All About that Mulch

So continues our never ending Journey... Its spring finally! or its been spring? Who knows with this crazy weather! So the first thing to do when Spring hits is garden clean up. For some reason winter always accumulates all sorts of debris and stuff in the garden. After cleanup my suggestion is mulching :).

The best time-saving thing a gardener can do is applying mulch. This goes for everywhere from vegetable gardens to flower beds. Mulched gardens are healthier, have fewer weeds, and are more drought-resistant than mulch-less gardens. Done properly, it'll allow you to spend less time watering, weeding, and fighting pest problems.

There are two basic kinds of mulch: organic and inorganic. Organic mulches include formerly living material such as chopped leaves, straw, grass clippings, compost, wood chips, shredded bark, sawdust, pine needles, and even paper. Inorganic mulches include gravel, stones, landscape fabric plastic etc...

Both types discourage weeds, but organic mulches are better since they also improve the soil as they decompose. Inorganic mulches don't break down and enrich the soil, However You don't have to replace inorganic materials as often. As with anything there are pros and cons.

There are two rules for using organic mulches to combat weeds. First, be sure to lay the mulch down on soil that is already weeded, and second, lay down a thick enough layer to discourage new weeds from coming up through it. It can take a 3- to 6-inch layer of mulch to completely discourage weeds, but as we all know here in lovely Tartan Village weeds have special powers of aggravation. A 2-3-inch layer is usually enough in shady spots where weeds aren't as troublesome as they are in full sun. If you know that a garden bed is filled with weed seeds or bits of perennial weed roots, you can use a double-mulching technique to prevent a weed explosion. For example wood chips over landscape fabric. However do not set landscape fabric over plants you already have they will die. 

Spreading organic mulch saves labor and nurtures plants by preventing most weed, and the few that do pop through the mulch will be easy to pull. Keeping the soil cool and moist in summer, organic mulch reduces the need to water. It also decomposes slowly, releasing nutrients into the soil. It encourages earthworm activity, improving soil tilth and nutrient content. Plus, it prevents alternate freezing and thawing of the soil in winter (which is super important in our area because of the crazy weather).

You can use shredded leaves or wood chips for mulching. You can purchase bags of decorative wood chips or shredded bark from a local garden center to mulch your flower garden and shrub borders.If you have trees on your property, shredding the fallen leaves creates a nutrient-rich mulch for free. You can use a leaf-shredding machine, but you don't really need a special machine to shred leaves—a lawn mower with a bagger will collect leaves and cut them into the perfect size for mulch. You can also go to to the free mulch yard on Eisenhower Avenue and get as much mulch as you like its free. If any of you eat out or shop a lot in Alexandria like i do, your just getting your tax money's worth ;)

You can spread a wood chip or shredded leaf mulch anywhere on your property, but it looks especially attractive in flower beds and shrub borders. Of course, it's right at home in a woodland or shade garden. Wood chips aren't a great idea for vegetable and annual flower beds, though, since you'll be digging these beds every year and the chips will get in the way. And some bagged wood chips have synthetic preservatives and colorants that are not healthy to eat. 

Grass clippings are another readily available mulch, although it's a good idea to return at least some of your grass clippings directly to the lawn as a natural fertilizer. It's fine to collect grass clippings occasionally to use as mulch, and the nitrogen-rich clippings are an especially good choice for mulching vegetable gardens. 

If you have enough compost, it's fine to use it as a mulch. It will definitely enrich your soil and make your plants happy, but you may want to reserve your compost to spread as a thin layer around plants and top it with another mulch, such as chopped leaves. YOu can also mulch with hay however this isnt a very attractive alternative

Now on to the inorganic varieties. Mulching a vegetable garden with sheets of black plastic film can be a good idea, black plastic will transmit the sun's heat to the soil beneath. Because the plastic film remains warm and dry, it protects the fruits of vining crops such as strawberries, melons, and cucumbers from rotting and keeps them clean. Because water can't permeate plastic, the mulch retains soil moisture but it also keeps rainwater from soaking the planting bed. Thus, the ideal watering system for a plastic-covered bed is soaker hoses or drip hoses laid on the soil surface before you put down the plastic. HOwever when it comes to trees and shrubs plastic can hurt it because it prevents air to get down tot he root system eventually the plants decline and die. Stick to organic mulches such as shredded leaves, bark, wood chips, or compost under your trees and shrubs.

Mulching with stones or gravel is a good idea but it should be done over a layer of landscape fabric to prevent the stone from sinking into the ground over time.

So this is what should be happening right now around the garden. Mulch Mulch Mulch its our best friend. Happy Spring!  :-)

Making the most of it..

