Newsletter - July 2008

Are you sitting back enjoying your summer garden? I seem to be, at least when the smoke and winds aren't keeping me inside the house. Smoke is just as hard on your plants as it is on you and just as you like to shower off the particulates, you should also rinse your plants' foliage and unclog their pores. There isn't much we can do about the winds except keep things hydrated without over watering. Always check your soil. My nectarine crop has come and gone with the aid of our local raccoon family. They've also been sampling the strawberries. It's okay, as I have enough for all of us.

As a designer, sometimes I like to write about design. Two design challenges that I find often are small garden spaces and ones that are very hot and dry. The answer to the first is gardening vertically and for the second we carefully choose plants that will accept the conditions while visually cooling the area.

By gardening vertically, I mean creating different height levels to visually deepen a space. Start with the background and go as high as possible against your fence. If you have a view, the fence height is fine, but if you want privacy, try an arbor along the perimeter. I like a 10' high structure with a four-foot overhang to support vines. Choose hardy evergreen vines that will spread at least 12 feet, such as white potato vine (Solanum jasminoides), scented honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), purple lilac vine (Hardenbergia violacea), or yellow Lady Banks' rose (Rosa banksiae 'Lutea'). These grow quickly so will cover fast. Another background trick is to espalier (prune flat against the fence) a woody shrub that will grow tall for privacy and windbreak. For this use shrubs such as red-orange cape honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis), purple starflower (Grewia occidentalis), red-berried Parneyi (Cotoneaster lacteus) any type of citrus tree, or maybe a Grecian Bay (Laurus nobilis). These prune well, and are self-supporting.

For the middle tier, choose a plant that only grows three to four feet high, and if possible, select one with foliage that contrasts the background plants. Look for plants with red, blue, or variegated leaves, or find one with a different shape and texture. When space is limited, I also look for a different bloom time then its background to extend the garden's color display. Two tiers need a four foot wide bed to work, so if space is tight, it may be time to stop. If, however, there is one more foot to use, look for small blooming perennials for the front of the bed. Pincushion Flower (Scabiosa) stays small, is available in many colors, and comes back every year. It's my type of plant.

To cool off the garden, refer to the color wheel. When you want to warm, or close in a garden, designers use reds, oranges, yellows and dark tones. To expand an area and cool it down, we choose greens, blues, purples and lighter hued foliage. I also like to add silver and white for cooling contrast. One of the best silvers is Powis artemisia (Artemisia 'Powis Castle'). Feathery and tough, it only grows 18 inches tall, but five feet wide. I also like white flowering bush morning-glory (Convolvulus cnorum), pale yellow flowered Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa), soft, fuzzy lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina), purple sea statice (Limonium perezii) and dainty snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum). These plants tend to be very drought tolerant and are often deer tolerant too. Also look at herbs, especially salvias and lavenders. And don't forget that some of the best blue foliage is found in the grass, succulent and conifer sections of the nursery. The real fun is exploring the options, and then putting it all together.

This month remember to fertilize citrus, acid plants (camellias, azaleas, rhodys) and cymbidium orchids. Enjoy your July.