joene's garden » Gardening blunders

A bad combination-A Gardening Oops

joenesgarden — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 11:28:41 +0000

Garden bloggers love to share pleasing photos of beds or containers they've created or seen and wax poetic on the attributes of this plant or that. Gardens are supposed to be beautiful … well, duh … so why wouldn't bloggers flock to their computers to post their best, most spectacular photos and plant wisdom?

But, in real life, gardens are not always beautiful. Sometimes things just don't work. A plant is in the wrong place, the season is too wet or too dry for a plant to thrive, or plant-eating creatures/plant-attacking pathogens take over.

To deal with these real-life gardening issues there's GOOPs Day. GOOPs is the acronym I created for Gardening Oops. I've declared the first day of each month GOOPs Day … the day I share one of the gardening blunders I've made in my 30+ years of tending Connecticut gardens and the day I offer you the chance to do the same.

I come to my October 2011 GOOPs after missing, thanks to hurricane/tropical storm Irene's power outage, the chance to post a September 2011 GOOPs. Irene's life and land damage was enough of a regional and local mess that I need not go there. So, back at it this month, I present a plant combination from one of my gardens that caused me wonder what I was thinking!

I love coleus. I grow them in pots on windowsills during cold months. I start new coleus from seeds each spring. I grow them in outdoor containers and use their seemingly endless foliage and color variations for interest when garden flowers are taking a rest.

I'm always on the outlook for new coleus and this spring 'Saturn' coleus (Solenostemon scutellarioides) caught my eye. When I purchased Saturn the yellow-green mid-leaf color was more pronounced than that depicted on the plant tag. But it was early, Saturn had been growing in a greenhouse in partial shade so, I reasoned, its darker red coloration more similar to the plant tag had not had a chance to fill in as it might have if grown in full sun.

I brought Saturn home to plant along the outer edge of a morning-sun bed dominated by two hydrangea, a variegated lace cap and a classic blue Endless Summer. The bed also contains ivy ground cover punctuated by what ever dark-reddish heuchera decides to survive. I thought Saturn's dark-red-tinged-with-a bit-of-yellow-green foliage might complement the heuchera and ivy without distracting from the hydrangea.

Well, plants don't always turn out to look like the lovely photo on the plant tag.

My Saturn's foliage never developed more burgundy. It continued on its mostly yellow-green leaved path. It never bushed out in response to pinching back, as other coleus do.

It grew lankier than I expected and, at the same time, the lace cap hydrangea grew more bushy and wider.

The blue-green-edged-in-white variegation of the hydrangea foliage and the yellow-green-edged-in-burgundy variegation of the coleus foliage became a visual cacophony that makes me cringe!

The best thing I can say about this combination is that it's provided me with GOOPs fodder.

I still like Saturn … it still has a chance in my gardens. I've taken Saturn cuttings to see how its foliage acts when grown in pots with indoor light but, if it survives the winter without coming down with aphids, I'll find a more complementary spot for Saturn to thrive.

Now it's your turn to share a gardening faux pas. Leave your GOOPs in a comment below or share a comment and a link back to your own GOOPs Day blog post. Here's hoping my GOOPs prevent similar GOOPs in your gardens.

Garden thoughtfully …

Categories: Gardening, GOOPs-Gardening Oops, Perennials & Annuals.
Tags: coleus, coleus 'Saturn', Gardening blunders, gardening oops - GOOPs, hydrangea.

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Don’t count your tomatoes … a gardening oops

joenesgarden — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:00:00 +0000

It's the first of August. It's GOOPs day … the day for my monthly gardening oops post. I share a gardening blunder of my own and offer you the chance to do the same.

