many gardeners wondering, “What native plants should I get?” We asked qualified native plant experts from around the country to weigh in, and they provided this article to help you decide which particularly eye-catching perennials you should think about adding to your garden. This link will get you to a very informative, visual detailed description of these plants and many more.
https://indiananativeplants.org/plant-pages-home/grassland-palette/
A group that I like to use mix or match for extreme drought toughness, long season interest and bird/butterfly magnet are below.
Amsonia:
Amsonia (Blue Star) is a genus of mostly native plants. These perennial wildflowers attract butterfly’s and are deer-resistant, sun-loving plants prized for their drought tolerance and true blue flowers. Not only are Amsonia species themselves superb, but many of the newer amsonia (blue star) hybrids could become garden staples. Amsonia hubrichtii was named the 2011 Perennial Plant of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association for its delicate texture, blue flowers and fantastic yellow fall foliage. Amsonia hubrichtii has long been one of our favorites too.
Amsonia is a tough, easy to grow, deer-resistant, full sun perennial that tolerates a variety of garden soils. Amsonia looks great grown in a large drift but also makes a wonderful backdrop or companion plant for other garden species. LOVE this perennial in the fall going into winter!
Baptisia:
If you’re like many gardeners, you may struggle with clay soil, heat and drought, and deer eating your favorite garden perennials. While you’re busy creating a colorful space to enjoy outdoors, you’re looking for flowers that will attract butterflies and will make nice cuts for your fresh bouquets. Cultivars of native false indigo (Baptisia) fill all of those needs and more.
Several species of Baptisia can be found growing in the wild from the Midwest to the East Coast, as far south as Texas and as far north as Ontario, Canada. In its most primitive form, this perennial has a prairie-type look about it. It can grow as tall as an average adult and can be quite open or leggy in habit. Also there are many great new Nativar selections, check this one out further!
Little Bluestem:
Little bluestem is a very ornamental bunchgrass with fine-textured foliage that forms very dense mounds 18-24 inches tall. Slender blue-green stems reach 3 feet by September, and become radiant mahogany-red with white, shining seed tufts in the fall. Color remains nearly all winter. Perennial clumps grow up to a foot in diameter.
This mid-prairie species gets its name from the bluish color of the stem bases in the spring, but most striking is the plants reddish-tan color in fall, persisting through winter snows. The seeds, fuzzy white at maturity, are of particular value to small birds in winter. A related species, Big Bluestem or Turkeyfoot (Andropogon gerardii), has finger-like seed heads that somewhat resemble a turkeys foot. It reaches a height of 12 feet in favorable bottomland sites and is also one of the Easts most important native prairie grasses. LOVE the fall winter interest of the plants, contrasts nicely with the two previously mentioned plants. Check this one out further!
Garden Phlox:
Phlox was some of the first North American native plants discovered and cultivated by European naturalists, dating back to the 1700s. Like a lot of our native plants, garden phlox (P. paniculata) has enjoyed centuries of popularity in Europe and has been slow to get firmly rooted in American gardens, according to a recent report from Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, Del. That is changing. Plant breeders have been working with pollinator-attracting garden phlox to improve the perennial’s disease resistance, flower size and colors. Frequently fragrant, garden phlox is a great cut flower. Garden phlox gets powdery mildew, a fungus disease that turns the leaves gray, brown and black.
The disease is not usually fatal, but it is unattractive. However, we gardeners live with it, since so many fungicides are deadly to bees. And we try to plant garden phlox that is resistant to this disease. There are several varieties available in late spring and summer at garden centers. So much to say about this awesome perennials, but suffice to say when combined with the previously mentioned plants you will have the makings of a multi-season native perennial landscape bed. Please pay attention to water the roots not the foliage on all plants, but especially these mentioned in this blog.
Check this one out further!
https://www.provenwinners.com/plants/phlox/luminary-ultraviolet-tall-garden-phlox-phlox-paniculata
KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL PLANT HEALTH:
- Check plants regularly (daily during warm dry spells) and water as needed. Do not wait until a plant wilts. Do not water if the top few inches of soil are still moist. Always water deeply and slowly at the base of the plant!
- Fertilize with a organic slow release fertilizer
- Plant as early in the season as possible. Though you can plant all year, the longer the roots have time develop before summer hits, the less work you will have to do.
- Use common sense. If rains 1” after 10 days of a dry spell, that does not count as watering. Most plants need 3-4 times the amount of water each 7-10 days as their container size that they were purchased in. For example a 3 gallon Hydrangea will need 9-12 gallons of water every 7-10 days. This means that you have to insure that the water goes down 6-8” by watering in aprox. 10 gallons of water to not only soak the rootball but the surrounding soil, so that as the rootball drys out it wicks water from the surrounding soil. You do not need to water everyday, but somehow you need to water slowly and deeply so that the required water is available for the plant.
- PLANT THE RIGHT PLANT IN THE RIGHT SPACE. SHADE PLANTS IN THE SHADE, SUN LOVING PLANTS IN THE SUN!
- Give your plants room to grow and allow for good air circulation.
- Get out there and actually look at your plants, are they dark green, do they have the beginning of fungal spots, insect holes etc etc??? If that bores you take a ice tea or glass of wine, turn some music on and have fun with your inspection.
- Lastly prune at the correct time ( see prev. blog ) for more info!
In closing have fun, be kind to each other and let’s make gardening great again!
We are here to help at any time. Here are several ways to reach us!
Happy Summer!
Dave D.
Please Follow And Like Us On Facebook:
To Request A Landscape Consultation Click or Call The Links Below:
