tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post67865464346391983..comments2024-03-07T10:06:13.620-05:00Comments on View from Federal Twist: Change?James Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-76373025480316966802010-06-14T03:19:38.359-04:002010-06-14T03:19:38.359-04:00Baby Boomers may well be the last bastion of the o...Baby Boomers may well be the last bastion of the old and tired ways of gardening without a thought for tomorrow. (unsustainable) That particular model was much too resource hungry and the sooner much of those 'ego' gardening ways depart the better..and perhaps we might see some new concepts fitting for this new age!<br /><br />Martin.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-67847982872739547562010-06-13T18:11:15.683-04:002010-06-13T18:11:15.683-04:00Preacher,
Too late for me. I turned 65 a couple of...Preacher,<br />Too late for me. I turned 65 a couple of months ago, so don't feel I have time to start anew. Anyway, my problem here isn't so much preexisting weeds as those seeded in by birds each year, and I'm not sure how to deal with that problem other than to use plants that out compete even the "weeds." Fortunately, in my wet garden, I'm not at a loss for highly competitive plants. Big things that grow fast and shade out the smaller stuff (though Japanese honeysuckle and poison ivy seem to have amazing resilience). I also have, it seems, innumerable sedges that make nice colonies of groundcover. All is not perfect, for sure, but it's interesting to watch the slow battle going on in the garden.James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-30955684318294051972010-06-13T04:44:42.080-04:002010-06-13T04:44:42.080-04:00Good to hear James..YES out with any chemical weed...Good to hear James..YES out with any chemical weed controler with the exception of the odd dab..In my experience the use of weedkillers by spray only sets the scene for the next weed equation. I initially used the above mentioned weedkiller in the early days of making my garden (over 20 years now) but learnt my lesson. I cannot stress too highly the importance of dealing with the weed equation BEFORE setting out to install our finely tuned (in our minds) planting beds. Do chef's plough into creating a dish without initial preparation? I have used to methods to achieve this aim. One I cover the new planting bed with a thick layer of wood chips. (say 4-6 inches) Two wait for any deep rooted and persistant plants to rise through (Dock is a good example) Three spot spray or dab same. Four plant any 'woody' plants taking great care not to leave any soil on the surface of the chips..and so on. The chips are for weed suppression purposes only. Generally these chips will last up to 3-4 years and by then one will have planted the area up well with few if any bare patches..the lower plant level takes up the role of a 'natural' mulch and undesirable plants cannot get a look in!!<br />I must add i only used wood chips if I could get em almost free and much prefer to use 3-4 of gravel. I found that for many plants including more woody types the organic covering often caused plants to place their roots too high in the scheme of things and once the chips had rotted away they were often exposed to the air. Much is written about the wonder of organic mulch and most of it is complete bollocks..the only plants which require such an amount of topside orgANIC MATERIAL ARE WOODLAND PLANTS..<br />"psuedo ecological' is about providing a place for plants to get on with things their way and for you the gardener to work less to create the scene..its all about the correct choice of plants for your given climate and soil conditions..and to kill of that absurd historical 'good gardening' practice of horticultural one-up-man-ship of trying to grow stuff that does not belong in your given climatical etc situation.<br />End Sermon 3783632.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-72761865551012921332010-06-12T22:59:49.583-04:002010-06-12T22:59:49.583-04:00Speaking of voids, Mr. Martin, I'm feeling a n...Speaking of voids, Mr. Martin, I'm feeling a need for some--void, that is. I plan to pull out part of my wet prairie later this year and add some, probably gravel, not lawn, smack dab in the middle (or thereabouts). As for weeds? The worst are constantly being seeded in by bird poop: poison ivy (really pretty in the fall, but a horror to live with) and multiflora rose, and recently, Japanese honeysuckle has added itself. Out with the glyphosate! It's the only way.<br /><br />Is this pseudo-ecological?James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-36599108943340026192010-06-12T06:50:21.343-04:002010-06-12T06:50:21.343-04:00Last but not least..if you have unwanted plants in...Last but not least..if you have unwanted plants in your garden (sometimes called weeds) you ain't done the necessary legwork at the beginning and you are a fool! (biff wallop) I choose my 'weeds'..the plants I know will self sow in just the right amount to loosen my otherwise contrived plantings..its easy peasy but ONLY if you have rid your place of the plants you truly regard as weeds!<br />I believe an Englishman coined this style as 'Pseudo Ecological'...I rarely agree with anything remotely 'English' but this title is spot on.. I hope I have put all your meadows at rest now.<br /><br />yes again Martin (Australia)<br />We really must stop meeting this way!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-84310892789403398482010-06-12T06:40:11.788-04:002010-06-12T06:40:11.788-04:00If my memory serves me correctly the late great Ge...If my memory serves me correctly the late great Gertrude Jekyll suggested when planting a garden one should make a list of all the plants one would like to have. Proceed to step 2 and reduce the list to (lets say) one tenth. (I really don't remember her equation so i am making this up as i go along) Halve this number again and then multiply the remaining individual plant types by 10 or 20 or whatever takes your fancy! Then go forth and plant. From my experience the most successful gardens are those that display plants in a repetitive way (like a meadow) rather than a Dan Hinkley catalogue (Dan will understand) of one of EVERYTHING!!!<br />I can tell you it works a treat!!