My August 2011 GOOPS revolves around expectations. It's high season for fresh-picked vine-ripened tomatoes in zone 6a Connecticut. I look forward to this time from the start of gardening season. The flavor of home-grown tomatoes, warmed by the sun, can't be beat. I ordered the seed, planted them in flats, provided at least 10 hours of light to the little seedlings, watered them when they were dry, and set up a fan to gently blow on them so they developed good strong stems. I watched the weather and waited for it to warm enough to harden off the tomato seedlings. I chose high-quality rich compost-based potting soil for the large pots that would be the outside home for my tomato seedlings. When the conditions were favorable I planted the seedlings in their pots. I staked them, watered them, checked them daily for bugs and disease. They grew large. They looked healthy. They blossomed and began to set fruit. As each tiny tomato expanded into mature size and began to show a reddish tinge, my anticipation grew. The first cherry tomato was heavenly. Then came the first heirloom, a Cherokee, with phenomenal flavor. One slice was all that I needed for a toasted tomato sandwich.

Then it was the plum tomatoes' time to turn red. I took a visual inventory to determine about when I'd be able to make the first batch of fresh tomato sauce. That was my GOOPs. I counted my tomatoes before they were picked. The very morning I went out to harvest the plum tomatoes I was greeted with half eaten tomatoes. A chipmunk, or two or three, had also been watching the progress of the plum tomatoes … they got to them first. Anyone have any good chipmunk deterring tricks?

The next morning, during my usual plant-check stroll - with freshly-brewed coffee in hand - I spotted trouble with the Cherokee tomatoes. Leaves that had been healthy, firm, and of good color were suddenly wilting and damaged. I'm not exactly sure of the cause … I'm still investigating … but my Cherokees may be near they're last hurrah.

This experience is a good reminder that gardening outcomes are unpredictable. Best efforts don't always result in best harvest. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my remaining pots of cherry and heirloom tomatoes continue to grow unscathed. I'm hoping for a few more toasted tomato sandwiches and many more fresh tomato sauces and salads. But I won't count my tomatoes until they're picked … free of teeth marks and disease … and sitting on my kitchen counter.

Do you have a GOOPs to share? Tell all in a comment below or leave a teaser that directs readers to a GOOPs story on your own blog.

Categories: Edibles, Gardening, GOOPs-Gardening Oops.
Tags: Gardening blunders, gardening in Connecticut, gardening oops - GOOPs, tomato disease, tomato pests.

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A Violet Invasion–A Gardening Blunder

joenesgarden — Sun, 01 May 2011 12:26:18 +0000

Each spring I adore seeing purple and white violet blooms poking out of the lawn. The perky flowers of common blue violet (Viola sororia) and the delicate white flowers of Canadian white violet (Viola Canadensis) add a colorful touch to an otherwise sea of green. Since I tend to let nature help design my gardens, there are certain sections where I allow violets and other wildflowers to do their thing.

But encourage violets with caution - they are not a no-care perennial in perennial beds – a fact I learned after one spring with a broken foot that hindered my gardening routine. I share my tale of violet-woe as one of my gardening oops – GOOPs for short – a first of each month meme I started long ago.

It's easy to fall under a violet spell. They pop up in dreary corners, at the base of a stone wall, and throughout the lawn. How cute is this little white violet growing between walkway pavers? Violets' miniature blossoms stand above fresh, green heart-shaped leaves – a real spring mood-lifter. It's breathtaking when they form a green and purple blanket at the base spring blooming bulbs. But violets spread … and spread … and spread, both by seed and rootlets.

Normally I keep violets in check by digging them up after their flowers have faded and before their seed pods form. Usually neighborhood deer help keep violets in check by browsing those growing among my more deer-resistant perennials. This also helps keep any remaining violets from going to seed. But the spring of my broken foot just happen to fall at the same time the neighborhood deer found fodder elsewhere. I missed my violet-thinning window of opportunity, the deer didn't munch the flowers and tops – it was a violet-invading perfect storm.

That year, it was a chilly autumn weekend before I had the opportunity to go on a violet attack – to free my flower beds from the violet invasion. I spent most of a weekend draped in mud-covered rain gear digging violets from every corner of each bed. Bearded iris were so entwined with violet roots I had to dig up iris clumps, carefully tease out every violet rootlet, and replant the iris. I filled bucket after bucket with the violets I dug, and I had to go on a similar attack the following spring as new violets poked out of the ground.

