Garden Gate Store - Garden Gate Magazine

53 Pages·2004·7.93 MB·English

by  August Home Publishing

NO ADS! 100% GARDENING
®
Clematis
7
SECRETS TO
BOUNTIFUL
BLOOMS
Page 12
PLUS:
BEFORE&AFTER
A WATER GARDEN OASIS
Page 8
GARDEN GATE’S
TOP10 PLANTS
THAT LOVE CLAY
Page 20
NO-FEAR
ROSE PRUNING
Page 26
wwwwww..GGaarrddeennGGaatteeMMaaggaazziinnee..ccoomm
®
®
The Illustrated Guide to Home Gardening and Design
EDITORIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR
Steven M. Nordmeyer
MANAGING EDITOR
Kristin Beane Sullivan
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Stephanie Polsley Bruner
Jim Childs
Glen O. Seibert
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Sherri Ribbey
SENIMODRoe nGbtRoeAr HaPHhaI CmG DmrEuoScInGadNERS Augustine Torke
CaILrlLiUeS HTRaAmTOilRton Mavis
N:
SDTAaFvFi dPH CO.T OMGcRCAPluHrEeR USTRATIO
CORPORATE GARDENER ILL
Marcia Leeper
from the editor
ELECTRONIC MEDIA SPECIALIST
Troy Clark
PUBLISHER Welcome to Garden Gate! Who among us hasn’t
Donald B. Peschke
coveted a neighbor’s arbor bejeweled with
CORPORATE clematis blooms or dreamed about having our
Corporate Vice Presidents: Mary R. Scheve, Douglas L. Hicks • Creative Director:
Ted Kralicek (cid:127) Creative Resources Art Director: Douglas A. Flint (cid:127)New Media Man- own rose garden? If this sounds familiar, you’ll want to
ager: Gordon C. Gaippe (cid:127) Multi Media Art Director: Eugene Pedersen (cid:127) Web
Server Administrator: Carol Schoeppler (cid:127) Web Content Manager: David Briggs check out two stories in this issue. Clematis, on p. 12,
(cid:127) Web Producer: Terry Walker (cid:127) Multi Media Designer: Kara Blessing (cid:127) Web
Developer: Justin Gruca (cid:127) Research Coordinator: Nicholas A. Jaeger (cid:127) Senior will show you everything you need to know to have gor-
Photographer: Crayola England (cid:127) Controller: Craig Stille (cid:127) Director of Financial
Analysis: Lesia Smith(cid:127) Professional Development Director: Michal Sigel (cid:127) Senior
Accountant: Laura J. Thomas (cid:127) Accounts Payable Clerk: Mary J. Schultz (cid:127) Accounts geous clematis in your own garden. It all starts with
Receivable Clerk: Margo Petrus (cid:127) Production Director: George Chmielarz (cid:127) IT
Manager: Brian VanHeuverswyn (cid:127) Elec. Pub. Director: Douglas M. Lidster (cid:127) knowing which pruning group your clematis falls into.
Systems Administrator: Cris Schwanebeck (cid:127) PC Maintenance Technician: Robert
D. Cook (cid:127) Hiring Specialist: Jessica Tesar (cid:127) Benefits Specialist: Jenny Westover (cid:127) Sound complicated? It won’t be after you read our story.
Facilities Manager: Kurt Johnson (cid:127) Office Manager: Jeanne Johnson (cid:127) Administrative
Assistant: Brandi Hammond (cid:127) Mailroom Clerk: Lou Webber
Then on p. 26 you’ll find out that pruning roses isn’t as
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND FULFILLMENT
Operations Director: Bob Baker (cid:127) Customer Service Mgr.: Jennie Enos (cid:127) Senior “thorny” an issue as you may think!
Customer Service Reps: Anna Cox, April Revell, Deborah Rich, Valerie Jo Riley,
Tammy Truckenbrod (cid:127) Customer Service Reps: Kim Harlan, Tara Benshoof, Katherine Another common problem gardeners face is clay soil.
Parker (cid:127) Merchandise Buyer: Linda Jones (cid:127) Assistant Buyer: Nancy Downey (cid:127)
Warehouse Mgr.: Nancy Johnson (cid:127) Fulfillment: Sylvia Carey, Kim Freauff, Stephen If you’re thinking of tackling a clay area, you won’t want
Griffin
CIRCULATION to miss this issue’s Top Picks article on p. 20. In it we
CWiracyudlaet iJo. nK lOingpbeerailti(cid:127)o nCsi rDcuirleactitoonr: MSaarnkdeyti nBga Aumnal(cid:127)ys tC:Piracutrliackti oAn. WMaarlskhet(cid:127)in gC iDrciurelacttioorn: share our list of 10 plants guaranteed to thrive in even
Manager:Steph Forinash(cid:127) Renewal Manager: Paige Rogers(cid:127) Fulfillment Manager:
Suzanne Hejkal(cid:127) Circulation Marketing Associate:Christine Forret(cid:127) Strategic the stickiest soil.
Business Analyst:Kris Schlemmer(cid:127) Senior Graphic Designer: Robin Friend
Have you ever noticed how the best advice comes
from fellow gardeners? We think so, too. That’s why we
like to pass along our readers’ great ideas to one another.
Be sure to read on p. 32 how one reader designed several
®® garden rooms even within the confines of an average-
sized city lot. And on our Reader Tips pages, look for
ways to save time, money and energy straight from the
GGaarrddeenn GGaattee®(ISSN 1083-8295) is published bimonthly (Feb., April, June,
backyards of fellow gardeners.
Aug., Oct., Dec.) by August Home Publishing Co., 2200 Grand Ave., Des
Moines, IA 50312. GGaarrddeenn GGaattee®is a registered trademark of August Home Finally, here at Garden Gate, we’re all gardeners, just
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and ideas in this issue. Happy gardening!
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responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. PPRRIINNTTEEDD IINN UU..SS..AA..
2 www.GardenGateMagazine.com
© 2004, August Home Publishing Company
contents
in every issue features
AT HOME GARDENER ON THE COVER
12
adrian bloom Clematis ....................12
on conifers..........................6 Learn how to prune the “queen of
the vines,” as well as other
BEFORE & AFTER
secrets to growing perfect
a water garden oasis ..........8 clematis. ONLINE
GARDEN GATE’S TOP PICKS
Rose Pruning............26
10 clay-loving plants ........20
Think pruning roses is complex? It
32
doesn’t have to be! Let us show you
GARDEN GATE’S
DESIGN CHALLENGE some simple techniques.ONLINE
ONLINE
new home front yard..........38
Sand-Cast
FROM THE DRAWING BOARD a Birdbath ................30
You bring the leaf and concrete
a sunny entry garden ........40 To find more tips, plans andstep-by-
and we’ll give you the know-how
step instructions, look for these
CONTAINER RECIPE............43 to create your own birdbath in symbols on our Web site.
5 simple steps.ONLINE (cid:127) More Clematis Cultivars
FROM THE TEST GARDEN ONLINE
(cid:127) Sharpening Pruners VIDEO
dividing grape hyacinths ....48 Garden Rooms ........32
(cid:127) Sand-Cast a Birdbath VIDEO
Find out how one gardener cre-
(cid:127) Dividing Grape Hyacinths VIDEO
EDITOR’S CHOICE ated a haven in a surprisingly
prairie smoke....................50 small backyard. www.GardenGateMagazine.com
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reader tips..........................4
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pest watch ......................5
Click on “Subscriber Services”in the list on the left
side of our home page. Menus and forms will take
what’s new........................44
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FOR A COMPLETE LIBRARY OR VOLUMES
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© 2004, August Home Publishing Company
reader tips
Divide hosta
with a bulb
“Genius is 1 percent inspiration and ware stores), then he planter.
