Hosting family gatherings is something that I truly love to do. The more the merrier. Yes, it can be exhausting, but creating those family memories is so important. The part of hosting for which I need the most help is preparing the food. Cooking does not come naturally to me. For each family gathering I have a stack of recipes that I follow explicitly. Whether I am cooking for two or twenty, I cannot make anything without a piece of paper by my side that leads me through the process.
For some of us, gardening comes as naturally as cooking, for others a step-by-step guide is helpful. As the gardening season is in full swing, please consider this column your recipe for successfully creating a well maintained and beautiful yard.
Much like chefs need high quality utensils, people who work in their yard need high quality gardening tools. Correctly-chosen and well-maintained gardening tools make the work much easier and more pleasant. Pruners by Felco, a King of Spades shovel, and a stirrup hoe make light work of difficult gardening tasks. If storage space allows, a Smart Cart gardening wheelbarrow will decrease the amount of carrying and lifting. Cleaning the tools after each use coupled with regular sharpening will ensure your investment lasts longer.
Weeds are often the bane of our existence. They pop up seemingly overnight and can be very difficult to eradicate. Mechanical removal with a hoe, while time consuming, is often the best way to remove weeds. Plant care chemicals can, when applied with extreme caution and according to the label directions, may also be used. Once a landscaping bed is weed free, Preen may be applied. Preen is a granular pre-emergent herbicide. It suppresses future weed growth but does not kill existing weeds. Depending on the severity of the weeds and what else is growing in the area, landscape fabric may be spread over the planting area, tacked down and covered with mulch. This fabric does allow moisture to go through but will suppress weed seeds.
The advantage of gardening beds that are several years old is that they may contain plants that can be propagated. Hostas, sedum, iris, daylilies, and ornamental grasses are examples of plants that can be divided. The process of dividing plants consists of separating the root system and often results in healthier plants with more flowers. The divided plants can either be planted elsewhere in your yard or can be given to a neighbor, friend or relative.
Spading the edges of planting beds is usually done annually. Spading, sometimes called edging, results in a crisp, clean look between the planting area and the lawn. Over time our planting beds often grow in size due to this process. Planting beds can be made smaller by the use of sod. This recaptures a portion of what was originally lawn and results in smaller, more manageable planting areas.
Pruning, when done correctly, can be the most difficult gardening chore. Each pruning cut and the ramifications should be carefully considered. The timing of the completion of the chore can affect the plant for months. Spring blooming plants can be pruned in the early summer but should not be pruned in the fall. Lilacs pruned in the fall will most likely have significantly few flowers than if they were not pruned at all. Summer blooming shrubs can be pruned in the fall or early spring. Pruning to shape or modify the height of a tree, when done incorrectly, can result in the tree growing faster.
The application of mulch results in a beautiful fresh garden look. While often applied for aesthetics, is also has numerous other benefits. Mulch helps to moderate soil temperatures, reduces weed growth and adds nutrients into the soil as it breaks down. Typically, mulch is applied every other year.
Deadheading is the act of removing older or spent blooms from annual and perennial flowers as well as flowering shrubs. Deadheading is usually done by hand and simply involves lightly pulling or pinching the old flowers off. It can also be done with a pair of gardening scissors or pruners. When pruning flowering shrubs, it is best to prune back to the first set of leaves. The benefit of deadheading is the production of more flowers. After the spent flowers are removed, the plant puts its energy into producing more flowers instead of producing seeds.
The maintenance of sources of water, while often overlooked, is a gardening chore that should be performed routinely. The water from gutters and downspouts has the potential to damage, even kill, our plants. The water from these sources is best directed into the lawn. This can be done through downspout extensions, concrete splash blocks or by burying the downspouts underground. If water is currently directed within your planting beds, a sidewalk or a driveway consider directing onto the lawn where possible. The physical measurement of the amount of water that irrigation systems put into planting beds is also recommended.
Plants, especially annual flowers, often benefit from the application of fertilizer. Miracle Gro is a great all-purpose fertilizer. It is a granular fertilizer that should be diluted with water before application. Carefully follow package directions for frequency and concentration of application for each plant. Generally, you should stop fertilizing perennial flowers and shrubs around August 1.
It is my hope that by following this recipe, both you and your plants will enjoy some delicious hours in the sunshine this summer.
The Sunflower Garden Club of Sun City is hosting a Garden Walk July 19. They are actively seeking homeowners who would allow residents to view their gardens as part of this wonderful event. Any interested residents may contact Cynthia Jones for more information at 224-828-1082.
Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc.,a landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or emailing her at Kathleen@thegrowingscene.com. Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She may address it in an upcoming column.
