Coming to a store near you: The Lawnchair Garden
Posted on | June 17, 2009 | No Comments
The first garden I had in a place of my own was on a tiny veranda outside of my tiny apartment. I grew a whole bunch of stuff — tomatoes, herbs, lettuce, zucchini, etc. — in little redwood planter boxes I had liberated from my parent’s house. I loved it. No pests, no weeds, and plenty of fresh veggies to supplement a steady diet of rice, ramen and mac n’ cheese. (My downstairs neighbors weren’t as appreciative as it made for a frequent rain of runoff onto their patio furniture below.)
Patio Gardening made easy
I, of course, have moved on to playing in the dirt on a much (much) larger scale, but for those who want fresh food but either don’t like all that tilling, digging and weeding, or simply don’t have the room or time for it, there’s a whole bunch of new easy-gardening products hitting home centers near you that’ll deliver great gardens without much effort.
The Wall Street Journal, of all publications, has a great little article today on all of these new container gardening products (even one called “Farm in a Box”), and one Journal writer’s experience with them. I found it quite entertaining, and you might as well. Check it out.
» Read: For a Green Thumb, Just Add Water
(Via The Wall Street Journal)
Tags: deck > easy gardens > lawnchair > Lazy Gardener > patio gardens > small garden
Sunflower field update
Posted on | June 8, 2009 | No Comments
Just a quick Monday update on what’s up around the ranch. Mostly it’s the (mini) sunflower field.
Here it is just two weeks ago:
Sunflower Patch - May 26, 2009
And here it is today:
Sunflower Patch - June 7, 2009
(I added a purple-haired teenage daughter to the picture so you can get an idea of proportion)
They’re growing pretty fast as we approach the summer solstice. One of the red ones is even threatening to bloom.
Goodbye grass, but now what?
Posted on | June 5, 2009 | No Comments
Mandatory water reductions begin here in San Diego County this Monday. Because of prolonged drought here in the south and a cut in water deliveries from the north, we’re all supposed to cut water usage by 10% to 30%. Under the new rules I’ll only be able to run the sprinklers on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays before 10 am or after 6pm, and then for only 10 minutes at a time.
There’s other rules too like only being able to wash your car with a bucket of water (no hoses!), filling ornamental fountains only with recycled water, and so on.
No big deal.
I went 100% dripline and soaker hose for irrigation years ago. And most of the acreage around the ranch is planted with native flowering shrubs, Mediterranean herbs and a few arid exotics from Africa, South America and Asia.
Outside of the vegetable garden and a couple areas next to the house, I don’t really water the yard anyway. Which, in a round-about way, leads me to this story…
When we first moved to the ranch back in 1993 the front section of the house was a huge swath of lawn with a terrible sprinkler system and more gopher holes in it than you could throw a stick at. Plus there was a big tree stump right in the middle of it. So I tore the whole thing out and re-planted it with the first of several flower and herb gardens.
Along about 2005 I got a romantic notion in my head about a lush, green lawn, and chose an section directly off the front patio to plant a small 8′ by 20′ strip of lawn.
The Lawn (top of photo) in 2005
And for a year or so it looked great. Soft, lush and a beautiful deep green throughout — even in the shady spots — it was small enough to mow in three quick passes and water by hand in five minutes. It was cool even on the hottest days and it’s location at the edge of our big ranch-style patio and terrace made it the perfect place to wander barefoot on a long summer day.
“Why hadn’t I re-planted a lawn a long time ago?” I asked myself.
And then the gophers came and made small holes in the lawn. And my wife’s dachshunds came after the gophers, making the small holes big ones and the big holes trenches. Then I’d fill the trenches back in and the cats used it as a litterbox. And weeds grew in the dirt. And the Mexican lime tree at the far end dropped limes and burned the lawn. And then the dogs jumped in and helped the lime tree burn the lawn in places the lime tree couldn’t reach.
Finally, after six months or so of battling the forces of nature, I looked out where my lawn had been and remembered why I had dug up that lawn originally.
The lawn circa 2009
Lawns aren’t just a waste of water, they’re a total pain in the butt.
So I’m not planting a lawn again, but now I’ve got this weedy dirt patch greeting all my visitors as they head to my front door. It’s right next to the patio and barbecue area, and has a really nice west-facing view. It’s also a natural walking path, so I can’t block it off with big shrubs, and I can’t very well leave it as is. Ideally what ever I do should be easy to care for, do well in both shady and sunny environs (there’s both under the trellis), and be water wise.
I’m totally stumped as to what I should do with the area. Any ideas?
Lawn to the Right
[/caption]
Tags: arid > drought > lawn > native > water-wise garden > xeriscaping
Field of (Sunflower) Dreams
Posted on | May 28, 2009 | No Comments
My sunflowers from years past
Here in our neck of northern San Diego county we have a lot of flower growers. We’re lucky enough to live across the road from one who happens to farm for the cut flower trade, so we’re treated to acres of an ever-changing assortment of fragrant, multi-colored blooms rolling along the hills.
Right now it’s sunflower season, and while still three or four weeks from bloom, one can’t help but stop and look at the row after row of sunflowers standing on the hill slowly following the sun with their shaggy, still green heads.
I’m a big fan of sunflowers (obviously) not simply because they look great, but because they also invite a variety of feathered friends into the yard. I plant a few every year, but one of my (future) garden plans involves planting a huge field of multi-colored sunflowers — something around 6 acres. And then after they all grew up and bloomed… uhhh… well, I don’t really know.
But I still think a huge field of sunflowers would be really cool.