We have small backyards but that doesn't mean we have to sacrifice having an awesome yard. Here are some tips on working with a small yard.

If you have a corner unit  you can take advantage by using the side yard as an extension. It can be used to create a sense of arrival to the back yard by adding a path or enclosing it in with the fence. This will give you more private space to use and you can extend the garden from front to back.

Stepping stones make a path to the gate that leads to a backyard.

Another tip is to continue the path idea, in the actual yard by adding a "hidden element"so that the yard appears bigger as you explore down the path.

The seating area at the end of the garden is hidden from the gate so it makes the trip tot he bench more interesting and the yard appear larger.

Another good trick is to divide the yard into different areas, For example, an area for eating, entertaining, an area for planting, an area for lounging and resting, an area for pets to play etc. Adding different levels with a deck and or patio is also a good idea.

In this yard, the deck area functions as a place for dining, cooking, entertainment. The gravel patio works for lounging, drinking and loitering.

Adding multiple functions to the elements in the yard also helps with space. For example these benches work as seating but also are used for storing garden tools and firewood. The potting bench under the window works as a buffet when company is over. Extending the deck to half the yard here, and leaving space for plants softens the hardscape in the yard. If you decide to make the whole yard a deck or patio maybe leaving a couple of feet between the fence and patio for plants is a good idea. 

Using vines such as this grape vine save space because they grow vertically along the fence this softens the fence and also provides the owner with free fruit.

Lastly try to avoid clutter. The more elements your yard has, the tighter it will feel. Try to use built-in seating, incorporate clean lines, avoid bulky furniture and keep plantings under control. Avoid the hodgepodge effect, instead of doing 20 little pots, do five big pots for a more clean look with bigger impact. Pick only two or three styles of planters, two or three colors — it makes it feel less accidental.

Why not grass?

Why not grass indeed... grass is part of the american dream. However it is a costly dream, it is a hassle to keep an impeccable lawn, the amount of water, work and resources we need to keep grass lush and green is not always worth it. Many people today with their busy schedules opt for lawn alternatives that are easier to maintain. There are hundreds of options to choose from, from ground cover plants, to mulch even to artificial turf (which looks a lot better now than it did years ago).

The ground covers

Depending whether or not you wish to walk on your lawn there are different types of plants you can use that require less maintenance than a regular lawn. for example

Clover may be used on its own for a non-traditional lawn with no grass at all. For this purpose, choose white, or Dutch, clover. It can stand up to occasional mowing, doesn’t grow tall, tends to crowd out weeds and is virtually impervious to pet urine. Additional bonus pollinators such as honey bees love clover so you'll be helping them out, which helps us all out. Check out http://honeybeesanctuary.org/home.aspx

Creeping thyme may be used as another draught tolerant groundcover. Popular varieties worthy of consideration are spicy orange thyme and creeping lemon thyme. Neither usually exceeds four inches in height, and both produce pink blossoms that, when crushed underfoot, emit a wonderful smell. If bare feet will be on the lawn, wooly thyme is recommended for its delightful, soft texture. Hardy and undemanding, thyme varieties grow well even in poor soil, so as it’s well-drained and gets good sun. There are options for a garden for example creeping jenny is extremely vigorous ground cover however it is extremely invasive and works better if its planted somewhere where it can be controlled it will smother most other plants, so if its in a garden surrounded by concrete it might be a good idea since you just have to keep it trimmed up to the concrete line.

Mint can also be used as a ground cover but not just any spearmint or peppermint. The lowest-growing of all mints, corsican mint (mentha requienii) prefers dry to moist soil and medium to full sun. It tolerates foot traffic well and when trampled, gives off a pleasant creme de menthe aroma. Corsican mint can even be used to make a tasty peppermint-like tea, just make sure its not with the leaves you stepped on, nobody likes foot tea. another mint that's a good ground cover is penny royal, it grows to about 6 inches. Penny Royal has the benefit also of keeping mosquitoes away.


Some other plants that are not very stepable like lilyturf (Liriope) and ajuga are good options, even put up with dry soil. Once they have settled they will take care of themselves, especially if you use mulch to suppress weeds and retain soil moisture. 

While grass might not tolerate a very shady, damp area, this is the perfect environment for moss to establish; let it spread, don’t walk on it too often, and plant early-flowering bulbs like snowdrops (Galanthus) or lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis). Cyclamen is quite happy growing in the shade cast by trees, providing ground cover and brightening up a shady spot.