(cid:127)
99 percent perspiration.”The same is true used a fine nail to poke
Thomas Edison of gardening, but a moment small holes down the
of inspiration can save hours length of the hose. Now
of perspiration! Tell us about he’s got a handy (and
your inspirations that save you free!) soaker hose. chemical released by the Slide the
division
time, effort or money. Mail lavender won’t kill into a
your tip to Garden GateTips, Cleaner algae already growing, precut hole.
2200 Grand Ave., Des birdbaths but it does prevent new
Moines, IA 50312, or e-mail Margaret Juler, California growth from starting.
gardengate@gardengatemag. Margaret has a tech-
com. We’ll consider publishing nique her English grand- Cut to fit
your tip in one or more of our mother taught her years Judy Stahley, South Dakota
works, and we’ll pay you $25 ago to keep slimy green Judy has come up with
if we use your tip. Please algae from growing in a great way to save time
include your name, address her birdbath. and energy when she’s
and daytime phone number. She starts with a dividing her hostas in year for hostas, but
clean birdbath and fills the fall. it’s best done in fall
it with fresh water. First she uses a small when the plants are
New life for an Then Margaret binds bulb planter to dig going dormant.
old hose six to eight stems of holes where she wants You do lose some of
Jim Allen, California lavender flowers her transplants. Then the foliage when you
When Jim replaced his together with a daylily she removes a small make the cuts in the
garden hose, he thought leaf and lays the bundle amount of soil around root. But whenever you
he ought to be able to in the water. a mature hosta to decide to divide them,
use the old one some- One bundle of expose the root. She both mother and baby
how in the garden, even lavender will keep the selects a section that plants do well because
though it had a few water algae-free for two has some sprouting they’re not exposed to
cracks in it. He attached or three weeks. During “eyes,” or leaf buds, the stress of being dug
a cap to seal the end of hot weather, she removes the fading up and manhandled
the hose (available at replaces the bundles foliage and slices the into their new homes.
garden centers or hard- more frequently. The root with a twist of the
bulb planter. Disinfect pruners
Because Judy cuts with no drips
QUICK TIP Leave your clogs at the door them with the same Earl Simmons, Maryland
Elaine Cooper, Iowa tool, the root core fits Sterilizing your pruners
perfectly into its between cuts is an
Garden clogs are wonderful outside, but it’s amazing the way they planting hole. The important way to keep
carry mud inside. Elaine came up with a way to keep her clogs handy whole process takes less your plants healthy and
and ready to use, without having to find a place to stash them indoors. than 30 seconds per disease-free. Most
She pounded 1-in.-diameter dowel rods into the plant. With the divi- people use a jar of
ground beside her steps. When she’s sions safely in place, bleach and water, but
ready to go in, she slips off her clogs she simply repacks the Earl found an easier
and hangs them toes-up on the soil around them and way. He uses Clorox®
dowels to keep them dry inside. around the mother disinfectant wipes to
And when she wants to do a little plant’s exposed roots. clean his pruners
gardening, she steps out on the Judy says this divi- between cuts — no
porch and her clogs are right there sion technique can more messy jars or
waiting for her. be used any time of drips on his clothing.
4 www.GardenGateMagazine.com
© 2004, August Home Publishing Company
pest watch
Japanese beetle
Popillia japonica
IDENTIFICATION
Metallic green bodies
with white tufts of hair
and bronze outer wings Adult beetle
Kitchen recycling Finger tip make ½-in.-long Japanese 1/2in. long
Hazel Benwel, Idaho Ruchelle Gee, beetles hard to miss. But if you
Hazel was looking for South Carolina don’t notice the insect, you’ll notice the
an easy way to label the Much as we love damage. Japanese beetles skeletonize leaves,
plants in her Idaho gardening, there’s no eating the tissue between the veins, on a wide
garden so she wouldn’t denying it’s hard on range of ornamental plants. Roses, birch, plum,
forget a variety name or the hands. Here’s one apricot, cherry, apple, crabapple and peach trees
a color when it wasn’t way to keep your mani- are favorite snacks. Damaged leaves often look
in bloom. She discov- cure looking as nice as almost lacy, and soon wilt and die. Adult beetles
ered that disposable your garden does. are most common in spring and early summer as
plastic knives make Ruchelle tucks half a they feed. During this time, the females burrow into
good plant labels when cotton ball into the tips the ground where they lay eggs.
