Five Things Every Garden(er) Needs

Pass-along Peony from a neighbor in Virginia

A few weeks ago there was a gardening supplement in the local paper.  One article had a main topic as "Five things every garden needs."  When I heard the topic I thought I would ask some gardeners what THEY had as their five.  

I asked the question on Facebook's page "Soiled Again", a page that is billed as a 'Common ground for gardeners'.  I had a number of responses.  Many gave serious answers, others were rather funny.  One said , "Her and four burly guys".  Had a neighbor come see my garden today and seeing my bales of pinestraw sitting along the garden by the water, said that I needed to borrow her yard guy (her husband!).  I will get to spreading them (maybe tomorrow).  

Pretty Columbine from seeds from Lona 

Some answers were tool oriented; wheelbarrows, tomato cages, pruners, rain barrel, compost bin, fencing to keep critters out, shovels, and a soaker hose.  All great tools to have on hand.   I certainly use many of these tools, it would be hard to garden without them.

Kniphofia from a college roommate of my daughter's

Other answers were more design focused.  Items to be included in a garden to the design-minded gardeners were a focal point, a water feature, a place to sit, good pathways, an open gate, and an ATM! Love the humor.

Bloom on my culinary sage

Beneficials were also on the lists from many of the gardeners.  Worms for healthy soil, bees and other pollinators for all the blooms.  Birds and other critters were to be considered, native plants for food sources and host plants for insects.

Ajuga 'Black Scallop'

Passion, enthusiasm, patience, creativity, joy, flexibility are tools that the gardener should have.

Hibiscus moscheutos 'Kopper King', great foliage color
in addition to the soon to come blooms.

Finally plant material was mentioned.  Conifers for evergreen structure, Cyclamen hederifolium for cute blooms, seeds for sowing, 'Right plant- right place' is the mantra, and water are all included on the list.  

Clematis 'Rebecca' blooming like crazy this year!

One gardener said camera...funny, we ALL are using our cameras in the garden, I feel naked without my camera while in the garden.  The camera can be a tool to track plants from one year to the next or share some of your glorious blooms with others.  

Rosa 'Janet' full of buds already this year.

My five?  Color, fragrance, year round interest, native plants, and colorful foliage.  Those are my five TODAY, ask me tomorrow and I might have other items on the list.  We gardeners are a fickle lot.  Pass-along plants are always welcome.  How many of us have seen a new plant and lusted after it?    This is the case with this plant below.  I saw it in a garden in Virginia, marked the name in my mind and finally added it.

Gladiolus byzantinus, love that color!

Speaking of color, who can resist this glorious thistle?  It is pretty thorny, but it is in the front area by the street where we thought about a yucca or an agave....so in the meanwhile, the thistle can be here!  Native plants are welcome.

Look at this pretty bloom!

What would you include for your five?

©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Fern Gully?

For some of the next posts I am including this before picture---it was taken in mid-July before I started planting anything.  Good thing I took this picture as the planting started with a flurry. (well, after I got my garden tools unpacked)

 Last week, while I was at a friend's house and a garden visit,  the UPS guy delivered some more plants.  I am very impressed with the quality of the plants.  I needed a lot and Seedland.com offered a great variety of groundcovers, in 3.5" pots.  My order included Ajuga reptens 'Burgundy Glow' and Autumn Fern, Dryopteris erythrosora 'Autumn Brilliance'.  I got a flat of each. 

 

So I got my little red wagon out, filled it with plant material and headed to the backyard.

Looking at the photo at the top of the page you see a wide open palette.  Along the left side of the garden area, down towards the water is a very shady area.  This is the place that I planned to put a sea of ferns, Autumn Ferns.  I put a Witchhazel in a week or so before, in an area that gets some dappled light.  This Hamamelis x intermedia Feuerzaube gets large, so I gave it lots of room.  In my planting/planning I have considered mature sizes and spaced accordingly. 
I spread the ferns out, looked from many angles, adjusted as needed and set about planting.   I think the plants kind of disappear once they are planted.  Next spring when they put forth their golden new foliage it will stand out .

 The next area was to plant the ajuga on the bank above the flagstone patio and along the stacked stone wall of the garden bed edge.  The bank of the waterline/ patio area is in the shade in the fall but has a lot of sun in the summer.  Most of the plants I have in there can handle both.  As you can see I have some Knock-out Roses -- they are in the sunniest parts.  I have Gaura linderheimeri 'Gaudwwhi' 'Geyser White', Loropetalum 'Daruma', and Rhus aromatica 'Gro-low'.  The Rhus is  a spreading groundcover that likes clay soil...spreading about 8 feet.  I am enjoying the bright red fall foliage of this one!  I planted the ajuga along the center of the stone wall -- giving it lots of room to spread out as well.   

 Once again, after the plants are in the ground they seem to blend in with the mulch and leaves.  My husband said he thought I was going to plant them along the patio but didn't see them after I was done....yes, they are there.......again, in the spring they will shine!  There is more in the patio bed that will be talked about in another posting. 

I really like the Burgundy Glow ajuga, had some in Virginia.  The tri-colored foliage is terrific and the little blue flowers it puts forth in the spring is just icing on the cake. 

words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.