Attracting Wildlife to your Garden

It is surprising how many creatures you can attract into your garden, just by planting suitable plants, giving you a fascinating range of creatures to watch. You will also be giving the creatures food and somewhere to live. Many of their natural habitats have been destroyed by buildings, industry and pollution. So what can you do to create a garden that attracts wildlife?

The First Steps
1. Stop using garden chemicals Insecticides will kill the pests they are supposed to kill, but can also harm other creatures. For example slug pellets will kill slugs but can also harm hedgehogs and black beetles, both of which eat slugs. Herbicides can harm worms and other creatures that live in the soil.

2. Native plants are the ones the insects and other creatures usually feed on so they attract more wildlife. Native wild flowers are attractive and can easily be grown in a flower border. Native trees and shrubs can be used as an attractive hedge. If you want the creatures to live in your garden then you need to provide them with habitats.

3. The ‘woodland edge’. The edge of a wood is a great habitat for many creatures because it has many layers of plants. If you have no room for a tree then a hedge or climbing plants over a trellis can be used to create a high level. Shrubs should be grown below this and at ground level woodland wild flowers. It is also important to have dead and decaying material on the soil surface. This will provide hiding places for creatures. Forest bark or leafmould can be used for this.

4. Lawns and wildflower ’meadows’ If you leave areas of lawn uncut for a few months wildflowers and grasses will have the chance to grow. These will provide a new habitat for insects and small mammals. For a ‘spring meadow’, leave the grass uncut until the end of June. Then cut it down. After cutting leave the grass to give the seeds time to fall before raking. Rake off the hay. For the rest of the year mow as normal. For a ‘late summer meadow’ keep the grass roughly cut in early summer, then leave it until late September when it should be cut and raked. Removing the dead material is needed to reduce soil fertility, which encourages wildflowers.

5. Ponds. A pond will quickly attract a huge range of creatures such as beetles, pondskaters, damselflies, frogs and toads. The pond will also provide a place for birds to bathe and drink. A pond should be in an open sunny space and the larger it is the better. However, even a small pond will attract plenty of wildlife. A wildlife pond must have some shallow edges to allow creatures to climb in and out and in one place a minimum depth of 60cm. It should also have plants around it on at least one side.

6. Old walls and log piles. Many wildflowers grow well in gaps in rocks and old walls. The gaps between the rocks are ideal homes for many insects and small animals. A pile of logs is also a good place for insects and small animals to hide. Flowers will attract butterflies, bees, hoverflies and other nectar and pollen feeding creatures. Removing the dead material is needed to reduce soil fertility, which encourages wildflowers.

Other ideas
Attractant plants
Flowers such as buddleja and poached egg plant will attract butterflies, bees, hoverflies and other nectar and pollen feeding creatures. Once these are in your garden, the birds and small animals that feed on them will follow. See the plant list on this leaflet for ideas.

Bird-table
A regular supply of food for birds in the winter months can be a life saver. A bird table provides a safe place for birds to feed. It should be in an open site so that cats cannot hide, and catch birds unawares.

Shelter
Many birds, bats and hedgehogs will adopt man-made structures as a home if there is no suitable alternative cover. These boxes can be bought or made.

The compost heap
This will provide an ideal hiding place for many creatures. Worms, beetles and other insects that help the decaying process can be found there, as well as larger creatures such as toads.

Native Landscaping for Birds, Bees, Butterflys and other Wildlife

Throughout the world, habitat loss is the leading cause of species endangerment and extinction. In the Midwest, a large portion of the land has been cleared due to agricultural and urbanization pressures, leaving marginal and fragmented habitats. Consequently, backyards play an increasingly important role in wildlife conservation. You can help reduce the negative effects of habitat loss on birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife species in your area by creating a favorable landscape. Providing wildlife-friendly habitat in urban and suburban areas is especially important for migrating birds and butterflies. These groups of animals also are least likely to cause nuisance or damage problems. Landscaping with native trees and shrubs. A wildlife friendly landscape is composed of four essential items:

1) food
2) water
3) cover or shelter
4) a place to raise young.

To provide the most beneficial habitat for birds, bees, and butterflies, native trees and shrubs should be emphasized. Why native species? Native plants are adapted to local conditions and, therefore require less maintenance (especially irrigation and fertilization). Native plants also provide the best quality resources because wildlife species are adapted to use native plants. Planting native species also maintains the natural diversity of flora and fauna in the area. Exotic plants can threaten other plant and animal species. Several exotic plants have escaped from garden cultivation and are now causing serious damage to natural areas and preserves. Examples of highly invasive exotic plants include multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora), bush honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii, Lonicera morrowii, and Lonicera tatarica), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), asian bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia), privet (Ligustrum vulgare), japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), and dame’s rocket (Potamogeton crispus).
Avoid choosing horticultural varieties when possible because altered varieties may not be appropriate for growing conditions of Ohio nor provide the best resources for wildlife. Before you start landscaping your yard, plan ahead. Map your backyard and determine what environmental conditions you have (i.e., soil conditions and amount of sun). To provide optimal habitat for a diverse array of species in your backyard, choose a variety of trees and shrubs of varying heights to mimic natural forest structure. You will want to plant a few different species of canopy trees, along with fruiting shrubs of various shapes and sizes. Choose plants that provide habitat or resources at different times of the year. For example, conifer trees provide cover and warmth during the winter, whereas fruiting trees provide seasonal food resources. When choosing fruiting shrubs, select species that produce fruits at different times of the year to ensure that food is available throughout the season. In addition, many of the fruiting shrubs display large fragrant flowers that add to the attractiveness of your yard.

Authors: Kathi L. Borgmann, Amanda D. Rodewald

Managing Lawns in the Shade

Maintaining a lawn in the shade cast by trees, shrubs, and structures is challenging for homeowners and turf professionals alike. Most turfgrasses require 4 to 5 hours of full sun per day or an entire day of filtered light. If the amount of light is reduced, photosynthesis
(a plant’s incorporation of atmospheric carbon dioxide into carbohydrates) and carbohydrate production are reduced. When carbohydrate production drops below a certain level, the development of roots, stolons, and rhizomes is curtailed and the turfgrass deteriorates. Trees with dense canopies, such as oak, maple, carob, magnolia, olive, and conifers, are most likely to create problems of reduced light for turfgrasses; their shallow feeder roots also compete with the grass for water and nutrients. Turfgrasses grown in the shade are also stressed by restricted air movement, which keeps turf wet for long periods—especially after irrigation, rain, or dew fall—creating an environment that encourages disease.

SYMPTOMS
Symptoms of deteriorating turfgrass include development of fine leaves, reduced shoot and root growth, reduced shoot density, reduced tillering (growth of secondary stems), delayed leaf initiation, longer leaves, more upright growth habit, and succulent growth. Each of these symptoms make turf more susceptible to disease and less tolerant to traffic, heat, cold, and drought.

