dig

2011-07-15T09:22:00.005-06:00

I was given the opportunity to be interviewed for a little radio spot sponsored by a local bank; Zion’s Bank. It is a great little blurb on me and my business, check it out here!

2011-03-18T14:10:00.021-06:00

My friend Dominque sent me a message a few weeks ago - she was looking for help building and planning a vegetable garden. Since last summer was the third summer in a row that I (along with my partner in crime, the talented Matt) had built a garden from scratch, I was much obliged!

Dom lives in Colorado, so we have been communicating via the virtual world. I've emailed her several times - nice long nerdy emails about soil, sun, plants - she sent me pictures of where she dreams of garden plot living.

Here are the first 3 steps I told Dom to take; thought I'd take you along for the ride. Do you mind?

The First recommendation I gave Dom was to build a raised bed to house her garden. While this is initially a more expensive approach, it allows you to dig right in and enjoy the fruits of your labors. Trust me, when we started garden #1 we thought it would be super clever to just till up a huge garden area of about 20x60 feet and plant directly into the soil. Mind you we are not farmers. I do maintain a brown thumb for the summer, but was not able to tend to our garden daily. By the end of the summer Field Bind Weed (also known as Morning Glory) as most of the way up our 6 foot corn stalks and we were over whelmed.

Building raised beds will allow you to start your garden out with “weed less” soil (more about this in another post). Plus it can be nice to not have to break your back bending over - and there is less area for you to care for.

Which leads me to my Second recommendation - start small. If all you want is some tomatoes andqukes why go crazy planting a huge garden plot? Sometimes our enthusiasm can get us in over our heads (like me with garden #1). To know what sized bed will work for you - take my advice from the previous post and make a list.

With this list you can determine what the right amount of space is for what you want to plant. You can always add more later! I like to loosely use the square foot garden method of planting, keeping veggies nice and close to prevent water evaporation, weeds, and to optimize on space. Here is a great list to let you know how many of vegetables can be grown within a square foot.

For Dom we determined with her list of; Corn, Tomatoes, Yellow & butternut Squash, Zucchini, Carrots, Green beans, sweet peas & cantaloupe that she could easily have enough space with one 8x4 foot raised beds, or 32 square feet (initially she thought she would need two beds).

Third thing to do is determine where your raised bed(s) should go. Wanting optimum sunlight for your vegetables (which need at least 8 hours of sun a day) it is generally best to plan your bed where it will receive a southern exposure, or even best a south-western exposure. This is all assuming that there are not any big trees or buildings in the way of your sun.

With your garden facing south you also want to be sure to get water to your garden. This may mean running a hose from your house into your yard, or installing a spicket close to your garden. Do not water your vegetable garden with your ornamental garden! Your vegetable garden will need to be watered much more often than other garden areas AND you will want to water your vegetables at their base (using a drip system or soaker hose) to prevent disease.

In the next posts I will share; what I believe are the best materials to build your raised beds out of, more on this weed less soil, Dominique's garden plan I will draw for her, and shall we talk a bit about how to get even more out of a small garden by going up? Talking vertical here people.

What are some questions you have about starting a vegetable garden? Leave a comment!

2011-02-04T13:30:00.033-07:00

I ripped this image from the pages of January's Better Homes and Gardens - it inspires & EXCITES me! Its time to get organized and make plans for this year’s VEGETABLE GARDEN!

Whether you already have a vegetable garden or will be building from scratch this year, here are a few tips to get you planning:

List - Think back to last year. What did well? What failed? What did you wish there was more of, and what were you begging the neighbors to take off your hands?

Once you have a list of veggies you can start to separate the cold season vegetables (leafy greens, brassica's, peas) from the warm season (tomatoes, beans, corn). You can also decide what you would like to start from seed, directly sow or buy as seedlings. If this is your first year for a garden, having a list will help you identify how large your garden needs to be. It is often less overwhelming to start small and add more garden in following years.

Plot - Having a drawn plan will help to ensure the best use of your garden space. It will help you plan where cool season plants rotate out and warm season veggies get planted, help with crop rotation by keeping your drawn plan for a reference in following years, and to help ensure plants will receive the ample amount of sunshine they need by making sure tall plants are not planted in front of shorter plants - blocking the sun. I also like to know what I will be growing vertically up trellises, which helps to utilize garden space.

Schedule - It is helpful to start a schedule now for this years garden so you know when to attend to such things as: starting seeds which requires a lot of scheduling as different seeds require different amounts of time to be mature enough plants for transplanting. For instance; tomatoes take 6-8 weeks to grow into strong transplantable seedlings so starting your tomato seeds by the end of February/early March will allow for plenty of time. Each plant has a different time table. Information about how long it takes a seed to be transplantable can be found on the back of your seed packet or check out this link.

Starting seeds can take a bit of room and time, but is so rewarding as well as great winter therapy.

