landscape – Black Gold

Tips for Planning a New Garden

February firmly settles us into the new year and is the ideal month for garden planning. The weather is too crummy in most parts of the country to work outside, and garden planning is a fun, hopeful indoor activity.

When referring to garden planning, I mean accomplishing more than listing a few flowers or vegetables to plant in the ground. A good garden plan takes a lot of thought about the layout of a garden, its soil, plants, care, and overall look. Hopefully, the end result will be a garden that gives lasting beauty and enjoyment.

Since this will be a beginner’s exercise, I’ll keep the steps straightforward. The only preliminary tip I will add is to remind gardeners to be realistic. Make sure you have enough money to complete the task and enough time to tend your new garden.

Steps to Planning a New Garden

A beautifully designed garden will provide lasting enjoyment for years!

Step 1- Choose your Garden

Decide what kind of garden you want. Are you interested in growing vegetables, cut flowers, a beautiful blooming perennial border, or a mixed bed with everything? Will your garden be in sun or shade? Will it contain containers paths or other elements? Choose what you like best. I generally like flower gardens filled with mixed annuals, perennials, and some flowering shrubs for broad interest.

Step 2 – Pick a Location

Simple, neatly edged garden beds around the home improve the landscape are are easy to design.

Determine where your garden will be located, and take note of all variables, such as soil type, light value, wind exposure, and water availability. Additionally, decide which direction you want the garden to face for maximum visual enjoyment. Knowledge of your yard will help you hone in on the right plants for the site.

When determining soil information, such as soil type or pH, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture maintains Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) regional or county offices. They can provide a wealth of local soil and agricultural information for the asking. You can also run some simple soil tests on your own. To test soil for soil acidity take ½ cup garden soil; add ½ cup of tap water followed by ½ cup baking soda. If the mixture fizzes, the soil is acidic (pH 6.0 or less). To test soil for alkalinity take a new 1/2 cup of soil, add ½ cup tap water followed by ½ cup vinegar. If the mixture fizzes, it is alkaline (pH 8 or more)

Step 3 -Select Plant Types

If you are not sure what to plant in a flower border in the first year, try adding lots of colorful, ever-blooming annuals.

Choose the types of plants you want for the garden style and their general location. Think of the color palette you want and the growing needs of the plants, such as light, soil, and water. Plant height must be determined for each choice. Typically the tallest plants (i.e., flowering shrubs and bold perennials) should be planted in the back of the bed, mid-size perennials will go in the center, and short annuals and bedding plants will be planted along the garden edges.

Assemble a list of plant species you are considering for your garden. If you don’t have many books on the subject, rely on quality online nurseries. Assure yourself that each species is in the correct USDA Hardiness Zone for your area (Click here to view the USDA Hardiness Zone Map). Also note individual plant requirements for soil moisture, pH, and sunlight. Final plant numbers can be calculated when you start drafting your garden.

Step 4 – Draft Your Garden

Draw up a draft plan for your garden. The draft is certainly the most complicated step and may be simple or elaborate, depending on your skill level. Make sure you have draft paper, tracing paper, a good mechanical pencil, a good eraser, and lots of patience. Here are some ideas for making your layout easier to draw.

Gain an image of your yard and home plan from your city or county. Many municipalities offer them for download online.
Using the image of your home and yard as a basis, measure and lay out your home plan on graph paper at a scale where you can show bed locations. Add any existing walkways, large trees, shrubs, and beds on the plan. Be sure to note water spigots and areas of full sun, partial sun, and shade on your plan. Please use a pencil, or you will drive yourself nuts correcting mistakes.

Step 5 – Garden preparation is the next step. Start implementing your plan by marking out your garden on the ground. Some gardeners like to use a hose to lay out the garden lines. Inverted water-based marking spray paint is another option for drawing bed lines on the grass or soil.

With the plan in hand, lay out your garden. Mark the outer corners and boundaries of your garden with stakes. Mark the interior beds the same way. Now you can visually check the actual layout for problems. Is there anything present that might present a problem? Is any other yard use potentially compromised? Is any access or right-of-way blocked? Any problems with setbacks or zoning restrictions? Make any plan changes now while it is fresh in your mind.

Step 6 – Desod the ground and prepare the soil. The best time to prepare a new bed is in spring. Choose a day when it is dry and the soil is not wet. (Pick a ball of soil and squeeze. Poke the resulting ball with your finger. If it crumbles, the soil is dry enough to work. If it holds together, it is too wet to work.)

Remove obstacles from the area, and remove your sod. The grass is easier to remove when cut short. If your bed is relatively small, remove sod from bed areas by hand. I prefer cutting sod along the soil line using a sharp, flat, nursery spade, such as the all-steel model from King of Spades (The cost is high, but the spade lasts a lifetime.) If the bed is large, sod cutters can be rented from home improvement centers.

Till your soil, working in any amendments such as all-organic Black Gold Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss or Black Gold Garden Compost Blend, and smooth the soil with a hard rake. Work amendments into the soil. (Click here to read our full garden amendment guide and amendment application formula.)

Step 7 Plant, Mulch, and Tend

Make sure to note what you are going to plant in each bed and how many and the year they were planted. When planting a new garden, I suggest ensuring a beautiful bed by buying large, healthy plants for installation. Fuller, more robust plants have more stored energy and become better established faster. Plant according to the instructions for each planting and follow the plant care instructions conservatively. Ask your local garden center representative about the best fertilizers for your plants, and plan to water and weed your new beds regularly.

I advise you to save your garden plan and any notes you have for future reference. It will be handy as your garden grows and changes with the years. Then, once your garden has begun to flourish, enjoy!

Winter-Fruiting Trees for Lasting Beauty

‘Winter King’ green hawthorn has persistent fruits that are loved by cedar waxwings.

Now that fall has passed, it is a dismal thing to look out the window and see no color. But, this does not have to be the case if you plant beautiful trees that still offer bright colorful fruits to the garden in winter. The first one everybody thinks of is holly, but there are several more that fit the bill.

American Holly

American holly (Ilex opaca, USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9) is an eastern native tree that can survive in some shade but grows and looks best in an open area with full sun. The pyramidal tree can reach up to 50-60 feet tall, so find a big place in your yard or garden to plant it. It has leathery evergreen leaves and bright red berries that turn from green to red in fall that stay on through the winter. A caveat is that it is a dioecious tree, which means that plants have either female or male flowers, never both. That means that both male and female plants are needed to produce fruit. One of the oldest and best varieties is the heavy-fruiting, ‘Jersey Princess‘, which was bred at Rutgers University. It fruits heavily and has a neat, narrow habit. A good pollinating partner is ‘Jersey Knight‘. Be aware that the leaves are very prickly, so wear thick garden gloves with gauntlet sleeves when handling them.

Yaupon Holly

Smooth-edged leaves and pretty winter berries make this a fine holly tree for southern gardeners.

The more southern sun-loving yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria, Zones 7-9) has smooth-edged leaves and female trees develop copious red berries that remain on the stems through much of winter. It is a native species that naturally exists in open coastal woods from Virginia down to Florida and across to Texas. Wild specimens can reach up to 45 feet high, on rare occasion, but generally do not exceed 25 feet. The golden-berried ‘Anna’s Choice‘ is a lovely female variety reaching 15 feet that bears lots of sunny fruits against its fine, scalloped leaves. ‘Will Flemming‘ is an unusually upright narrow male yaupon holly tree that reaches 12-15 feet. Its spring flowers will pollinate female trees, like ‘Anna’s Choice’.

American Wahoo

American wahoo (Euonymus atropurpureus, Zones 3-10) is a relative of the invasive non-native burning bush (Euonymus alatus), but in fall this non-invasive eastern native shows off exceptional pinkish-red fruits with orange inner seeds as well as purplish-red leaf color. In spring it bears purplish flowers. The multi-stemmed tree can reach up to 20 feet and looks best when planted as specimen trees in a sunny, open lawn. Well-drained, fertile soil is needed. Some stem pruning must be done to encourage an open trunk. Birds love the fruits.

Green Hawthorne

‘Winter King’ offers one of the most spectacular displays of red fruits is any tree.

The green hawthorn (Crataegus viridis, Zones 4-7) is a small native tree that exists across much of the eastern United States. Wild specimens have large thorns up and down stems, so approach this tree with caution. ‘Winter King’ is an improved variety with spectacular red fruits in winter, profuse white flowers in spring, very few thorns, and silvery bark. The scarlet fruits (called “haws”) resemble very little apples, and technically they are edible, but most gardeners leave them to the birds. (European hawthorns (C. monogyna) are a bit larger and often used to make jams and jellies.) In fall, the leaves turn purple and scarlet, and the brilliant red fruits last well into winter. ‘Winter King’grows 15 to 20 feet tall, adapts to any kind of well-drained soil and is drought tolerant and disease resistant.

