New Year's Resolutions Part II

If you were patient enough to read through "New Year's Resolutions Part I" you already know my stance on pesticides, non-organic fertilizers, and the use of other biochemical warfare in the yard.  It's a sad assumption some people make that without those tools in the arsenal, a beautiful yard is unattainable.  I believe the opposite is true, your yard will be more naturally lovely, more carefree, and less of a burden if you choose plants and shrubs that are naturally pest resistant.

That said, sometimes it's not possible to have a yard completely pest proof, especially if you enjoy growing your own vegetables.  I recently read an article in the September/October 2012 of "All Animals" magazine, which is a publication sent to me courtesy of my membership in the Humane Society of the United States and may seem like an unlikely gardening resource but surprisingly isn't, called "Backyard Harmony".  In this article were many reader suggestions about how to gently discourage pests from eating your yard.  Such suggestions as using soap shavings (Irish Spring soap was mentioned due to its strong scent, but if you are really looking for a humane treatment try picking a strong smelling soap produced by a corporation that doesn't test on animals), dog hair (from a dog's hairbrush), and dirty socks with a human scent to deter animals from their gardens.  Another good suggestion for keeping crows out of the garden is to hang used CDs from tree branches, or mount CDs on stakes, as the birds don't like the glare from the shiny side of the disk.

There are other suggestions, too, such as fencing or netting, over the area which you wish to keep pest free.  It's good to either consult with other gardeners, ask at a local nursery, or thumb through a magazine or two and see what suggestions appeal to you.  I will usually keep a good article in my gardening library in the event I'd like to go back and review it at a later time (usually in winter when Spring doesn't seem to be arriving fast enough!).

New Year's Resolutions Part I

If your New Year's resolutions for 2013 include living a more harmonious lifestyle with your neighbors in nature, then this post is for you.

I've always found it ironic that some people will build a house in the urban outskirts where coyote and deer have always roamed as they enjoy the naturalistic surroundings, then complain when the family cat goes missing or the leaves and buds are eaten off their newly installed shrubbery.  I may be an overly sympathetic animal lover but I do think it's the responsibility of each and every one of us to live like we are caretakers of the earth and its other inhabitants.  I worry that pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals may have long term effects on our health, our pets' health, and the environment in general.

While I intended this post in the blog to be about living with your furry four footed neighbors, I should probably start with a paragraph on living with insects.  In our weekend paper (Maine Sunday Telegram) there is a regular article written by Tom Atwell on Maine Gardening.  I don't usually read it unless the topic grabs my attention (but it's another resource that you may want to use when learning about gardening).  In October, Mr. Atwell wrote an article about the Green Bug Education Program (which was designed to help people find alternate solutions to using pesticides in their landscape).  In this article, he quoted a pest management specialist who stated that "from 1995-2007, the use of lawn pesticides in Maine has gone from 800,000 pounds a year to 6.2 million pounds."

I am floored by that statistic.  Just off the sidewalk curb of my street are intermittent storm drains.  Before we had sewer work done on our street last summer, these drains all lead to the bay.  When we experienced heavy rains, I would think of my next door neighbors who valued  greenness of their lawn above all else, to the point where they overfed it, over treated it for pests, and constantly used their irrigation system (even when it rained).  All that chemical waste going directly into the home of fish, birds, and other living creatures who exist at our mercy.  And I would think to myself, any educated person should be bothered by that scenario, yet it seems not nearly enough are.

And as my neighbors' lawn turned brown (most likely due to the over development of thatch) I felt little satisfaction since the pollution of the local environment was hardly worth it.  Of course, they blamed grubs for the dissolution of the green lawn, but in looking at it closely it was fairly obvious that no grubs could penetrate that thick carpet of roots.  Plus, grub damage is very easy to spot.  Our lawn was eaten by grubs (probably because the neighbors all around us used pesticides, so we were the best meal around) and the first sign that you have a problem is when you spot a murder of crows all dining in your yard on a frequent basis.  Then, you will notice that your grass is all brown in patchy spots.  When you go to pick it up a clump of brown grass to see if it's dead, you'll see that your patches of turf have no roots and is just lying on top of the ground like it was carelessly tossed there.  If you seed over those spots, you may not have any better luck.  Grubs love the young roots, and they reproduce like crazy.  So, if you discover you have a problem, you can try the milky spore (three applications of this bacteria in years one and two, may make a difference from years 3-15, but patience is key) or you can find an attractive ground cover that doesn't taste good to grubs and buy a flat of it.