Violet vigilance is usually a no-miss, no-excuse part of my spring routine. My season of violet abandon proved just how critical this routine is.

I want violets growing here among sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum). The combination creates a subtle ground cover at the rear of a perennial bed.

I don't want violets growing among a lamb's ear (Stachys byzantina) border. These violets will soon find a new home in the compost pile.

That's my GOOPs. Ready to share one you've made? Leave a comment below or a teaser to entice a visit to a GOOPs post on your blog. Don't be shy – we all make gardening blunders of some sort. Maybe by sharing we can help each other avoid, rather than repeat, a GOOPs.

Oh yeah … if anyone wants some common blue violets, I have plenty to share!

Categories: Gardening, GOOPs-Gardening Oops, Techniques.
Tags: common violets, Gardening blunders, gardening in Connecticut, gardening oops - GOOPs.

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Bulb blunders–not totally my fault. Still a Gardening Oops?

joenesgarden — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 09:30:00 +0000

It's the first of the month … GOOPs Day. For those unfamiliar, GOOPs stands for Gardening Oops. GOOPs Day occurs on the first of each month when I confess a gardening blunder hoping my words might prevent you from repeating my faux pas. Then I ask you to humbly confess one of your GOOPs.

Spring has finally sprung in southern Connecticut gardens, mostly in the form of bulbs so this month's GOOPs centers on this magic plant material.

As a rule, I try to plant greenery that local creatures – the 4-footed type - don't particularly like. This, of course, is learned behavior honed after much trial and error. (We wont' get into how much money went into this learned behavior – too scary.) When we first settled into our home more than a decade ago I planted many bulbs. Nothing says SPRING! better than bulbs popping up all over – except maybe the sound of spring peepers. I chose different varieties of narcissi with the understanding that deer and tunneling rodents don't disturb them. I also planted crocus. I tucked two large groups of crocus on either side of the granite front steps – an area bathed in southern sun – knowing they would pop up early and give me my first taste of spring each year. For a while the two groups bloomed beautifully and spread as crocus will do.

I was happy.

Then the voles found my crocus. First only on one side of the steps. The tell-tale tunnels began to appear in late summer. I'd stomp the tunnels down. They would pop back up. I had a sinking feeling that proved to be right. No more early green shoots, no more dainty lavender blossoms on one side of the steps. Then the voles dug into the crocus on the other side of the steps. They took many. They left a few. What once was matching, eight to ten inch in diameter groups of blooming crocus is now one lonely and small handful of lavender flowers on just one side of the steps.

Sad, isn't it?

I've not repurchased crocus to take the place of the missing ones. Each spring I wish I had. But then summer arrives and I forget, or I talk myself out of replanting since I'd have to encase any new bulbs in a protective wire sheath to keep them from becoming vole dinner. This is my GOOPs. I'm denying myself one of the most enjoyable early spring blossoms.

Needless to say, I'm not too happy that local voles dined on my crocus. But they did not eat all the tasty bulbs. They must carry them deeper into their tunnels and drop one or two along the way, leaving bulbs behind to do what bulbs do – grow. I now have a crocus bulb blooming amongst lamb's ear over here, and a crocus bulb over there, and yet another one many feet away.The sneaky underground creatures don't seem to be able to keep track of their stolen bounty. Of course I know their unintentional bulb drops will easily disappear if found by another visiting vole. If I could just get the underground designers to leave more than one bulb in a new local. The voles haven't learned that masses of blooming bulbs make a much better statement than just one bloom here and there … this is their GOOPs. Years earlier I found a crocus blooming deep in the woods, yards away from the place they were originally planted. Now I have single crocus bulbs popping up in my front planting beds where I never intended them to be. Do you think the voles are trying to play an April Fool's joke on me?