Crabapples

There are literally thousands of flowering crabapple varieties. The best flower and fruit beautifully and are very disease-resistant. One that comes highly recommended by my daughter is ‘Prairifire’ (Malus ‘Prairifire’, Zones 4-8), a highly disease-resistant variety first introduced in 1982 and developed by Dr. Daniel Dayton of the University of Illinois. It displays some of the most stunning hot-pink spring blooms against purplish-red spring leaves that turn dark green in summer and bronze-red in fall. Its fall crabapples turn bright red and are held into winter until birds pick them off. The tree reaches about 20 feet tall, needs full sun, and resistants many foliar diseases that attack crabapples. Plant it in full sun for best growth and flowering.

Click here for a full overview of how to properly plant a tree. Its steps will ensure that any tree you plant will grow beautifully in your landscape. Rich amendments, such as Black Gold Peat Moss and Garden Compost Blend, will ensure their roots will grow deeply in the first year.

Any one of these trees, or all of them, will brighten your winter landscape. I hope this has given you some plants to buy when planning for any garden additions for next season.

Viburnums For Any Landscape

Right: bright red Viburnum opulus berries, do droop. They also feed hungry songbirds.

What exactly is a Viburnum? Viburnums are trees or shrubs, evergreen or deciduous, that may be diminutive three-foot globes or grow 60 feet tall. Their leaf texture varies from smoothly shiny to velvety, and, their leaf edges may be serrated, dentate, lobed, or not! Viburnum flowers are either round or flattish and range in color from white to pink. The blossoms are either deliciously fragrant, have absolutely no scent, or can be downright offensive. Just forget trying to determine what viburnum you are admiring by its fruit color alone since berries range from yellow to orange, red to black, and blue to purple.

According to the great Georgia plantsman, Dr. Michael Dirr, their characteristics are simply too varied to make a definitive identification without a very good reference guide. In his 2007 guidebook, Viburnums, Flowering Shrubs for Every Season, by Timber Press, Dirr admits that even taxonomists can’t agree on how many species presently exist in the genus Viburnum with the true number probably falling somewhere between 160 to 250.

What makes a Viburnum a Viburnum?

V. Carlesii - Photo by Pam Beck — The Koreanspice bush, V. carlesii, provides a perfect example of a viburnum’s opposite leave arrangement.

Famed tree and shrub specialist Michael Dirr’s definition is:

The fruit is a drupe, generally ellipsoidal, flattened, ovoid to rounded, with a fleshy coat, hard bony endocarp, and a single seed within; and
The leaves are always arranged opposite; a few species, occasionally, have three leaves at a node.

Growing Viburnum

Besides their exquisite beauty, the main reason why we embrace viburnums in our home landscapes is their extreme hardiness. Many varieties can be very drought tolerant (once established) as some of our best Southeastern native viburnum hail from dry woodlands. A few, such as our native Arrowwood, will also tolerate wet feet. Most will grow well in full sun to part shade, can take a variety of soil types, and still thrive.

Planting Viburnum

In the absence of good soil, you could amend the planting hole fill dirt with Black Gold Garden Soil for improved drainage that will still provide enough moisture retention essential for a newly transplanted viburnum. Otherwise, mulch the base of your new addition with Black Gold’s Garden Compost Blend in order to help hold moisture, keep developing roots cool in summer and warmer in winter, and to suppress weeds.

Great Viburnum

In my home landscape, I have found several species of viburnum grow well under the canopy of a large Black Walnut tree, where it is very dry. Here I have planted Koreanspice bush (V. carlesii) and Cranberry viburnum (V. opulus), and they both perform beautifully.

Viburnums have also been evaluated for their resistance to deer grazing. The toughest survivors of deer predation are our native Arrowwood (V. dentatum); Blackhaw (V. prunifolium); Smooth witherod (V. nudum), which is sometimes erroneously called “possum haw” and, the Maple-leaf arrowwood (V. acerfolium).

Koreanspice Viburnum

Koreanspice viburnum (V. carlesii, Zones 4-7) is one of our most popular, old-fashioned, pass-along southern shrubs. Grown for its intensely sweet springtime fragrance, the late March to early April flowers of Koreanspice begin pale pink, turning white with age, grow 2-3 inches across, and are rounded. This 8-10 foot tall shrub has dull green leaves that turn reddish in the fall, and red to black fruits.

