A TIME FOR NEW THINGS
Judy Ziemba, Horticulture Chairman

If you have not extensive landscaping projects, why not plan a small project. If it goes well, you can expand to a larger project or start something new.

A shady corner can be your focus. Add a single chair and surround it with cool foliage for the gardener to rest and enjoy the fruit of his or her labor. Add a bold new hosta or a group of regular or mini hostas with ferns, ivy or a container of impatiens or mini snapdragons for color. Large begonia hybrids with multihued leaves or Japanese hakonechloa grass can also add a bright spot of light. Incorporate the resting seat into the planting, unless you feel it will also serve for more than one person or for entertaining guests.

Sunny dry areas are an ideal stage for some xeric (low-water) plants. Maybe the sprinkler system doesn’t reach the area or the area is near the mailbox or it is a container which is frequently too dry. Concentrate on artemisias, stachys varieties, agastaches, festucas, santolinas or maybe a collection of succulents. It could be an easy quick project. It might also be an area in which to experiment with some buffalo grass and let wildflowers grow in the grass as it needs little mowing. Sprinkle gaillardia, blue flax, coreopsis, California poppy, penstemon or long blooming species seed among the plugs of buffalo grass. I say experiment because buffalo grass greens up later in the spring and may annoy you. ‘Legacy’ greens up earlier and retains color longer in the autumn. Eventually it will probably crowd out your mini prairie. Maybe some other clumping grass would be a better choice.

Pizza in a pot is a fun project for old and young. In a large garden container, plant a Roma tomato plant, a green pepper, some basil, a parsley plant, some green onions and a small start of oregano. You have to come up with your own cheese and pepperoni.

Herb gardens in containers are interesting. The herb of the year is calendula. If your herb container is large, you might choose a collection of lavenders, mints, basils or a mixture of herbs you enjoy. They can be grown for the kitchen use, fragrance of medicinal uses. Be aware you may have to edit out rambunctious varieties as the season progresses or at least prune them severely.

Plant some vegetables among your annuals or perennials. Ornamental peppers, okra, or corn add texture and height. Miniature varieties of cucumbers, tomatoes or baby cabbages and full size carrots with ferny tops can surprise and delight visitors as well as yield produce for dinner. You can plant seasonal containers to switch in and out of perennial borders. Try lettuce, radishes or herbs in nursery pots to pop into pre-dug holes. If you overdo this, you might consider a real veggie plot.

Sometimes due to lack of time or ideas, we need a quick project which can be finished in short time to be satisfying and successful. Try a new plant, indulge in a new container, arrange your garden ornaments in new areas and enjoy your garden.