REMEDIES
Growing a lawn in the shade is not impossible with proper management. The following practices will help ensure success.
Turfgrass Selection
Selecting a turfgrass species or cultivar that is adapted to shade is the single most important factor in growing turf successfully in the shade. The relative shade tolerances of turfgrasses commonly grown in California appear in the table at the end of this publication.
Shade Modification
A shady environment can often be modified to improve conditions for turfgrass. To increase the amount of light reaching the turf, selectively prune tree branches. Pruning is particularly effective for dense shade trees such as maple and oak. Remove limbs within 8 feet (2.4 m) of the ground to allow direct sunlight to reach the turf during early morning and late afternoon. Dense underbrush, hedges, or shrubs in the shaded area should be thinned or removed to allow air to move over the turf surface. We do not recommend pruning of shallow tree roots. Most of a tree’s feeder roots grow in the upper 18 inches (45 cm) of soil, and removing them significantly reduces the tree’s water and nutrient uptake. Although the negative effects of this reduction may not appear for 3 to 4 years, it may then be too late to save the tree. Practices not as damaging as tree root pruning include deep irrigation and fertilization of trees to discourage shallow feeder roots. If exposed tree roots make mowing difficult, a uniform shallow topsoil or sand dressing around the tree may solve both problems. Never cover exposed tree roots with a layer of soil deeper than 1 to 11⁄2 inches (2.5–3.7 cm).
Cultural Practices
Mowing. Raising the mowing height of a shaded turf surface 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 inch (6–12 mm) above normal increases leaf area and allows for more efficient absorption of light. Increased mowing height also encourages deeper and more extensive rooting, which enhances the turf’s ability to compete with trees for water and nutrients, and alleviates the thin appearance caused by reduced shoot density. In addition, the higher cut ordinarily reduces mowing frequency, which means fewer open wounds on the leaves (and less likelihood of disease) and less traffic on the lawn. Because turfgrass in shade is less tolerant to wear, all traffic on shaded turf should be kept to a minimum.
Irrigation.
Proper irrigation is crucial to managing lawns in shade, where turf root systems are severely weakened and tree roots take up moisture more readily. We recommend heavy, infrequent irrigation to encourage trees to grow deeper roots, reducing the competition for moisture in the turfgrass root zone. Deep, infrequent watering also reduces disease by decreasing the amount of time the lawn is wet. Turf should be watered early in the morning to allow the surface to dry rapidly. Late-evening or night watering leaves the lawn wet too long, promoting disease.
Fertilization.
Proper nitrogen (N) fertilization is also very important for the shady lawn. Too much N can be detrimental because it encourages turfgrass shoot growth over root growth. It also encourages formation of succulent tissue, which is highly susceptible to infection and traffic injury.
The N requirement of turfgrasses grown in shade is approximately half that of turf grown in full sun. Only minimum amounts of N should be applied to cool-season turfgrasses during the summer. Fall and spring are the best times to apply fertilizer to shaded turf. Maximize potassium (K) fertilization on turfgrass grown in shade. Potassium increases shade tolerance of turfgrasses. Do not apply surface fertilizer to trees in the area. Place the fertilizer about 10 inches (25 cm) below the soil surface, in the zone of greatest tree root activity and below most of the turfgrass root system.
Other cultural practices. Reduce traffic on lawns growing in shade. Promptly remove fallen tree leaves. Leave a turf-free zone of 2 to 3 feet (60–90 cm) around small trees to improve growth and reduce mower injuries.
If it is not possible to renovate a poorly performing, shade-intolerant turfgrass stand, overseeding with a shade-tolerant grass species is a possible compromise. For example, an established stand of bermudagrass growing poorly in deep shade could be overseeded with hard or red fescue, or, in medium shade, tall fescue. Before overseeding, mow the grass short and cultivate the soil slightly with a rake or power renovator to prepare the seed bed. Then spread the seed, fertilize, and topdress with a light covering of native or on-site soil. Irrigate to germinate the seeds and help the grass become established.
Disease Control
Effective disease control is essential on shady lawns. In general, disease is not a serious problem for most warm-season turfgrasses, if they can be grown in the shade. Cool-season grasses, however, are often infected and damaged. Follow all suggested cultural practices to minimize the possibility of turfgrass disease.
ALTERNATIVES TO TURFGRASS
Very dense shade may make it impossible to establish or maintain a satisfactory lawn, even with proper turfgrass selection and management. In these cases it is best to use a shade-adapted ground cover. Examples of commonly used shade-adapted ground covers are English ivy, myrtle, Ajuga, baby tears, Potentilla, and lily turf. If plant materials are not suitable or cannot be worked into the landscape satisfactorily, decorative mulches such as shredded bark chips, wood chips, or gravel may provide useful alternatives.

