Lessons Learned in the Garden: Fall 2014

The winter solstice is a short time away, the official beginning of Winter and the day of the year when we can rejoice that the days will soon become longer again.  In the Midwest, though, Winter doesn't pay much attention to the calendar.  Although we haven't had the snowfall that some parts of the country had in November, we've had enough cold days to know that Autumn is long gone.  In my part of the country we have another season--"Winterum."  Winterum is that time of year when skies are gloomy and gray, and any warm afternoons are reserved for putting up outdoor Christmas decorations, not working in the garden. Winterum often begins in early November and sometimes lasts until January.  Frankly, if it weren't for the holiday rush that makes this time go by so quickly, I would say that Winterum is my least favorite season of the year.

Despite the fact that I can no longer work in the garden, dull Winterum is a good time to reflect upon the last season and to participate in Beth at Plant Postings' seasonal meme "Garden Lessons Learned."  Before my memories of  garden successes and failures fade away, here are a few of the lessons I learned this past season:

1. Fall is my second favorite season of the year!  Now that may not seem like much of a lesson one has to learn, but back in my days of working full-time, fall meant the beginning of a new school year with new lesson plans to create and adjusting to a busy schedule after a summer off.  One or more of my kids was usually involved in a fall sport as well, meaning evenings included games or meets or carpooling after practices.  That didn't leave much time for watching sunsets or leaf-peeping, unless noticing the changing color of leaves while whizzing down the highway counts.

Now that my time is my own--usually--I've come to enjoy the cooler, crisp days of Autumn and enjoy the changes around me. I even appreciate the fading foliage and blooms of the garden.

In fact, about the the only thing I don't like about Fall is that it is the shortest season of the year.  This year we had a little extra time to enjoy the season as the first frost and then a hard freeze came late; usually we are lucky if we have four or six weeks of true Autumn weather.  (For more fall color, you can click here.)

Other lessons I learned recently aren't specific to fall, but rather lessons I gradually learned over the past year:

Nothing like a trowel and a little patch of dirt to keep a three-year-old entertained for a long time!

2.  It's okay to ask for a little help in the garden.  Over the years I've occasionally enlisted the help of my grandkids when I had some big jobs I couldn't seem to get done.  The oldest two grandchildren aren't particularly interested in gardening, but they're always willing to help Grandma, and though they would do it for free, Grandma is more than happy to pay them for their efforts.  In the past they have pulled weeds, spread mulch, and planted tulips for me.  But mostly, the "help" I get from the younger ones is more play than work, a way of getting them to enjoy a little bit of nature.

Youngest grandson above discovered the vegetable garden this summer, and every time he came over, the first thing he would ask to do was to go "pick 'matoes."  When I cleaned up the vegetable garden this fall, he was fascinated by the green beans still on the vines I had pulled--which surprised me, too!--and had to pick off every one before I could toss the plants on the compost pile.

I even enlisted his help in planting a few crocuses one day--with Sophie's supervision, as you'll notice.  I'm pretty sure several of them were planted upside down, so we'll see if they come up, but at least he had fun.  And I hope when he sees them bloom next spring, he'll remember planting them.

His older sister, Granddaughter #2,  is the one who has always been most interested in the garden.  But her help has been limited by her attention span or the heat or "too many bees" in the garden.  Until this year, that is. Not only is she growing up way too fast at 11-going-on-sixteen,  she also had a special incentive this year to help me--saving up for horseback riding lessons.  Grandma was more than willing to oblige with a flexible part-time job.

Besides helping to plant bulbs and some garden clean-up in the fall, she also helped to shovel and tote load after load of mulch to more remote areas of the garden during the summer.  I discovered that not only is she almost as tall as Grandma, but she is pretty darned strong for an 11-year-old.  I just hope my neighbor's horses continue to entice her:)

I've always thought that it was almost like cheating if you had much outside help in the garden. When people ask me about my small garden, I take a kind of smug satisfaction in saying that yes, I've done it all myself from digging up grass, weeds, and even rocks for every flowerbed I have, besides planting every single plant.  Oh, don't get me wrong--if I suddenly won the lottery, I'd hire a landscape designer and a crew with a backhoe to dig up half the yard in a heartbeat!  But I would want to choose and plant everything myself as well as do the day-to-day maintenance.

I remember reading Sydney Eddison's Gardening for a Lifetime  several years ago in which she gives advice for gardeners as they age.  One of her tips is to enlist more help in the garden.  I'm afraid I've reached that age where even my small garden is becoming harder and harder to maintain without aching knees or the latest malady--painful tendonitis in my hand from too much weed-pulling.  Next year I plan to enlist help from my granddaughter on a more regular basis, or if she is too busy, I might recruit another budding young gardener from the community.

