Posted on Saturday, May 21st, 2011 by Sue Weigel
‘Flame’ Azalea with Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly.
Photo by Lorrie Preston.
Gardening is a way of life.
Every Monday we will post a photo that captures the essence of why we garden.
If you’d like to share a moment of your own, please leave a link to the image in the comments section.
Posted on Thursday, May 19th, 2011 by Kenny Point
With the average last frost date now behind us many Central PA gardeners are visiting local nurseries and garden centers to stock up on plants and seedlings for the garden. Today’s article offers some ideas to help ensure that you bring home the healthiest and best specimens to transplant out into your garden.
Here are seven things to weigh and consider before you pick up that tomato seedling, herb plant, or flat of ornamentals and head for the checkout counter.
1. Ideal Size – The biggest plants aren’t always the best option, and I’d rather pick a smaller plant that has been growing unchecked over a larger plant that is past its prime and not growing as vigorously. You want the rapid increases in size to take place in your garden, not in a temporary nursery flat or container.
2. Strong Top Growth – Going small with your plant selections doesn’t mean settling for a weak or underdeveloped seedling. Look for short and stocky rather than a long and lanky plant that can’t even support its own weight. Also select those seedlings that are well branched and bushy.
3. Healthy Root System – Carefully and gently slip a young transplant out of its container to take a peek at the root system. Ideally you should see just a glimpse of roots making their way to the edges of the container or cell. If you discover a mass of twisted tangled roots instead of any soil, that plant is root bound and has been confined in its pot far too long.
4. Good Bud Development – It’s a great sign if you can look closely and note the formation of numerous buds that will later grow into blossoms after the plant makes its way into the garden. A profusion of actual flowers on the other hand aren’t as encouraging and could be a sign that the plant is past its prime transplanting age.
5. Good Bud Development – It’s a great sign if you can look closely and note the formation of numerous buds that will later grow into blossoms after the plant makes its way into the garden. A profusion of actual flowers on the other hand aren’t as encouraging and could be a sign that the plant is past its prime transplanting age.
6. Seasonal Selections – Call me paranoid if you’d like but I’m always a bit suspicious when I find seedlings out of season. If it’s June and there are broccoli or cauliflower seedlings for sale I want to know if those are the same plants that were around in March and April and they just haven’t sold them yet?
7. First Impressions – Ever come across a plant that just stands out from its peers? You know, something just doesn’t look right about it, whether it’s the color, shape, or size in comparison to the others. Think twice about taking a chance in those situations, too many times I’ve seen seeds mixed up at planting, labels inadvertently switched, or the mutant hybrid that will turn into who knows what once you take it home and plant it.
So there you have it, keep these things in mind the next time you go shopping for new transplants or seedlings and help avoid disappointment later this summer when it’s time for those plants to show their stuff in your backyard!
Posted on Thursday, May 12th, 2011 by George Weigel
Rain puddled in grass
Rain accumulation on pathway
Posted on Wednesday, May 11th, 2011 by Sue Weigel
Euphrobia ‘Bonfire’ is a wonderful foliage plant with great yellow brachts in spring. Photo by Laura Mathews
Gardening is a way of life.
Every Monday we will post a photo that captures the essence of why we garden.
If you’d like to share a moment of your own, please leave a link to the image in the comments section.
Posted on Thursday, May 5th, 2011 by Sue Weigel
Ideas to lead you down the right pathWhen you consider designing your garden path, you may not want yellow bricks lined with trees that throw apples at you. However, you still can have one that takes you to YOUR Emerald City.
There is no right or wrong path design. You (and perhaps your spouse) are the only one who needs to like it. A path can lead you to a destination in your yard such as to a “garden room,” play space or maybe just the storage shed. Why not make it a stroll that you will enjoy?
There are many surfaces that can be used and equally as many edges for your path. As you plan the look and feel of your path and are deciding on what materials to use, keep in mind a few key points.
Set the mood. A garden path will set the mood and invite you to wonder ahead as you walk through your yard. It provides a physical transition from one area of your garden or yard to another. A path offers an emotional transition as well, so design a path for the mood you want to create. If you want a formal garden, your path should have straight lines with sharp angles. A long straight path gives a sense of distance and creates an illusion of a larger yard. To create a path that transitions you from a chaotic day to one of calm, use soft curves in your design. This tends to be more inviting than the formal look. You will also provide a sense of wonder if you can’t see what is coming around the next corner, so take advantage of strategically placed focal points. Curve the path at places that seem to “make sense” such as around a tree or other natural elements. Structures, such as a bird bath or bench, also will lend themselves to a natural curve.
Materials. The materials you use for the path and the edging will depend on the look you want. Pavers and bricks give a more formal look as compared to natural material, such as wood, stone and plants. They give a more casual or “earthy” look. A combination of man-made and natural materials is an option to blend the two looks and can be a little less costly. I am one for recycling “stuff” that I can find around the house, or if I can get it for free somewhere else. Of course, a paver or brick path will cost more than one made with stone, mulch, pine needles or grass. To hold down the cost of a brick path, look for a brick building demolition project. Match the materials that you use to the mood you want. For example, if you have a path leading to a shady, woodland garden, use natural materials such as wood and stone leading to it. If you want to use bricks, they can be laid in many patterns to provide interest. If you want to use materials such as mulch or grass for your path, it isn’t quite as much work and the path can take on any shape you want. Some path materials will be more likely to have weeds than others, such a stone, mulch or grass path.
