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Three ways to store your produce

1. Dry onions, shallots and garlic, then store them in a frost-free shed or garage, keeping them in net bags hung up so the air can circulate around them.

2. Only freeze top quality, fresh produce, so aim to pick and freeze the same day. Freeze leaf beet, carrots, French beans and broccoli.

3. You can leave some produce in the ground until you need it, including carrots, leeks, parsnips and beetroot, but when winter comes cover the vegetables with cloches or fleece to protect them from frost damage.

What to do this week:

Cut back: Prune larger-leaved evergreens including laurel

flowers: Pick flowers such as sweet peas and dahlias to encourage further flowering

geraniums: Give hardy geraniums a haircut with shears to help them stay compact

lavender: Cut lavender for drying, just before the buds open fully, and tie in loose bunches, hanging them upside down in a well-ventilated, warm spot

garlic: When the foliage of garlic starts to yellow, the bulbs should be ready for lifting

tomatoes: Regularly remove side shoots from tomatoes

grass: Keep recently laid lawns well watered at all times

salad: Continue to sow rocket, lamb’s lettuce and claytonia.

fruit: Prune summer-fruiting raspberries when they finish cropping.

Reviving the Bishop’s Garden at the Washington National Cathedral

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It was weeks before Joe Luebke, director of horticulture, and his crew could get into the garden. When they did, they found a landscape whose character had changed dramatically. No longer a place of enclosure and shelter, the Bishop’s Garden seemed to carry the whole weight of the battered cathedral now towering above it.

The crane calamity capped a series of setbacks in the Bishop’s Garden, which was built and planted in the early 20th century as a private enclave for the bishop but soon opened to the public. Its designers, principally Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and Frances Bratenahl, wife of the first cathedral dean, employed English boxwood and yew as green architecture and used early architectural elements, sculptures and other artifacts donated by George Gray Barnard, a medievalist whose collection furnished the Cloisters Museum and Gardens in New York.

The Bishop’s Garden has been a favorite of professional gardeners and landscape designers for a long time, because its intricate network of paths, resting points, framed views and changes of elevation combine all the attributes that make for a good garden.

If you are looking for inspiration to rework your own outdoor space, the Bishop’s Garden is the place to go, even in its afflicted state. Light, shade, mystery, enclosure, vistas, circulating paths — all these essential elements of garden design are here to please and instruct. The use of medieval structures and forms could become something ersatz, but they manage to rise above that. One of the sweetest corners of the garden is the Norman Court, whose intimate beauty includes a new stone-carved plaque of thistles in honor of the Scottish gardener here from 1961 to 1992, Peter McLachlan.

When I asked landscape architect Michael Vergason to reflect on the powers of the Bishop’s Garden, he gave me a list: “age, intricacy, detail, and there’s a certain ruinous quality about it. It has an ancient feel.”

Plant Palette: Seven Sons tree

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When I met my husband Chris, his thumbs were not even the slightest shade of green. He started to show some interest in topics related to gardening as time went on, but his budding interest really blossomed when we bought our home, and a year later bought the lot next door.

The agreement when we purchased the lot next door was that the landscaping there would be his project, with my territory being around the house. Chris spent a lot of time drawing out his plans, and slowly bringing them to life as time and money have allowed.

One of his biggest projects has been four large planting beds. What to plant in these beds has been a subject of debate in the Nelson household.

The area in question is in full sun, and typically a lot of wind. Chris’ ideas on what to plant evolved as his knowledge grew. His first idea included hostas. I vetoed that idea, as full sun and incredible wind would reduce any hosta to a withered mess.

For a while Chris wanted to plant crepe myrtles, a plant way more accustomed to Southern climates than Central Illinois. The crepe myrtle is a small to medium sized tree covered in flowers by midsummer, with attractive exfoliating bark. But typically crepe myrtles are hardy only to Zone 7, with a few listed as Zone 6.

Zone 6 cultivars have a chance of surviving in our Zone 5b climate if planted in a sheltered spot and mulched heavily for the winter. Crepe myrtles overwintered in central Illinois typically die back to the ground each year and so usually never get very large. The lot next door definitely doesn’t qualify as a sheltered spot where a Zone 6 plant could hope to survive the winter. This realization pretty much killed Chris’ plans to plant crepe myrtle.

