If you are planning a new garden or refurbishing an existing one, these guidelines will help you create an interesting and abundant garden for every season
There are many ways to make a garden grow, but one of the most fascinating is the organic way. Organic gardening is easy and economical, and an important contribution to the future of our planet. What’s more, organic gardens are dazzling in their endless variety. They also are attract beneficial wildlife, like birds and pollinating insects.
So go ahead, make your fellow gardeners curious about how you grow such a diverse and beautiful garden. Whether your flowers are annuals, perennials, bulbs or shrubs, you will benefit by following organic gardening guidelines for your garden.
Laying the Groundwork
The soil is the most basic building block of any garden. The healthier the soil, the healthier your plants will be. When preparing your plot, take a little extra time to examine the texture and acidity levels of the earth you’ll be working with.
Natural Beauty – Growing Flowers the Organic Way
First, test the pH factor of your soil. The soil’s pH is measured by a numbering system from 0 to 14 — 0 being the most acidic and 14 the most alkaline. Most plants prefer a neutral pH. Whatever pH you have in your garden, you can amend it to match the pH your plants prefer. For example, if your soil is too acidic, simply add hydrated garden lime to reduce the level of acidity.
It is always a good idea to add compost to your soil. Compost, the organic gardener’s best friend, will fertilize your soil and make it healthy. Make compost yourself out of vegetable scraps, grass cuttings, wood ashes, coffee grounds, eggshells and disease-free garden foliage, all of which will decompose into nutrient-rich soil. Be careful to never add coal ash, charcoal, animal by-products (including meats, oils, and even droppings) or hair to the pile. These items can be too hard to break down, attract scavengers or introduce diseases to your compost.
In addition to testing the pH and adding compost, you may need to amend your soil type. If your soil is too sandy, dig in up to six inches of compost and add an all-purpose organic fertilizer with humus. If it is claylike, add sand, humus and organic fertilizer, in addition to compost, to the garden bed. Also throw in some gravel or small stones to create better drainage.
Planning Your Plot
As you select a site for a flowerbed, take note of its unique environment — the location of the trees, and the hours of shade and sun the plot receives. This will help you plan the garden’s design. Within any garden there may be several local climates — sunny and dry, shady and moist, semi-shade, or even boglike at a water’s edge. Therefore, you should know your plant’s preferences and place them in the plot accordingly.
Next, think about the colors, heights, textures and bloom times of the plants you are considering. Try to come up with a design that features interesting and creative combinations. Whether your design is simple or complex, pay special attention to planning for sequential flowering. If you place plants that flower at slightly different times around your garden, you are sure to extend your garden’s blooming season.
For example, if you want a flowerbed that features yellow and red blossoms, plant forsythia, yellow daffodils, and red and yellow tulips, which bloom in the spring. For summer blooms, plant yellow and red zinnias, yellow marigolds, red tithonia or yellow coreopsis, red geum and rudbeckia. Finally, plant yellow and maroon chrysanthemums for fall color. This way, you keep the red and yellow theme blossoming through most of the year.
Finally, make sure to keep a garden notebook with the bloom times, performance and any other notes of problems with each plant. If you order your plants by mail, cut its photo from the catalog and paste it in your notebook. Also, you may want to take pictures of your garden during different times of the bloom season. The photos will help you see where holes or problems in your design might be and influence your decisions for next year’s garden.
Picking the Plants
The climate helps determine which plants will thrive in your geographic area. To learn the hardiness of plants in your area, consult a horticultural zone map, found on the Web or in most garden catalogs. Usually, the recommended planting zones will be included in the description of the plant you buy. Also, when picking plants for your garden plot, keep in mind their specific life cycles. Certain plants will last for only one season, while others will return year after year.
Annuals, Perennials and Biennials
Annuals complete their life cycle in one season. The flowers germinate from a seed, mature, and produce flowers and new seeds within one growing season. They do not regenerate for the next season. Annual flowers are mostly summer flowering and are useful fillers in between and around the space when perennials have finished flowering, as well as being attractive on their own.
Perennials also grow and flower in one season; however, they will regenerate each spring. The foliage on most perennials dies back during the cold months when the plant goes dormant, then surfaces again in the spring. Most perennials flower for only a few weeks out of their growing season. In general perennials increase in size and need to be divided in about three years, so give them plenty of space to grow when they are small! Also, try planning your garden with a series of perennials with different bloom times.