she uses a permanent of her glove fingers After the eggs hatch, the larvae do a different
marker to write on the before she puts them kind of damage. The 1-in.-long white grubs often live
handle. They’re weath- on, which adds a little under turfgrass, feeding on the roots. A heavy infesta-
erproof and last for sev- extra protection for tion can kill sections of lawn, which you can pull
eral years, and the ser- nails and cuticles. The back like carpet to see the grubs underneath. Moles,
ration on the blades cotton can stay in the raccoons and birds like to feed on the grubs.
makes them easy to gloves for several work The larvae overwinter several inches under-
stick into the ground by sessions before it needs ground. They pupate in the spring and emerge as
each plant. to be replaced. adults in spring or early summer.
Japanese beetles do their damage in the
Northeast and Midwest, as far west as Iowa and
as far south as Alabama, and in southeastern
Canada. They show up occasionally in plant ship-
ments to the West Coast.
CONTROL You can buy traps at most garden
centers, but they’re not the best way to deal with
this pest. They often attract more beetles than
they actually catch, making the problem worse.
Insecticides, including imidacloprid and car-
baryl, can control the larvae in lawns. But there are
more environmentally friendly ways to dispose of the
grubs: Insect-eating nematodes (Steinernema glaseri
and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora)
control Japanese beetles in turf-
grass. Milky spore, applied
any time the ground isn’t
frozen, controls the
larvae, too.
To get rid of the
adults, keep plants
healthy. Stressed
plants are more
susceptible to pests. If
you only have a few
Grub
beetles, handpick them off 1 in. long
plants and drown them in a pail of soapy water.
www.GardenGateMagazine.com 5
© 2004, August Home Publishing Company
at homegardener
adrian bloom
Adrian Bloom started out
on conifers working with perennials in
the family business, Blooms of
Bressingham. After trying dif-
ferent areas of horticulture, he
felt it was time to branch out and
find his own garden niche. He
chose conifers.
Why? They create excitement
even during the coldest, dreariest
weather, especially with all their
sizes, textures and colors.
THEEVER-CHANGINGGARDEN
Transforming a flat meadow in
Norfolk, England, into a struc-
tured garden was Adrian’s first
challenge. It’s taken many years,
but he’s learned a lot in the
process. For example, planting
small starts of conifers leaves a
garden looking pretty sparse. To
get a fuller look more quickly,
interplant the conifers with
perennials and purposely set the
conifers close together. When
you plan a new garden, Adrian
says, it’s a good idea to keep in
mind that the garden will evolve
over time.
As the conifers grow, pull out
some of the perennials to make
room. And some of the conifers
will need to be dug up and
moved to roomier digs. Pruning
will corral others.
TAKINGCONTROL “Years ago,
I thought it was wrong to prune
conifers,” Adrian says. But in
working with them, he’s dis-
covered that it’s a necessity. Not
all of them age gracefully —
some grow thin, lopsided or
simply too big. Pruning is the
best way to keep plants looking
their best and in scale with their
surroundings.
It’s a skill that anyone can
learn. A little time and practice is
all it takes. Adrian prefers “rea-
“You need to prune to keep conifers under control — especially in a small garden.”
6 www.GardenGateMagazine.com
© 2004, August Home Publishing Company
(1)The first step in pruning this spreading ‘Prostrata’spruce (Picea pun- (2)Next, shorten the longest side branches. The spruce looks
gens) is cutting back the branches that are forming leaders. “reasonably natural” and new growth will quickly cover the cuts.
sonably natural” pruning to a beforenew growth stretches, is a most recent book, “Gardening
formal style. good time. That way the new with Conifers,” or take a
To get an idea of what he foliage will cover up where virtual tour of his garden,
means, take a look at photo 1. you’ve cut so you’re not left all Foggy Bottom, at www.