Author: Victor A. Gibeault

Selecting Plants for a Sustainable Landscape

Beginning gardeners are often overwhelmed by the huge variety of trees, shrubs, and plants and the mysteries of creating and managing the living portion of the landscape. You’re smart to take this responsibility seriously — the wrong tree in the wrong spot can do more damage than good — but doing right by your landscape isn’t surgery. This chapter shows you how to choose plants and trees to create a sustainable, attractive, and healthy landscape.
If you’re a “green” person, you’ve probably heard that food travels 1,500 miles from farm to plate, and you’ve read about the 100-mile diet, re-localization, and permaculture. But sustainable landscaping has more to it than just the environmental benefits. Growing food gets you and your family outside, provides great exercise, teaches valuable lessons about life, nature, and patience to kids and adults alike, builds community through sharing the food you grow, and makes you a little more secure and a little less dependent on the supermarket and corporate food. It’s a heck of a lot of fun, too.
Choosing Perfect Plants
If you pick plants well, and combine them skillfully, they’ll be an asset and a delight for decades, even centuries. Choose poorly, and they’ll torment you forever, growing too large, becoming invasive or hazardous, or suffering from poor growing conditions. Awkward combinations will make the place look busy and unkempt no matter how well the plants do or how much love you give them. The selection of plants should be given the utmost attention. Choosing the perfect plants for your space means learning plants well, visiting them in real-life situations, reading about them, talking to experienced gardeners, and getting advice from pros when necessary.
Size does matter:
Give them room to grow This section may just be the most important thing you read in this book, so listen up. Plants aren’t just pretty things to put around the yard; they’re living organisms with their own way of getting along in the world. They have a very specific destiny – a set of genetic instructions that determine their height, width, growth rate, and many other characteristics. Plants are indifferent to our needs. That’s hard for a plant lover to accept, but there it is. Plants don’t give a hoot about you and your landscaping. Sorry. This indifference on the part of plants means that your job as a landscaper is to figure out what plants need and to make sure that they get it. For example, suppose that you put a 20-foot wide shrub where you actually wanted a 4-foot one. The shrub, in its blissful ignorance, will keep trying to grow to 20 feet wide, and you’ll have to keep cutting it back. Now, a plant can’t be trained as if it were a dog, and your relationship with it will go on unchanged, with much labor on your part, until you finally take it out and put in something that grows to the proper size and no more. The implications of not giving plants room to grow are many. You work harder, the plants always look cut back instead of natural, some plants may never flower under these conditions, they’ll often suffer from the abuse necessary to keep them in bounds, your green waste can will be full of clippings all the time, energy use and noise from power tools and hauling clippings away will be troublesome, and you’ll find yourself in a constant battle with your yard that’s worse the more oversized plants you have. I (Owen Dell) call this adversarial horticulture, and believe me, it’s an epidemic. In some gardens, 80 percent of the work consists of cutting things back all the time. It’s unnecessary, and it’s a sign of terrible, unsustainable planning. The remedy, of course, is simple. Believe the gardening books when they list sizes. Choose plants that grow to the size you want for any given application. Then enjoy watching the garden develop into a graceful state of equipoise, getting easier to live with rather than harder.
Choosing healthy plants:
What to look for when shopping for plants. Suppose that you had to choose between three plants at the nursery, all the same variety and in the same size containers. One is huge and in luscious
bloom, the second is mid-sized, and the third hasn’t even grown out to the edges of the pot. Which would you pick? Most people would pick the first one, thinking it was the better deal because it was already fully grown. That would be the very worst choice in most cases, because it’s probably rootbound. Roots that circle in the pot, as they do when confined for too long, will continue to circle in the ground and will never grow out into the soil. The plant that looked so great at the nursery will slowly decline, and when you pull it out after a couple of years, you’ll find little or no root development. The best choice in most cases would be the mid-size plant: not too big and not too small. If you were to carefully remove such a plant from its container, you’d find roots that are just beginning to emerge from the root ball and touch the sides of the container. There would be no circling roots, but the soil would be solidly knitted together and wouldn’t fall apart as it would with a younger plant.
Consider also the following plant-buying guidance:
- Check out the crown of the plant, which is where the stem enters the soil. There should be no circling roots there either. (In that case, they’re called girdling roots because they can choke one another out as the plant grows.)
- Beware of plants with roots growing out of the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot; these plants belong on the compost heap.
- A plant should have no broken, crossing, or rubbing branches, and the overall shape of the plant should be roughly symmetrical in most cases.
- Be sure there are no pests or diseases evident and watch out for yellowing of the tissue between the veins or any other abnormal coloration that could indicate nutrient deficiencies or other problems.
- Look for an abundance of growth buds, indicating vigor.
Select problem-free varieties
Buying a right-sized, healthy plant is a good start, but choosing varieties thatare strong and well adapted to your growing conditions is also important.Some species, and even entire genera, of plants are going to be weaklings,either becaus e they’re so far out of their element in your climate that they’llnever get what they need to thrive, or because they’ve been hybridized for
appearance at the expense of performance. (Like some exotic breeds of dogs,these poor plants don’t have a chance of a long, appy life.) Some people love to challenge themselves by trying to grow difficult plants, but that’s not for the sustainable landscaper, who knows better than to throw resources at plants for years when suitable plants demand so little. If you want a truly sustainable landscape, find out which species of plants really work in your neighborhood. Start with those types and move on to experimental things in small quantities if you’re so inclined. But make sure that the backbone plants in your yard are survivors, not wusses. Walk your neighborhood to see what does well and talk to nursery people and others who really know plants. Don’t give yourself an uphill battle by choosing plants that will never thrive. What’s the point of that?
Native plants versus exotic plants
Which is better, native plants or non-native plants? Like so many aspects of landscaping, there isn’t always a simple answer. It depends. What’s a native plant, anyway? Here are a few key points to understand:
- Natives are plants that have evolved in place and, in the case of North America and other colonized areas of the world, were present prior to European settlement. Native plants weren’t introduced or dispersed by humans; they developed on their own.
- A native species doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it’s part of a plant community of interconnected species that have all grown up together. In turn, the plant community is part of a larger ecosystem made up of plants, animals, insects, bacteria, fungi, bodies of water, soil, and even weather patterns and other nonmaterial things. Ecosystems are highly complex and even contain sub-ecosystems, such as streams, hilltops, and valleys.
- Native plants are highly adapted to local conditions. In fact, in many cases, they’re adapted to very specific parts of the local ecosystem, growing in a wet spot or on a sunny slope.
- Because of their specificity to a particular environment, they’ll generally work well in similar environments in the region, but may be touchy about being moved to a different environment.
- Because they’re so well adapted to local conditions, they’ll thrive under those conditions with little or no tending by humans. Properly located, they won’t need supplemental watering, fertilizing, or other special treatment. A plant’s easygoingness is important in developing a sustainable landscape because sustainable is all about minimizing inputs.
- The destruction of ecosystems makes it important to restore as much as possible. Therefore, using natives in a landscape setting (although it may not be an exact replica of nature) will help bring things back into balance. Native plants provide food for native animals and insects, so
