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Petunias: Low care, but much variety – Tribune

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Petunias have come a long way over the years. Originally native to South America, today’s hybrid petunias provide the garden with a broad diversity of colors, growth habits and flowering styles. Petunias have been planted in gardens since the 1700s, when European breeders really began to develop new varieties.

Typically grown as an annual, petunias are actually perennials, surviving for many years where the climate is warm and winters never drop below freezing. This member of the potato family has a lot going for it. Not only are petunias easy to grow and relatively pest-resistant, they offer a long season of bloom and seldom require deadheading.

Though I’m not a big fan of their sticky leaves, I always find a home for a few petunias in my garden each year. I’m partial to using the newer, trailing varieties in my window boxes and containers. I also love the smaller-flowering types planted on the edge of my perennial border. Petunias are drought-tolerant and very easy to find at most local garden centers. If you’re lucky, you can even find petunia varieties that emit a light, sweet fragrance in the evening.

Petunias enjoy full sun and thrive even in less-than-perfect garden soil. In recent years, more hybridization has occurred, resulting in some pretty-stellar garden varieties with bushier growth habits and an increasing range of colors and color-combinations.

Large-flowered petunias, known as grandiflora types, have blooms that measure 4 or more inches across. They come in solids and stripes, and some even have a variegated edge. In my experience, grandiflora types are a bit fussier than other petunias, but they are beautiful, nonetheless.

My favorite petunias are the multiflora types. Though their flowers are a bit smaller, only 2 inches across, they bloom quite prolifically from May through September. Some have single flowers, while others are double. I love the striped ones and those with a contrasting “eye� at the center of each bloom. Nurseries often sell mixed six-packs of multiflora petunias with a range of colors mixed together. Lovely! Miniature petunias bear blooms a mere 1 inch across, but they are completely slathered in flowers all season long. They are great for containers and hanging baskets and do not require pinching.

But my favorites, by far, are the spreading types. They are very low-growing, but each plant can reach up to 5 feet in width. Spreading petunias grow quickly and are excellent bloomers, even during summer’s intense heat. They make a beautiful ground cover, smothering the soil with blooms or tumbling out of containers.

By and large, petunias require very little care. Pinching the stems back every few weeks results in more-compact growth and continuous blooms. Many of the newer cultivars, however, are bred for compactness and don’t require pinching. Check the tag if you aren’t sure which type you have. Watering, of course, is necessary during extremely dry spells, and adding some liquid fertilizer to the irrigation water every few weeks will keep them looking their best.

Horticulturist Jessica Walliser co-hosts “The Organic Gardeners� at 7 a.m. Sundays on KDKA Radio. She is the author of several gardening books, including “Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control� and “Good Bug, Bad Bug.� Her website is www.jessicawalliser.com.

Send your gardening or landscaping questions to tribliving@tribweb.com or The Good Earth, 503 Martindale St., 3rd Floor, D.L. Clark Building, Pittsburgh, PA 15212.

Tom Karwin: New Sunset garden book plants fresh inspiration

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Click photo to enlarge

I’ve been pouring through the new edition of “Sunset Western Garden Book of Landscaping: The Complete Guide to Beautiful Paths, Patios, Plantings and More.” This book is hot off the press, published just this month. It complements “Sunset’s New Western Garden Book” (ninth edition, February 2012), which is about plants.

The book provides more than 600 color photographs of gardens in the western states, with ideas for home gardeners and landscape professionals. It is organized under five headings: Gardens, Structures, Plants, Finishing Touches and Planning. Each section visits numerous topics, illustrating each in pages of comments and captioned photographs. The text identifies almost all plants that are shown, and the excellent index lists them all, as well.

Each topic could motivate the reader to seek detailed information in other sources.

Editor Kathleen Norris Brenzel notes that the book is primarily about inspiration, with an underlying theme of earth-friendly, sustainable design. In a brief introduction, landscape architect William R. Marken defines sustainability as basic to the “new golden age of landscape design,” which has grown out of Thomas Church’s four principles:

· Unity of house and garden;

· Function, serving household needs;

· Simplicity, considering both costs and aesthetics; and

· Scale, relating the parts of the landscape.

