by Christie Purifoy | May 19, 2020
Watering the garden. It’s a chore, right?
It certainly can be. A lack of equipment, the wrong equipment, the wrong attitude … any of those things can make tending your plants by meeting their need for water a real chore.
Equipment
It might surprise you, but the very first tool I recommend isn’t a watering can or a garden hose: it’s a rain gauge. Knowing exactly how much rainfall your garden is already getting will save you from unnecessary watering and could nudge you out the door when your plants are thirsty. I use a simple plastic rain collector like this one that I pop right into my raised bed.
I’ve learned the hard way that a light-weight hose is the way to go. Lugging super heavy hoses around my yard is certainly a chore.
A watering can with a rose attachment like this one is a must for seedlings and other, more delicate, plants. I have also found that the long neck style is particularly well balanced, meaning it’s easy to carry and easy to pour.
Drip hoses or soaker hoses are available at large hardware stores and are fairly simple to set up in raised beds or borders. This is an efficient way to water, as less water is lost to evaporation or runoff, and may feel like a necessity for the gardener working in more arid conditions.
Because I live in a rainy place, my own garden doesn’t need constant watering. I have used drip hoses in the past, but after slicing them with my spade one time too many, I have realized I much prefer using a sprinkler for occasional watering. I can see with my own eyes what my garden is receiving, and sprinklers are easy to move around. I love this one (it rotates and is secured in the lawn or soil with a spike) because I can jab it right into the middle of a border crowded with plants.
Tips
Water more deeply but less often. This encourages plants to send their roots down deep.
Water early in the day or late for less evaporation.
As much as possible, water the soil, not the leaves of your plant.
A blast of water from the hose is also the first line of defense against many bugs and pests.
Attitude
This may sound strange at first, but I have found that if I think of watering as a chore, it will feel like a chore. In other words, if it’s simply something to check off in the garden, something to finish as quickly as possible, then I tend to resent the time I spend doing it and I am always wondering if I’m doing it wrong: perhaps I should invest in some fancy irrigation system?
But if I think of watering as tending, if I acknowledge how pleasant it is to give thirsty plants a drink, then I can appreciate the way that watering re-introduces me to every plant growing in my garden. Watering becomes one of the most important ways I greet my garden.
Time spent appreciating the beauty of our gardens with a hose in our hand can never be wasted time. If it is a chore, it’s one that’s teaching me how to be still, how to be quiet, and how to pay attention.
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by Christie Purifoy | May 18, 2020
Kitchen Garden Revival is a brand new book from Nicole Johnsey Burke, a garden coach and designer.
First, it’s a beautiful book: hard cover, lovely photographs by Eric Kelley, clearly written, and both practical and inspirational subject matter. The subtitle says it all: A Modern Guide to Creating a Stylish Small-Scale, Low-Maintenance Edible Garden.
What’s it about?
Burke’s book has a fairly narrow focus: how to create your own stylish, beautiful kitchen garden. According to Burke, a kitchen garden is an artistic and productive space that elevates your home’s landscaping while providing fresh produce for your kitchen. Her kitchen gardens are less productive and harvest-focused than a traditional vegetable patch but much prettier to look at.
Who is it for?
This one is perfect for beginners as Burke gives detailed instructions on everything from building raised beds to sowing seeds, but even experienced gardeners will find inspiration in the photographs, at least. I recently created my own small kitchen garden with four square raised beds near my kitchen door, and I studied these photographs carefully for ideas on how to keep the mix of plants in my beds pleasing to look at it.
Borrow or buy?
Anyone who loves beautiful garden books will appreciate this one, but if you’re on the fence about making a purchase, keep in mind that those new to growing their own produce will probably get the most out of this book, while those who really want to build a kitchen garden–either on their own or with the help of a landscaper–will receive the most.
Final Thoughts:
Burke’s kitchen garden designs are not, perhaps, for the most frugal gardeners. But for those willing to spend money on their home’s landscaping, her designs prove that spaces for growing more of our own food–even just a few herbs–can and should be integrated into even the most elegant settings. While some rule-driven Home Owner’s Associations might baulk at someone turning their front yard into something resembling a farmer’s field, it’s hard to imagine anyone objecting to these gorgeous kitchen gardens.
Explore all our Black Barn Garden Library posts here.
by Christie Purifoy | May 15, 2020
Know Your Zone
Every gardener should know the zone in which she gardens.
I write that out with confidence now, but I admit that I gardened for a decade in Chicago without knowing my zone, and I gardened for two years in Florida, where I knew my zone but didn’t know why it mattered.
Pictured above is an image for U.S. gardeners (who can find their zone right here), but Canadian and European gardeners have zones as well. Begin with a google search and then confirm by asking a gardener in your area.
The lower the zone number, the colder your winter temperatures.
Use Your Knowledge
Your zone is your first guide for which plants will be “hardy” in your garden. In other words, your zone tells you–with reasonable accuracy–which plants will still be there in your garden after a typical winter for your area.
When I am shopping for roses, in particular, I look for information about their hardiness. If research or a plant label tells me that a rose is only hardy to zone 7 or 8, I won’t bring it home to my zone 6 garden.
