Fall Pots

Even though we have officially welcomed fall - there is still a lot to enjoy in the garden. Here are a few tips, and pictures, on how to spruce up your pots for the cooler weather.

Use perennials: As the nurseries slow down they are looking to get rid of inventory. This means you can buy perennial plants (usually for the same price as seasonal annuals, or LESS) that will stay vibrant until they go dormant for the winter, longer then a cold sensitive annual that will go brown once the thermostat reads anywhere near 40 (or 50) degrees.

And here is the big bonus - use those perennials in your pots now, then come spring plant them in your garden - double for your money! You could of course use perennials

in your pots as a semi permanent fixture (most perennials will last a few years in pots before they need to stretch their legs), I have a few examples of this below.

Here's a list of a few Perennials that still have some "show" in them for the fall (using common names): Coral Bells, Grasses (such as Fescue, Sedge and Carex), Asters, Sedum, Gaura, and Ground Covers such as Variegated Thyme and Ajuga.

Container garden at The Lamp Co. Designed

by dig using primarily perennial plants

Use Cold-Hardy Annuals: There are some annuals that are able to combat Mr. Jack Frost. Using these annuals now will allow you to enjoy your pots until the snow starts to melt and in most cases, again in the spring. These would be annuals such as Pansies (of course) and many of the flowering cabbages will keep their color through the winter as well.

Before and during shots of The Graham Residence

fall pots using cold hardy annuals and perennials.

Some of The Graham Residence Fall Pots

Accessorize your containers: By incorporating a mulch such as gravel or attractive rock you are not only helping to retain water but also adding an element of interest to your container garden. Another fun thing to do would be to add gourds, squash or pumpkins to your fall pots to make them a little "festive".

Website!

Please be sure to take a look at my website. I think it is pretty beautiful. More work to be done, projects to share and tweaking to do, but I am very happy with the look of things and to just have an operating website! Many thanks to my friend James Parker for his help as well as Matt - my main Man!

You may also click on the button to the right to be directed to said website. AND look for some new pretty branding to come soon too! All this in addition to 10 clients! That's right, I am managing 10 clients at once at the moment, life is busy busy busy - and I am grateful.

Turning a "Black" Thumb Green

"My gardens have given me permission to experiment, break rules, and foster a rebellious streak that is an important but often pushed aside part of who I am.

Our gardens should be a free space where each of us can find joy, make discoveries, and feel whole. Guilt, shame, and feelings of insecurity have no place there." - Gayla Trail

I recently conducted a small discussion with some lovely ladies from my Sister's neighborhood about vegetable gardening, as well as trying to have visual interest in the ornamental garden all summer long. Toward the end of this discussion a sweet lady exhaled;"So much to do, it makes me not want to even start." This was of course the complete opposite feeling I wanted my audience to leave with - my thoughts turned to this post on the blog You Grow Girl I recently read. It explored many thoughts I have had about being a gardener and the frustrations so many have expressed to me regarding their "black" thumbs. For heaven sakes, it is the reason I have started this business around the idea "that many would like to get their hands dirty and ‘dig’ in the dirt – but most just aren’t sure where to start."

Gayla outlined her thoughts into 4 points:
Experience + Consistency & Persistence + Observation & Adaptation + Failure

A difficult part of gardening for some is the lack of exactness and the reality that the materials used grow and change. This is a particularly difficult variable in the aspect of design - most materials used to design with are man made materials that do not change, they don't live and die and come back to life again each year. Personally this to me is in large the beauty in designing with such a material, but it can feel overwhelming and frustrating to many.

Example; one may be frustrated that there is lackluster in their ornamental garden in the month of June. Through experience you will start to notice the holes that exists in your garden. When you are consistent with the care of your garden you may notice plants will bloom longer for you.When you are an observant gardener you can take note of those plants that do bloom in the 4 week void you would like to fill in other gardens around you. And If you will accept failure; acceptance in the reality that the material you are choosing to work with is a living being that will at times die or accepting that you will sometimes fail in the care of your garden and are willing to learn from those mistakes you will find that you have not only - through time - filled that gap in your garden but have gained confidence in your own ability to be a gardener.

"In the real world gardeners kill plants and gardens get pests and diseases. Sometimes life gets in the way and we don’t have the money to buy something we want or the time to commit to making our garden the showpiece we would like it to be. This is not evidence that you have a Black Thumb. More importantly, you learn more when you are willing to take chances & give yourself space to screw up. It’s often in those failures that we have the biggest AHA! moments." - Gayla Trail

No black thumbs my friends, just green thumbs in progress!

Not sure how to get started down the path to a green thumb? I give consultations!

What's On

There isn't much in bloom by way of herbaceous perennials this time of year. Most Perennials are just greening up and gearing up to bloom when warmer temperatures strike. There are however a few great low growing perennials in bloom mid-spring; which seems fitting as they serve as fantastic back drops to the fervently blooming bulbs.

Aubrietia or "Rockcress" is a mid-spring blooming perennial that ranges in color from magenta pink, violet purple to deep purple. This plant grows to about 6" high and will spread. Rockcress is often used in rock gardens for it's "cascading nature".

Brunnera macrophylla with it's spotted leaves and appropriate pastel blue flowers are a sweet addition to the spring garden, working well with the yellow and orange hues of daffodils. Quickly grows 12" in height.

Arabis - also referred to as "Rockcress" is extremely similar to Aurbrietia. A big difference in the case of Arabis is the white variety, but when faced with a pink Arabis I often second guess myself. Same growth habit as the Aurbrietia, 6" tall and loves to pour itself over walls.

Heather or Erica darlyensis is a fantastic low growing shrub-like perennial. Unlike these other plants, Heather will maintain an interesting texture in the garden, giving it purpose outside of it's bloom time, in this designer's humble opinion that is.
The silvery foliage and "spiky" texture lend well to a garden year round.

What plants are you noticing in bloom?

Spring Garden To Do's #1

I was fortunate to get some time in the garden. I felt my body soften, relax and wake up from it's winter dormancy. The air was fresh and warm and life was all about me with birds singing, insects crawling and green leaves poking up from the warming soil. Here is what I did:

Weeded;
Get after the weeds early - they tend to be the first green you will see in the garden, with the exception of some spring perennials and bulbs.

It is important to get weeds up by their roots, in many cases a new rosette will develop from roots that were left behind.

(I am afraid it is common for me to use garden tools not for their designed purpose, e.g. using hedgers in above photo to pop out weed seedlings. Do as I say, not as I do and use a trowel or a hand weeder. Don't be as hard on your tools as I am. :))

Be sure to identify what are weeds and what are your bulbs getting ready to send up their stems. Pictured above is an Alium (r. corner) next to what is likely a seedling of Common Groundsel.
Good old dandelion next to the water source. Generally speaking what makes weeds weeds is their attempt at using your ornamental plant's resources; i.e. water and sunlight.

Cut back perennial grasses;

(Miscanthus Grass before being cut down)

It was also time to get those perennial grasses cut down. This can be done in the fall if one prefers, but perennial grasses are such nice winter interest, and at this point they will be getting green and growing tall in just a matter of a couple of months - where you would have to live with the void they leave all through the winter if cut back in the fall.

(Miscanthus Grass After being cut down)

Just use some hedgers and cut grasses at their base, about 3 inches above the ground. It is much easier if you tie the grasses up before cutting, and be careful they can give you a nasty "paper cut."
Looks a little bare now, but the magic is about to start...

Can't tell Groundsel from Ground cover? Give me a call!

Spring Has Come!

Come see me at The Children's Theatre in Salt Lake City. And while your at it stay to see The Secret Garden! FREE GARDENING WORKSHOP APRIL 10th. Space is running out.

SPRING HAS COME' TO THE CHILDREN'S THEATRE A FREE Gardening workshop presented by DIG Landscape Design. Space is limited, so please register today. The Children's Theatre is offering a free, Spring Has Come gardening workshop held at the theatre on April 10th at 11:00 a.m. Join us as we usher in spring with a fun and hands-on discussion. Parents and children will learn about the change of seasons and what happens when seeds and bulbs start to sprout and return each spring. Every youngster will have the opportunity to bring home a seedling to start a garden of their very own. Registration for this event is required. For addition information or to sign up, please contact our box office at 801.532.6000 or by email atboxoffice@tctheatre.org.

SECRET GARDEN PLAYS FOR 3 MORE WEEKENDS.

THE SECRET GARDEN CLASSICAL DRAMA A young orphan, Mary Lennox arrives at Misselthwaite Manor. A secret inside and outside keeps the household on edge. The moors seem quiet and desolate and the strange howling at the manor is too much for Mary’s curiosity. Adapted from the beloved classic story by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Story by Frances Hodgson Burnett Adapted for the stage by Joanne M. Parker Tickets $12 General admission March 19 - April 10