Also, having a schedule to know when to get your cold season vegetables in the ground and then when it will be time to plant warm season veggies is helpful. This link is a list of recommended vegetables for Utah and their planting dates.

Additional resources; USU Extension Square foot Gardening

Need help with your garden plan?

Jessica Hadfield

diglandscape AT gmail DOT com

dig-landscape.com

@digdesign on twitter

Fall Pots

2010-09-24T13:46:00.011-06:00

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!

2010-06-02T14:33:00.002-06:00

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

2010-04-01T17:00:00.009-06:00

"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

2010-03-29T22:48:00.010-06:00

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

2010-03-24T22:21:00.018-06:00

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!

2010-03-23T17:05:00.006-06:00

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.

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

2009-09-30T17:32:00.039-06:00

The most notable changes that occur in the fall, aside from the welcome cool days and the golden light, is the magic that mother nature performs with fall foliage. In addition to the color that comes from trees there are perennial plants and shrubs that change with the shorter days and cooler nights, as well as plants that wait to bloom. Here is a list of some of my favorite plants for Fall.

Anenomes (Windflowers), both the Honorine Jobert Hybrid as well as one of the pink cultivars such as September Charm' (Anenome hupehensis) are both great fall bloomers.

Another Fall blooming favorite of mine is Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis paniculata).

[photo via]

Caryopteris also holds out until late summer and into the fall to show it's vibrant blue blooms. I particularly like this variety, Caryopteris x clandonensis 'Sunshine Blue' with it's bright yellow foliage.

Autumn Joy Sedum, Autumn Fire, Neon - are all upright cultivars belonging to the Sedum spectabilis species that bloom a nice salmon to magenta pink come late summer and into the fall. Another cultivar of sedum is Dragon's Blood (Sedum spurium) - the whole plant changes from green to a deep red. Like, well- Dragon's Blood!

Sedum Autumn Joy

Dragon's Blood [Photo via & via]

Some Geraniums (the real Geranium, not Pelargoniums) have nice fall foliage; Sticky Geranium, a Utah native (Geranium virscosissimum), Geranium cantabrigiense species, as well as Geranium macrorrhizum such as Becans Geranium, all put on a great show.

[Geranium catabrigiense, photo via]

Coral Bells (Heuchera) show their unique color all summer long, but as the colors around them change these plants stand out.

[L-R 'Amber Waves','Obsidian','Purple Petticoats','Lime Rickey'; photo via and via]

Dog Wood's fall color ranges from fire red to deep purple, Cornus alba and Cornus sericea are the two species I am the most familiar with. Alba's are great for their variegated foliage. Sericea varieties are great for their red stems which are a great fall and winter additions to the garden, the common name for this species is Red Osier Dog Wood.

Fruiting trees and shrubs, like Service Berry for example, provide petty fruits along with their fall color. I am most familiar with the Utah Service Berry, Amelachier utahensis. All Service Berries show great fall foliage with small bright red berries coming on in late summer into early fall.

[Photos from here]

Chokecherry as well as Sand Cherries (Prunus virginiana, Purnus costena) along with all cherries are heavily laden with fruit come fall. The special thing about these two cultivars is their smaller size (Chokecherries growing to 20-25', Sand Cherries only reaching 8-14') as well as their foliage color, each species has a purple leafed cultivar.

Although Laurels are evergreen their fall fruit with it's deep purple color is another contrasting fall color.

[Prunus laurocerasus]
Believe it or not it isn't too late to plant any of these plants! You can plan now for your show next year - consider using some of these plants in your garden to extend your garden's beauty through the fall months.

Autumn's Joys

2009-09-16T10:16:00.006-06:00

[Me harvesting in last year's vegi garden]

This being the 1st day of Autumn I thought to pay ode to one of my favorite seasons - next to Spring that is. I would guess that for most gardeners it is common for these seasons to be a favorite. Fall is such a rewarding time of year in the garden. It is a time for harvest, for preservation, for change, and a time for planning. That's right, planning - fall is the time to plan and prepare for your spring garden!

Did you missed that short window to get a vegetable garden up and running this past spring? Well fall is now the time to build those beds, plan the garden and even plant some cool season crops like, cabbage, lettuce, and peas. Need some help planning? Give me a call!

Things looking over grown? Does your yard seem to have been planted without much fore thought? Well, fall is a great time to transplant, plant bulbs, and map out plans for spring perennial planting. You can even plant perennials to surprise you when the snow melts as late as mid October (depending on when Jack Frost decides to take up residence in these parts again).

Need help with this planning? Well - GIVE ME A CALL! I will come to your home! We can do as little as a consultation to suggest where things should be transplanted and even show you how. We can build on that and start planning with you now and over the winter so that while the snow is falling you can be reminded of warmer, more colorful days and a beautiful garden to be created once the ground has thawed.

