Cathy lives in Portland, OR, where it rains a LOT, so she was a good one to talk about the basic information anyone should have when considering a rain garden. Little did I know we would be treated to information (and definitions!) of Interpretive Gardens and Trauma Informed Gardens as well.
Plant of the Week
Are some beautiful spring flowers making ‘moves like Jagger’ and sticking their tongues out at you right about now? I love the bold look of the bearded German Iris, and although I have some here and there in the garden, last year I decided to make a border of JUST irises, peonies and day lilies. Works out pretty well until late July when a boring green silence settles into the area. How did I not anticipate that? Oh well, it will be solved this season by the addition of cheerful zinnias to get me through.
Awww, he used to be sort of cute.
Anyway, because almost all of my bearded irises are the repeat bloomers, I still got a few surprises last season during the silly boring end of summer that I should have known was coming in that section of the garden.
Just think how good those somewhat incongruous blooms will look this year with tall zinnias to keep them company.
When I was chatting on Instagram with some folks to see if they wanted to opine on this week’s Plant of the Week (and oh, they did!) someone wrote to say she bought a ‘rainbow’ of colors of iris from Schreiners for her birthday. I replied, “what a good marketing ploy” and she responded that it was her idea.
What a good one! Can you imagine the fun of all those colors in a row!
Basics of Iris Care:
The more sun, the more flowers
Plant shallow; the rhizomes like heat and sun, not damp and mulch.
No reason to put up with spent foliage if it’s bugging you. Simply peel it away.
Deadhead for aesthetics on one time bloomers, but for more flower on repeat bloomers.
Guest
Cathy’s website describes her various fascinating projects.
Cathy Corlett is passionate and informative about the kind of gardens that she designs that are so many steps beyond ‘pretty’. She has a well-organized website that describes the spaces that she specializes in and the projects that she has done.
It was so interesting to learn about the process and thought that goes into making gardens more accessible to people who have been though trying times. Cathy’s designs help and inspire people who can benefit from outdoor spaces in much different ways than I had ever considered. She was so informative about the need for these spaces and the process of designing them.
And the basics of rain gardening, which I was after in the first place…
Well, let’s just say that it can be more complicated that you would think, so if there is a water or drain situation near your house or any other structure, best to opt for professional advice or services.
That being said, if you have simply have a damp area that you want to take advantage of, you can find some great native bog plant choices right here at the helpful web site of the Rain Garden Alliance.
coffee time!
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Garden Questions… answered!
How to deal with invasives invading my perennial bed?
Do Annabelles Hydrangeas bloom in the shade?
Can I put weeds in my compost pile?
Can I use moss as mulch around my potted plant?
This is the Houttuynia cordata, or Chamelion plant, that I mentioned on the pod. And these aren’t 6” concrete walls— more like a foot. Worthy of containing and charming looking but really aggressive plant.
How to deal with invasives invading my perennial bed?
This is hard. When I ran my crew, I literally wrote down on the client sheet a couple of times that we needed to ‘blow up the bed’ because there were just so many weeds inter-tangled with perennials that we wanted to keep. So we would dig everything up and look for the offending weed root systems and pry what we could apart. Obviously you re-plant the good, but what to do with the bad? If your compost pile gets hot enough, that’s a solution, but if it doesn’t and you don’t want to say “Ta Ta (just) for now” to those invasives, you will probably need to bag or burn.
Do Annabelles Hydrangeas bloom in the shade?
Let me count the ways I love this plant.
It blooms in sun.
Last year’s Annabelles. Difficult to dust, but just don’t look too closely.
2. It blooms in partial sun.
3. It blooms in shade. Not prolifically, but enough to bring cheer.
4. It can re-bloom if you cut early flowers.
5. It is native.
6. It stays good looking as an indoor dried arrangement long enough to collect a healthy layer of dust (in my house, anyway).
Can I put weeds in my compost pile?
See ‘How do I deal with invasives in my perennial bed?’ but the answer is yes and no. The foliage and new flowers (before they form seeds) of weeds break down just fine in a cold compost pile, and you won’t see any further evidence of them. If you have a really hot compost pile, you could put in flowers that may have seeds and root systems too. I am constantly pulling English Ivy in my yard, and I know that if their roots get cozy in my compost pile I will feel chagrined, at the very least.
But a simple maneuver like leaving the root system exposed to sun, wind or just air for a day or two should kill that off.
Not all root systems are the same. Masses of condensed roots survive much longer, so if you are worried about recurring nightmares, do bag or burn the offending malingerers.
Can I use moss as mulch around my potted plant?
I’m giving it a go! A quick spin on the google machine indicates that it would give some of the same good juju that any mulch has, such as retaining moisture in the soil. Added bonus: it looks groovy!
Next week… Renee Clermont of Second Nature Designs in Martha’s Vineyard!