Sustainability involves judicious uses of water, fertilizers and pesticides, as well as native plants, earth-friendly materials and attention to the landscape’s climate, topography, soil and exposure to sun and wind. This book endorses sustainability, but avid gardeners will need other sources for practical advice.

The book’s greatest strength takes the form of striking photographic vignettes of exemplary landscapes. The photos show mostly nicely groomed small areas and even individual plants. Every garden has shortcomings from time to time, but why would we want to see those?

The scenes shown in the book are consistently contemporary and relatively upscale, many with pools, lakesides and beachfronts Rather than presenting a documentary exploration of average landscapes, the book offers glimpses of inspirational settings that a reader could translate into his or her own environs.

Consider Church’s scale principle when installing an assertively modern element in a traditional garden. (A friend recently persuaded me to install a huge surplus mirror in my garden. I like it, but I’m still reflecting on the aesthetics.)

This book is a great source of forward-looking ideas for your home’s landscape, and could encourage a fresh approach to your garden.

Tom Karwin is a Santa Cruz resident, a UC Master Gardener, a member of several garden groups, and vice president of the UCSC Arboretum Associates. Contact him at gardening@karwin.com.

New home? Tips for getting to know the garden

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Gardening-Inherited Gardens

Dean Fosdick

Gardening-Inherited Gardens

In this Oct. 8, 2011 photo, new property owners temporarily added some whimsical yard art to the entry while moving their goods into the carport and house in Langley, Wash. There’s more to relocating than unpacking boxes after moving day. Many landscape designers suggest you deal with safety issues first — leaning or diseased trees, uneven walkways or litter that harbors garden pests. (AP Photo/Dean Fosdick)

Gardening-Inherited Gardens

Dean Fosdick

Gardening-Inherited Gardens

This Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2013 photo shows a new home owner’s pre-built Sunshine GardenHouse made from a kit that he added to his yard, to greatly extend the growing season in the cool coastal climate of Whidbey Island, in Langley, Wash. It’s being used for everything from seed starting and growing tomatoes and sweet corn to relaxing with a good book on days when it’s too wet to garden. (AP Photo/Dean Fosdick)



Posted: Friday, February 14, 2014 10:23 am

New home? Tips for getting to know the garden

Associated Press |


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 Americans are a restless bunch. They change locations with a frequency that would tire a migrating songbird.


But there is more to moving day than unpacking boxes; there’s also learning to care for that garden inherited with the new home.

If you were thinking ahead, you asked for an inventory of the plants and accessories that came with the house.

“There’s no problem with asking owners for a list of landscape items and for an explanation about the plantings,” said Shirley French, an agent with the Woodstock, Va., office of Funkhouser Real Estate Group. “Usually, the owners are more than happy to give you a list. In fact, if they know the purchasers are interested, that will make for good feelings on both sides.”

Gardening priorities are determined mostly by the seasons. You won’t be mowing the lawn in February, although you might be combing the seed catalogs.

But where to start with a newly purchased property?

Michael Becker, president of Estate Gardeners Inc. in Omaha, Neb., suggests that putting safety first.

“Check out the dangers,” said Becker, a spokesman for Planet, the Professional Landcare Network that certifies green industry professionals. “Are the retaining walls stable? Are any trees leaning or diseased with dead branches?

“Assess the hardscape,” Becker said. “Is anything heaving, creating tripping hazards? Examine the drainage around the house. More often than not, it isn’t correct and may be damaging the structure. Bring in some professionals to help sort things out.”

As for plantings, be patient with the perennials.

“Go through the seasonal changes,” Becker said. “Learn what things look like in your yard. Determine if it’s aesthetically what you want, or if it’s so high-maintenance you won’t have the time to care for it. Most perennials need pruning and deadheading.”

Other things to consider when dealing with an unfamiliar landscape:

— Make note of the average frost dates. Do soil tests. Map the yard for sun and shade. “If you live in the city and all you have is a porch or a patio to work with, where is all that water going to go that you’ll be putting on plants?” asked Josh Kane, president and head designer at Kane Landscapes Inc. in Sterling, Va. “Also, where do you get the water? You’ll have to figure out how to care for everything.”