Some readers will remember that at one time my husband was sold on planting the Ben Franklin tree, Franklinia alatamaha. A summer-flowering tree also with attractive bark and great fall color like the crepe myrtle, it is much better suited to our Zone 5 climate. However, it is a very slow growing tree and we found it difficult to locate a specimen that was much larger than a seedling that didn’t cost a small fortune.

Well Chris finally found “the” tree — the Seven Sons tree, Heptacodium miconioides. It has all the plusses of the crepe myrtle and the Ben Franklin tree — summer flowers and attractive bark, plus nice fall color. It will survive the winter in this area. Plus we found decent size trees for about $50 locally.

Seven Sons tree was first collected in 1907 in China. It was pretty much forgotten until the 1980s, and although it is more widely available now than it used to be, it is still a tree that most people will ask “what is that?” when they see it in the landscape.

The big attraction of this species is the fragrant, creamy white flowers that are borne in clusters of seven in late summer and early autumn, a time when there aren’t a lot of fresh blooms in the landscape. Coupled with showy purple fruit and purple-bronze foliage later in the autumn, it provides quite a show in the landscape.

Through the winter Heptacodium shows off its tan bark which exfoliates to reveal a deep brown inner bark. Spring brings bright new green oval shaped leaves to start the cycle all over again.

Depending on your point of view, the Seven Sons tree is either a small tree or a large shrub. It reaches heights of up to twenty feet and widths of eight to ten feet. It may be grown as a single stem, which looks a lot more treelike, or multi-stemmed, which is a lot more shrublike.

People I know that have Heptacodium in their landscape have recommended keeping it multi-stemmed if deer are a concern. With multiple stems, there is not enough room for a deer to get his antlers close enough to rub on the tree and damage the bark.

One description of the Seven Sons tree touts it as “indestructible.” That is just what this spot in our landscape needs. Our trees have lived up to this reputation in the three years since we planted them. The flowers in late summer are always eye-catching — each year someone passing by has asked about them. Last year, even in the ridiculous heat and drought, they bloomed. We did water them about once a week. I think Chris chose a winner for his landscape design!

Jennifer Schultz Nelson is a unit educator in horticulture for the University of Illinois Extension.

Proposed Jilkaat Kwaan cultural center in Klukwan will display prized Whale …

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HAINES — The Whale House artifacts, rarely seen masterworks of Northwest Coast Indian art, will be displayed at Klukwan’s Jilkaat Kwaan Cultural Heritage Center, village officials recently reported.

Agreement to display the carvings — secured from the Gaanaxteidi clan during meetings in Haines — represents a commitment of major art pieces to the center and a potentially powerful magnet for attracting additional funding and exhibits, said Lani Hotch, director of the nonprofit that is overseeing the project.

“This is monumental,” Hotch said. “I think it will generate a lot more interest in our project, knowing these artifacts are going to be in there.”

Steve Henrikson, senior curator of collections at the Alaska State Museum, said agreement to put the pieces on display is of international significance. “This is like a UNESCO World Heritage decision. To see art of that magnitude in its original setting is such a rare thing.”

‘Michelangelo territory’

The Klukwan carvings — notably four house posts and a mural screen or wall — are thought to be the work of Kadjisdu.axtc of Wrangell, who also did the artwork for the Chief Shakes House in that town. They have been admired by the outside world since the first photographs were taken, more than 100 years ago and became the subject of legal argument reported in depth by the Daily News in a series that ran April 4-9, 1993.

Henrikson described the artifacts as the equivalent of “Alaska’s Parthenon.” “The level of work exhibited by that art, and the sensitivity of it can be appreciated by people who don’t know anything about art or the culture. This is Michelangelo territory. The emotion in those faces just blows people away.”

Whale House caretaker Jones Hotch Jr. said an agreement to display the pieces was forged in Haines on June 2 among 40 members of the clan, who came from other parts of Alaska and the Lower 48.

The group decided to put the art in the proposed center on a loan basis for at least 15 years. The plan is to re-evaluate the arrangement in 14 years or when and if a new clan house is built.

Created during the zenith of Tlingit indigenous art about 200 years ago, the carvings and a feast dish also associated with Kadjisdu.axtc are ranked as treasures by art experts and historians. But they have been kept under wraps for most of the past 50 years.

Museum collectors and art dealers pursued the carvings for nearly a century, and a removal attempt in 1982 got them as far as a Seattle warehouse. The pieces were returned to Klukwan in 1994, following a historic tribal court trial in Klukwan that determined they were Gaanaxteidi clan property.

