City Garden Ideas

Hello all!
The run up to Christmas has been crazy!  I’ve still got a long shopping list… Hope you are finding joy in the season! 

If you need a gift for a gardener in your life, perhaps a January class at the New England Wild Flower Society would be a good present.

Below are two suggestions.  Get more information at http://www.newenglandwild.org/learn.

Saturday, January 21, 2012, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Winter Botany, Garden in the Woods, Framingham, MA. Instructor William Kuriger, Ph.D., includes a classroom lecture on the taxonomic characteristics of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous and evergreen plants in winter, including hands-on identification of twig and plant specimens, followed by a walk around the site to put your classroom knowledge to work. Fee: $82 (Member) / $98 (Nonmember) Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

 Monday, January 23, 2012, 2:00 p.m. tea, 2:30-4:00 p.m. program, Soil: Where Geoscience Meets Botany, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA. Soil has been called “the bridge between life and the inanimate world.” Instructor Janet McDonough helps us gain new appreciation for this backbone of our landscape. From its origins in the glacial era, explore the characteristics of soils in New England and how they affect the plants in our landscape. How is soil made? What are the components of a good soil, and what easy methods can gardeners use to tell what amendments are needed? From geology to biology, get all the dirt on soil. Fee: $10 (Member) / $15 (Nonmember). Pre-registration is necessary, contact the registrar at 508-877-7630, ext. 3303.

When I was young, the driveway to my childhood home – a multi-family in Quincy – was lined with a low stone wall. In the short  bed behind the wall, big, green, leafy hostas grew about every three feet.  I honestly didn’t pay much attention to the plant itself. To me it was something to run at and jump over.  It’s big, bushy mound of leaves were hurdles and I made it my own personal Olympic event.  Needless to say, I always won the gold.  I’m smiling at the memory…
This summer, I discovered the real beauty, variety and usefulness of the hosta.  There are hundreds of species in every shape, size, color and texture.  Choosing a favorite is tough!  Best of all hostas grow in shade and sun!   A rare find for city scapes. So the hosta earns #2 in my 2011 list of Garden Lessons and Finds. 
Hostas are easy to grow and shade tolerant.  They can do well in 3/4 to full sun.  According to the American Hosta Society (yes there is one),  a general rule of thumb is “the greener the leaf, the less sun necessary for the plant to grow well.”   The corollary to this “rule” also seems to work; “the more yellow and white in a leaf, the more sun necessary for sufficient photosynthesis to allow the plant to thrive.” And, some hosta growers have discovered that additional moisture will help a hosta survive in higher light levels!
The plant is native to Japan, Korea, and China and was first imported and grown in Europe in the late 1700’s. By the mid-1800’s, hosta were growing in the United States.  Hostas are available at most garden centers and are worthy additions to any city garden – shady or sunny.    Check out the American Hosta Society for more information.

Hello everyone. 
It’s mum time again…  As the leaves turn color and drift down from the trees, I’ve been reflecting about my 2011 garden and some of the best finds and lessons learned of the year. 
I’m going to start with an unexpected recommendation: a new tool. 
When I was coordinating the April 30th workshop, “Expert Advice andPractical Tips to Beautify Small Urban Spaces,” I read about a hand tool called the Cobrahead®.  

It claimed to be “The Best Tool In Earth” (clever) and would help with weeding, digging, planting, transplanting, edging and furrowing.   I sent an email to Geoff Valdes at Cobrahead asking for one of the tools to give as a door prize at the workshop.  Geoff generously sent a short handle Cobrahead Weeder and Cultivator as a door prize AND another to use myself.  At the workshop, several of the experts told me I’d be sad to give that tool away.  I was glad to tell them that I had one to use. 
And did I use it!  In my street-side tree garden, the roots grow up and into the added top soil, making a mesh that can be inpenetrable.  I’m fairly strong but it takes dedicated effort to loosen the soil enough to remove the tenacious roots and begin to plant… With the Cobrahead, it was so much easier!  Surprisingly so.  Cobrahead calls this tool a “steel fingernail.”  That’s a good description.   It cut through the soil and was very effective in pulling out weeds.  Many times I used it in place of a trowel.  The price is $24.95 and I recommend it.  Consider buying for yourself or giving as a gift to your gardening friends and family. 

The tool is made in Wisconsin.  The sales materials say the handle is a mix of recycled polypropylene and agriculturally grown flax fiber.  The steel blade is American made with a minimum recycle content of 60%.  The tool is tough and should last many years.   

Learn more at www.cobrahead.com

Hello Everyone: 
The weather in Boston today was glorious!  Sunny, warm and delightful!
Wanted to share the post below.  It comes from the Garden Club of the Back Bay –http://www.gardenclubbackbay.org/.  The gardening blog and book recommendations were worth passing along.  Enjoy!

“GCBB member Susan Ashbrook alerted us to a very interesting blog, the captivereader.wordpress.com and three postings of gardening classics which are well worth examining.  Some listings and reviews will be well known to many, such as Anna Pavord’s excellent The Curious Gardener: A Year in the Garden, while others are ripe for discovery, such as Weeds: A Cultural History, and Four Hedges by Clare Leighton.

Find links to all three garden book installments at http://thecaptivereader.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/a-gardening-reading-list-part-iii/.

Let me be honest.  My garden looks too darn good right now to think
about adding in more flowers to give it a fall boost.  Not yet. 
But I have created a top 5 fall flower list for those looking to add some vibrancy and texture to the end of season garden.  You may be surprised to see that the chrysanthemum is not on the list. Frankly, I’m not a big fan of the mum.  There’s something not right about one particular species of flower showing up in every garden, window box and stoop as soon as the air gets chilly.  Yes, mums are hardy and come in gorgeous colors.  I’m just not keen on seeing the same big, bulbous mounds on every corner.

So here’s my top 5 list of mum alternatives.
1. Asters – These flowers are my new best friends.  Your local garden
shop and big box garden stores should have plenty of varieties and colors in stock.   They’re extremely easy to grow.   They love full sun but tolerate light shade.
Invite these pretty gals into your garden. You won’t be disappointed.
2. Helianthus:  Sunflowers are just the perfect flower to have in your
garden when the weather turns cold.   
Who can resist the bright, perky yellow
when you are pulling your sweater tight?

3. Goldenrod: This is not the plant that will make you sneeze! Put that thought out of your head.  This feathery plant will give color and texture throughout the fall.

4. Sedum: There are many varieties of sedum and many types are topped by starry flowers in late summer and fall.  A common name for this plant is stonecrop.

5. Eupatorium (Joe Pye Weed) – Rosemary, the assistant minister at my church, suggested this plant for the fall garden.  She says it’s a real winner and provides great color and texture.