Anyway, I don’t have room for a huge field just yet, but I do have a fair-sized patch where I could plant a bunch. There was a grassy area about 20 feet by 30 feet that had once been a too-far-from-the-kitchen herb garden, but now idled waiting for me to come up with my “Next Big Garden Idea”. A sunflower patch seemed as good as any I’d had for “NBGI” recently, so I cleared the area, tilled and planted four sunflower varieties from Johnny’s Selected Seeds:
- Pro Cut Bicolor – Height: 60 – 72″; Color: Burgundy red center with yellow tips; Blooms: 50 – 60 days with single 3 – 4″ blooms
- Sunbeam – Height: 60 – 72″; Color: Golden yellow; Blooms: 70 – 80 days with single 4 – 6″ blooms
- Soraya – Height: 72″; Color: Amber yellow; Blooms: 77 – 91 days with multiple 4 – 6″ blooms
- Lyng’s California Greystripe – Height: 72 – 84″; Color: Bright yellow; Blooms: 120 days with single 10″ blooms
Plus one of my own giant sunflowers that I’ve grown here for years:
- Monster Kong* – Height: 84 – 96″; Color: Bright yellow; Blooms: 120 days with multiple 8 – 12″ blooms
*A descendant of a Mammoth Greystripe and Kong cross that produces monster plants with three or four big heads. The only problem I have with it is that it can get so top heavy that the stems break or the plant tips over.
I chose a variety of colors and bloom dates so that the patch would always be in bloom for at least a couple of months. I also chose larger varieties (5 feet and above) so that it would seem more “foresty” when you’re standing among the flowers.
Here’s a quick gallery of my mini sunflower field over the past four weeks. I’ll update as the patch matures.
-
- Sunflower Patch – April 30, 2009
-
- Sunflower Patch – May 4, 2009
-
- Sunflower Patch – May 6, 2009
-
- Sunflower Patch – May 26, 2009
Building a Succulent Garden
Posted on | May 26, 2009 | No Comments
A couple of months ago my wife and I took a trip down to Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, CA.
I like Quail Gardens because it’s only about 25 miles away and has an incredible assortment of gardens and plants that thrive in my climate. As a result, I never fail to be inspired to take on some new project in my own gardens.
This time around it was the succulent gardens. I know most places succulents are probably considered cute little potted plants for on the patio or indoors, but here in San Diego the dry, sub-tropical climate is very similar to the Mediterranean and African ones from which many of these plants originate, so they grow very well outdoors year-round. In fact, I probably had a dozen or so different succulents growing around my yard entirely by accident – usually cast off house plant cuttings that had fallen and decided to take root where they lay.
For the most part I’m ambivalent about succulents as a whole since I like upright varieties (Jade Plants, Aeoniums, etc.), but can’t stand the creeping, groundcover types like ice plant and Candy Apple (invasive and way over used in these parts). But as I wandered through Quail’s gardens, I got a really good look at some great succulent planting with nary a groundcover in sight.
So after touring Quail I decided that creating my own succulent garden would be a lot of fun. There were plenty of “wild” ones from around the yard (free), I wouldn’t need extensive irrigation (easy), and I had a big ugly section near our front gate that would be the perfect location (convenient).
Free, easy and convenient are three of my favorite words.
Getting started
The area I had in mind for the garden is at the south end and was once home to a number of palm trees. Years ago one palm grew tall enough to hit the overhead electrical wires and burst into flames, which got me a visit from the fire department.
It also brought a quick end to the trees. Ever since then it’s been an ugly, rocky, dry and weedy patch of land that got comments like “you know, an old car up on blocks would look great right there.”
Below is a diagram of the roughly 30 foot square area that’ll give you an idea of what you’re looking at in the photos. For orientation, east is to your left, south at the top.
The succulent garden
You’ll notice in this first photo series, I had to clear out the weeds and work around the palm stump which is too large and heavy to dig out.
The onion-looking plants are giant white squill bulbs I decided to keep there because they die back this time of year but produce interesting 5 foot tall white flowers in the winter.
Cutting paths and making beds
Ideally I would have chosen to have only one path through the garden, but the dogs have different ideas and will shortcut if they can, so I cut two curved paths that follow the dog’s favorite trails: one that travels to the left of the palm stump and goes down a couple of steps to the fence line and lower garden, and one below the stump that travels straight down the slope to the vegetable garden gate.
After making the paths I amended the planting beds with 16 or so cubic feet of compost, peat moss and topsoil. And since I hadn’t watered any part of this area in well over a year, I watered the whole area well to get rid of air pockets and gaps.
Planting
I let the newly soaked beds sit overnight and spent the next morning digging various plants from around the yard to add to the garden. In the vegetable garden I found a scraggly Jade plant (Crassula Ovata) under a juniper. In the orange orchard I found an Aeonium (two actually) that had tumbled the hill several years ago and taken root near the hothouse.
In the far end of the orchard I found an aloe vera that had produced numerous pups ready to transplant. I also managed to locate a pot-bound Kalanchoe, a much-neglected Haworthia, a tiny Stone Face (Lithops turbiniformis), and a ‘Sticks on Fire’ Euphorbia (Euphorbia tirucalli).
In all, plenty with which to get the garden started. In all, plenty with which to get the garden started.
Finishing
During the initial cleanup of the garden I found a whole bunch of clay pots I had placed there to stop the dogs from relieving themselves in the area. Of course, over time weeds grew, I forgot about the pots, and the dogs returned to relieving themselves there.
I still wanted to prevent the dogs from going to the bathroom there (as well as short-cutting outside the paths), so this time I decided to use the pots for combination decorative / functional purposes. I used a couple of the larger pots to transplant roses that weren’t doing well elsewhere, and several of the small ones as decorative elements and stands for other pots.
It turned out pretty well. So well, that I think I’m going to extend the pot idea into a Mediterranean kitchen garden just on the other side of the pond which is right across the path from the new succulent garden.
Take a look at the finished product. Not bad, eh?
Subscribe
Sponsored by
