Wendy Rogers
20241 Brockman Mill Road
Fiddletown, CA 95629
209-296-2345
20241 Brockman Mill Road
Fiddletown, CA 95629
209-296-2345
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| The Garden |
| A Shady Garden Bed This little bed is about ten feet by four feet and is backed by a wire fence (seen on the right side) separating it from the hens and the goats. This garden area is pretty shady because we are surrounded by huge oaks and pines. I had two lilacs planted in this area until I realized that they need more sunshine to blossom. I relocated them to a sunny area, leaving space to plant some new and interesting things!! I just happened to have three good sized 'Spring Bouquet' Viburnums in an area that I had other plans for. Viburnums are not too fussy about the amount of sun they get, so I decided to transplant them into my shady bed. Don't be afraid to transplant things during the cooler times of the year. The roots have time to grow before the summer arrives. I have great luck transplanting all kinds of plants. I also dug up four western sword ferns that have been growing in this bed for a year and set them aside. The soil in this bed is not very good, meaning that I had not improved it. Lilacs don't require much soil conditioning, but I knew the new plants that I was going to use would need some rich goatberry compost! I raked out all the old leaves and debris that had accumulated over the last year, and with my shovel, loosened the soil. You can use a rototiller, too, but I like to dig! Next, I applied a three inch deep layer of compost, and mixed it in loosely with my metal rake. Let me take a moment here to tell you about soil. The soil is the life force of the garden. You must enrich it and care for it if you are going to create a garden. You will never regret the efforts that you make in improving your soil, because you will reap great rewards for your care of it. It is so wonderful to sink my shovel into the soil of my garden and find happy earthworms busily excavating! Compost, compost, compost! My next task was to plant my three Viburnums. I generously mixed a shovelful of compost into the soil of the hole that I had dug for each plant. I settled the plants into their new homes, carefully adjusting their height in the new hole. I want to make sure that they are planted no deeper in the soil than they were planted before, eliminating the risk of crown rot. Then I firmly pressed the soil all around each plant, we don't want any air pockets down there. I replanted the four Sword Ferns at the back of the bed (goats don't like ferns ;) and dug in three Bleeding Hearts and a one gallon Sweet Violet (Shopping note: I happened across some gorgeous one gallon Bleeding Hearts at my friend, Salye's Ridge Road Garden Center in Pine Grove, so I had to have them! I also found a one gallon can of a beautiful light blue and white variety of Sweet Violet, and a six pack of the dark red leafed variety of Coral Bells, Heuchera "palace purple") I remembered that I had several four inch purple Sweet Violets that were ready to plant at home that I had transplanted from an overflowing bed, so I added those along the front edge of the bed. The Coral Bells will fill out and flower when it gets warmer, and the Bleeding hearts may only last a short time in the spring, but their returning display will be worth it. My last tasks were to water these new plants in thoroughly, making sure that there are no exposed roots or holes in the soil. Then in about a week or so, I will spread a nice layer of mulch over the bed to hold in moisture, hold down weeds and give the bed a finished look. |
| See in the foreground where the gravel ends? This is where my NEXT walkway project will begin ;) |
Update! Those gorgeous Bleeding hearts are blooming into July!! It has been a pretty cool Spring... |