— Water fixtures. “Look for care instructions when dealing with special features,” Kane said. “A lot of people get put off or are scared of things like koi ponds, pools and fountains that require startups, maintenance and attention during the seasons.”

— Don’t try to do everything the first year. Mulching will keep the weeds down. Composting will improve the soil. Bringing in some annuals for window boxes, hanging baskets or containers will provide instant color. “Nothing gives you as much impact in a garden as planting annuals,” Kane said.

— Anticipate. Avoid planting trees or shrubs near sewer or water lines, to prevent root damage. Study the plat map for restrictions that could prevent expansions or additions. “A lot of people might want to build a big outdoor room or pool and find they can’t do it because of an easement on the property,” Kane said.

© 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Friday, February 14, 2014 10:23 am.

Gardening Tips: Consider heirlooms for your garden

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Posted: Friday, February 14, 2014 11:41 am

Gardening Tips: Consider heirlooms for your garden


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With snow on the ground yet again, not many of us have our mind on the garden, but I find a cold winter day to be a great time to take a look at a seed catalog. There’s always something encouraging and hopeful about flipping through the pages and thinking about what I might plant in the garden in the spring. I’ll find some old favorite varieties I bring back year after year, and some new ones that catch my eye for the first time. When browsing the catalog, my attention usually goes first to the heirloom tomatoes.

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Tips help you familiarize yourself with new garden

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Americans are a restless bunch. They change locations with a frequency that would tire a migrating songbird.

But there is more to moving day than unpacking boxes; there’s also learning to care for that garden inherited with the new home.

If you were thinking ahead, you asked for an inventory of the plants and accessories that came with the house.

“There’s no problem with asking owners for a list of landscape items and for an explanation about the plantings,” said Shirley French, an agent with the Woodstock, Va., office of Funkhouser Real Estate Group. “Usually, the owners are more than happy to give you a list.”

Gardening priorities are determined mostly by the seasons. You won’t be mowing the lawn in February.

But where to start with a newly purchased property?

Michael Becker, president of Estate Gardeners Inc. in Omaha, Neb., suggests putting safety first.

“Check out the dangers,” said Becker, a spokesman for Planet, the Professional Landcare Network that certifies green industry professionals. “Are the retaining walls stable? Are any trees leaning or diseased with dead branches?

“Assess the hardscape,” Becker said. “Is anything heaving, creating tripping hazards? Examine the drainage around the house.”

As for plantings, be patient with the perennials.

“Go through the seasonal changes,” Becker said. “Learn what things look like in your yard. Determine if it’s aesthetically what you want, or if it’s so high-maintenance you won’t have the time to care for it. Most perennials need pruning and deadheading.”

Other things to consider when dealing with an unfamiliar landscape:

• Make note of the average frost dates. Do soil tests. Map the yard for sun and shade. “If you live in the city and all you have is a porch or a patio to work with, where is all that water going to go that you’ll be putting on plants?” asked Josh Kane, president and head designer at Kane Landscapes Inc. in Sterling, Va.

• Water fixtures. “Look for care instructions when dealing with special features,” Kane said. “A lot of people get put off or are scared of things like koi ponds, pools and fountains that require startups, maintenance and attention during the seasons.”

• Don’t try to do everything the first year. Bringing in some annuals for window boxes, hanging baskets or containers will provide instant color.

• Anticipate. Avoid planting trees or shrubs near sewer or water lines, to prevent root damage. Study the plat map for restrictions.

Garden Tips: Stake or build trellis for taller tomato plants

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When warm weather arrives in early summer, our garden tomatoes will start to grow very fast. Once a plant is a foot or so tall, it will start to branch. As rapid growth continues, the plant flops over and grows along the ground unless it is provided with support. Left to grow horizontally, the vine will develop more and more branches, eventually becoming a tangled mess.

As noted last week, sturdy tomato cages are usually adequate support for shorter determinate tomatoes, but the taller indeterminate types need more support. This can be provided by staking each plant individually or building a trellis.

Staking individual plants involves pounding a sturdy 6- to 8-foot stake firmly into the ground 3 to 4 inches away from the plant. To avoid injuring the roots, do this within two weeks of planting in the garden and before branching begins.