inviting those plants into your garden will benefit many species. So does this information mean that you should plant only native plants in your sustainable landscape? In many cases, an all-native garden is an excellent option. If you’ve come to love the wild areas in your region, by all means consider planting natives. Bring in the whole ecosystem or just the parts that meet your needs. Every little bit helps. If your design is well handled, the natives will make gardening much easier than using ill-adapted non-native plants. On the other hand, in an urban or suburban area that’s far from a wild condition, you can feel free to mix in well-adapted plants from regions with a climate similar to yours. These exotic plants (another word for non-natives), if they’re accustomed to similar conditions, will be very sustainable and will mix well with natives. Incorporating non-native plants can add diversity and interest to the plant community you’ll be creating. (We all call it a landscape, but it’s really an ecosystem, isn’t it?) And when there just isn’t a native plant that will do what you want, a well-adapted exotic is particularly appreciated.
Working with native plants
If you’re considering natives for some or all of your project, first learn about them. Visit a local botanic garden that features natives, take a class in native plants, read up on natives, or join a local native plant society. And above all, spend time in truly wild places in your region to understand what a native plant community is, what makes it tick, and what plants are associated with one another and to find out whether it’s really something you want on your property. Next, check to be sure that the conditions on your property are really right for the plants you’re considering. Soils, exposure, water, and other elements often have to be just so, and not all sites are suitable for natives. If you’re not sure how to proceed, consult with a professional who specializes in native landscaping. When you plant natives, do so in the proper season (often fall, but it will vary depending on location) and be careful to avoid fertilizers, soil amendments, and other modifications unless you know that the plants you’ve chosen really need them. During the establishment period, keep an eye on watering and other care because even native plants need a little babying when they’re pups. Over the long haul, avoid killing your natives with kindness, keeping in mind that they’re quite happy with what nature delivers. If you live near wild land, be careful about introducing natives that aren’t present in the immediately local plant community. If such plants are genetically similar to the truly local natives, they can hybridize with the locals and cause genetic pollution. Never dig plants from wild places, even on private property, unless you’re sure that it won’t disrupt a native ecosystem or if you’re saving them from approaching bulldozers. Buy natives from reputable growers who propagate them in their nursery and can guarantee that they’re not dug in the wilds.
Avoiding invasive plants
Some plants are so nasty that they should never show up in your garden. A particular species may be just fine in its native habitat where competition, browsing animals, or insects keep it under control, but taken elsewhere it runs everything else out of town. Many are the instances of this happening worldwide, and if you’re already a gardener, then the names of the locally accursed plants in your area may come easily to your lips. People have been moving plants around the globe for centuries, and while most introductions are benign, quite a few have made a mess of things, out-competing native plants, increasing fire danger, destabilizing slopes, ruining habitat for indigenous animals, and more.
Many plants are actually outlawed because they’ve created so many problems. Some invasive species are still sold at nurseries. Just because you see a plant for sale doesn’t mean it’s been tested for good behavior. Learn which species are invasive and never plant them, no matter how cute they look in the pot.
Getting to the Root of a Tree’s
Purpose and Placement
Trees and shrubs form the basic structure of the landscape and can live for decades or even centuries. As the biggest living things in the garden, trees and shrubs can demand more than their share of attention and resources if they’re ill-suited to your growing conditions, too big for the space they’ve been given, or susceptible to problems. Choose trees and shrubs carefully, give them a good home, and provide the minimal care they need to thrive. They’ll reward you with an abundance of valuable services. A tree is here for — well, not forever, but for a very long time. Choosing and placing it wisely is important to you and to future generations. Make sure that you run through these points before you buy any tree:
- What’s it gonna do? Are you looking for shade, privacy, wildlife habitat, flower or foliage color, wind protection, food, or what? Of course, one tree can conceivably fulfill all those functions and more. Make a list of your needs and then pick a tree that meets them.
- Where’s it gonna go? Do you have a spot picked out? Why did you pick it?
Will shade be desirable there at all seasons and times of the day? Is there actually room for a tree in that location, and is the tree you’re considering the right size at maturity? If it will grow over a driveway or into the street, will there be clearance for vehicles? Does it work well with the architecture of your house? Does it fit with other trees and the overall landscaping in the neighborhood? Is it compatible with other plants in the landscape?
- What’s it gonna mess up? Are you sure a tree in that location won’t create more problems than it solves? Will there be adequate clearance from power lines, underground utilities (never plant a tree directly over water mains, sewer lines, or other plumbing), pavement, and foundations?
Avoid trees with aggressive or lifting roots anywhere near any improvements that may be damaged. Don’t plant a tree that drops a lot of leaves, flowers, and fruits over pavement, especially if it creates a hazard, such as slippery things on the sidewalk. Think about the effect of the tree on your view and on the views your neighbors enjoy; some communities outlaw trees that grow into a neighbor’s view.
- What’s it gonna look like? Trees are a big visual presence, and the right tree can really make a property swing. Ponder the many shapes of trees: broad crown, spreading, narrow crown, pyramidal, vase, columnar, fastigiate (very tall and narrow), and, of course, the distinctive shape of palm trees. Each has a place. Go look at the shapes of some trees and imagine how they’d fit in your yard. Think about foliage texture and color, flower color and season, branching habit, and even wind movement; all these have a strong visual presence.
- What’s it gonna need? What’s the water requirement of the tree? (Remember that a tree is a huge plant, and a thirsty one will run your water bill sky high.) Is it a heavy feeder? How much will it cost to prune? Does it have to be treated regularly for pests and diseases (not sustainable!)? Will it get the kind of soil and weather conditions it needs? How do you find out enough about a tree to answer all these questions?
Making Trees Happen
Plant a perennial in the wrong spot, and it’s no big whoop to move the plant somewhere that’s better suited — or to get rid of it entirely. Trees are not quite so easy: Selecting the right tree, planting it correctly, and giving it good followup care are essential to any tree’s success. Messing up a tree means years of lost time or a permanently disfigured or inappropriate (and very
large) element in the landscape. Choose, plant, and care for your trees with the utmost loving attention.
Bigger is not always better
Unless you have a huge budget and a genuine need for instant shade, plant a relatively small tree. You can buy trees in all sizes, from a 1-gallon pot (or even a seed) up to a fully mature giant specimen in a huge wooden box that has to be planted with a crane. Costs run from a few dollars to thousands. In terms of the actual size of the tree, what we in the biz call a one (which refers to the size of the container, as in 1-gallon) is a foot or two tall — not too impressive a start but a good way to go if you want fast growth and low cost. A fifteen is 5 to 8 feet tall in most cases and has a caliper (the diameter of the trunk) of between 11/2 and 2 inches; it’s a great choice for a reasonably sized and still pretty inexpensive tree that will grow well when planted. (Of course, the size can vary a lot, depending on the species of tree.) Larger containerized trees come in tapered wooden boxes running from 24 inches to 72 inches and even bigger. Boxed trees need to be planted with heavy equipment and are stunningly expensive. A tree in a 24-inch container isn’t a bad way to go, planting out at around 12 to 15 feet tall and still young enough to establish well. The smaller tree won’t give you instant gratification, but in the long run, it’ll be the fastest growing. You see, those big specimen trees are way past the age for travel. Their roots are old and set in their ways, and in many, if not most, cases, a big tree will just sulk in your yard, showing little vigor and growth. Some of them die after a number of years. Compare that with a young tree in, say, a 15-gallon container, which will take off and grow like a puppy, rooting vigorously into the soil and developing like you’d hoped. The bottom line: Save your money and buy a smaller, better tree.
Finding a healthy specimen
Trees are sold in several forms. Popularity of different tree “packages” varies from region to region. There is no one right way to buy a tree; it just depends on what’s available in good condition.
Here’s what you’re likely to find:
- Containers: Trees are often planted in plastic pots of varying sizes, expressed in gallons (though the containers don’t seem to reflect actual capacity). The smallest are 1-gallon size, and the largest are 15-gallon size.