Here is a list of native ground covers for northern VA, all of these would be good lawn replacements so you dont have to

• Asarum canadense, Wild Ginger
• Chrysogonum virginianum, Green and Gold
• Eurybia divaricata, White Wood Aster
• Gaultheria procumbens Wintergreen
• Heuchera villosa, Hairy Alumroot
• Iris cristata, Dwarf Crested Iris
• Mitchella repens, Partridgeberry
• Opuntia humifusa, Eastern Prickly Pear Cactus
• Pachysandra procumbens, Allegheny Spurge
• Packera aurea, Golden Ragwort
• Persicaria virginiana, Virginia Knotweed
• Podophyllum peltatum, Mayapple
• Polemonium reptans, Jacob’s Ladder, Greek Valerian
• Rhus aromatica, “Gro-Low” Fragrant Sumac
• Sedum ternatum, Wild Stonecrop
• Tiarella cordifolia, Foamflower

But what about non-plants?

Artificial Turf doesn’t need water, chemicals, or a gas-powered mower; that makes it an unlikely eco-friendly option. There are new versions that aren’t easy to distinguish from the real thing, so its a good option for those among us with the brownest of thumbs. It is virtually no maintenance, no weeding required.

There is always wood mulch, there is a whole mess of mulch out in the world and you pick from them which ones you like best. Usually commercial wood mulch will be dyed so you can get lots of colors ranging from black to almost red, its engineered to tolerate the elements so that the color wont fade as much. there a re a few drawbacks though, wood mulch needs to be refreshed a couple of times a year because it shifts and may leave bare spots. Also it is good for controlling weeds but it is not weed proof. you can always put down  landscape fabric underneath it and this helps a lot with weeds, but you cannot fight nature weeds will grow in the most unlikely places. Mulch works best when there are plantings if you just have a whole yard of mulch there's not much to look at.

Stone Mulch! a personal favorite, stone mulch unlike wood mulch doesn't really need refreshing unless you sure pea gravel but that's gravel not stone! 

There's so many cool stone colors to choose form you can go with riverstone, or crushed marble, or black stones. Some houses around the neighborhood have gone with this look, it helps to put down landscape fabric and plant drought tolerant plants.

Plant Combinations

So you know what you want, and you have a shady yard or a sunny yard or a partially shady yard. So many options. If you go to a garden center the options can be overwhelming. What do you plant? Where do you plant it? How do you plant it?

First questions first. What do you plant?
Deciding which companion plants to select for a spot in your yard often comes down to personal taste and preferences, but knowing a few design principles will help ensure a successful design and plants that thrive together.First, it is important to choose companion plants that have the same light, water and soil needs. Make sure the plants will thrive in your climate zone and site conditions. Going with native plantings is always a good choice because they have evolved to withstand the weather in our area.  

In this picture... Shasta daisies, Bee balm and Black eyed susans (not in bloom). All are summer flowering perennials they love sunlight, great for a south facing yard, they attract butterflies and bees...

After you find these plants.Then you can move on to blending plant characteristics, including plant shape, size, texture and color. By combining plants that are similar in one or more of these categories and different in others, you’ll be on your way to achieving a winning plant combination. 

In this picture and this garden, i chose to color block the plants, two reasons for this:

1- i like big groups of plants together as opposed to inter-planted and staggered

2- Bees are more attracted to grouped plants, they see them better. Since i'm a big believer in organic planting and attracting as many bees (which are dying off) to my yard i do all i can to accommodate them.

In this view its the Shasta side, there's also some liatris planted in corners but more on that later...

All these plants have summer blooming in color, but they are very different in their growing habits, bee balm is tall and airy with the birdlike flowers, the daisies are tall and columnar, and the black eyed susans are dense and shrubby.
Im going to list now some possible plant combinations for a sunny yard:

Liatris+Milkweed+Lavender (great for butterflies and other pollinators)
Knockout Roses+Rosemary+creeping Jenny
Salvia+Black eyed Susan+Gaura
Sedum+Blue fescue (very drought tolerant)
Speedwell+Gaillardia+Pink Zinnias
Boxwood+Hydrangeas+grasses (also works in part shade)
Heucheras+ Savannah Grass+Geraniums (also tolerates part shade)
Coneflower+coreopsis+ornamental grasses
Sky pencil Holly+salvia+creeping thyme
Hollyhock+barberry+Ajuga

Combinations for shady yard:
Hostas+allium+bleeding heart
Hostas+calla Lillies+Astilbe
Ferns+ Coleus
Brunera+Bleeding heart
Japanese forest grass+lady's mantle+geranium
Heuchera+pulmonaria

The combinations are endless. Some people like to combine the same plant but all different colors, like red coneflowers with pink, white yellow ones. Or different color Zinnias, its always fun when the yard is colorful. Some people opt to make different plant combinations that have the same colors, for example Leucanthemum, with chamomille and white Dahlias or carnations. It all depends on the look you want. 