Another good reason for choosing plants that do not attract the attention of pests is that these plants are easier to care for.  If you select a plant that requires consistent use of bug spray, then it becomes a time and resource consumer.  When choosing a tree for our front yard, I not only wanted one that would mature into the right shape and size and could endure City living, but also one that was japanese beetle resistant.  Japanese beetles (who originate as grubs) love a lot of different trees and shrubs and are prolific in our area.  They will usually eat a plant down so that it looks unattractive, but won't actually kill it.  Still, I didn't want a big tree that looked eaten most of the time.  I found a sterling silver linden at the local nursery and it was recommended as being japanese beetle "resistant".   And in the same way a garment might be labeled as "water resistant" but not "water proof", japanese beetles may be a slight problem in certain beetle-favorable years.  I have noticed a little bite damage on the linden, but not so much that it looks bare or sad.  To the right is a photo of the sterling silver linden.  It was quite small when we planted it, as we could not afford a large tree, but were rewarded with fast growth.  It now provides great shade in summer.  We used no pesticides on it, and even with slight beetle damage each year, it bounces right back the next.

In my next post, I'll address the four footed pests in the yard.

Evergreens in Winter

A couple of posts ago I waxed poetic about the use of evergreens in your landscape.  What I failed to mention is that evergreens, which are generally an easy care plant, need a little help in winter to keep them healthy.  For those smaller evergreens that you may have just planted in the fall, covering them with a A-frame is useful to keep the branches from snapping in half under the weight of heavy snow.  For mature evergreens, such as the false cypress pictured right, gently knocking off the snow after a heavy storm is a must.  I've seen plenty of slender arborvitae loose their natural shape because someone did not bother to knock the heavy snow off the branches.  When the snow forms into ice, it becomes doubly tragic.  The limbs will fall to the sides causing the arborvitae to look more like a lopsided letter "W" and less like an "O", it's natural pretty shape.  If you have inherited a "W" shaped arborvitae, you can discreetly tie the branches that have strayed to the main trunk, gently lifting them up where they belong.  

I've included a recent photo here of my Hinoki false cypress.  This poor shrub has been moved to four different locations and had one bad winter where it's main trunk split in two due to heavy snow and a negligent owner (namely, me).  Now in it's permanent location, it's somewhat protected from strong winds and exposure, and it's big enough now where heavy snow is less of a problem.  I did have to cut a large chunk out of the middle after I realized that the main trunk had split and I worried that it would always have a large hole.  But, hopefully this photo demonstrates that nature can usually recover given enough time and care.  One of the reasons I love this false cypress so much is that it's carefree shape usually requires no sort of tweaking, trimming, or shaping.  Now I also love it because it can be trimmed when necessary and it forgives the intrusion.

Holiday Gifting for New Gardeners

If the holidays have you contemplating what you should buy that wannabe gardener on your list, I have a few suggestions.  A basic book on how to start and plan yardscaping with easy care plant suggestions is always useful.  I have a library of books that just seems to get bigger with each book sale I attend.  A new book is fine for a gift, but useful information can be found in any basic book as long as the information is clear and concise and there are color pictures to help the new gardener envision the possibilities.

Other good gifts that will be used on a continuous basis throughout the growing season, pruning shears, weed puller, pruning saw, small spade, utility scissors, hand rake, or gift certificate to a local nursery.  Other items I wouldn't mind receiving if my yard was in need of added interest would be a bird feeder with supply of seed, compost bin for outside (and compost pail for inside), simple lawn statute, and stepping stones.

As a gift one year, I asked for, and got, a rain gauge.  It was a glass tube with inches marked off on the inside so that I could measure the amount of rain when it rained so that I could track which days I needed to water the yard.  Rain gauges are fine if you 1) are diligent enough to manage your watering needs based on rainfall and 2) remember to bring them in for the winter, lest they freeze and shatter.  Unfortunately neither 1) nor 2) applied to me.  I often forgot to check the rain gauge after a rainfall, and, sadly, I did forget one fall to bring it inside for the winter and I found glass shattered in the yard when cleaning out in spring.  A more practical guide for weather watchers might be Farmer's Almanac or a wireless weather station (fancy talk for indoor/outdoor thermometer).