- Balled and burlapped: In many regions, trees are grown in the ground and dug up at the time of sale. The root ball is then swathed in burlap and fastened with twine or cradled in a wire basket. B&B trees (the landscaper’s affectionate term for them) come in various sizes, starting at
about the size of a 15-gallon container tree. B&B trees are most often of the deciduous kind, dug in the dormant season when they’re leafless, and planted as soon as possible after purchase.
- Bare root: Deciduous fruit and ornamental trees are often sold as bare root trees in winter when they’re dormant and leafless. Bare roots are dug and sold to you naked as a fish, with their roots hanging out for all to see. Needless to say, they need to be planted very quickly. Bare root trees tend to be small (no more than 8 feet), a snap to evaluate for condition because of their exposed roots, lightweight and therefore easy to plant, and quite vigorous after they’re in the ground. They’re inexpensive, too.
- Transplanted: Using ordinary hand tools or huge tractor-mounted tree spades for larger trees, you can dig up established trees and move them from one place to another. The best practice is to pre-dig around part of the root system 6 months to a year in advance, to allow new roots to develop within the future root ball. Transplanted trees are at a high risk for loss, but can be a good way to go if you or a neighbor has a good tree in an undesirable location. A few nurseries grow stocky, robust real trees, but most commercially available trees suck. They’re grown too tall and skinny, placed too close together in the nursery, trained to be top-heavy (big canopy on a feeble little trunk), and are nothing like what a young tree looks like if it’s grown naturally in the ground from seed. It’s an unfortunate reality that we have to put up with garbage trees. Bare root and B&B trees tend to be better than containerized ones. Here are some things to look for in a healthy tree:
- Good roots: The root system should be proportional to the canopy, well branched (looking similar to the canopy in form and extent), and free of broken, twisted, or girdling roots. The roots should be fresh and juicy and show a lot of young root shoots. You can easily see all these details with a bare root tree, and impossible otherwise. For containerized trees, avoid ones with roots coming out the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. The root ball of a B&B tree should be firm. With all trees, grab the trunk and push it back and forth; a well-rooted tree will be immovable, while a poorly rooted one will wiggle around in the soil. Finally, examine the trunk where it enters the soil to be sure that it doesn’t have girdling roots, which circle around one another (a sure sign the tree has problems).
- Trunk flare: The trunk of a healthy tree widens out as it enters the ground. If you see a trunk that plunges straight into the soil like a telephone pole, that tree has been planted too deeply to ever do well.
- Happy branches and good crotches: The canopy of the tree should be nicely proportioned, with evenly spaced branches that are attached to the trunk at nearly right angles rather than pointing upwards. Examine the crotches where branches come together; they should be wide and strong. V-shaped crotches with included bark (bark that wedges into the crotches) indicate weak attachment and the probability of catastrophic failure in some future windstorm. Avoid trees with wounds and clumsy pruning cuts that left stubs, and with cracks where branches meet the trunk. Finally, if the tree is tied to a stake, be sure the ties aren’t girdling the trunk.
Caring for established trees Trees quickly grow beyond the ability of a home gardener to care for them safely and effectively. It’s best to hire a professional to perform an annual tree health and safety inspection, which identifies any signs of damage, health problems, dangerous limbs, and poor growing conditions. If your trees need work, let the pros handle it rather than trying to save a little money by doing it yourself. Stay on the ground where you belong. Anyone with a chainsaw can claim to be a tree expert, but real professionals are certified by the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA), the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA), or the American Society of Consulting Arborists (ASCA). Don’t jeopardize your trees by putting them in the hands of a selfappointed expert or a gardener. That’s like letting your hair stylist do brain surgery. Real arborists have to pass rigorous exams for their certification. Ask to see their credentials, get a certificate of insurance so that you’re protected if there’s an accident, and, of course, get a written estimate. If a tree expert advises you to top a tree, send them packing.
Tree care myths
People believe a lot of nonsense about trees, and unfortunately much of it is started or perpetuated by incompetent tree trimmers. Get a limb up on the tree experts so that you can spot the phonies. Here are the most common myths:
- Trees can be topped to control their size. Topping is the practice of whacking the upper portion of limbs off to make the tree smaller. It has been discredited and will never be proposed by any qualified professional. Topping trees ruins their structure and creates the danger of falling limbs. A tree that has grown too big can be controlled by crown reduction, careful and correct pruning that removes branches around the tree’s top, or it can be replaced with a right-size tree.
- Newly planted trees should be heavily pruned. Poppycock. A young tree needs every leaf in order to develop a healthy root system.
- Trees should be staked at planting time. If the tree is robust and well grown, it won’t need staking unless there are extreme wind conditions.
- Pruning cuts should be covered with tree sealer. Wrong. Sealing cuts is ineffective and can even seal in problems. Leave ’em naked.
- The roots of a tree are equal in size to the crown. Actually, the majority of roots of most trees are in the top 18 inches of soil (where all the good soil, beneficial microorganisms and oxygen are) and spread much farther than the extent of the canopy. Imagine a wine glass sitting on a dinner plate and you have an idea of the geometry of a typical tree.
Shrubs in the Sustainable Landscape
Shrubs are long-lived and often one of the easiest groups of plants to care for, assuming that you choose varieties that aren’t pest-susceptible or too big for the space you give them. (All that cutting back will drive you nuts — and it will never end.) Properly used, shrubs demand little in the way of fertilizer, water, or other resources. In fact, a good shrub will be as sustainable as anything you could ever imagine, getting all it needs from sun, soil, and rain.
What shrubs can do for you
Shrubs can screen out undesirable views, create private spaces, exclude unwanted visitors, block wind, define boundaries, subdivide large spaces, create a stunning accent, soften the lines of your house, provide a background for smaller plants, act as erosion-controlling ground cover, provide food and concealment for wildlife, and bear fruit and other food for you.
Here are tips on a few key uses of shrubs:
- Screens and hedges: Using shrubs as untrimmed screening plants is a lot less work than planting a sheared hedge. If you have the space, choose evergreen shrubs of the proper size for boundary plantings and let them do their thing unmolested by hedge clippers. If space is limited or if you’re looking for a formal effect, a clipped hedge is the way to go. Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn’t make very many plants that are 2 feet wide and 8 feet tall, so the gardener is forced to try to train larger plants into that form — a losing battle. If space is really limited, try a fence covered with vines; you get the effect of a hedge with much less width and less care.
- Specimen shrubs: A striking plant, when used individually at a focal point in the landscape, is called a specimen. Choose something with an open habit, interesting branch structure, fabulous flowers, or some other attention-getting characteristic. Keep it separated from adjacent shrubs, and place compatible perennials at its feet for a lovely scene.
- Massing: To cover large areas with tall, easy plants, use masses of shrubs, mixing a few different varieties that vary in texture, foliage color, flower color and season, and habit. Consider the year-round appearance of the planting and make sure that you have something for every season, whether it be foliage, flowers, fruit, or attractive bare branches. Avoid random one-of-each plantings; repeat varieties through the area.
- Foundation plantings: The old idea of planting shrubs all around the house, popularized in Victorian days when the bottoms of houses didn’t always look so cute, has been out of fashion for quite a while. But shrubs located strategically to soften or accent the lines of the house are still welcome. Try planting shrubs far enough away from the house that they you can enjoyed them from both inside and out.
Buying quality shrubs
Shrubs are long-lived plants and, along with trees, form the backbone of the garden. For that reason, choosing well is important. Buy shrubs in smaller container sizes unless you need mature plants immediately for a party or a wedding. A 1-gallon shrub will often overtake a 5-gallon or 15-gallon shrub of the same variety in just one or two growing seasons. Choose varieties that are well adapted to your climate, that will thrive without any inputs of water and fertilizer, and that are the right size for the space you have. Make sure that your shrubs aren’t poisonous, especially if little kids are around. Some shrubs, such as yew, rhododendron, and oleander, are highly toxic.
Enhancing Your Landscape’s Sustainability with Smaller Plants