Its a good idea to use a limited color scheme for example pic 3 colors, in the pictures i showed i have red white and yellow. Originally i wanted only red and purple in my yard to complement my door color. But the yellow and white flowers won me over.

its also a good idea to borrow from nature, this is along Van Dorn street, this is chicory with the blue flowers and queen Anne's lace. It'd be nice to apply this color scheme in a garden all blue and white which can be done using  blue flowers like blue morning glory vine or Hydrangeas and getting other white flowers like white callas, or white peonies.

Now Where do you plant it?
This is a fun question always. cause the answer is anywhere you want. usually in a planting bed. As a general good gardening rule you should make sure the soil is adequate for the plants needs, meaning is it wet? doe sit drain well? how much water does it get, is it sandy, loamy, clay? For most plants loamy and well draining is best option. But some plants tolerate drought, some like wet roots. its important to have a nice bed for your plants and to mulch, mulch does so much good, first it prevents weeds from cropping up, it also minimizes water evaporation from the soil so the plants stay happier, and lastly depending on the mulch as it breaks down it adds organic matter into the soil which helps the plants in the long run. The scale of the plants must be taken into consideration too, you shouldn't plant a huge tree in a small little plot, although some tall plants such as Hollyhocks are nice specially if planted with medium shrubs like barberry and a grown cover like Ajuga.


How do you plant it you ask?

As a general rule of thumb you want to plant things in a garden bed from tallest to shortest starting from the back. But this isn't a hard rule you can do tall on the side, and medium on the opposite side and short in the middle etc. but this is all up to you and the look you want. you can go with a formal garden, or a cottage garden look or something sleek and minimal. Another rule of thumb is plant in groups of three its supposedly a design rule that is more pleasing to the eye. I think groups of 3 has worked for me. You can either do the 3 tall plants in the back then medium then short just offsetting them to the side so that they show more. Or again do the 3 3 and 3 side by side.

This house in old town has a nice little front planting bed, its a perfect example of tall-medium-short rule. The plants on each side are oak-leaf hydrangeas, the one in the middle is a boxwood, the purplish ones are barberry which they keep trimmed down and the shortest is a creeping juniper. 

This bed is a good example of different textures, and colors. it will have color all year because of the evergreen juniper and the boxwood, and the showy blooms of the hydrangea keep it interesting in summer. In the fall the barberry turns an intense red color too.

Planting beds are best defined by personal style and environmental conditions. You can opt for all evergreens low maintenance, or just do a boxwood hedge, or go crazy with all sorts of different flowers. You cant go wrong with roses neither but they are a little difficult to keep in our micro-climate unless they're knockout roses which are pretty disease resistant.  Again this is all optional and up to your tastes and what you and your yard can, handle.

So you know what you have...

       You have made your list haven't you? Of course. we're going to start with the front yard, cause its the face we show to the world on a daily basis. Now that you have assessed your needs, and your wants your inner most gardening desires, AND you know what you have... you can begin your landscaping plan.

        You have a combination of these options, a shady yard, a sunny yard, a dry yard a wet yard. So as a general rule of thumb (there are many exceptions but this is for Tartan Village residents), if you house faces south or east (faces telegraph and Cedar knolls), you will get sun in the morning and throughout the day. If your house faces north or west (faces Kingstowne and Van Dorn st.) then you will get sun in the afternoon so that means you will get shade throughout most of the day.

         If you own a sunny yard consider yourself lucky. Generally sunny yards mean more flowers and that means more bang for your buck. Most of us around here have dry shady yards, so that's what we're going to focus on this post. Your yard might not necessarily be dry but  you also don't want to be watering it everyday, so you might want options that are drought tolerant. So for our basic square yards, there are several options. Most people like sod, most of us have a planting bed, edged with landscape timbers in front of the window, and sod, and that's about it. Its cool, easy maintenance, it always looks clean.

        But if you want to make your yard pop you can do it with some plantings, or interesting edging for your plant bed,

        Let's start with the edging... It's a good idea to look around at what your neighbors have done with their yards maybe get some ideas, using similar materials is good because it enhances a sense of cohesion in the community. Some of the houses around this neighborhood have stone as edging particularly slate. This is a good look it complements the architecture of the houses around Tartan, In this house it was the neighbors cool landscape that inspired the homeowner to change his.  Here is what the yard looks like now...

