Gardening Topic for September 2004
Next Summer Is a New Summer
or Gardeners, Rebel!
or Gardeners, Regroup!

Provided by the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association
www.wmassmastergardeners.org.

In July, I was bending over in the middle of my garden in that position all good gardeners often take and which is not particularly flattering to viewers from a certain angle. As I reached for a weed, my eyes lit upon the phlox I planted some nine years ago and divided faithfully until I had a long row of plants down the middle of a 40-foot bed. They can be glorious in August - billowing white, fragrant blooms lighting up a rather sparse month of bloom.

They can be, but they are almost always covered with mildew no matter what they are sprayed with-horticultural oil with or without added baking soda, fungicide, neem oil, you name it. And they were indeed covered. White phlox, indeed. White mildew on yellowing leaves!

Now, stop right there. This is not an appeal for your favorite recipe to solve my mildew problem. I solved my problem: I ripped out every single plant. (Of course, I did not put them in the compost pile, as the mildew could then infect other plants later.) I miss them, but I don't miss the guilt and frustration.

Since that memorable day, I have spent my weeding/trimming/deadheading time musing on why it took me so many years to admit I made a bad purchase. And probably, in addition, planted it in a bad location. And spent so much energy trying to make it right. Gardeners, I have reached an age when I cannot afford such silliness. And I intend to use the energy I've now conserved to examine my garden, my gardening skills, my tools and my values (they are popular items this election year!).

September is always a time of new beginnings, so it seems a good time to take stock of our gardens and our gardening. Maybe these ideas can help us look at our favorite pastime through new eyes.

Warning: This article is not for those who

* faithfully keep a garden journal, note what bloomed when and under what conditions and relocate plants using this guide
* already have a system for evaluating their plantings and planning new ones for next year and marking them accurately, etc., etc., etc.
* can find all of their tools at this point in the gardening season and have the perfect tool in perfect condition for every need
* have perfect soil and no weeds.

You get the idea. This article is for the rest of us who are slightly overwhelmed by the iris we never deadheaded and divided and the daylilies which have so many yellow leaves (why is that??) and whose collection of tools has declined during the summer, with the remaining ones dispersed over a wide area.

Maybe you could call this "defensive gardening," but here are some ideas I intend to pursue. I hope they are helpful to you as well.

Plants. There are so many plants that work well in Western Massachusetts. I resolve to learn more about them and the sources for them. The Adventurous Gardener, by Ruah Donnelly, tells us "where to buy the best plants in New England." We are so fortunate to have so many resources in our area, and Ms. Donnelly gives descriptions of 140 nurseries, their specialties, and how to get to them. Native plants can be counted on to thrive, so plan a visit to the New England Wildflower Society's Framingham Garden in the Woods. Besides enjoying yourself, you'll learn about selections which could enrich your garden. And Ms. Donelly can tell how to get there. By the way, the society has purchased land in Whately, MA, and will be offering their plants there in the years to come as well.

Seek out resources in your local library that will help. I especially enjoy Home Landscaping: Northeast Region including Southern Canada, by Roger Holmes and Rita Buchanan (Creative Homeowner Press, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey). It offers more than 40 landscape designs, using over 200 of the best plants for the region. Each design is shown with appropriate plants for shade and for sun, and the plant descriptions are succinct but informative. Good pictures, too. There are clear directions for many projects, such as pathways (would you like running bond or herringbone?) You'll find lots to peruse at the library. Look in the stacks, but don't forget to check the reference section. That's where you will probably find Dirr's volumes on trees and shrubs.

Soil. We all know it's soil, not dirt, but there are places in my property where the latter is more appropriate than the former. The solution? Spend a little (money) and get a lot (of information). If you didn't get an order form for soil testing at UMass Amherst at your farmer's market this summer, check the Web at http://www.umass.edu/plsoils/soiltest or call the Soil Testing Lab at (413) 545-2311. A gentle hint: they are very busy in the spring. Get your testing done this fall and be ahead of the game.

Once UMass has told you what you need, plan to treat yourself to a load of good compost. Clear a space somewhere on your property, find out from friends who makes the best, then have it delivered. No more lugging those plastic bags out of the trunk of your car. You'll feel rich, and your garden will be enriched. Hint: popular composters do run out, so order early.