You could create a lovely planting of just trees, shrubs, and mulch (done right it would be almost zero maintenance, by the way), but small-scale companion plants add a lot to the personality of the garden. If you’re interested in the many charms of plants, you’ll quickly tire of just trees and shrubs and yearn for something more interesting. Many kinds of nonwoody plants serve practical functions in addition to being ornamental. Perhaps most important of all, diversity increases stability and therefore sustainability.
Perennials
Perennial plants are those that live for more than two years. They’re generally nonwoody, and most of them die back in winter, at least in colder areas.You grow perennials mainly for their colorful flowers, but many are valuable for foliage interest, as well. Perennials sit at the feet of trees and shrubs, covering the ground, and attracting the eye to the lower levels of the garden.
Perennial plants offer waves of color throughout the growing season and a lot
of interest in exchange for very little care. Perennials are perfectly attuned to the low-impact, low-maintenance philosophy of sustainable landscaping. They’re among the easiest of flowering plants, requiring only occasional deadheading (removing the dead flowers) and an annual hard pruning to remove old foliage at the end of the season. And, of course, the well-chosen perennial planting will be adapted to your climate and soil, so it will require little supplemental watering or fertilization and will be resistant to attacks from pests and diseases. Finally, if given adequate space to grow, perennials won’t need to be pruned to control their size. What do you get in exchange for so little input? Tons o’ color, beneficial insects, honeybees, hummingbirds, fragrance, cut flowers, and lovely beds full of interesting plants.
Considering color
Perennials are the color kings of the garden. Color is what they’re about, and they do it well. To get the most from your perennial plantings, be extra careful with your arrangement of colors. A meaningless mish-mosh of flower and foliage color isn’t satisfying; a controlled and purposeful color scheme is a delight to behold. Choose an overall approach to color. Decide whether your colors will be harmonizing (a mixture of similar colors, such as yellows, oranges, and reds), contrasting, also called complementary (opposite colors, such as blue and yellow), or monochromatic (subtle variations on one basic color). Consider a white scheme for a simple, soothing effect. Contrasting color schemes can be intense, which is useful in small doses to counterbalance an overall soft color scheme, or use darker values of contrasting colors for a gentler effect. Try kicking in a little contrast here and there, such as a dollop of bright red or yellow, in an otherwise subtle planting.
Choosing and using perennials
As with any plants, perennials vary widely in their tolerance for sun or shade, wet or dry, cold or mild climate, and soil type. They also come in a wide range of sizes from creepy crawly ground covers to big guys that grow higher than an elephant’s eye. Finally, they have a range of flowering periods, from spring through fall, and some varieties even bloom in fairly cold winters. If you live in a mild Mediterranean or other semitropical climate, you can enjoy
perennial flowers all year long. Avoid Saturday Morning Syndrome — choosing plants impulsively because they look cute at the nursery. Even though relocating most perennial plants is easy if you don’t get the size, location, or color scheme right, why not nail it the first time around? Take the time to make a plan before you run off to the nursery:
- Decide on a color scheme. (For ideas, see the previous section.)
- Research climate-adapted varieties that might work. Make a long master wish list and then choose the most compatible plants from that list, being sure that they combine well culturally (not whether they read the same books but whether they have the same growing requirements) as well as aesthetically.
- Repeat varieties throughout your planting so that you don’t get the one-ofeach look. For example, compose a 4 x 20-foot bed of six to ten varieties, using at least three plants of each variety, spread throughout the bed.
- Mix varieties with contrasting foliage color and texture and also take into account the overall form (mounding, spiky, and so on) of the plants and season of bloom.
- Vary the height and width of the plants you choose. Keep it lively, but not too busy. Mail-order nurseries are a great source of unusual perennials and other nonwoody plants. Specialty growers ship right to your door. The plants often cost more than what you’d find locally, but it’s the only way to obtain some of the thousands of hard-to-find species, including natives, that you’ll never
run across at Vern’s Plant World.
Annuals and biennials
Annuals live one year, set seed for the next generation, and croak. Live fast, die young is their philosophy. Some examples of annual plants are petunias, cosmos, and pansies. Biennials take a slightly different tack, hanging around for one year as somewhat unimpressive green blobs and then doing the flower-and-kick-the-bucket thing the second year. Examples are sweet William and foxglove. Annuals and biennials are grown for three reasons: color, color, and color. Unlike perennials, which pick a (usually short) window during the season to show off their stuff, most annuals and biennials continue blooming all summer long. Many plants considered annuals in cold winter climates are actually perennial where winters are mild. That doesn’t make any real difference unless you’re uptight about botanical accuracy. After all, a dead plant is a dead plant. So whatever they call annuals in your neck of the woods can be treated as such, even if they’re not technically annuals per se.
Are annuals sustainable?
When you think about those massive beds of marigolds and petunias that are laboriously renewed every spring with robotic devotion by some gardeners, you may conclude that annuals are about as far from a sustainable landscaping element as you can get. But there are all sorts of annual plants, and some of them are most welcome in the sustainable landscape. Many native wildflowers are annuals; they come up on their own, thrive on natural rainfall, and reseed themselves to come back year after year. You can’t get more sustainable than that. In fact, the whole annual strategy is about exploiting current resources to the max and then getting out of the way when conditions change.
Choose appropriate annuals, ones that fit with your overall planting scheme and can take care of themselves. Check the hardiness and earliest planting date information on the seed packet if you’re planting from seed (the most sustainable way to go). Hardy annuals (ones that are cold tolerant) can overwinter as seeds in the ground; tender annuals that can’t take freezing winters should be planted in spring whether from seed or plants. There are also halfhardy annuals that put up with yucky cold weather but not frost.
The true story behind meadow magic
No doubt you’ve seen the ads: An elegant woman in a long gown is sashaying through a stunning alpine meadow, leisurely shaking wildflower seeds from what looks like a parmesan cheese container, and a blindingly colorful carpet of wildflowers of every description is popping up behind her as she walks. You, too, can have this bliss, the ads imply, and you don’t even have to get your hands (or gown) dirty. Sounds great, doesn’t it? If only it were true! A wildflower meadow is one of the most daunting challenges in all the gardening world. Yes, you can sow those seeds, but if you haven’t eliminated the weed seeds first, and if you don’t follow up with diligent weeding and protection from browsing animals and other pests as the young meadow develops, you’ll end up with something fit only for a pass with the rototiller. Many is the disappointed gardener who has fallen for this tempting illusion. Adding insult to injury, most of the so-called wildflower mixes available for sale aren’t remotely true to the mix of species found in any real meadow and certainly aren’t tuned to your particular location. That doesn’t mean that you can’t succeed with a small wildflower meadow. Make sure that you choose a custom mix of truly local wildflowers; see a reputable local seed dealer for this and spend at least several months sheet mulching (see Chapter 3 of Book VI) before you sow your seed. Plant the meadow at the right time of year for your location; this timing will vary depending on climate and the type of plants you’ll be introducing. And plan on spending some time on your knees handpulling tiny weeds out of tiny wildflower seedlings. If you’re successful, you’ll have a great display of color in spring, and maybe some plants will come back the following spring. But it’s an awful lot of work for a dicey outcome.
Instead of going for the carpet-of-color effect, try sowing smaller quantities of wildflowers into established perennial borders and turf-type meadows. This approach is more akin to what nature would do, making a plant community of a diverse mix of permanent and annual plants. Remove little patches of mulch to expose bare ground, loosen it up a bit with a cultivating fork, sow a few seeds (just a few, okay?), and top-dress with a quarter-inch thick layer of fine compost or similar organic matter. Nature will do the rest. Bulbs and bulb-like plants Not all the things we call “bulbs” actually are. To most gardeners, anything with strap-shaped leaves and colorful flowers is a bulb, whether it’s a true bulb, such as onions or daffodils, rhizomes like iris, tubers like tuberous begonias, corms such as gladiolas, or tuberous roots like Dahlias. These botanical differences are of little interest to the gardener because they don’t really change how you use or care for the plants. Whatever their strict botanical classification, “bulbs” are among the loveliest and easiest garden plants. Their vertical, strap-shaped foliage and stunning flowers add a lively bit of punctuation (think exclamation point) to perennial beds and meadows.
