Newsletter - August 2010

Hi,

My garden is finally coming into its own. The plants are lush and full of flowers and the vegetables are vigorously producing. Fresh green beans, squash, cucumbers, beets, onions, and basil so far. The annual zinnias and cosmos are absolutely inviting everyone to come admire the produce. I'm still waiting for the tomatoes to turn green and the melons may never achieve any size. As you know, the weather is very cool this year. The peppers may be ripening, but my carrots and sunflowers are still just lovely foliage plants. At home, the white Chilean jasmine (Mandevillea laxa) is my showiest flower right now, but the lavender starflower (Grewia occidentalis) is cheerful, the tuberous begonias draw the attention of visiting people and hummingbirds and I'm in love with my first ever Hosta blooms. I'm still waiting for the blue dawn flower (Ipomoea indica) to bloom and we really need warmth before the night-blooming jessamine (Cestrum nocturnum) releases its powerful aroma into the garden.

I'm already planning how to keep a beautiful "summer" look for my garden this year. This means planting things around the perennials, so I won't have holes in the beds when the other foliage dies back. I always have good intentions, but follow through is often lacking. Plus as enthusiastic as I am in August, I still have trouble during cold, rainy weather and busy holiday preparations to maintain a beautiful outdoor environment.

As a designer, one thing I've found important is to plant evergreen materials behind and in front, or at the base of deciduous trees and shrubs. Roses are a classic example. They look so pathetic when I've pruned them down to five bare canes in January. Fortunately, I had room to plant evergreen lavender behind them and drifts of daffodil and anemone bulbs in front. I fill in with alyssum and for-get-me-not seed and the bed has a presence even when the daffodil foliage dies. By then, the red rose foliage is leafing out.

If the roses are along a fence in a narrow bed, use an evergreen vine behind them. Lilac vine (Hardenbergia violacea) has deep purple pea flowers in February and evergreen clematis (C. armandii) produces white, aromatic pinwheel flowers in March. Iris (I. germanica) is another classis combo for roses. The spring blooms and silver foliage are a wonderful introduction for the rose blooms that follow.

It may be more difficult to fill in foliage behind tall deciduous shrubs or small trees, especially if you didn't plant for this development. An annual vine such as sweet peas may be the best answer for really narrow spaces. The spring flowers are beautiful and the vines pull easy when the deciduous plant leafs out. If you have at least five feet though, there area several shrubs you can use to provide foliage during winter. Look at the soft needled Thuja p. 'Emerald Green'. It grows about 12 feet tall, but only three and a half feet wide. Australian brush cherry (Syzygium paniculatum) has foliage that is glossy and clean and the cherries are edible, but bland and small, not messy. Both of these are nice in a small garden too. And if you're really adventurous, espaliered plants (woody shrubs pruned flat) may be the best solution for you. I'm convinced that their maintenance is perfect for control freaks. I've trained three pyracantha bushes this way in my garden and I'm working on a lemon for a neighbor.

The point here is to plan. People should desire apples, apricots, plums, cherries, lilacs, quince, forsythia, crape myrtle, rose of Sharon and all manner of deciduous plants in their gardens, but they should also consider the garden's appeal all year long. Enjoy your summer garden.