The clan was to meet soon after the artifacts were returned, but that didn’t happen. In the interim, the Chilkat Indian Village tribal council has been working with local members of the Gaanaxteidi clan for several years to clean and make repairs to the totems and make protective crates for them, Jones Hotch Jr. said.

The decision to loan the pieces to the cultural center didn’t come without debate. A recent groundbreaking for the village museum “raised the ire of some clan members who were opposed to placing the treasures in the center,” Lani Hotch said.

Putting clan property on public display and in a building other than one controlled by the clan are relatively new ideas that run counter to traditional Tlingit practice. Some early suggestions for the village cultural center included separate rooms inside for each clan.

“Some elders learned the old way and still have misgivings about it. They’re remembering the old time. Klukwan life has changed since then,” Lani Hotch said. “We have to adapt with the times and we’re doing the best that we can. Not everybody’s on the same page, but I think people will come around to the idea in time.”

Displaying the Whale House artifacts is appropriate as the Gaanaxteidi clan founded Klukwan and the Whale House was its most prestigious house, Hotch said. “It makes sense to have their pieces be the centerpiece exhibit of the village cultural center.”

‘Force for good’

Historically, Klukwan was home to at least seven clans and more than a dozen longhouses, each affiliated with a clan. People lived communally in houses named after important clan symbols, such as “Frog House,” “Killer Whale Fin House” and “Drum House.” Symbols or crests were carved into the posts and wall screens of longhouses.

Clan houses suffered when cultural changes — including factors like influenza epidemics — drove villagers to build individual family homes, Lani Hotch said. Often, clan-owned crest pieces remained in the vacant clan houses. “When those houses started to fall, the question became, ‘Where do you put these clan trust items?’ “

There are modern clan houses in the village, and house members responsible for them may still choose to keep crest pieces there, she said. “These are going to have to be clan decisions, and it’s hard to get all your clan members together. That’s a part of the difficulty.”

In Tlingit culture, crest pieces — including smaller items like ceremonial hats and rattles — were typically brought out only on special occasions. Pursuit by cash buyers in the 20th century made villagers even more protective of the pieces, driving them further out of sight.

The state museum’s Henrikson said he understands the cultural sensitivity surrounding the objects but believes the time has come to display them.

“This is living history. It gives people a chance to hear about the amazing things people in the village did to protect these artifacts. They found a way with their tribal government to hold on to them. Not every village was able to do that,” Henrikson said. “This material is a powerful force of good in the community. It has the power to change people’s lives.”

A small Frog House blanket and a full-sized Chilkat robe are among items stored elsewhere that will be kept at the center. House posts from Klukwan’s Frog House stored at the state museum in Juneau also were to be kept in a Klukwan center, but those commitments by an earlier generation likely will need to be revisited, Lani Hotch said.

Before 1982, the Whale House pieces were kept in an unoccupied cement building located across the street from the current ANS Hall in Klukwan.

Construction of the center has started, but current funds aren’t sufficient to complete the structure. A legislative grant of $3.5 million to the Chilkat Indian Village is being used to build the shell of the center. The village still needs to raise another $4 million to complete the interior, install exhibits and interior furnishings and do landscaping.

In addition to housing art and artifacts, the center will also serve as a bald eagle observatory and education hub.

“Klukwan is surrounded by the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve,” said Lani Hotch. “The Bald Eagle Council Ground, which gets the highest concentration of eagle is right in the vicinity of Klukwan.” The bald eagle count in the 23,000-acre preserve numbers between 3,500-4,000 in the winter months between November and March.

 

• Residential lofts constructed above commercial space

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Big and bold changes could be in store for downtown Pismo Beach, where city leaders launched a visioning effort for future development of the area that draws thousands of people from the Central Valley every summer.

Officials took the first step Tuesday toward creating a new vision for the downtown core during a joint meeting of the City Council, Planning Commission and Parking Advisory Committee.

“This is a moment we’ve all been talking about for a long time,” said Pismo Beach City Manager Jim Lewis, adding the effort to define guidelines for the future look of downtown isn’t a plan to tear apart the area and rebuild it.

Lewis was an integral player in the effort to revitalize downtown Atascadero during the time he served as that city’s assistant city manager. He told city leaders for the emerging plan to be a success, there must be buy-in from downtown property and business owners.