Skills. Are you working too hard in the garden? Do you think you have to sweat to have a nice looking garden? The other day, I watched my favorite landscaper plant a tree in my yard. He did a wonderful job-dug a big hole, amended it with compost, brought the truck with the tree as close as possible to the site, watered the hole well, etc. Some of those things I'll never have the strength to do well, so I'll pay him.

But what really got me thinking was the way he finished up. With a sharp spade, he edged that bed in nothing flat. With a plastic lawn rake, he raked up the grass and the stones and never really bent over. He was on his way to his next job in a flash. I'd have been kneeling on my sore knees taking much longer to do the job. Let me know if you find a course in gardening ergonomics. I need it! In the meantime, let's do some research. For starters, get a copy of Gordon Hayward's Designing Your Own Landscape from the library. He has a whole chapter on edging a flower bed, and every word of it makes sense. He says there are three indispensable tools: a half-moon edging knife, a straight-nosed spade, and a pair of long-handled grass shears. Check him out. Spend your next summer by the pool, not by the edges of your beds.

By the way, Hayward's next chapter is entitled Gardening Cloths, and after you've read it, you will rush to equip yourself with tarps and burlap cloths to make your life simpler, too.

Tools. If you are like me, you've accumulated some good tools over the years and then some you never take down from their pegs all season. And you've probably lost or permanently misplaced some of your favorites, as well. Time to evaluate your arsenal. Do you weed on your knees because you never acquired a good tool with a long handle? Do your grass shears need sharpening or replacing? Is your spade so dull you could never edge as Hayward suggests? Sharpen, organize, replace, augment. Think about the gardening chore you like least, then find a tool that speeds that chore along. Buy it. You're worth it! Or put it on your Christmas list if that makes you feel too guilty. Check out the arsenals of your gardening friends for good tools. Somebody's always got a better idea. Gardeners often find their tools in odd places, so check every store you enter and especially every tag sale you visit. One gardener I know collects old kitchen knives from tag sales, uses them to divide her plants, then discards them with no guilt when they are finally unusable. Several gardeners whose tools I've coveted regularly surf the Net for good ones. And this summer I discovered that the very best, sharpest, pointiest "deadheaders" could be found in the scissors display of the local fabric store. Speeds up the job immeasurably. I guess you could use them for sewing in off season, too!

While you're at it, update your collection of stakes and staking materials. By the way, have you noticed that some vegetables now come from the store with a velcro-like material around them? It's great for gently staking tall stalks, at no cost. For marking sites, if you have an old miniblind, you have a wealth of markers. Cut them to the size you desire. Stick them in the bare spots this fall to tell you what you want to put there when you divide plants next spring. Or to warn you not to cultivate where the Platycodons will eventually appear Some of them will make it through the winter!

To protect your tools, here's a good winter project. Purchase some of those little bottles of acrylic paint in the craft store. Each color will only set you back about 80 cents, so go wild and get some vibrant colors. Then paint the handles of all your tools with any designs that delight you. Paint the whole handle, not just a few stripes. Maybe have a few glasses of vino to inspire your creations. You want to be able to see these tools under the mulch or the leaves or the weeds you just pulled. You want to be able to retrieve them. One friend paints her handles in "sissy colors" to discourage her husband and her son from filching them. She can always find the hoe with the long handle adorned with white flowers on a background of various shades of lavender! She says the acrylic paint lasts well, or you can follow with a coat of polyurethane.

Values. Here's that popular word. But I'm going to use it in a different sense. Ask yourself what you want from your gardening, which of your efforts have given you pleasure this past season. Ask yourself where you spend your time outside, and what you want to see while you're there. Are you spending hours and dollars on elaborate containers which require frequent watering, only to find you never have time to enjoy them when you're not watering? Are you wincing at the sight of a foundation planting you inherited from a previous owner which irritates you every time you drive on to your property? (What were they thinking?!) Have you promised yourself you'll make a new bed somewhere but each year the days slip by? Choose your priorities, research them, and make your dreams come true. Help yourself along by taking some pictures of various parts of your property and looking at them with a judicious eye. Or use Elsa Bakalar's suggestion and turn your back on your garden and look at it in a mirror. Your eyes will be opened. You will make some changes. You will move some plants and shrubs, add some and discard some. You will have some successes and failures, but I hope you will enjoy every minute of it! I can't wait for spring!!!

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Provided by the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association
www.wmassmastergardeners.org.