This is a conifer that has begun season with a plant that looks as bressinghamgardens.com. To
to outgrow its place in the if it just had a haircut. learn about conifers that grow
garden. Rather than removing it, 2Pine, spruce and fir are best best in your region, visit the
Adrian is cutting it back. pruned just as new tips, the American Conifer Society at
As you can see, this is not a candles, begin to stretch in www.conifersociety.org or call
light pruning — just look at the spring. All you need to do is nip 410-721-6611.
piles of branches left on the back the shoots before the new Adrian hopes that more
ground in photo 2. And the needles form. Americans will find ways to add
shrub still has a natural-looking When you prune a conifer, these colorful and easy-to-care-
form, but now it fits better in its never cut it back to a point on for “missing ingredients” into
surroundings. the stem where there’s no foliage their gardens.®
Just when the new growth left. If you do, some, such as yew — Jim Childs
begins to stretch is a good time and hemlock, will leaf out
to do a dramatic pruning like again. But most won’t, and WANT MORE?
this. The new growth that’s left you’ll be left with lots of
on the plant will grow and bare stubs.
cover up the pruning cuts. There’s a conifer for Adrian Bloom’s latest book,
Timing is important when almost any landscaping sit- “Gardening with Conifers”
m
© Richard Bloo pgthoreuomndi. nt Bigmu cteo wtnoii ftpehrriusn.n tSehp amrti,an sngoy im so eaf uifnoatutoino pdnea.r tTeionhnne iypa llca agnnatr ibndege snm.s ioxred igthsa aftunhl el3 ro5ef d iyn fefroaorrmms oamftioorne he’s
OS: recover best if you prune before Some make wonderful growing them. It’s
HOT new growth starts, and others hedges, shrub borders and available from
P
do best if you prune just as the even specimen plants. online book sellers or local
new growth is starting: Want to learn even book stores, selling for $39.95
1With many of the junipers, more about how Adrian hardcover or $24.95 paperback.
falsecypresses, yews and hem- uses conifers in his
locks, pruning in early spring, garden? Check out his
www.GardenGateMagazine.com 7
© 2004, August Home Publishing Company
before&after
This gardener’s dream was a backyard aquatic
a water paradise — a place to relax, surrounded by
ponds filled with swaying reeds and cattails. A
sparkling waterfall would fill the air with the sound
garden oasis
of splashing water, and fish would play beneath the
fragrant, floating water lilies. Step into this garden
and find out how the dream became a reality.
One pond in this backyard just
wasn’t enough (inset). Five years
later, the garden boasts six ponds
and a host of water plants.
8 www.GardenGateMagazine.com
© 2004, August Home Publishing Company
STARTING SMALL This gorgeous backyard garden who are bitten by the “water bug,” this gardener
started five years ago as a featureless expanse of discovered the fabulous forms, sizes and colors
lawn that sloped away from the house. The first that water plants could bring to her garden. She
year, there was only one pond, in the inset, realized that one pond just wasn’t going to be
installed at the yard’s lowest point. It showed off enough. Over a period of several years, she
a patch of surface-floating water lilies you could installed five more ponds. As you can see, the
see from the house. But then, like so many folks garden has really taken shape.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
The ponds are made from high-
strength commercial stock-
watering tanks in various shapes
O: Shirley Jung (inset) adslinnkeaedepk ad.e isTwa dhmaoeteeywtr erfnrau stln.lh . E eaA also clcnohugp ro evan e oeldif ni -tseeh d2 etg h fyeeaaetrtd
OT gravel bed creates a well-defined
H
P line between the pond area and
the surrounding lawn. Disc-
shaped stepping stones echo the
bed’s bubbling, flowing water
theme. And while this garden’s
soil drains well, if it didn’t, the
gravel would keep any rain and
irrigation water from running
into the ponds. In addition to
floating water lilies, cattails,
rushes and elephant’s ear grow in
the ponds. Their forms — strap-
like, stiffly vertical and heart-
shaped — echo those of the
daylilies, grasses and hostas that
line the back of the garden. To
the left of the pond in the fore-
ground, hen and chicks mimic
the floating water lilies.