On a Clear Day I Can See Forevergreens

Luckily we had a bit of snow today so this photo of the holly berries looks extra festive.

After being spoiled by a summer of color and sunshine, the short days and cold nights can be a kicker especially if every one of your plants looks dead (but rest assured they are just dormant).  Because the winter can seem to last longer than three months (in Maine, I would swear it's six) planting with winter in mind can be useful.  Combine evergreens with deciduous plants so that your yard isn't completely bare.  Holly bushes come in several varieties, but remember to have both a male and female plant if you want berries.  Thankfully, nurseries will mark the male from the female as I'm not certain how to tell the difference (I suspect it's far more complicated than just turning them over).  I also like evergreens that produce pine cones in various size and shapes.  Pine cones, like holly, make not only a pretty outdoor compliment to your yard, but indoors during the holidays as well.

This is the white coast cedar with blue pine cones, if it ever really starts growing, it will be far too big for its location, but, like Scarlett, I'll worry about that tomorrow.

What I like about mixing in a few evergreens, is that they don't necessarily have to be "green".  For example, blue rug junipers are a low growing shrub that are a beautiful shade of blue-green, and gold mop false cypress are a lovely shade of yellow-green.  The white coast cedar I mentioned in my post on memorial gardens, has a silverish tinge to its green needle and produces a funky little blue pine cone.

As some evergreens can get quite large, I would suggest, if you also have a small yard, to look at dwarf varieties rather than regular varieties.  Dwarf evergreens are slower to grow but won't overshadow other plantings.  I mentioned in a previous post the benefits of shopping nurseries in the autumn to find lower priced shrubs and trees, but it's worth repeating.  As long as the ground is still workable (i.e. not frozen) then planting a tree or shrub is just fine (in my opinion).  You can even move perennials around to your hearts content.  While some may argue that plants can't get settled at this time of year, my landscaping sister has re-assured me that the plants are in dormancy and cannot be harmed by being moved.  Through experience, I have found that to be true.

My sister not only gives me good advice, but good plants as well.  When she was working part time at a landscaping job, she brought me some perennial grasses that were going to be tossed out.  I had never given grasses much thought, since I had assumed that they would be boring.  Not so, especially this time of year.  We weren't actually certain where to put the ornamental grass at first, I have no idea of what kind it is or how tall it gets, so the better half divided the plant into three sections and planted it along the path to the front door (which I still dream about replacing with brick, one of my future lofty goals).  It did get a lot taller than we thought, but I like it where it is.  When approaching the front door from the driveway I like the way the dried grass looks against the evergreen boulevard false cypress.  I also cut some of the dried seed heads and brought them inside to see if they would retain the same shape and color when dried completely. They do!  If you have a crafty side, I'm certain there are many uses for dried grasses (like arrangements and wreaths).  Like the holly, it's nice to bring the outdoors in when the days are so short and the nights so long (so very, very long).

Decorating with Garden Statues and Sculptures

My last blog on memorial gardens reminded me that I wanted to discuss garden "art".  I used quotes around art as there may be some difference of opinion about what constitutes tasteful lawn ornamentation.  I actually have very few items in the yard that are not plant related.  I have a brass sundial that I inherited from my parents, a couple of homemade stepping stones, birdbath, a catlike gargoyle, and a small angel head with wings.  I had purchased a small statute of St. Francis after one of my cats died unexpectedly and I was just overwhelmed with sudden grief.  But the bottom of the statue appears to be felted so I do not dare place him outside, so, instead, he protects the animals from the inside of the sun porch.

Please note, this is Not from my yard.

While I might have been tempted to pick up a pink flamingo at a yard sale and brazenly flaunt it in my front yard, I wouldn't really do it.  Same with the backside of the lady made out of wood that appears in county gardens along winding roads. I've inserted an image here as an example, but I've seen this "lady" in many different dresses and socks, and often without the gray haired bun. There are other items that are readily available from nurseries and gardening websites, ceramic frogs, ducks, gnomes, sleeping cats, etc.  And some are actually quite nice.  I think the key is to pick one or two tasteful items and strategically place them in your yard so that they stand out as items of interest and not trash talk from your neighbors (as in, how long before they throw that trash out?)