“At the end of the day, it’s the private sector that invests in their properties,” Lewis said, adding any future vision developed for downtown also would need to expand economic opportunity in the area to prove beneficial.

He encouraged city leaders and anyone else with a stake in the downtown core to walk the area and think about what they envision for the area.

“There’s nothing like walking the streets and finding something you might miss just sitting in this room,” Lewis said. “Ask yourselves, ‘What is my vision for downtown Pismo Beach?’’’

Over the next several months, Pismo plans to host small discussion groups with downtown property and business owners, larger-format public workshops and walking tours to gather information about what people want to see in the area.

The area has been identified, from east to west, as Highway 101 to the beach, including Pomeroy Street and Price Street to the Highway 101 on-ramp near Clam Island, and, north to south from Pismo Creek to the corner of Dolliver (Highway 1) and Price streets.

The city also will employ surveys to garner input from the public starting this fall. Mayor Shelly Higginbotham voiced concern that the timing could prevent many of Pismo Beach’s seasonal visitors from participating in the process.

She suggested running advertisements in Central Valley newspapers to solicit opinions from people who live in the Valley and come frequently to Pismo Beach as a vacation destination.

“I want input from the people who have sustained us for the last 50 years,” Higginbotham said. “(They are) a huge segment.”

Potential ideas suggested during Tuesday’s meeting included closing areas — a portion of Cypress Street possibly, the pier parking lot — and creating a pedestrian-type plaza, with outdoor seating, additional landscaping, wider sidewalks, water features, patio dining and new lighting.

A Ferris wheel at the beach, high-technology business park, a restaurant row along Price Street also came up during discussions.

Other ideas envisioned a new entrance to Pismo at the corner of Price and Dolliver (Highway 1) streets that could include a pedestrian-type plaza, and increased density along Dolliver, where residential lofts could be constructed above commercial space.

Lewis stressed the drawings shown during the meeting were only concepts and no one was advocating for buildings to be razed or businesses to be forced out of downtown.

“We are in no way suggesting the buildings or businesses go away,” Lewis said.

The council authorized hiring a consultant to help staff develop a plan for downtown.

A proposed specific plan for future development in downtown likely will come back to the council in the spring.

Garden column: Crape myrtles are the Southeast’s versatile landscape choice … – Florida Times

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Crape myrtle, known as the lilac of the South, is one of the most popular landscape plants in the Southeast. And rightfully so because they are easy to grow and create landscape interest year-round.

Most of its popularity is from the crepe-like, crinkled flower petals in shades of red, pink, lavender and white. Now is the showiest season, with vibrant 4- to 16-inch-long flower clusters that, depending on the variety, begin in May and continue into fall.

Crape myrtles, Lagerstroemia spp., are deciduous shrubs or trees native to southeastern China. The crape myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica, was introduced into England in 1759 and met with dismal failure because it didn’t flower. But when it was brought to the South via Charleston in 1786 by plant explorer Andre Michaux, the plant flourished.

Upon rediscovery of L. fauriei in 1965, breeding programs hybridized L. indica with seedlings of L. fauriei to create popular cultivars like “Muskogee” and “Natchez,” which have increased disease resistance, beautiful exfoliating bark and increased cold hardiness.

In addition to the National Arboretum breeding program, Carl Whitcomb (Lacebark Inc.) has created hybrids with new and enhanced color, plus other desirable attributes like disease resistance, drought tolerance and cold hardiness. The University of Florida/IFAS, under the direction of Gary Knox, plays an important role by growing these new varieties in field trials to determine those that are best suited for Florida.

Versatility is another benefit because crape myrtles can be matched to the site based on height requirements. Mature heights vary from dwarf shrubs (4 to 6 feet), semi-dwarf (6 to 15 feet), intermediate (12 to 20 feet) and standard (20 to 30 feet).

Depending on the variety, they can be used as foundation plants, street trees, framing trees, hedges, in groups, or as a specimen tree. They are usually grown as multitrunk plants but can be purchased as standards with a single trunk. If purchased as a small tree, remove the smallest stems leaving one main trunk to develop a single leader tree or select three to five main branches to create a multitrunk tree. 

Unlike spring blooming plants that need winter-chilling hours, crape myrtles actually need heat to flower, so plant in the sunniest, warmest area of the landscape. With the exception of standing water, they tolerate most soil types and are drought tolerant. Although they will tolerate dry conditions, they grow better if provided water during dry periods to avoid stress.