Bulbs are easy. Here are some tips for using them successfully and enjoying them without a lot of effort.
- Use bulbs in drifts and masses for a stunning effect or salt them amongst other small plants or in low-growing ground covers. Bulbs belong in meadows, where they’ll co-exist happily with typical meadow plants and add diversity.
- Many bulbs are among the first plants to bloom in spring. You can plant bulbs in mixed borders for an early show before the perennials get going.
- Plant bulbs with other low-growing plants so that there’s something to look at when the bulbs are dormant.
- Many bulbs will naturalize, increasing their numbers annually until they form sizable, dense populations that need no care from you other than an annual cutback of dead foliage and flowers.
- Most bulbs can remain in the ground; you don’t need to dig them up and put them in storage every year as people sometimes do. If a bulb needs that kind of treatment, it’s not adapted to your climate.
- Follow package instructions on the depth to plant your bulbs; it can be critical to their success. Ask at the nursery if you’re not sure which part ofthe bulb should be up when you plant them; it’s not always easy to tell.
- Plant in chicken wire baskets and cover the soil with wire as well, to protect the bulbs from squirrels, gophers, and birds.
- The foliage of most bulbs needs to die down naturally in order to feed the bulb for the following year’s performance. Curb your impulse to cut back the leaves until they turn yellow.
Ground covers
In some ways, “ground cover” is a dubious term. Many plants cover the ground, after all. But ground cover as commonly used means a low, often creeping herbaceous (that is, not woody) plant that will sprawl across a wide area. The idea of ground covers seems to be twofold:
- Playing the role of lawn, visually and sometimes functionally by using ground-cover plants that you can walk on. In this task, the ground cover makes a sort of living wall-to-wall carpet.
- Outcompeting weeds for a low-maintenance sward of greenery and flowers. Both of these ideas are lovely, and they actually work in some situations. Other times the solution becomes the problem because of poor plant selection. Tread carefully in the world of ground covers and learn what really succeeds before committing to a plan of action. The main pitfalls of the ground-cover approach have to do with the nature of the chosen plants. Following the “right plant, right place” dictum can result in a successful planting. But a careless choice can create a disaster. Here are the major ills of common approaches:
- Weeds: Nature is competitive, always pitting one force against another, flinging the seeds of opportunistic plants into every open space. Weeds show up in two ways: via underground or above-ground runners and, most commonly, by way of seeds. If the ground-cover planting is too low to the ground, or if there are bare spots in it, weeds and germinating weed seeds are able to get right to the sunlight and quickly take control. At that point the gardener is faced with laborious hand weeding or the use of herbicides (which may kill the desirable plants as well as the weeds). At some point, despair sets in, and the whole thing tanks. The sustainable approach is to plant things that are at least a foot tall (preferably taller, ideally around knee-high) so that they shade the soil. The other strategy is to use a soaker hose to irrigate rather than keeping the soil surface constantly moist with an overhead sprinkler system, which creates a perfect environment for seed germination. Of course it helps to have drought tolerant plants and to water little or not at all; then seeds will germinate only during the wet season.
- Invasiveness: Many ground covers are viney by nature and try to grow out of bounds. Some, like ivy, are so aggressive that you’d swear they’re going to grow into the next zip code. With invasive plants, you can’t do anything except keep cutting them back. The obvious solution is to replace invasive varieties with plants that have a determinate growth habit, meaning that they grow to a certain relatively predictable size and stay there. (Your county extension office can give you plant suggestions.) Be sure to keep them far enough from the edges of the space so that they don’t grow beyond it despite their limited size. In other words, keep a plant that grows to 4 feet in diameter at least 2 feet from the edge of the bed it’s in.
- High water use: Many ground covers achieve their verdant good looks by sucking up literally tons of water. There’s rarely any need for high water use when so many drought tolerant ground covers are available.
- Bees: Bees are good. They pollinate crops and make honey and are smart and cute and utterly essential to life on this planet. Really. However, stepping on bees is good for neither man nor bees, and if you happen to be allergic to them, it can be very nasty indeed. Avoid bee attracting varieties like clover or Lippia for walk-on ground covers.
Ornamental grasses
Time was when grasses in the yard were either lawn or weeds. Then some folks in Europe began growing grasses for their beauty, not perpetually crew-cut and indistinguishable from one another as in a lawn but placed as individual plants in flower beds and allowed to grow into their full glory. This idea came as a shock to a lot of people, and it took a while for gardeners to get used to seeing a fully grown grass plant without having the urge to walk over and yank it out by the roots. But their charms prevailed and eventually ornamental grasses came to be loved by many gardeners. Ornamental grasses range in size from 6-inch tall Fescues to clumps of Miscanthus 8 feet or more in height. Even bamboo is technically a grass. Grasses can be a sustainable element in the landscape if they’re climateadapted, non-invasive, and right-sized. In fact, many grass species tolerate or prefer poor soil, require little or no fertilizer, and — unlike lawn grasses — they don’t need much in the way of water. Grasses are generally pest-free, too. Grasses sequester a lot of carbon, which helps to mitigate global warming. They’re fast-growing, live a long time in most cases, and even resist browsing by deer and other animals. (Grasses grow from the base rather than the tops, and so they recover well from being gnawed on. That’s why they’re tolerant of grazing and lawn mowing.)
On the other hand, grasses have some problems. The most vexing is what happens when weeds, especially undesirable grasses, get into them. If you’ve ever tried to pull two grassy plants apart, you know it’s like trying to break up a dog fight. Multiply this task by a whole yard full of grasses, and you’ve got yourself a hobby. The answer is to choose drought-tolerant varieties and
be very diligent about not letting weeds go to seed or creep into the grass. Certain ornamental grasses should be avoided at all costs because of their invasive tendencies. They become garden weeds, and some can even harm wild ecosystems. After they’re introduced, they can be nearly impossible to get rid of. What’s harmless in one area can be pernicious in another, so you
need to check for locally troublesome species. Your county extension office keeps a list of plants you should avoid in your area, and they’d be thrilled to know you’re taking it seriously. Check in with them.
Some grasses can be highly flammable. In fact, most wildfires start in dry grasses and move on to larger plants. Irrigate enough to keep them green and periodically use your hands to remove the dead foliage or cut the plants back hard in early spring.
Integrating grasses into the landscape
Ornamental grasses make great specimen plants, ground covers, and mass plantings. They even grow in containers. Mixing grasses with perennials and shrubs gives a natural feel to your landscaping. (Most wild plant communities have a grassy element.)
Here are some basic considerations for working grasses into your plantings:
- Cool and uncool grasses: Grasses fall into two categories: cool season (which are most active when temperatures are low) and warm season (which do better in that other time of year). Mix cool and warm season grasses for year-round interest. Winter brings a fourth season of beauty to many grasses if you wait until spring to cut them back.
- Runners and clumpers: Running grasses spread, often vigorously, by underground shoots; they can be handy for erosion control, but many of them can get out of hand quickly and become a nuisance. Clumping grasses hang out in one place and don’t get in anybody’s face; they’re
easier to live with.
- Light: With a few exceptions, grasses like full sun, so plan on using them in open areas where they get at least half a day of the stuff. In shadier areas, try grass-like rushes and sedges.
- Special effects: Exploit the unique charms of grasses — their fountainlike growth habit, the graceful way they move and rustle in the wind, the way morning and afternoon light settles in the foliage. Plant grasses to the west of a bench or patio for a wonderful back-lit sunset show. Use the showy blooms in flower arrangements. Plant a tall specimen grass where you want an eye-catching vertical element.
- Soil stabilization: Take advantage of the extensive root system of grasses to knit unstable soil together.