See - aside from the beautiful scenery fall provides it is a valuable time in the garden. If you have more questions about what you can do about your garden now that the temperatures have dropped feel free to leave a comment here or email me; jbhadfield@hotmail.com

Post Edit - Please email me at diglandscape@gmail.com Happy planning!

Water Wisdom

2009-06-05T23:48:00.017-06:00

[photos via Jordan Valley Water Conservation Park]

If you are from these parts (and that would be the Rocky Mountain West, Utah, to be exact) you have likely heard a lot about being "Water Wise". This is one of the major ways we can have a positive impact on our environment locally.

If you were not aware, Utah is considered desert. I know, I know, the parking strips and the big trees and the massive lawns that you see everywhere really do not paint this picture, but it's true! When those pioneers came over those mountains to the East, there was just one lone meager tree standing down in the valley of Salt Lake City.

Despite the weather so far this summer (it has been raining cat's and dogs all June long! Not normal.) we have pretty dry summers, and rely a lot on the snow pack of the winter to provide the water we need. Any ways, this is probably all stuff you all know, but it seems as though we so easily forget the water is a large comodity around these parts, when really it would only tke a few bad winters and we would be in serious trouble. So, how do we conserve this water that is such a valuable resource? Well, one way is to look out at that big fat square piece of green right out our door. That's right - I went there - I'm am talking about your GRASS! And before you tell me to step off your turf, let me pose some questions.

Question one - what is it about that Kentucky Blue that has you so sucked up into agonizing all over it? Where did this hold of the idea that a lawn is just how a front yard is supposed to look come from?

Question Two - what do you use your lawn for? Yes, I mean use, not sit from a distance and admire, I mean use, what do you use your lawn for? A trophy? Or do you honestly use it to lay, play, roll around in? This is a question I tend to ask every time I meet with a client, and I do get looks of concern when I do too. ("Oh know, she is going to take my lawn away!!!") But in most cases, while I know that the client is not prepared to let go of the tradition of a piece of grass to grace their front, I am just hoping to encourage people to think about turf as having a use, and if you are not using it, or if you do not need as much as you have to get use out of if - then get rid of it, or cut back on how much you do have.

Before going any further I do want to throw a disclaimer out there that I am not a turf hater, and you will likely see grass in most of the pictures I show here of yards I designed. My senior term paper for my Turf Management 2050 course (I know, nerd.) was all about how to care for the plant referred to as turf to water it less. Did you know that you could cut down on how much you water you lawn to only 2 times a week?! Grass has a purpose and I am happy to see grass grow and thrive when serving that purpose. But, did you know that some landscapes using native and drought tolerant plants can go with out ANY supplemental water?! This means that while you are spending lots of money on your water bill to keep that piece of lawn alive that you hate to mow, that gets crab grass or mushrooms that makes you want to cringe, you could be spending nothing, AND have a beautiful BLOOMING landscape. I did the all cap thing on blooming because a lot of people think this kind of landscape is all lava rock and dead cow skulls (ewe) when really you can have something truly beautiful and not water it at all.

I have something like 3 posts happening in 1 here. The main point. Grass is OK, but we should have it if we are going to use it, not to just go with this weird expectation that has been set. Grass when used can be watered more efficiently(whole other post - but if you are anxious to learn more now visit slow the flow.). And finally, xeric (and its xeric, said zeeric, no zero, drives me batty when people call xeriscaping zeroscaping, ugh!) landscapes using native and drought tolerant plants can be beautiful, and a whole other post will have to be dedicated to how you care for a xeric landscape as it is like learning a new gardening language for a lot of people that have come accustom to watering every single day.

That yard down there in the first post of this here blog - that yard, while it has grass in the front yard (mind you we cut it down by about 25% and the reason there is lawn is because the kids play on it and run from the neighbors lawn to their lawn) is designed with mostly drought tolerant plants and the entire front yard can be trained to take 2 watering's in a week. Pretty isn't it? Does it fit your expectation of what a lower water yard would look like?

Dig focuses on sustainability, and in these parts that means low water use. My designs are focused on water wise landscapes at varying levels. If you are intersted in learning more about how you can cut down on your water use have me out to give you a consultation, or contact your local extension office, or schedule a water check.

This Just In!

2009-06-03T09:50:00.007-06:00

Did you see the generous post by Liz over at Say Yes!? Can I just say what a pleasure it was to meet Liz and her cute family? And while I am super excited for them, how sad I am that they will be leaving SLC! We need cool people like the Stanley's!

I am so grateful to Liz for her sweet words. It is also encouraging that she 'digs' my business plan. If you think you just need some hand holding in your yard, shoot me an email; jbhadfield@hotmail, or give me a call; 801.913.0843.

PS - if you would like your very own dig button on your blog here are the url links;http://diglandscape.blogspot.com/ - link url

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vDq6q8oj-aU/SiaXUfdM59I/AAAAAAAADVA/nyZxeC9Ohkk/s1600/dig_button.jpg - image url

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