If I find an inexpensive flower or vine that isn’t hardy in my zone, I may grow it as an annual, tossing it onto the compost heap when cold weather comes.
If I’m interested in a plant, and the label says its hardy to zone 4, then I know that this plant can handle bitter winters, and I won’t bother with extra winter protection.
Set Your Knowledge Aside
Fortunately, there are no garden zone police! And you are welcome–invited, even–to experiment with plants outside your hardiness zone.
For instance, if I really want to grow a camellia that is only hardy to zone 7, I will choose a very protected spot, and I will research the details of camellia care. If I can give that camellia ideal conditions and a little additional care, there’s a good chance it will thrive.
A Few Additional Thoughts
Growing zones aren’t a perfect guide, and they work more effectively in some areas than in others.
For instance, the growing zones are based on temperature, not precipitation. An insulating layer of snow can protect plants from extreme cold, and frequent freeze/thaw cycles, of the kind I often have in my Pennsylvania garden, can devastate certain plants that should be hardy.
Summer heat, humidity, precipitation levels: all these must also be taken into account, but a garden’s growing zone is a good place to begin the privileged task of knowing your own place well.
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by Christie Purifoy | May 14, 2020
I have long been a gardener in search of the best container.
Over time, I have come to use terra cotta pots almost exclusively in my garden. Here’s why:
For a natural material, non-plastic container, you can’t beat the price of terra cotta. They are also easy to find. Available at every garden center, I have found the best prices at my local independent nursery.
When a container inevitably cracks and breaks, there’s no need to throw the pieces in the garbage. I keep a big bucket of all my broken terra cotta and use these pieces to cover the drainage hole at the bottom of a new pot. This keeps soil from escaping every time you water. For big pots, I sometimes pile a whole bunch of broken terra cotta at the bottom of my pot in order to use less potting soil.
Terra cotta is permeable in a way that plastic is not. This means that terra cotta containers dry out much more quickly, and you will probably find that you need to water them more often than other containers. This may sound like a drawback, but I have found that most of my container plants prefer not to sit in soggy soil. Quick-drying terra cotta works well for me. It’s easy to add water to the potting soil but impossible to take it away.
Terra cotta is a classic garden look, and, in my opinion, goes with just about everything. Once upon a time, my garden was a mishmash of different containers with different colors and different materials. I appreciate that my many pots now look cohesive and coordinated with little effort. A terra cotta pot looks as good in a fancy estate garden or botanical garden as it does on a humble back porch.
Terra cotta pots are not as lightweight as plastic or some of the new hybrid materials, but they do weigh less than concrete or cast iron. In places with cold winters, they generally shouldn’t be left outside as the freeze/thaw cycles can encourage cracking.
Pro tip: I write “pro” with a smile on my face, as I tended container plants for years without realizing what I now feel should have been obvious: when planting, do not fill your pot all the way to the top with soil. Instead, keep the soil line at least an inch or two below the rim. This means that you can water without washing soil over the edge of your pot every single time. That classic rim on many terra cotta pots? It’s a great guide. Simply fill to the bottom of that top band or edge. When you water, the water can slowly soak in, no potting soil wasted.
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by Christie Purifoy | May 12, 2020
I lived and gardened in northeastern Florida for two years.
Those were lonely, often difficult years, but there were bright spots, mostly of the botanical sort: thick bougainvillea vines tracing patterns on the walls of old St. Augustine, the intoxicating scent of jasmine, the dry rustle of Queen palms.
Here are the garden plants I remember most fondly from those hot and humid days, and–to help us all out–some suggestions for plants that might give similar effects in more northern places.
I will never forget stepping out of the car at a Florida park near my home and seeing a Passionflower vine for the first time. I was like a cartoon character–eyes almost popping out of my head–what could this be?? This bizarre, alien, vivid, purple beauty? It was too strange to be real. And yet, there it was, curling its way around and around the wooden fence that separated parking lot from park.
Passionflower is a native of the southeastern U.S. and can actually be grown as far north as zone 6. It is a vigorous grower. If passionflower isn’t the vine for you, the famous clematis variety ‘Jackmanii’ makes a stunning, purple substitute.
Queen palms are elegant trees with a dry, silvery beauty. River birch is a lovely native tree–excellent for wildlife–that brings a similar textural beauty to our gardens.
The first year in my Florida garden, I was astonished to discover the exotic greenhouse beauty of an amaryllis flowering in our slightly shady side yard. I’d never seen a flower like that growing outside. Southern and northern gardeners can enjoy these flowers that have long been associated with Christmas celebrations. In the north, we can keep potted bulbs indoors to bring much-needed botanical beauty to long winter days.
Star jasmine (sometimes called Confederate jasmine) was a garden plant I discovered by smell, not sight. The scent used to taunt me as I took walks around our Florida neighborhood. It didn’t take me long to discover that the scent belonged to a gorgeous, starry-flowered vine growing on many back fences. My Pennsylvania garden is far too cold for Star Jasmine, but I achieve a similar white-flowering perfume by growing moonflower vines from seed. These annual vines take time to grow, but by the end of summer I usually have a few flowers opening up each evening. And all it takes is one to stop you in your tracks.