Powdery mildew is the main disease concern, but resistant cultivars are widely available and include Acoma, Comanche, Fantasy, Hopi, Kiowa, Lipan, Miami, Natchez, Near East, Osage, Pecos, Sioux, Townhouse, Tuskegee, Tuscarora, Wichita, and Yuma. If you purchase a cultivar that is not resistant, plant in full sun and away from buildings or other groupings of trees to improve air circulation. Thinning the branches may also help improve air flow through the tree.

Crape myrtle aphid is the No. 1 pest and feeds on leaves while excreting a sugary substance called honeydew. Honeydew serves as a food for the fungus sooty mold that creates a black residue on leaves and branches. Aphids can be controlled with insecticidal soaps, but some nurseries actually plant crapes to attract beneficial insects and wouldn’t dream of spraying to control the aphids. Left untreated, aphids on these trees will build up a population of beneficial insects like lady beetles, green and brown lacewings, predatory plant bugs, assassin beetles and others.

Now is a great time to shop for crape myrtles because they’re in bloom. Some nurseries don’t label trees by cultivar, so this is the only time you can be sure of the flower color; still, the mature size will still be a mystery. Check for nurseries that sell named cultivars so you can match the plant to your landscape needs based on color, shape and mature size to avoid unnecessary pruning.

Knox has grown many varieties in trial gardens and recently presented his top picks for North Florida. For the small shrub category up to 5 feet, he suggested Cherry Dazzle (low mounded plant), Sacramento (rose pink flowers, mounded almost weeping plant), Pixie (white flowers, rounded plant) and New Orleans (deep purple flowers, spreading plant). Unfortunately, the smaller shrub cultivars are not very resistant to powdery mildew.

For patio trees that range from 8 to 15 feet tall, he recommends Cheyenne, a hybrid from the U.S. National Arboretum, with bright red flowers, rounded plant form and good disease resistance. Another is Hopi with medium pink flowers, beige bark, with a broad rounded plant form. For a white flowering variety, Acoma was his top pick with creamy beige bark, excellent powdery mildew resistance, and a spreading, pendulous growth habit.

For larger trees reaching 20 to 30 feet in height, the best red flower color is Red Rocket, which has an upright, rounded growth habit and tan bark. Osage is the best pink with large compound flower panicles, dark orange bark, glossy foliage and a round plant shape. Natchez is the most planted white blooming variety with great cinnamon bark and excellent powdery mildew resistance. The best lavender in this height category is Apalachee with dark green leaves, beautiful cinnamon-orange bark and light lavender flowers that are slightly fragrant.

In addition to flower color, some varieties have spring growth that is burgundy or bronze that fades in mid-summer. Examples include Burgundy Cotton, Houston, White Chocolate, Pink Velour, Raspberry Sundae and Royal Velvet. One that will soon be released is Black Diamond Series Delta Jazz, which boasts burgundy leaves all spring and summer. 

As the days get shorter, look for fall leaf colors in shades of yellow, orange or red. Miami, a great selection for Florida, is a larger tree maturing at over 20 feet tall with dark pink flowers, chestnut brown bark, with good orange fall color. If trees are not butchered by pruning, winter adds yet another dimension to the landscape because they create a living sculpture.

Many have interesting shapes with exfoliating bark that peels off, unveiling interesting colors like cinnamon-orange or rich dark brown bark that add to the winter interest.

For more information on crape myrtles: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg266 or www.usna.usda.gov/PhotoGallery/CrapemyrtleGallery/.

 

Terry Brite DelValle is a horticulture extension agent with the Duval County Extension Service and the University of Florida/IFAS.

Pond culture: Soak up atmosphere on tour of area water gardens

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Enthusiasts gush over water gardens and ponds.

It’s an element of outdoor living that continues to spur interest in fountains, waterfalls, streams, natural and manmade ponds, water gardens, bogs and decorative landscaping.

The public can soak up the ambiance and atmosphere during the Northern Iowa Pond and Koi Club’s annual tour. It takes from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, rain or shine, featuring more than a dozen ponds and gardens Parkersburg, Ackley, Eldora and Wellsburg.

“We all strive to develop our own little piece of paradise. That’s sometimes a small cubby in the backyard where we can come home from work and completely immerse ourselves in tranquility and peacefulness, if only for a short minute. Like the flickering flame of a winter fireplace, the garden pond, with its trickling water sounds, has the same soothing effects,” says Jackie Allsup, club president.