Cranberry Viburnum

The Cranberry viburnum is named for its brilliant cherry-red fruit clusters that begin coloring in late summer. Its famous leaf fall color is much more dramatic in cooler regions where leaves turn gold, red, and burgundy. A very good cultivar is V. opulus ‘Compactum’, which should top out at just 5-6 feet.

Chinese Snowball

For sheer drama, nothing compares to the Chinese Snowball (V. macrocephalum). This multi-trunked small tree can reach 12-feet or more in height and grow just as wide. Sometimes semi-evergreen in mild winters, this very dark-leafed viburnum is beloved for its 6-8 inch, rounded, springtime flowers that begin pale chartreuse and age to purest white. They are so beautiful that we can forgive it for not bearing any scent. A significant bonus is that it also flowers again from late summer into fall. Since the Chinese Snowball’s hydrangea-like flowers are sterile, there is no fruit, therefore no unwanted seedlings.

Bodnant Viburnum

*Viburnum* x *bodnantense* ‘Dawn’ is an early bloomer with lovely fragrant pink flowers. (Image by Magnus Manske)

Your winter landscape could be delightful including a Bodnant viburnum in it. Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’ has bright pink, strongly perfumed flowers in late February to early March in my Wake Forest, North Carolina, Zone 7-8 garden. The small, rounded, sweetly fragrant flowers are borne on bare branches on a rather rangy shrub, but ‘Dawn’ blends nicely into the mixed border the rest of the year.

Viburnum Tinus

Garden centers offer V. tinus ‘Spring Bouquet’ in autumn, which is the right time to plant them. During the late fall months ‘Spring Bouquet’ forms tight rose-colored clusters of buds that will start popping open during the first months of the new year. These viburnum flowers are only slightly fragrant, but they will cover the small shrub. This evergreen viburnum will need part shade in summer, winter protection from sun, plus they benefit from being shielded from desiccating winds.

Doublefile Viburnum

Since they bloom in early April, Doublefile viburnums, V. plicatum f. tomentosum, are great substitutes for ailing native dogwoods. Named for its flowering habit of doily-flat flowers positioned side-by-side along the top of long horizontal branches, this is a stunning small tree. These viburnum are deciduous in winter, have dark green foliage in summer, and bright red berries in late fall. A cultivar named ‘Summer Snowflake’ will bloom well in early spring, then sporadically repeat off-and-on throughout the summer.

Chindo Viburnum

Chindo viburnum is another popular viburnum that isn’t grown for its flowers at all. Promoted by the late Dr. J C Raulston of North Carolina State University, V. awabuki ‘Chindo’, is a loosely pyramidal-shaped, shiny-leafed, evergreen shrub that can reach 15-20 feet. It grows in sun or shade and is shaped reminiscent of a large-leafed holly, so it makes an ideal screening plant. One warning is that a Chindo viburnum won’t like winter temperatures that drop below zero; so, if it does get that cold you may have to trim your plant back severely in springtime to encourage new growth to flush.

There is probably a perfect viburnum for just about any location in your landscape, so how do you go about narrowing your selections? Ask your garden center professional for their recommendations, check with your local Cooperative Extension Service, and find a copy of Dirr’s Viburnums book.

V. awabuki ‘Chindo’ - Photo by Pam Beck — The ‘Chindo’ viburnum is an outstanding evergreen screening shrub. (Photo by Pam Beck)

DIY Garden Project: Edging for Professional Looking Beds

Clean, tidy garden edges frame a garden and elevate simple beds and landscapes. Clean lines show off gardens and are well worth the small effort. This video covers cutting curved garden edges. For straight edges, it can help to tie a line from one edge of the garden to the other and mark the straight line along the ground with chalk marking paint. This will help guide straight cuts.

Click Here to View the Step-By-Step PDF

Gravelscape and Green your Front Yard

Gravel can make architectural plants stand out like sculpture. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

Nowhere are water-needy lawns disappearing as fast as in arid southern California and the American Southwest. This is the proving ground for a lot of alternatives to traditional turfgrass. A big problem is always the front yard, where your property value is rooted in curb appeal. What you do there will have a big impact on the future marketability of your home. This is why unconventional front yard solutions, no matter how sustainable, may cost far more than you realize, but desirable low-cost options do exist.