Functionality. You’ll have to ask yourself what the purpose is of your path. Make sure the path is wide enough to accommodate the number of people who will use it, if you intend to have someone taking the stroll with you. For people who need a stable foundation to walk on, pavers or bricks are good choices. Make sure they are properly installed to prevent shifting over time. Grass, mulch and other natural paths can be more uneven than pavers. Also, keep in mind that some surfaces may be slippery.
Maintenance. The path you design is YOUR path and you will most likely be the one to maintain it. There are some paths that require little care, while some need mowed, weeded and edged. If you don’t want to take that walk to Emerald City in the mud, make sure the path has good drainage. The base layer and surface material you use will either hinder or help drainage. Mulch or stones with a sand base and giving the path some elevation will provide for better drainage. Some materials will break down over time, such as wooden planks. A gravel path near an entry door will more like be messy as the gravel is trekked into the house. If “maintenance free” is the goal, the initial labor and price tag may be higher.
Other ways to spice up your pathThe topics of lighting, edging and arbors are worthy of their own blog posts but each of these should be thought about as you design your garden path. If you can’t install them at the same time as the path, at least incorporate them into the plan from the beginning. This will give the final path design a more cohesive look.
Don’t take walk in the dark. Lights add mood to your path. Most people think about the typical low walkway lights. Another option is “down” lighting that can light your path from overhead spotlights. The lighting you choose should match the mood of your path. In other words, if you have a path with natural elements, you wouldn’t want “fancy schmancy” lighting. It would be like putting a stained-glass Tiffany lamp in a log cabin.
To edge or not to edge? That is the question. Choosing an edge for your path is equally as important as the path itself. You will have to make some of the same decisions in choosing an edge for your path as you will for the path itself. I have put together some photos from my travels to give you ideas for paths and edges. Think outside the box when choosing edging material. One of the photos shows an edging made of wine bottles. Sounds like a good reason to have a wine and cheese garden party!
Welcome. An arbor seems to say, “Come on in,” and adds vertical interest to your walkway. There are as many types of arbors as there are ways to say “Welcome.” Adding an arbor into your plan from the start, even if you have to hold off on the installation until a later date, will eventually give you a warm welcome every time you stroll down your path. If you add the arbor as an after-thought, make sure you can still get the feel of a proper greeting as you enter your garden path.
As with many decisions in life, designing a garden path is about weighing the “pros” and “cons” and about making choices. So whether YOUR path is made of stone, grass or yellow bricks, have fun and dare to dream along the way.
Posted on Monday, May 2nd, 2011 by Sue Weigel
Tulip in my garden. Photo by Susan Weigel
Gardening is a way of life.
Every Monday we will post a photo that captures the essence of why we garden.
If you’d like to share a moment of your own, please leave a link to the image in the comments section.
Posted on Thursday, April 28th, 2011 by Laura Mathews
Deuce Gibb of The Martini Brothers
Gardening as a hobby had a bad rep. That’s changing rapidly.
Gardening was seen something gentile folks, often women, did once they got older. Perhaps, retired, even. NOT so. Don’t be so closed-minded. Some of the most talented local gardeners would not be pegged as such… at first glance. Meet one. Deuce Gibb.
“Man, I had an organic soil guy come over and test my soil recently,” he said, “And I have THE BEST soil he’s ever tested.”
Nope. Deuce isn’t a berkinstock-wearing hippy nearing 70. He’s the lead guitarist and front man of the long-time local favorite band – The Martini Bros. You might also know Deuce as the talented hairdresser and owner of Deuce Gibb Salon. If you know him, you probably know that he races dirt bikes; loves hot rods and motorcycles. But even if you know him that well, you probably still don’t know that Deuce Gibb loves the way a nasturtium leaf cradles a drop of water after a rain.
“It’s about balance,” said Gibb. “ I have balance in many ways in my life.”
For Gibb, the macho quality of playing rock and roll is softened by his work as a hairdresser. The tough-guy motorcycle freak is balanced by the nurturing quality of gardening.
He likes to watch things grow.
Walking with him through his garden, it’s clear that Deuce is closely watching the development of his plants. Pointing out what’s soon to bloom, he lowers his voice and gently touches the stem of a hibiscus just below the bud.
Deuce Gibbs' Waterlily
Noting how quickly cilantro goes to seed, he says he’s letting it flower and thinking it might self-seed for next spring. With a happy lift in the pace of his words, he tells me his water lilies are flowering more energetically this year.
He claims that he just sits and watches the fish in his pond sometimes. But I honestly can’t imagine Deuce sitting still very long at all. I can, however, imagine him enjoying the sounds of his waterfall mixed with soft chimes responding to the wind while tending his vegetable garden.