Whether the project is large or small, the relaxing sound of water is one layer in creating a serene retreat. With the availability of materials, filtration systems and supplies, as well as plant material, it’s easier than ever to build and maintain a water feature. And if you don’t have a backyard, containers can be transformed into simple water gardens with the addition of a submersible pump or a fountain set to burbling with a solar cell system.

For people pondering the hobby, the tour is a good time to ask questions. Club members will be available at all pond locations.

Admission is $5 per person; children under 12 are free. Participants can start at any pond site for maps, tickets and information.

Featured gardens are:

Parkersburg: 908 S. Johnson, 1023 Conn St. , 1211 Wemple St. , 405 Lincoln St. and 506 Third St.

Ackley: 104 Prospect Drive, 1021 First Ave., 509 Seventh Ave.

Eldora: 1401 22nd St. , 1509 Eighth Ave.

Wellsburg: 610 Eighth St., 608 Seventh St., 805 S. Monroe St., 501 W. Fourth St., 309 N. Jefferson St. and 200 N. Washington.

Free brats — one for each ticket purchased — will be available at 501 W. Fourth St., in Wellsburg.

Club members will be available at all pond locations to answer questions.

Many of the communities on this year’s tour have been hard-hit by recent flooding. The club hopes to use proceeds to help beautification efforts raised by showcasing members’ ponds.

The Northern Iowa Pond and Koi Club, established in 1999, is a non-profit organization. The club promotes the hobbies of ponds and aquatic gardening and keeping koi and goldfish, and includes educational and social activities. Membership includes areas surrounding the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area.

Meetings take place at members’ ponds on the third Tuesday of each month from February through November. Membership is $12 annually per family and includes a monthly newsletter.

Landscape Now: Do Your Own Rain Garden This Summer

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Saturday, July 20, 2013

Frank Crandall, GoLocalWorcester Landscaping Expert

Instead of letting storms ruin your fun, get something out of it by putting the rain to work in a rain garden.

The installation of properly designed rain gardens can offer many benefits to your landscape. Rain gardens can reduce storm water overload in streams, rivers and in storm drains, help to increase groundwater recharge, provide habitat for wildlife, birds and butterflies, require less maintenance than lawns and increase property values. These gardens offer an alternative to traditional lawn and water runoff that may cause pollution to be carried into local waterways. A well-designed rain garden can hold water, help settle out pollutants and return runoff to the groundwater table.

What are Rain Gardens?

Rain gardens are depressions in the lawn designed to catch runoff water from roofs or paved surfaces with help from planted shrubs and perennials that catch the water and help return it into the ground. This allows runoff to infiltrate the soil in your yard preventing water from leaving your property and ending up carrying pollutants into local streams and rivers. Along the coast rain gardens can serve as buffers collecting runoff before it heads into salt water ponds or the ocean. Properly sited rain gardens help to moderate flooding by holding excess water and giving it a chance to infiltrate the soil before running into storm drains.

Locating Your Rain Garden

Depending on your site, rain gardens can be positioned in an area directly out from a downspout (at least 25’ from the foundation to keep water from entering the basement) in the lawn. Keep gardens away from septic areas, low, wet areas on the property (you want to encourage water infiltration into the soil which will not happen in a wet, pond area), wells or deep shady spots. In sunny areas with a properly constructed garden ponding should disappear in 4-6 hours and all water will be infiltrated into the soil within 24 hours.

Sizing Your Garden

Typically the rain garden will be 30-50% of the size of the impervious surface you are draining into the garden. For example if the downspout is catching water off 1200 square feet of roof area your rain garden should be about 480 square feet (40% of 1200 sq. ft.) to catch the runoff. There are more detailed formulas for calculating the size of rain gardens…see URI Cooperative Extension, Rain Gardens: A Design Guide for Homeowners in Rhode Island and UConn Cooperative Extension System, Rain Gardens in Connecticut: A Design Guide for Homeowners and CT NOFA, www.organiclandcare.com.