The St. Francis statute was not the only sentimental buy.  The catlike gargoyle came home with us when I became angry at the neighbors over a fence dispute (their fence, our land).  I purposely placed the gargoyle facing their house as an attempt to ward off their bad spirits.  Also, I like cats (obviously) and this was a rather cool looking gargoyle who adds a nice touch on the steps for Halloween, and with a neck wreath and bow is a perfect Christmas accent.  The birdbath comes inside in the winter as it may crack (not quite concrete, more like resin) in the cold, wet weather.  It is also important to bring in any ceramic pots in winter as they, too, might fill with water, freeze, and crack.

Memorial Garden

Our dog lived with us from 1994-2009; I'm guessing he was about 16 or 17 years of age when he passed, but I can only guess as we adopted him from a shelter in Brockton, MA, right after we bought our first house and his age was unknown.  Our decision to get a dog went something like this; we had just finished unpacking and were working outside when I said to the better half, "now that we have a house can we go get a dog?".  And I'm sure he (reasonably) replied "why don't we wait until have finished with all the yard work?" (meaning in a month or so). I'm certain, at least this is what I remember, I put my tools away and said, "there, I'm done, how about now?".

When we visited the "Best Friends" shelter there were 12 dogs all waiting for adoption.  Of the 12, only one was not barking when we entered the kennel.  This dog simply wagged his tail and appeared friendly.  My husband said to the attendant, "we'll take that one".  Our dog came without any information as to his previous life; he was found as a stray and brought to the shelter.  They listed him only as a "shepherd mix" although he probably had some retriever in him (loved to go get things and bring them to you) and the vet thought a bit of doberman (he had a long skinny body).  Our dog was as big a part of the family as the kids and it was a sad day when he died.  So I thought I would create a memorial garden in the back yard where he spent a lot of time.

Although it's still an unfinished garden (I've only put a few plants in so far), the memorial garden has seen a lot of activity. Four pet rats have come and gone and are now buried there (I chose to cremate our dog, with his ashes returned to us, as the thought of him being disposed of in any other way made me cringe), plus a deceased field mouse I found in our driveway one morning on my way to work, and a dead bird that I found on our deck (may have flown into one of the windows).  I know that most people would probably throw an animal away with their trash but somehow it seems disrespectful.  My only concern, however, is that the next home owner will go digging out back in the memorial garden, find all the tiny bones and think that we harbored some type of wildlife serial killer!  (I guess I should also confess now that my daughter buried a dead hummingbird in the front yard, and there are two additional field mice I found on the school playground buried in the side yard.  Oh, and a squirrel that was hit by a car and left in the street is somewhere by the back garden.  That one I wish I remembered where my husband put as it's been in the yard the longest and chances are I'll find it first if I keep gardening.)

Our dog's ashes are supposed to take their place in the memorial garden.  In my mind I had a dedication ceremony half planned ending with a sentimental spreading of the ashes.  But I am still not ready to part with him (well, what's left of him).  I keep thinking if we move we'll want to take him with us.  I am also holding onto our cat's ashes from last year.  We've had two other cats who have passed in the time that we've been married, I placed one's ashes at the base of a lovely linden tree I planted in the front yard and the other's ashes my daughter planted with a tree she picked out, a little white coast cedar that still hasn't "taken off" but cannot be replaced due to the sentimental aspect of the tree.  I somewhat regret burying the ashes that we have as it feels like the final goodbye, but it's part of the grieving process.

I may have gone off topic here (after all, this is a gardening blog) but I think creating sentiment in your yard helps you connect to it.  I also, though, think that you shouldn't go too far with that sentiment.  How far is too far?  Well, a couple of years ago John Grogan (author of the book Marley and Me: Love and Life with the World's Worst Dog) wrote an article that appeared in the Parade magazine describing how he and his wife decided to move but couldn't bear the thought of leaving Marley behind, so they dug up his corpse and brought him "home" with them.  Yuck.  That article positively haunts me.  It was all filled with sappy sentiment, and sure the author has made a tidy career from this one dog, but if he thinks that every time he moves he needs to dig up his dog's body, then perhaps he's not the animal lover he proposes to be.  Let the poor animal rest in peace.  My advice, if you cannot part with the remains of your pet, please cremate and place the ashes in a pretty container to bring with you.  If you prefer a burial in your yard, dig deep, mark it well, and for the love of St. Francis, leave them alone.