Gravelscaping

A border of colorful succulents stands out against a gravel patio.

The most versatile and affordable replacement material for lawns out west is gravel, due to lower cost, availability and color range. Spreading gravel takes muscle, but it’s an easier DIY project than precision placement of precast concrete units. Gravel can be raked and walked on, leaving a beautiful blank canvas to envision your dryland planting ideas.

All manner of bold cacti and succulents look great against a gravel base. You can even color coordinate your gravel colors and textures with regionally appropriate plantings for a sharp, clean, low-water landscape your neighbors will appreciate. Just be sure to consider plantings as you plant your gravel lawn, so you can establish them as you lay your gravelscape. Increasing soil fertility, with enrichments such as Black Gold Cactus Mix and Just Coir, will give your low-water plants a head start.

Replacing Lawn with Gravel

Here are eight rules we have learned in the desert to guide your lawn replacement with gravel:

Use proper edging. Where your gravel ends, problems begin. Use a solid edge boarder (metal, wood, plastic) that is at least 1 to 2 inches above grade to ensure no spill over onto adjacent beds or paving.
Lay dividers between gravel colors. It’s fun to use more than one color to create just the right look, but if you don’t divide them well, they eventually merge together resulting in a visually muddy colored mess. Make plans for a substantial divider within that great crisp edge you created.
Insist on professional-grade weed barrier. Landscape suppliers provide thick, heavy-grade weed barrier fabric that is easy to install and long lasting, though a bit more expensive than consumer grade. It stays put, won’t tear and most importantly, resists decomposition far longer.
Be sure all the lawn is dead. Failure to kill all of the grass and weeds that once grew in your lawn can doom your gravel to future infestation. Even with weed barrier fabric, Bermuda grass can travel many feet underneath to find light and water, if not properly eradicated before-hand.
Choose the right gravel from the start. Though weed barrier helps keep gravel from your soil, some gravel will always make its way in. If you bring in gravel that’s in high contrast with your soil color, it’s there to stay. In the future, some of it will mixed in to forever speckle that ground.
Avoid dark gravel in hot climates. Dark gravel colors absorb heat quickly, then radiates it back into adjacent spaces after sunset. Conversely, white gravel is coolest but causes glare. Neutrals are ideal.
Grade and ensure adequate thickness. Gravel should be laid from 2 to 2.5 inches thick on a uniform surface. When adding gravel to critical junctures with paving, the ground must be dug out so all grades are even. Too often the gravel layer is thinned to meet the patio surface grade, which always results in bald spots at these high traffic areas.
Pedestrians first. Round river gravel is great to walk on, but it rolls easily, so it cannot be used on an incline. Crushed gravel has sharp edges and points that dig into moist earth for anchorage but is not easy on the feet. Always consider gravel texture on walkways in your design, especially with respect to senior citizens and small children.

Everyone can have a beautiful gravel front garden the neighborhood will love. Make it broad and beautiful, in any style, so your property values are maintained while conserving water.

Gravel Style Guide

A selection of different types of gravel.

Different gravel textures and colors yield different looks and offer different functionalities. Here are some of the most common design styles using gravel:

Earthy: Fine, sand-colored gravel can be swept to visual perfection to make architectural plants stand out like sculpture.

An earthy, sculptural gravelscape. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

Modern: Warm-colored, 2-inch gravel is easy to clean and rake around and sets the stage for bold planting options for mid-century modern homes.

A modern, warm gravelscape. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

Parterre: Replace a sweeping front lawn with gravel and creative flowing paths and beds lined with edging pavers.

A creative gravel parterre. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

Urban: Postage stamp urban yard becomes a sleek modern space with just gravel, a few trees and grasses.

A small, urban yard with clean gravel base. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

Transitions: This fresh edge between green and rosy gravel (below) is not sustainable without a strongly defined divider to keep it crisp; rose gravel already too thin at top of concrete slab where grade is much too high.

Gravel transitions must be delineated by dividers to remain clean. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

Thyme Lawns

Vita Sackville-West’s twin time lawns are shown in the foreground of the beautiful landscape at Sissinghurst Castle.

In Queen Elizabeth’s day, everyone had to bathe at least once a year, whether they needed it or not. Clothing was not washed more frequently either. This period, with its voluminous skirts and skintight corsets, made communal living quite odiferous after awhile. The only solution was to cover up the stink with the scent of garden herbs. Continue reading “Thyme Lawns”

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