<br /><br />Woops not another post by ****** (Australia)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-28426309504921966472010-06-12T06:29:19.358-04:002010-06-12T06:29:19.358-04:00Mmmm Just think of lawns as a 'void'. They...Mmmm Just think of lawns as a 'void'. They play a certain role in providing relief from the other parts that make up the garden space. BUT they tend to be overdone and rather dull spaces that could be otherwise a wee bit more adventurous.I use 'voids' of gravel and low plantings with the odd 'exclamation' mark to enliven the scene. I suggest it is a problem of lack of imagination when it comes to this lawn versus ??????? ! Box up your garden books and look to the other 'arts' etc..the 'outside' world has far more to offer than the next new plants movement be it from Europe or wherever. In a nutshell loosen up like a meadow and let loose your inner child and have some fun!Wm Martinhttp://www.wigandia.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-74332859654611926062010-06-09T19:48:36.641-04:002010-06-09T19:48:36.641-04:00Intercontinental gardener,
I agree gardening in th...Intercontinental gardener,<br />I agree gardening in this country is much too ideological. I also think there is a place for lawn; the open space is essential from a design standpoint in some gardens, and it's useful in others. However, the acres of uninterrupted lawns that consume chemicals and support a multibillion dollar industry based on hoodwinking those who know no other way is almost criminal (I appear to sound rather ideological, don't I?). My wild, lawnless garden, I have to admit, requires quite a lot of maintenance. I hope it requires less intervention as it matures, but so far it's certainly not a "no maintenance" garden.James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-31200459882204575162010-06-08T12:34:53.127-04:002010-06-08T12:34:53.127-04:00Extremely interesting. After two years in Seattle,...Extremely interesting. After two years in Seattle, I'm still learning so much about the gardening scene here. The ideological aspect of gardening gets so much more attention here in my experience, in Europe design still seems to be more important, even if sustainability and ecological aspects are of course in focus there too. <br /><br />Sometimes I feel that gardeners here in the US get almost religious about their "beliefs" of right ways to garden; like today, laws should be banned, for once and all, even if in some parts of the country, and with right type of care, they still can be completely ecological and right from the historical point of view. I live in the moist NW, mow what grows, use organic fertilizers and let the grass turn brown when it is dry - and I refuse to believe that there is anything wrong with that. I love meadows, but they can be hard work, saying anything else is just not true. I bought Greenlee's America meadow garden book and cannot agree with all his opinions that his type of perennial grass gardens would any more low maintenance than other kinds of gardens... I have a large one in Sweden and been involved maintaining many of my friends meadows, and think know what I'm talking about. Very interesting post, James, thanks.The Intercontinental Gardenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03419730672738553254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-52772506069966307152010-06-08T06:49:12.131-04:002010-06-08T06:49:12.131-04:00Phillip,
Thanks for reading the synopsis. Many of ...Phillip,<br />Thanks for reading the synopsis. Many of the plant vendors at the conference were from Virginia and West Virginia, sort of your home territory.James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-1412538018819484342010-06-08T06:47:37.816-04:002010-06-08T06:47:37.816-04:00Garden Wanderer,
It's rewarding to finally see...Garden Wanderer,<br />It's rewarding to finally see Americans claiming their own "birthright" of plant and garden heritage. We ignored our bounty of prairie plants for decades, leaving it to the Europeans to recognize their value, and send them back to us, to open our eyes to what was here all along.James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-88940485365050287842010-06-08T06:44:49.377-04:002010-06-08T06:44:49.377-04:00Anonymous, yes, you're the master at this. It ...Anonymous, yes, you're the master at this. It would in very interesting to see the conference's reaction to your garden, with plants most of them have never heard of. It puts the concept of "native" into an entirely new perspective. <br /><br />For those of you who want to see, check out William Martin's garden Wigandia on the side of a volcano in Australia (www.wigandia.com), among other things, a garden exquisitely attuned to its climate and place, art in sustainable form, surviving on its own even through years of drought.James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-15337918914119088022010-06-07T22:31:15.260-04:002010-06-07T22:31:15.260-04:00Looks like a great conference. Thanks for the syno...Looks like a great conference. Thanks for the synopsis.How It Growshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06687132248846516168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-7645413457854458662010-06-07T16:53:47.878-04:002010-06-07T16:53:47.878-04:00Great post - thanks for sharing. Exciting times a...Great post - thanks for sharing. Exciting times are underway in the gardening world. It's great to see that there are so many people passionate about increasingly thoughtful and complex approaches to native and perennial plantings, and able to articulate their ideas so well.The Garden Wandererhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16598845282855975458noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-13899760643574144622010-06-07T08:53:17.528-04:002010-06-07T08:53:17.528-04:00Ach I should have been there to do my bit..I been ...Ach I should have been there to do my bit..I been walking the talk for all the above for some considerable years!! I wish you would stop pumping up the Euro importance in the world gardens scheme of things though! From what I observed in da USA back in 2006 you are well on your own feet in the garden stakes and if given a choice to visit Euro gardens or North American i would be State-side in a flash!<br /><br />Shiver me timbers<br /><br />Martin (Australia)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com