Deuce added gardening to his list of accomplishments after he bought his first home. He started with wildflowers in the backyard and annual flowers in front of his home. He recalls women walking by his home and complimenting his landscaping.
“They said, tell your wife her flowers are pretty. ” he said. He asked them why they assumed he wasn’t the gardener in the family. But he knew.
”Most guys are into hardscapes, you know,” he said, “They leave tending the marigolds to the old lady.”
The last time we walked his garden together, he was genuinely jazzed about the progress of his tomatoes. In past seasons, he’s had fruit on his plants a good bit before I had fruit on mine. He trains squash to climb upward on a trellis. He uses grass clippings on his veggie garden to keep down the weeds and add nitrogen back into the soil.
Now, after years of organic gardening, his soil has rewarded him with high fertility and natural disease fighting capacity. Like many of us, he’s been disappointed with his tomato crop in recent years. But comparatively, his tomatoes have been uniquely pristine green and happily growing caged in a nearly six foot tall column. He’s avoided late blight and other less serious funguses that have browned leaves of tomato plants for many local gardeners.
With a gardener’s patience that you might not expect from a rocker, he softly says he’ll move his tomatoes to a different location this year in hopes of a better crop.
Deuce lives in New Cumberland, PA with his beautiful wife, Michele, and children Eli and Lydia.
Posted on Sunday, April 24th, 2011 by Sue Weigel
Gardening is a way of life.
Every Monday we will post a photo that captures the essence of why we garden.
If you’d like to share a moment of your own, please leave a link to the image in the comments section.
Posted on Monday, April 18th, 2011 by Kenny Point
If you’ve been considering it, now is the perfect time to start a new vegetable garden. But if you haven’t thought about growing your own here are a few reasons why you might want to:
• Save Money – Have you taken a trip to the grocery store lately? I’m sure you’ve noticed how expensive food in general and fresh produce in particular has been getting. Growing your own can definitely help reduce that food bill.
• Food Safety – From spinach to tomatoes and meats, we’ve had many instances of food contaminations clearing the grocer’s shelves with recalls. Fresh produce raised at home will never create a nationwide outbreak of contamination.
• Better Quality – Nothing quite measures up to the taste and flavor of vine ripened fruits and veggies harvested from your own backyard and included in the family’s meals that very same day!
• Organic and Local – More people are climbing aboard the locally and organically grown bandwagons. Growing your own means that you know exactly how that produce was cultivated, and you can’t get any more local than your own backyard.
• Family Time – Many new gardeners are surprised to discover that their kids love gardening and will even put down the video games to spend time together in the backyard… not to mention the increased interest in eating their veggies!
• Other Benefits – Then there are the intangibles like fresh air, exercise, increased self sufficiency, and all the goodwill you will receive as you share the garden’s delicious bounty with friends and neighbors.
If you’re sold on the idea of growing your own vegetable garden, don’t just rush out and start tilling up the entire backyard! It’s a good idea to do a little homework and start small. You can always expand the garden later, but there’s no fun in trying to keep up with a garden that’s larger than you can comfortably care for.
Here are a few other important points to consider as you plan that new vegetable garden:
• Choose a Location Wisely – You’ll be investing time and effort in improving the garden plot so start out in the best possible location and consider factors such as the amount of sunlight, availability of water for irrigation, and convenience for accessing and viewing the garden.
• Fence in the Garden – If you think there’s no wildlife in your backyard, nothing will change that misconception quicker that starting an edible garden. Avoid future frustration by fencing in your garden from the start to make it clear to the local critters that this area is off limits.
• Start with Easy Varieties – Easy to grow crops such as beans, tomatoes, leafy greens, peppers, squash, carrots, and herbs will give you a better opportunity to chalk up some successes before you take on some of the more demanding and finicky garden edibles.
• Keep Good Records – It may sound boring and tedious but notes and records will pay off in the long run by allowing you to look back and see what worked and what didn’t. That way you can repeat your successes and tweak the things that weren’t as productive in the previous garden.
• Just Get Out and Grow – There is no perfect time, location, or season, so just do whatever it takes to get started and don’t allow excuses to get in the way. Your veggie garden can be in the backyard, at a neighbors, on the patio, or even in containers if need be. There is so much to be gained and learned from a vegetable garden and there’s no reason to put it off any longer!
To help you along on your edible gardening adventure, for a limited time you can pick up a copy of my “Veggie Garden Primer” eBook for free over at the Veggie Gardening Tips website. It includes a companion email series and subscription to the “Gardening Secrets” newsletter.
The Veggie Garden Primer eBook includes a more in-depth discussion of the tips and organic techniques that are especially useful for anyone who wants to start raising delicious fresh fruits and vegetables right in their own backyard.
Posted on Monday, April 18th, 2011 by Central PA Gardening
Greens under-cover. Photo by Kenny Point
Gardening is a way of life.
Every Monday we will post a photo that captures the essence of why we garden.
If you’d like to share a moment of your own, please leave a link to the image in the comments section.
