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New Year's Resolutions for the Garden |
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With a new growing season upon us, now is the time to set some garden resolutions. If you resolve to take time early in the season to complete chores like staking, mulching and edging, you'll
save time later in the summer – time that can be spent enjoying the results of your hard work.
Staking
This is the one resolution I really must keep. The trick is
to do it before the plants fall down. It's a seemingly simple
theory, yet inevitably difficult in practice.
The key benefit of keeping this resolution is that if the chore
is completed early in the season, the end results can be virtually
invisible – the plants will grow, obscure the supports and look
natural. Contrast this to, say, Sarah Bernhardt peonies hauled
off the ground after the inevitable June thunderstorm, braced
with long, thick stakes and girded with binder twine.
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One way to support bushy plants is to surround them with twiggy
branches pushed into the ground in the spring. The growing plants
will cover the branches, but at the same time be supported by
them. A similar idea is to lay light metal mesh on top of plants
such as peonies before they emerge. The stems will rise up through
the mesh and pull it up, providing support as the plant continues
to grow.
If the opportunity for discreet staking passes, the opposite
strategy might work – make the support an element of the garden
design. You can prop up plants with garden ornaments or use
brightly painted stakes that complement or contrast the plant.
Another option for some plants is to shear or pinch them back
before bud set. This will make them shorter, bushier and less
prone to flopping.
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Fig. 1 – Staking early in the season allows growing plants to cover the support naturally. |
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Other Articles from this Issue |
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