Drainage in Your Rain Garden

The type of soils you have will determine the depth and drainage materials you will need for your garden. Try a small percolation test where you want to install a garden….dig a test hole 6-12” deep and fill with water…if it has not completely drained in 24 hours you will need to provide additional drainage materials. Typically, for a simple rain garden with good drainage, a depression will be excavated at least 12” deep and building a berm on the downward side if the area slopes. Make sure the material in the excavated bottom is permeable and will allow water to seep through…if not you will need to dig deeper and fill the bottom with crushed stone, place a layer of textile fabric over the stone layer and add soil for planting leaving an approximate 6” depression in the center and sloped areas on the sides. Poorly drained sites will require extensive excavation, several layers of stone, mat, soil and ultimately 3-4” of mulch after the plants are installed.  

Plants for Your Rain Garden  

This part of the rain garden process should be fun! There are many lists available for choosing your plants, Rhode Island Wild Plant Society (www.riwps.org), New England Wildflower Society (www.newfs.org) and the URI Cooperative Extension Sustainable Tree and Shrub Guide. Several good native choices are: winterberry, blue flag iris, panicum, carex sp., summersweet, lobelia, iris sp., monarda, dwarf fothergilla, Joe Pye weed, interrupted fern, wild geranium and woodland phlox.

Mulching Your Garden

Once the planting is done the entire garden area should be covered with 3-4” of a natural (non-dyed) pine bark mulch. The mulch will help to filter the water, slow the runoff off and help to prevent weeds from growing in the garden. In the event of a heavy storm it would be a good idea to install an overflow pipe on the downside berm so water can escape in an unusual rain event. Periodically, a refreshing of mulch, dead heading and pruning may be necessary for the plants in the garden to thrive. Inspections after a rain event will be wise to monitor how the garden is functioning and completing any additional planting or adjustments to the garden.

Landscaping for Droughts and Water Bans!

In my next article I will detail ways to landscape during droughts and maintaining your gardens and landscapes during water bans. It begins with water conservation, preparing your plants for droughts and selecting plants that will perform well with minimal watering!

“With landscaping you never seem to reach the point when you feel the job is complete.”

 

Frank Crandall, Horticultural Solutions. Frank is a R.I. resident specializing in coastal landscaping, organic land care, small business consulting, writing, speaking photography and will be submitting biweekly articles about Landscape Solutions. Frank just published his third book, Creating a More Peaceful, Happy and Successful Life! You can read more about his book on his website, www.FrankCrandall3.com. Comments about Frank’s articles are welcome by contacting him at FrankCrandall3@gmail.com.

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    • Garden Tips: Watering a little every day not enough in the Tri-City climate

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    With only six to eight inches of rain a year, even novice area gardeners know that adequate moisture is essential to successfully growing lawns, gardens and landscape plants.

    However, not every gardener knows how to correctly water. The tendency is to water a little every day during the summer, such as 15 minutes once a day. That sometimes isn’t enough.

    Only 5 percent of the water that plants absorb through their roots is used for growth. The majority (95 percent) is lost through transpiration, which is the loss of water vapor from the pores in leaf surfaces. High temperatures, wind and sun increase the rate of transpiration, increasing a plant’s need for water.

    To be able to absorb from the soil, water in the location of the water-absorbing roots. As plants become established, the roots typically move out radially from the root ball. Water that once was applied near the trunk or base should be applied further in the root zone. For established shade trees, the root zone area extends from the drip line (the outermost reach of the branches) and beyond.

    If a lawn is watered just 15 minutes every day, depending on the output of the irrigation system, adequate moisture probably is not reaching the roots. The major portion of the root systems landscape trees are found in the top 12 to 18 inches of soil. Shallow, daily watering during a hot summer may keep a lawn alive, but it probably is not providing enough water.

    When plants suffer from drought, they wilt or show other signs of stress. Some respond to this stress with yellowing and dropping of leaves. Others develop a disorder called “leaf scorch,” where the edges of the leaves turn brown and crispy, or brown tissue develops between the leaf veins.

    Certain plants may show the same symptoms even if there is enough moisture. The problem may be that the root system is inadequate to keep up with the demands put on the plant by transpiration. This can happen when a plant is transplanted in late spring or early summer and the roots have not had time to grow to support the top of the plant. This also happens if the root system is impaired by being planted too deep or by restricted roots. Some plants tend to show leaf scorch because they aren’t well adapted to a hot, dry climate.

    If a plant looks stressed, check the soil moisture. Be sure to deep-water once a week. A mature shade tree with a spread of 30 feet should be receiving at least 350 gallons of water once a week during our hot and breezy weather.

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