Maintenance: Avoiding a pain in the grass

Choose your grasses well and give them an appropriate home, and you shouldn’t have much trouble with them. Here’s a rundown of tasks:
- Watering: Know the water needs of your grasses. Many are quite happy with rainfall alone, but some need supplemental irrigation. Even drought-tolerant grasses can take wet soils if need be, but they often grow too lush and floppy and lose much of their charm in wet soil. Overwatered grasses may end up being short-lived, too. Wet the soil to a depth of 12 to 18 inches at each irrigation, and water as seldom as you can get away with.
- Fertilizing: Most grasses don’t need to be fertilized, and, in fact, overly fertile conditions encourage weak growth. Especially avoid excess nitrogen, which produces lush foliage to the point where it can be a problem.
- Pests and diseases: Overwatering and overcrowding can encourage diseases, but absent those conditions, you should have no problems. Gophers eat grasses from below ground, and other critters will browse on your grasses from time to time; remember that grasses are here for just that purpose and can’t be hurt by a little grazing, so chill out and let the other species have their fun, too.
- Weed control: Pull young weeds, roots and all, carefully out of the grass clump. Wetting down the ground first helps a lot. Don’t let the weeds get too big or you end up lifting and dividing the grass just to get the weeds out, or removing it altogether.
- Cutting back: Some grasses can go along for years with no pruning, but most look better (and be safer in a fire) if you cut them back hard annually-in early spring. You may also want to try combing dead foliage out with the hands (wear gloves). Meadows can be mowed — or grazed if you happen to have a few head of cattle around.
Walking a vine line
Vines have a special place in the landscape. The form they take can be useful, especially when you need plants for small or narrow spaces. But they can also be problematic, growing into trees and invading spaces not meant for them. Using vines well can result in a richer garden environment; misusing them can cause grief. Vines developed as a way to exploit limited sunlight in forested, mostly tropical, environments where trees beat small plants to the light. Vines tolerate shade when young and scramble quickly to the tops of the trees to get to the sun, spreading out as soon as they reach the canopy. All vines compete with their host trees, and some, like the strangler fig of tropical rainforests, ultimately kill the tree and become one themselves by developing huge trunks and branches. Some introduced vines, such as the famous kudzu in the southern United States, have become a severe problem with no solution in sight. If all this domination by vine sounds kind of violent, or at least rude, it is. “Natural” isn’t always gentle. Properly chosen and planted in a suitable location, the right vine can be just the ticket for special garden needs. Vines need more trimming than other plants, but sometimes that’s a small price to pay to get a lot of function. Here are some tips for using vines without risk:
- Conceal and cover: Make use of vines to cover fences where you don’t have space for a hedge. Plant them on walls to help insulate the house and conceal bad architecture. Send them over the hill to control erosion.
- Climbing styles: Some vines twine around their support, others hold on using small tendrils that wrap around wire or the stems of other plants, and still others stick to the side of your house with little holdfasts that look like teeny lizard’s feet. Some just sprawl. Choose a vine type that will grow on the support you plan to offer it. Holdfasts, by the way, are well named; they can be nearly impossible to get off if you want to paint.
- Evergreen or deciduous: Some vines hold their leaves all year; others lose them in winter. Choose one of the former kinds if you need consistent coverage for screening purposes.
- Speaking of support: Make it strong, since mature vines can be surprisingly heavy. A building will do, as long as you’re willing to keep the vine trimmed away from eaves and openings where it may cause damage. Install horizontal stainless steel wires on fences and hand-train the vines onto them. Make trellises out of natural materials, such as the whip-like branches pruned from deciduous fruit trees. There’s always the temptation to grow big vines on overhead pergolas. What usually happens is that all the leaves and flowers are on top where all the light is, and you end up sitting underneath looking at dead leaves and wondering when the rats are going to start jumping on your head. And when the time comes to paint it, you wish you’d never heard the word “vine.” If your pergola is ugly, tear it down. Don’t make things worse by trying to hide it with a vine. Another thing: Go ahead and let a vine climb up to the second story if you like spending your weekends teetering high on a ladder with electric hedge clippers in your face. Avoid growing vines on power poles. It draws attention to the pole and makes the utility companies unhappy because they have to constantly cut them back. Keep them out of trees, too.
- Vines and wildlife: Many vines attract and nurture butterflies, birds, and bees. This is good (unless you’re allergic to or afraid of bees). They also provide rodents food, shelter, and a handy ladder into your house, which is not so good unless you happen to love rodents.
- Vine combinations: Try planting two vines that bloom at different seasons for a longer display of color. Everyone knows the grape vine, but many other vines produce edible fruits, including passion fruit, kiwi and cold-hardy arctic kiwi, berries, hops, and chayote. Don’t forget annual vines, such as peas, beans, squash, and melons. Food-bearing vines can grow in places where fruit trees and vegetable beds would never fit, and they often put the fruit at a nice pickable level to eliminate stooping and climbing.
Succulents and cacti
You either love or hate succulents and cacti — the fleshy, water-storing plant that thrive in drought conditions. If you hate them, you don’t have to read this section; you’ll still be welcome in the sustainable landscaping club. We’ll see you at another chapter of the book. Okay, now that they’re gone — hey, how ’bout those succulent plants, huh? What an amazing array of shapes and forms! And they can’t be touched when it comes to sustainability.
Getting to know succulents and cacti
Generally, succulents and cacti like sun, but there are some shade-tolerant ones as well. They prefer warmer climates (USDA zones 8 to 10), but some can grow as far north as parts of Canada. Because they hold water in their tissue, they’re very drought-tolerant, though many can accept limited regular watering under otherwise good growing conditions. They use one third to one half less water than turf. Pests and diseases are fairly rare. And there are few, if any, invasive varieties. Overall, succulents and cacti are among the easiest, most bulletproof plants for the landscape. Choose and use succulents effortlessly with a few guidelines:
- Placement: Especially if you get frost, locate succulents on the sunny south side of a house or building where reflected heat and the warmth retained in the walls helps them endure cold nights. Choose a location with good air circulation as well. Place thorny plants away from paths and other traffic patterns.
- Arrangement: Use succulents and cacti in contrast to leafier droughttolerant plants, keeping in mind that they rarely grow only with others of their kind in nature. It’s okay to have an all succulent/cactus garden, but it’s okay to mix plants, too. Just be sure to group them with plants that have similar water needs. Use the bold forms as specimen or accent plants. Silhouette them against walls. Play with the many foliage colors.
- Drainage: Without good drainage, succulents drown. They grew up in places with gravelly soil and fast internal soil drainage. Give it to them. Give them drought. Give them sun. Leave them the heck alone. They’ll love you for it. If you’re one of those people who waters everything every day, stay away from succulents; they hate that kind of attention.
- Feeding and watering: Go easy on the fertilizer and apply it only during the active growing season and in small doses. Use none unless you see actual nutrient deficiencies. Keep in mind the required rest period during fall and winter and withhold fertilizer and water then.
Handling thorny plants
Work with thorny plants carefully! Wearing thick leather gloves! Try wrapping them in the Sunday newspaper or a piece of old carpeting. Wear a heavy, long-sleeved shirt or jacket even if it’s hot out. Oh, and no flip-flops; heavy boots are de rigueur. Eye protection isn’t a bad idea, either. Keep in mind that spines can cause infections or painful injuries that take a surprisingly long time to heal. Clean all wounds promptly and thoroughly. (How’s your tetanus booster doing?) Succulents are much heavier than other plants because of the water in their tissue, so they can be top-heavy. Many are also brittle and need to be handled with care. This is extreme gardening.