Biennial plants complete their life cycle in two growing seasons. Some flower in both the first and second year. Sweet William, foxglove and hollyhock are good examples of common biennial plants.
Roses
Roses have the reputation of being temperamental and difficult to grow. Although they do require special pruning and some extra care, they will reward you with bounty as well as beauty. Roses grow as shrubs, climbers and miniatures. Some roses bloom only once a season, while others provide continuous flowers from late spring to late fall.
Plants for Semi-Shade Environments
Pine and holly trees and azalea, mountain laurel and rhododendron shrubs all prefer acidic soil. Plant them together and add an organic fertilizer formulated for acid-loving plants to produce beautiful spring-flowering shrubs. Ferns will also thrive in this environment.
Many early spring-blooming bulbs — like snowdrops, crocus and muscari — will also flower in a partially shaded location. Plant the small bulbs two to four inches deep around the shrubs early in the fall. Add organic bulb food or bone meal to the planting hole. Fertilize them again in early spring.
For early summer flowers, grow blue flowering hydrangea shrubs. Perennial astilbes bloom in late summer and early fall and prefer an acidic soil. Their fernlike flowers have a color range of pink to dark red. Pansies, begonia and impatiens are among the annuals that do well in a semi-shade environment.
Plants for Sunny Sites
If you have an area of your garden that receives full sun, there are countless sun-loving annual, biennial and perennial plants to suit your space and taste.
Perennial dianthus, or pinks, are delightful after a long winter. Fall-planted, spring-blooming tulips and daffodils may precede or be interplanted with all spring, sun-loving perennial flowers, such as poppies and peonies.
Some of the many mainstay summer perennials that love the sun are daylily, scabiosa, campanula and potentilla. Many annuals — such as zinnia, cosmos, calendula, marigold and nasturtium — will continue to produce flowers over a long blooming period if you remove the faded flowers promptly.
Rudbeckia, or black-eyed Susans, return every summer and are good companions to many of the summer annuals like sunflowers and tithonia. Perennial chrysanthemums bloom in the fall for late garden color.
Helpful Hints for Organic Flower Gardeners
All organic gardening is based on the philosophy of prevention rather than cure. The healthier your soil and the stronger your plants, the less likely you’ll be to encounter pests or disease as your garden grows. Therefore, if you plan carefully and take the proper precautions, you will be rewarded with a healthy, abundant and beautiful garden.
Here are some more helpful tips:
Planting
- When planting into your garden plot, make a circular channel at the root base of the plant to catch water. This will help it become established in its new home faster.
- Plant honeysuckle, columbine and bee balm (Monarda) to attract hummingbirds to your garden.
- Plant flowers grouped in masses instead of rows. This will convey a more natural look to your garden.
- In order to achieve an effect of a natural flowering pattern in the spring, gently toss bulbs to the ground and plant them in where they have landed.
Prevention
- Birdbaths are essential to attract and keep birds in your garden. Birds feed on insects and provide visual delight as well.
- Butterflies are important as prey for spiders and other predators. They love hot weather and brightly colored flowers.
- Plant herbs with your flowers for their protective properties. For example, rosemary repels slugs. Basil and tansy repel mosquitoes.
- Plant chili peppers in the organic flower garden and sprinkle dried pepper flakes on the garden to ward off rabbits, raccoons and other wildlife that disturb your flower beds.
- It is important to keep the garden clean of weeds and diseased foliage to prevent the spread of diseases.
- If your roses have aphids, hose them with a jet stream of water. Repeat if you still see them after two days.
- If you discover lacy leaves, you have Japanese beetles. Pick the bugs off in the morning and drown them in a solution of soap and water.
- Do not prune roses after Labor Day. This will give the plant time to harden off for the winter.
- If your roses are plagued by slugs, use a barrier of copper tape wrapped around the base of the plant. You can also use an organic slug deterrent that is sold through catalogs.
- Spray roses with an organic copper or sulfur fungicide weekly to prevent fungus diseases. Remove and discard all diseased foliage.
- As a last resort, use a botanical spray such as Soap Shield or Safer Insecticidal Soap for flowers infested with pests like whiteflies, mealybugs and scale. Check the spray’s label to make sure you are choosing the proper formula for your pests.
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