3.  I've learned so many lessons about gardening this year as a volunteer.  As a Master Gardener intern four years ago, I spent some time volunteering at the County Nursing Home Garden.  I was already volunteering at the Idea Garden which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I intended to just fulfill my community service hours requirement at the Nursing Home and then move on.  But I found the Nursing Home group was such an enjoyable group to work with, and the co-chairs had such a wealth of knowledge on gardening that I found myself picking their brains every chance I could.  So I continued volunteering in this garden for the next three seasons.

Last summer Phyllis, the co-chair who had been one of the original creators of this garden before it even became an MG community project, developed health problems and decided to step down.  The other co-chair, Carol, decided she would retire as well.  Two of my friends asked another friend and me if we would serve as co-chairs with them this year.  I hesitantly agreed--even the four of us couldn't fill the shoes of Phyllis and Carol!

One of our faithful volunteers ready to deadhead any faded blossom.

Being a co-chair of this garden this year has been a tremendous learning experience.  Instead of one of the minions who asked what needed to be done and then attended to that task only, whether deadheading or weeding, I was suddenly supposed to know what everyone else should do!  I'll be honest--in past years, I wasn't a regular volunteer.  I showed up when it was convenient for me--or if it wasn't going to be 90 degrees that morning:)  But this year, I was there every Monday workday, other than the week of the Portland Fling, whether it was spitting rain or steaming hot.

Big jobs are easily taken care of when you have great help--we spread both compost and mulch over the whole garden in one workday morning!

Maintaining a garden that someone else has designed and planted is certainly different than working in your own garden.  I view the garden as others see it, not the way I would like it to be--though I certainly wish my own garden was as well-maintained and weed-free as this garden is!  Thanks to a great group of faithful volunteers, keeping the garden looking beautiful is fairly easy.

I began to feel a sense of ownership and pride in this garden.  The four of us felt a responsibility, not only to the residents and staff who enjoy the therapeutic benefits of the garden, but to Phyllis and Carol who had lovingly created and maintained this garden for so long.  I noticed things in the garden I hadn't seen before, especially the careful planning that had gone into it, making sure the garden looked appealing every season of the year:

Spring

Summer

And  Fall

I can't begin to list all the lessons I learned from being one of those in charge of this garden this year--this post is already long enough! But they include everything from record-keeping and budgeting to recruiting volunteers.  When we weren't sure how to prune some of the shrubs, we divvied up our questions, and each of the four of us researched a specific shrub.  My research helped me in my own garden, too, in deciding how to prune my smokebush.  We learned how to compromise and make the best use of each other's strengths.  Most of all, we learned to put individual preferences aside and to remember always the mission of the garden.

Once again, as I look back at the past season, I am surprised by all that I have learned.  Thanks to Beth for hosting this meme--you can view lessons learned by others at Plant Postings.  I'm sure next season will bring  more new experiences to learn from--after all, gardeners grow, too.

Lessons From the Masters

Picture this scenario:  You have just retired or your youngest child has just left for college.  Suddenly you have time on your hands, and you decide you would like to create a garden just like the ones you've admired in magazines for so many years.  Where to begin?

 Reading books on gardening, attending workshops at your local nursery, and even reading gardening blogs are all good ways to learn about plants and how to create a beautiful garden.  But nothing tops personal experience for learning what works and what doesn't. I certainly made many mistakes in the first few years of gardening, from not preparing the soil well enough to planting perennials much too close together. Having gotten a later start in life in gardening than many, I decided I didn't want to wait until I was 80 to have a garden I was proud of, so last year I enrolled in the Master Gardener program at my local County Extension Office to learn the basics and make up for lost time.  While I learned so much during these classes, what I didn't realize is that I would learn as much or more working alongside some of the most experienced gardeners in the community.

After taking over a month-long hiatus from MG activities for Daughter's wedding and later reception, I've finally gotten back into putting in some volunteer hours at the two gardens I worked in last year.  As interns, we were required to put in at least 20 hours in the Idea Garden, the showcase of the local Master Gardeners program, and I randomly chose the Sensory Garden section as the place to spend most of my time.  Active MG's, however, aren't required to volunteer in specific areas, but I've come to feel a sense of ownership in this garden and wanted to continue to work there.

Besides working with a great group of people, I've learned to know the plants here and how best to care for many of them.  The nearly thornless 'Zephirine Drouhin' rose is such a beauty and has grown so quickly in just three short years that I decided to choose the same cultivar to climb my new arbor.  In addition, when plants are divided, extra divisions are often put up for sale for a very nominal fee to whoever grabs them first.  I've brought home quite a few bargains this way, and all of them have done extremely well.  Perhaps it's the good start in compost-rich soil that makes them so hardy; the small start of Amsonia Tabernae I picked up last spring, for example, has grown so huge this year that I may have to divide it already.