When the vine is a foot tall, tie it to the stake using a soft tying material that won’t cut into the stem, such as strips of nylon pantyhose, or use one of the commercial tying materials available at garden stores.

After this, pinch out any side shoots or “suckers.” These side shoots develop between the base of a leaf and the main stem. A tomato plant staked and “pruned” in this way produces fewer tomatoes per vine, but the fruit that does develop will be larger. However, it makes the fruit more prone to blossom end rot and sunburn. You can try to avoid these problems by also leaving the first sucker that starts to grow above the first flower cluster that develops. Any other suckers or shoots are removed, leaving two main shoots.

If you grow more than a few tomato plants, consider building a trellis for support. The Basket Weave or Florida Weave is commonly used to trellis commercially grown tomatoes. Using this system space, your plants 18 to 24 inches apart and then place 6- to 7-foot stakes between every plant or every three plants. Use strong posts, such as a metal T or a 4-by-4-inch wooden fence post, at the ends of the row.

When plants are a foot tall, it’s time to start “stringing” the trellis using nonstretching twine, such as baler’s twine, or wire. Secure the twine or wire to the end post and then run it on one side of the tomatoes and fix it to the next stake. (Hint: Twine can be fixed by wrapping it around the stake.) Keeping the “string” taught, continue running it to the second stake on the opposite side of the tomatoes and fix it to the next stake.

Continue weaving the “string” in this manner until you get to the end post, fasten it to the post, then return the “string” to the beginning post by weaving it back on the opposite sides of the tomatoes, and finally fastening it to the post. Repeat the process every time the plants grow 8 to 10 inches.

To avoid dense, overcrowded vines, prune your trellised tomatoes. Leave two shoots per plant if they are spaced 2 feet apart, and three shoots if spaced 3 feet apart.

Many gardeners use their own variation of the Basket Weave or design ingenious other trellises that work for them. The key to success is a trellis that’s tall enough and sturdy enough to support the vines. I think I’ll try trellising my tomatoes this year.

— Marianne C. Ophardt is a horticulturist for Washington State University Benton County Extension.

Gertrude Jekyll, giant of garden design

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Heritage: The mystery of Gertrude Jekyll’s last Wimbledon garden

5:00am Friday 14th February 2014 in News


By The Wimbledon Society

Gertrude Jekyll, giant of garden design

Exactly a century ago in February 1914, Britain’s best known garden designer, Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932), was commissioned to create a big garden for a new house in Marryat Road.

It was her third and final involvement in the Wimbledon area but unlike her other two local gardens, this one may never have been more than a phantom.

Jekyll was at the height of her career in the early 1900s. She designed more than 100 gardens together with the architect Edwin Lutyens and is known to have been commissioned no fewer than 346 times between 1868 and 1932.

Her last Wimbledon commission was for a house called Bowerbank and the original plans are still held by the Reef Point Gardens Collection at the University of California.

Copies can be seen closer to home at Godalming Museum, Surrey. Detailed illustrations appear in a book about her work published in 1992, yet no house called Bowerbank ever existed.

A century ago Marryat Road had only recently been laid out on the former 100-acre estate of Sir Henry Peek, the late MP who had led the campaign to save Wimbledon Common in the 1860s. (See Heritage story 16 November 2012).

A link remained as Jekyll’s client was Sir Arthur Carr (1855-1947), head of the Peek Frean biscuit firm founded by Sir Henry’s father. Sir Arthur lived at 10 The Downs, Wimbledon.

A document recently came to light showing that in September 1912, he bought a 1½-acre plot of land in Marryat Road and in 1913 engaged local architect Walter E Hewitt to build a house there. When work started remains unknown but Sir Arthur commissioned Jekyll the next year to design the grounds.

She provided detailed designs for both front and back gardens with complete plant listings for each bed, carefully chosen trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals. The back garden followed a symmetrical pattern around a large tennis lawn.

Her cost estimate went to Hewitt on 25 February and some plants were actually sent to a “new house Bowerbank” on 3 March. That much certainly happened but World War 1 may have stopped further progress.