Goldfish live in the largest
pond near the bench arbor. Here
they’re protected from the hot
summer sun by the fence and
water lilies, which cover about
50 percent of the pond’s surface.
A half-barrel fountain spills into
the pond, oxygenating the water
and creating a focal point of
sparkling reflections and
soothing tones. Along with col- Botanical
orful containers, the refreshing Names
sound invites visitors to relax on
the bench and just watch the CattailTypha angustifolia
water flow. DaylilyHemerocallis spp.
Elephant’s ear
Building and maintaining a
Colocasia esculenta
water garden has its challenges. Hen and chicks
But the rewards are worth the Sempervivum spp.
time and effort. On the next Hosta Hosta spp.
Spike rushEleocharis dulcis
pages we’ll take a look at the
Water lily Nymphaea spp.
design points and plant materials
used in this special garden.
www.GardenGateMagazine.com 9
© 2004, August Home Publishing Company
3-sq.-ft. barrel 64-sq.-ft. fish pond
Water hyacinth Hardy water lily Nymphaea ‘Virginalis’
Eichhornia crassipes N. ‘Odorata Sulphurea Grandiflora’
N. ‘Fire Crest’
Japanese dwarf cattailTypha minima
before&after
continued
Ponds are dynamic systems and must be kept bal-
anced to stay healthy. There have to be enough
complex plants to use up nutrients in the water or
simple algae will run rampant. It’s the same for sun-
light. About 50 percent of a pond’s surface should
be covered with floating foliage of some kind to
block out light and keep algae in check. If you’re
supporting fish, floating plants will give them
shelter from the sun and a place to hide from
predators. In the plan at right, floating water lilies
grow mostly in the large, round ponds with lots of
surface area. The tall spike rushes and cattails are
vertical punctuations popping up from the smaller
ponds. Marginal plants, such as iris, arrowhead
and sweet flag, nestle along pond edges.
Ponds have to hold up under some tough condi-
tions — direct sun, water pressure and a few
inevitable kicks and dings. So use high-density
molded-resin stock-watering tanks, available from
farm and ranch supply stores. They’re practically
indestructible. The tanks come in different shapes
and sizes, but make sure they’re at least 24 inches
deep so they can accommodate the needs of various
water plants. See the Quick Tip below for which
plants to use and how deeply to plant them. ®
— Glen O. Seibert
QUICK TIP Arrowhead
DEPTH AND DIVERSITY A pond needs several kinds of plants to stay healthy: Water
lily
(cid:127) Submerged oxygenators, such as parrot’s feather, help Water
keep the water clear. (cid:127) hyacinth 4 in. of 3/4-in.
gravel
(cid:127)
(cid:127) Free floaters, such as water hyacinth, have large,
complex root systems that support bacteria, which
(cid:127)
clean and filter the water.
(cid:127) Surface floaters, such as water lilies, prevent
algae growth by blocking sunlight.
(cid:127) Marginal plants,such as arrowhead, provide shelter for Parrot’s
feather 24 in.
aquatic insects, frogs and toads at the pond’s edges.
QUICK TIP
BUILD ITONSAND Dig a hole 3 to 4 in. larger than the 3 to 4 in.
of sand
tank and fill the bottom of the hole with play sand. The soft
sand makes adjustments easy. When the tank is placed
correctly, use more sand as backfill to cushion the tank and
help support the weight of the water.
10 www.GardenGateMagazine.com
© 2004, August Home Publishing Company