Last weekend, after we finished working in the garden, I stayed around for an interesting "Garden Chat" given by Ann, a Master Gardener extraordinaire, and Phyllis, one of the original designers of the Idea Garden.  They spoke about the origin of the Idea Garden--begun in 1996--its history, and how it has evolved over time.

Ann explained plant selection and cited some of her personal favorites as well as pointing out some design tips in placement of plants.  One of the more interesting tidbits of history had to do with this hydrangea.  The plant originally came from the garden of a U of I professor whose wife later donated it to the Idea Garden.  Although it looked like a lacecap, no one was quite sure what type of hydrangea it was.  Phyllis decided to contact famed plant expert Michael Dirr, a friend of Professor McDaniel, who eventually classified it as a unique cultivar of Hydrangea arborescens.  It is now named 'Mary Nell' after the professor's wife and is included in Dirr's Hydrangeas for American Gardens.  I had no idea until last Saturday that we had such a special plant in our collection.

Another garden where I spend some volunteer time is at the County Nursing Home.  When a new nursing home was built a few years ago, Master Gardeners had to start from scratch with a new garden planned at the back of the facility.  Many of the plants from the old garden were moved here, but new ones were added as well.  The soil left after the building was completed was mostly clay and not very suitable for gardening, but loads of compost added over time have created a lush and beautiful place.

This garden is smaller than the original one and is designed somewhat differently.  The wide sidewalk that provides the inner border of the garden is handicapped accessible, but I recently learned its design has another important purpose.  According to co-chair Phyllis, the original garden had several paths meandering through it, which she learned was not a good idea.  The new garden is behind the Alzheimer's unit, and the circular path is designed specifically so that residents can stroll through the garden without getting lost. 

Other accommodations were made as well.  Several grasses and other tall plants were eventually moved when it was discovered they were blocking residents' views from inside.

Many "old-fashioned" plants are included in the garden, such as this Blanket Flower, or Gaillardia, in hopes of stirring residents' memories of their mothers' or grandmothers' gardens.

The nursing home garden is enclosed by a tall fence with a locked gate and is accessible only to residents and their visitors.  But this year the garden is one of several featured in the annual Garden Walk to be held this coming Saturday, so the public will have a chance to see this very special garden as well.

I was a latecomer to joining the crew here last summer when I realized I needed additional community service hours.  I wasn't sure I would continue working here this year, because there was already a large group of regulars who volunteered each week, and I often felt as if I was just looking for something to do.  But then the garden co-chairs assured me my help was definitely needed, and two other reasons kept me going.  One was that this is a fun group to work with, and the interesting conversations always make the time go quickly. If you are wondering why everyone is standing around here, it's because after a little over an hour of work yesterday, there wasn't a weed in sight nor a faded blossom to deadhead.  My garden should be so lucky!

The other main reason I continue to volunteer here is because of the leadership of Phyllis and Carol.  Phyllis (pictured earlier at the Idea Garden) is one of the original Master Gardeners in the group and is simply a walking encyclopedia of gardening knowledge. This spring, a few volunteers were carefully pruning the Purple Smokebush that had grown to 8-10 feet tall last year.  Phyllis came over and told them to hack it down, leaving stumps only one or two feet above the ground.  Here it is less than two months later, obviously none the worse for its extreme "haircut."  I've learned to listen when Phyllis recommends a particular method or technique, because it usually works!

When I have a chance, I'll pick her brain or ask for advice on particular plants, and she is always so gracious in taking time to explain things.  I wasn't sure about what grasses I wanted to add to my garden, but Phyllis reassured me that the switchgrass 'Shenandoah' that I had purchased was a good choice, and also recommended 'Karl Foerster' (above).  She also assured me that the beautiful 'Morning Light' Miscanthus I admired in the garden was not a re-seeder like some Miscanthus.  Taking her advice, I've added two of these to my own garden this spring.

Working in both of these gardens gives me a chance to learn about new plants I'd like to add to my own and ways to plant them for pleasing combinations.



Oakleaf Hydrangea and Betony

I learn from the creativity of others--this "trellis" for a mandevilla is actually two of the neon-colored tomato cages, available in many garden centers, tied together, one on top of the other.  I would never have thought of this!

Every week there is something new to see. This beautiful iris--a flag iris perhaps??--wasn't in bloom last week at the Nursing Home garden.

Making it even more appealing is its placement in front of a chartreuse sumac.

Working with people who have gardened for many years is a great way for any beginning or still-learning gardener to gain invaluable knowledge.  You don't have to commit to the Master Gardeners' program to do this; joining a garden club or volunteering to work in a community garden can be just as helpful.  Whatever you choose, you'll find that gardeners are a generous group, always willing to share their expertise (and often starts of plants).  They are living proof of the old adage: "Experience is the best teacher."