It was not until 1920 that Hewitt actually completed a house called Windyridge at 21 Marryat Road whose grounds matched those designed for Bowerbank. Sir Arthur Carr never lived there and Hewitt died before anyone else did.

There is no record of any direct link between Jekyll and Windyridge. The house was divided in two in 1956 and the end of the garden sold off for development of what is now Windyridge Close.

Windyridge House (Bowerbank?) in the 1920s, showing part of the tennis  lawn with one of the flowerbeds

Yet what remains looks uncannily like the mysterious Bowerbank plans now in California.

Jekyll’s two other local gardens both survived for many years but ultimately suffered sad fates. In November 1906 she had been commissioned by Sir George Stegmann Gibb (1850-1925), managing director of what later became the London Underground.

He had a large three-storey house built a few yards from Caesar’s Camp on the Common. Jekyll designed an elaborate garden with winding pathways, steps, a holly border, lots of flower beds, a rock garden, and a six-bed kitchen garden.

Sir George and his family lived at what became 35 Camp Road from 1907-1919 and the property was then occupied by various residents until 1959 when it was demolished, the site used for offices and the Jekyll garden becoming a car park.

The site is now Cedar Park Gardens but there is no reminder of Gertrude Jekyll.

Jekyll’s other commission was at Greystones, 29 Mostyn Road, Merton Park, in 1913. Her client there was paint manufacturer George Hadfield, the first resident of this Arts and Crafts style house built by local architect John Sydney Brocklesby (1879-1955) who also designed the neighbouring John Innes Park.

Jekyll visited Greystones several times and Brocklesby’s own sons helped her with the planting. Her design of box and yew hedging to separate narrow lawns and beds was still intact in the 1950s.

However in 1965 the TV actor Alan Stratford-Johns – known for the police series Z Cars and Softly, Softly – moved in, installed a large outdoor swimming pool and replaced Jekyll’s garden with a big lawn.

The house’s next residents investigated the garden’s origins and largely restored it in the early 1990s. It featured on the TV show Gardeners World and was opened for specially invited tours. But the couple moved out in 1998 since when it has been closed to all outsiders.

Garden lovers now have nowhere in the Wimbledon area to see an original Gertrude Jekyll garden.

The Wimbledon Society is working with the Wimbledon Guardian to ensure that you, the readers, can share the fascinating discoveries that continue to emerge about our local heritage.

For more information, visit wimbledonsociety.org.uk and www.wimbledonmuseum.org.uk.

Click here for more fascinating articles about Wimbledon’s heritage

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Designing a pollinator garden topic Chico Horticultural meeting – Enterprise

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CHICO — Chico Horticultural Society’s regular meeting will be Wednesday February 19 at the Chico library, first and Sherman Avenues. There will be refreshments served at 9:30 and the program will begin at 10:00. The business meeting will follow at 11:00.

The program is presented by John Whittlesey, and he will give us guidelines on how to have a beautiful year around pollinator garden. Sharing your garden with wildlife double the pleasure of your garden. He will discuss garden design, construction, and plant selections for a well-rounded pollinator garden; an area providing not only food, water and shelter, but life, color and interest to be enjoyed through out the seasons.

For 20 years John owned and operated one of the country’s leading specialty mail-order nurseries, emphasizing interesting drought tolerant, and regionally adapted perennials. Since 2008 he has focused his talents on designing and constructing gardens large and small. He supervised construction of the Native Plant Pollinator Garden at the Gateway Science Museum. He is co-producer of “Pollinators: Keeping Company with Flowers”, a traveling exhibit which includes his photography of plants and pollinators. He currently sits on the board of directors of the Chico State Herbarium. In April his book, “Plant Lover’s Guide to Salivas” will be published.

The public is invited to attend. If you have any questions, call Margaret at 520-0067.

Garden-design guru John Brookes coming to Toronto

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As I start to get creaky in the knees, I find that truly inspirational. Brookes has won a fistful of awards, including an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) and four top medals at the Chelsea Flower Show. He conducts popular online courses in garden design from his home, Denmans, in Sussex, England. He travels regularly to give lectures, writes books (20 so far) and continues to design gardens for clients everywhere from the Middle East to Japan.