October 27, 2022 at 11:48 a.m.
Following a gardening 12-step plan
Following a gardening 12-step plan
I am sure most of us gardeners and plant-lovers could use a 12-step program, and I was excited to get reading. I have to say, the book hits every part of every single thing a garden planner needs to keep in mind.
The book starts by asking why I would want a garden. I am actually planning three different gardens. I will have a vegetable garden (to shorten the supply chain and be more self-sufficient), a rain garden (to keep water where it lands, etc.) and some flower gardens in my front garden beds that were already here (to provide food and habitat for pollinators, birds and other native wildlife). It may seem an obvious question, but at the same time, I think it is important. A full list of "whys" would prove helpful as I continued on with the 12 steps.
The next step - budgeting - is not the most fun, but it is important. I made a three-year plan, based on everything I want to do at our new home. The budget portion looked at not only actual spending, but also time spent. I have seen people who have these grand garden goals, they get everything planted and it looks amazing - for about three weeks. Then they realize they do not have the time to tend to the things they planted. So, rather than setting oneself up for eventual failure, the book makes the gardener take a hard look at what they can and cannot do. This flows into the maintenance portion of the book, which is step three. That takes a harder look at the abilities of the gardener, as well as the time they have to lend to the garden. I have always tried to be a realist about what I can and cannot handle in a garden, but I have not always been successful. This book made me take a hard look at it.
Of course, there is also a section on assessing the site. That is something I started to do as soon as we moved in here. We did not move in until August, so we missed most of the summer, but I think I still have a pretty good idea of the sun patterns and that type of thing. The book includes a site assessment sheet and I made copies. My vegetable garden will be in raised beds, so the soil section of the assessment there will be fairly easy. I will be adding the soil myself. That is not so with the rain garden, which will be located at the sump pump discharge site, or the front flower beds. I feel like the soil in the front beds will need to be amended, but I have not gotten far enough yet to know that for sure. The assessment sheet takes the gardener through not only soil and sunlight but also the existing features around the garden. It asks things such as the color, shape and texture of surrounding features. Backgrounds, strong lines and the overall feeling around the new garden all come into play here.
This part of the planning does take a bit of work, but I think it is important work. One of the things the book looks at is the view from where the garden can be seen. My first thought was, "well that's kind of dumb," but then I realized I was not going to be the only person who would be enjoying the view of these gardens. People walking down the sidewalk or heading to the church across the street would be seeing my front flower beds. Our neighbors to one side, as well as the insurance agency behind us, would get to enjoy the view of both the vegetable and herb garden as well as the rain garden and any plants I decide to plant along the back of the house. While they might not be the front line consumers of the view, I think it is still nice to keep them in mind when planning. So I tried to situate the gardens in a way that they could be enjoyed from angles other than my office window and back patio. Ideally, I want those two gardens to look good from 360 degrees.
Next, step five, was the plant list. Most of the plants at this new house are either invasive or native, but super aggressive. I will keep one nightshade plant, as it does provide berries for the birds through winter. The rest of them are "out of here!" That said, that may take more time. There are several other places, other than the planned garden sites I spoke about already, where I will need to replace those invasive species with something native and attractive. I know that will take some time, and that is okay, because I know I have a timeline and a plan to get rid of all of those and make sure they do not come back.
The fun part about having all of these plants to get rid of, of course, is that I can plant whatever I want basically everywhere once I am free of the invasives and aggressive natives. This is where I am in the 12-step plan: choosing plants. I have a rather large list, which I also got from Goggin's presentation handout. Now, all I need to do is to narrow it down, being sure I have blooms at all times of the season, from early spring through late fall. And I will obviously give some thought to the aesthetics of it all, too.
I am sure I will change my mind several times throughout the winter as to what I want to plant where. In that respect, the vegetable garden part of my planting seems like it will be easier. I will have to look at my plant companion guide again, but I think I have a pretty good idea of how that is going to look. I know certain vegetables do not like to be by others and whatnot, so I will double check that side of things, but I feel pretty confident about that.
The remainder of the book looks at focal points and how the garden will look during all times of the year, as well as making a scale drawing on which to plot each part of the garden. That I have already done. I measured the entire yard, as well as areas where I know I want to plant. From there, at least with the rain garden, it comes down to the shape and configuration. With the vegetables and herbs, which will be in raised beds, it comes down to exact placement and orientation. These are all fun things to spend the winter mulling over and changing up. For those, like me, who will be spending at least part of their winter planning their gardens for next year, I would recommend finding a copy of "Designing Your Gardens and Landscapes" and taking some time to work through those 12 steps.
Beckie Gaskill may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
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