       Much better now :) minus the dead grass, there was a burst pipe in spring and it destroyed the sod (more on that another time). See how natural the stone looks? and it looks great with the brick. Thanks neighbors for the good ideas! These stones weren't all that expensive they are broken fragments of slate from a discard pile at a gardening center. They sell them for 7.99 a cubic foot, there are 4 cubic feet here, so roughly it cost 32 dollars for this edging. Campbell and Ferrara on Route 1 sells these. Also you don't have to limit yourself to stone, you can use bricks for edging, Affordable plastic edging, and landscape timbers.'

Here's another example of reclaimed materials for edging...

Here these are reclaimed bricks from a salvage yard and the back is slate however these are slate roof shingles, 10 cents a piece. Bargains!

       Now on to the plantings, So Shade loving plants... unfortunately when it comes to shade the colors aren't as vibrant as with the sun lovers, you get more subtle coloring and mostly with the foliage not the actual flowers. Here's a very short list of shade loving perennials:

• Hostas
• Baptisias
• Columbines
• Ferns
• Galanthus
• Geraniums
• Vinca
• Hydrangeas

For a more thorough list visit https://mgnv.org/, the master gardeners have the best lists!

    

       All the plants chosen for this particular yard were chosen because they are very shade tolerant and don't require as much watering as other plants. Also perennials were chosen because they come back every year so they are less maintenance than annuals which need to be replaced yearly. However it is all personal choice if you enjoy digging and yard work maybe an annual garden is for you (also some annuals start self seeding which is always nice). 

     Now a little on structure, so when planting on a bed you want tall plants in the back (like in this case the tall lilies in the center, there are also tall ferns in the back but they're still growing, later in the summer they will reach 5 feet tall. In the middle you want medium height plants, in this case the hostas, and short ones to the front in this case small hostas, daylilies and annual coleus, that way you  see everything! Another option would be columbines in the back, hostas, and vinca in the front. But you don't have to limit yourself to perennials there are evergreen shrubs and a whole ton of plants that can tolerate shade.

In this yard a tall planter planted with a tall grass, double begonias, dusty miller and sweet potato vine also acts as a focal point. However some yards have trees in the center which act as the focal point or they're the reason the'res shade there in the first place. Take advantage and plant around the tree so that it is the focal point everyone loves trees. It is always a good idea to consult the master gardeners website and the people at nurseries when buying plants, if you describe what you want and where you want to put it they can suggest lots of options for planting that will do well in our micro-climate. We'll talk about sunny yards soon. Now forth and garden! and feel free to ask questions in the comments section.

Where do i begin?

Most of us are not lucky enough to inherit a garden when we buy a house. In my case my house was pretty blank. A Townhouse in Virginia, with a juniper hedge out front and azaleas on the side, i didn't even have a privacy fence. Here's what it used to look like...

Lame i know...

But there's always potential to turn our gardens into something we can enjoy and the people around us can enjoy or at least enjoy to look at. Whether we're starting from scratch or renovating and remodeling what we have there's lots of things we can do, for example i dug up all the juniper and got rid of it (it was hell, more on that later), moved the azaleas to form a separate hedge and now i have a yard i actually enjoy and appreciate.

The purpose of this blog is to help maybe guide other do-it-yourself homeowners in improving their spaces or maybe just so they can have a laugh at my struggles with my yard. I laugh at myself so is all good. 

So where do I begin?

Before considering what to plant, construct, landscape we have to consider practical matters such as budget, skill, time for maintenance, time for building and exactly how we plan to use our garden. I'll write this from my perspective, i have a very low budget (in the hundreds of dollars maybe), reasonable skilled with a shovel and a hammer,  time is weekends and afternoons, maintenance as little as possible except for watering, and i plan on using my garden to relax, entertain and grow some food. 

So my first tips are these, evaluate your space. Try to visualize what you want to see there eventually, do you want to grow food? entertain friends and family? play with your pets? Make a list, it helps, i have so many lists i have lists of lists.

Next assess your yard conditions, how much light and shade does your garden have, how is the soil and moisture? Is it windy? All these factors affect what you can do in the yard, and what plantings you can get. 

Now plan what you want to do, an outdoor room? beds for crops? a place for flowers? maybe you just want grass and a couple of shrubs, clean and simple (sometimes i wish this was the route i took).

Lastly now think of your own style, this is highly personal, and it should reflect your personality but also keep it in bounds of what your community allows and make sure it is somewhat consistent with the rest of your neighborhood, you want your garden to be a source of inspiration not discord with your neighbors. That would suck. But always remember its supposed to make you happy.

Now write it down, Make those lists :)