| Interview: Planning a Garden |
From "Ask DIY"
episode ADI-110 |
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It's natural to buy plants first and then try to figure out what you'll do with them, but it's to your benefit to do the planning first, says Ask DIY Gardening expert Jesse Mack Burns. She shares these tips for planning your garden or landscape: - Before you buy plants, plot out your yard. Look at where the sun rises and sets and how much daylight and direct sun each area of your yard gets. That will determine what types of plants you can put in different parts of the yard.
Working smarter: Don't kid yourself: plants that require "full sun" will need to be in areas that receive sunlight during all the daylight hours. - Check out some books (figure A) to determine which plants would do well in different areas of your yard. There are entire books just on "plants for shade," for example. Many books will also tell you how to "warm" or "cool" the appearance of different parts of your landscape by using different colors of annuals.
- Consider using some of the newly available software programs that help you plan your garden.
- Take any of these lists or plans you create when you go to the nursery or home store to buy plants.
- Try mail-order plant and seed shopping. The catalogs are great because they'll tell you how much sun each plant requires, what areas it's hardy in, how tall it will grow, whether you can overwinter the plant -- all the information is right there.
- To save money on seedlings, particularly annuals, start your own in egg cartons or biodegradeable peat pots (figure B). Do this instead of planting the seeds out in the yard so you can keep track of the plants -- and make sure the birds don't get the seeds. Another alternative is compressed peat pots (figure C). To use one, place the seed in the middle of the compressed disk and then water it. The disk will swell into a pot before your eyes. Then when the seedling sprouts, pot and all can go into the ground.
Working smarter: Always make sure seeds haven't expired before you plant them, or they won't sprout. The expiration date should be printed on the end of the packet. - Don't plant the seeds too far under the soil -- read the package recommendations. Some seeds should rest on top of the soil.
- Make sure to keep newly planted seeds moist. If the swelling seeds or sprouts dry out, they'll die.
Web site resources for Planning a Garden: Plant Buying Tips from HGTV.com Where to Begin from A Magick Garden.com Planning for Planting: Keeping a Garden Journal from Suite 101.com Planning a Garden from the University of Illinois at Urbana Planning Your Garden: The Basics from Greenfingers.com Planning Your Garden from Creative Homemaking.com Books: The Lawn & Garden Owner's Manual
By Lewis Hill
Storey Books (2000)
Schoolhouse Rd.
Pownal, VT 05261
Phone: 802-823-5000
Fax: 802-823-5819
Web site: www.storey.com Planting the Landscape: A Professional Approach to Garden Design
By Nancy Leszczynski
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (1998)
605 Third Ave.
New York, NY 10158-0012
Phone: 212-850-6000
Fax: 212-850-6088
E-mail: info@wiley.com
Web site: www.wiley.com
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