I also planted crocus in a bed I see each time I enter and exit the side door. I look out over these early bloomers while enjoying morning coffee. Then deer found these crocus, iris reticulata, and tete-a-tete narcissi groups . They were such a bright cheery sight. I became accustomed to this morning, springtime view. Then the crocus and iris blooms disappeared. Among the tell-tale imprints of deer hooves only green leaves remained. Deer left the tete-a-tetes alone for the next few years. Then one must have strolled along, taken a nibble, and decided tete-a-tetes weren't so bad after all.

The deer with the tete-a-tete fetish nibbles the bulbs' green shoots as soon as they peek out of the ground. Finding these nibbles is my annual reminder to bring out the apple baskets and start my cover-uncover routine. I place overturned baskets to protect the bulbs at night and uncover them to enjoy the view by day. I've since moved the iris into a fenced in area.

So, besides neglecting to purchase new crocus for either side of the front steps, my other GOOPs is assuming I'm the only designer at play in my gardens. We all do this. We plan and plant and expect everything to grow and be beautiful. We forget other creatures may have other ideas, and we are always surprised when one comes along to re-do our plans.

Now it's your turn to follow the GOOPs tradition. Share one of your own gardening blunders in a comment below, or leave a teaser comment that directs us to a GOOPs post on your blog.

May my GOOPs not be yours!

Categories: Bulbs, Creatures, Gardening, GOOPs-Gardening Oops, Seasons.
Tags: deer damage, Gardening blunders, gardening in Connecticut, gardening oops - GOOPs, spring bulbs, voles.

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Color from the garden, but not enough

joenesgarden — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 09:00:00 +0000

Here it is the first of the month, time for my monthly gardening oops – GOOPS for short – post. Each month I dig one of my gardening blunders out to share with you. I hope that doing so will help others not make the same GOOPs. Once you read mine, please share one of your GOOPs. Don't be shy … we all make mistakes. Share yours in a comment below or, if you have your own blog, share it there – just be sure to tease us a little in a comment below and give us a link to your GOOPs post.

This month's gardening faux pas will be concise. You understand … I'm busy in the garden or busy cooking/preserving goodies from the garden.

Here's what I picked recently. Clockwise from the top: Cherry tomato 'Sweet Million', Bush bean 'Purple Queen', eggplant Ichiban, Bush bean 'Pencil Pod Yellow', more Sweet Million cherry tomatoes, more Purple Queen beans, a heirloom zucchini called 'Black' (delicious sliced in half, grilled, and topped with provolone cheese), the last snow peas 'Carouby de Maussane', and centered, zucchini 'Gold Rush' and an onion 'Red Wethersfield' that originated with Connecticut's own Comstock, Ferre & Co. (now open again in Wethersfield, CT)

The beans and onions have been producing for a few weeks now , the tomatoes just started. We've harvested about 4 eggplant of the Ichiban sort with many more coming, and these will shortly be joined by Lavender Touch eggplant. I planted the zucchini late so this is the first of the Black variety and likely the last of Gold Rush since squash borers have attacked Gold Rush plants. The cherry tomatoes have just begun to ripen, in a few days we'll be overrun. Larger tomatoes – Pruden's Purple, Manyel, and Roma – will be ripe soon.

The GOOPs is that it's the first of August and I'm just now sowing a second crop of beans and zucchini – I should have done this a couple weeks ago. Even with many good intentions I have yet to plant a late sowing of lettuce and tatsoi, and another batch of cucumbers might do well if I have enough seed.

Summer's bounty is so much larger when the overseeing gardener manages to get second plantings in the ground in enough time for crops to mature before frost. Beans, lettuce/greens, summer squashes, and peas are ripe for second sowings. Good intentions don't put food in mouths … now I need to take my own advice.

Okay, it's your turn. Do you have a gardening faux pas you're willing to share? The first admission is the toughest. After that it becomes pretty easy to admit a GOOPs. Just look at all the GOOPs I and other gardeners have made.

Happy GOOPs Day – here's hoping my GOOPs are not yours.

Categories: GOOPs-Gardening Oops.
Tags: colorful vegetables, Gardening blunders, gardening in Connecticut, GOOPs Day, second plantings.

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