Real Gardens

You may remember that I gave up on my chimnea because I’d only used it twice in 10 years and it was just taking up space on my deck. The plan was to stick it in a border and cram it full of plants.

Well, here’s what I tried first.  With the chimnea upright I had to fill it completely with soil so it would support the trumpet vine planted in the upper opening.  But how do you keep the soil from spilling out the lower opening?  With the very, very awkward use of wire mesh and landscape fabric.  As if that weren’t bad enough, after punching holes into those layers and cramming these sweet potato vines in the opening, it became crystal clear that there was no way to keep them watered, and they’re not exactly succulent.  So, next bright idea? 

Ah, that’s better.  First because it looks more natural (to me) but also because it’s plantable.  So here the trumpet vine’s coming out of the larger opening on the right and nothing’s crammed into the smaller opening on the left.

Now if you’ve ever grown trumpet vine you already know it can be shall we say problemmatic if not massively invasive?  Yeah, I know it’s native but I’ve never seen such angry feedback about a plant in my life - see for yourself.   So I’ll be keeping an eye on it.

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Andrew Bunting has a long career in horticulture (for such a young guy) including 10 years as curator of the famous Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College.  He recently shared the story of his garden’s makeover – into the stunner you see here – and it just made me want to see it in person.  So next month I’ll be taking a little horticultural road trip, a two-day whirlwind tour of some major gardening destinations in Pennsylvania – Andrew’s own garden, the Scott Arboretum itself, the Rodale Institute headquarters and growing fields, and the growing and breeding fields of Knock Out roses.   Can’t wait.

Enjoy these shots of (top two)  his front garden and below, his back yard.  Click here for my notes of Andrew’s talk, and an amazing before-and-after pairing of his front garden.

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In observance of Earth Day and to promote the campaign Green the Grounds.org, here's my report about a green governor's mansion landscape in my own state, Maryland.

Back in 2004 a Maryland Master Gardener, eager to promote landscaping practices that protect our beloved Chesapeake Bay, wrote to Joseph Altemus, horticulturist at the governor's mansion in Annapolis, to inquire about the landscaping practices there.  The upshot was a visit to the grounds by Master Gardeners of  Howard and Anne Arundel Counties to see how the landscape scored using Maryland's excellent BayWise certification and turns out, it scored 68 points – far more than the 30 needed to be certified as BayWise.  We're talking double!  Kudos to the governor's horticulturist for his good stewardship.  In fact, we'd love to hear from him to learn more about this success story.

A recent interview with Georgia Eacker, Howard County Master Gardener Coordinator, revealed that five years later the landscape still looks great and still proudly displays the "Bay-Wise-Certified" sign.  She told me she has a photo of then-Governor Bob Ehrlich and horticulturist Altemus, both beaming with the Bay-Wise sign, and we'd love to get a copy  to display here on Green the Grounds.

This Just in – a Veg Garden Next

From a press release of April 21, 2009: First Lady Katie O’Malley will celebrate National Gardening Month and Maryland Grow it Eat it Month by planting a food garden at Government House.  First Lady O’Malley will be joined by beginner gardeners who will learn basic techniques of gardening from Maryland’s Master Gardener Coordinator, Jon Traunfeld. April is National Gardening Month, Earth Month, and Governor O’Malley has also declared April to be Maryland Grow it Eat it Month,” said First Lady O’Malley.  “In celebration, and together with the University of Maryland, I encourage all Maryland families to plant their own garden to save money, to eat healthy, and to protect our environment.” 

First Lady O’Malley has partnered with University of Maryland Cooperative Extension to promote their new campaign, “Grow It Eat It,” which encourages Maryland families to improve health and save money by growing fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs using sustainable practices.  The campaign hopes to encourage 1 million Marylanders to produce their own affordable, healthy food.  More information on the campaign and the University of Maryland’s Master Gardener program can be found at www.growit.umd.edu.  

Maryland will be one of the first states, if not the first state in the nation, to have a backyard food garden at the Governor’s home.  The vegetable garden will set a realistic example of what Maryland families can do in their own backyards.

More about Bay-Wise Landscaping

Here's a brief overview, and here's an even briefer one:

• Fertilize wisely
• Water efficiently
• Mow properly
• Control stormwater runoff
• Mulch appropriately
• Recycle yard waste
• Use Integrated Pest Management
• Plant wisely (with plants suited to your site)
• Encourage wildlife
• Protect the waterfront

They DO seem to have all the bases covered.  Great program!

Photo credit. 

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by Guest Blogger Sarah Murphy of Canopy  (This guest post, while technier than what’s normal for this blog, contains info that I think is both cool and blog-worthy.  And no, they’re not paying me or promising to link to me in exchange.) 

For over 25 years the Tabard Inn, near Dupont Circle, has attracted Washingtonians and visitors alike for its garden courtyard, quirky interior and amazing food fare. The menu changes with the season with a majority of the food coming from the Tabard Inn’s nearby farm. Always interested in staying ahead of trends, Irene Mayer, the Inn’s in-house designer, started looking into putting vegetation on their numerous roofs in 2007. She approached Canopy, a company that specializes in restoring the urban canopy through green roofs and city gardens, about incorporating green roofs onto their buildings. 

The Inn had decided to add a small roof over their outdoor serving area, and asked Canopy if it was feasible to put an herb garden green roof on it.  Canopy suggested building the roof to be strong enough to hold the 12-18 inches necessary to support the specialty herbs. They also installed a skylight hatch with a pull-down ladder to simplify the short trip from the kitchen to the rooftop.  A hose bib was also added for water access. 

Once the roof installation was complete, an EPDM membrane was applied. EPDM is a common waterproofing membrane that stands for ethylene propylene diene M-class rubber.  Next, Canopy installed a root barrier made of high-density polyethelene. To create the look of a traditional herb garden, Canopy constructed numerous wooden boxes out of rot-resistant cedar in varying depths to accommodate a variety of herbs and other herbaceous plants.  Each of the wooden boxes was filled with a specially blended growth medium comprised of 60% lightweight aggregate, 10% aggregate fines, and 30% organic matter.

The 150 square foot roof was then planted with Lemon verbena, 2 varieties of bush blueberry, rosemary, chives, thyme, sage, annual basil, and 2 varieties of climbing roses.  The roses were requested by The Tabard’s owner, Jeremiah Cohen, who has an office that overlooks the new roof top herb garden.

Overwhelmingly pleased with the roof top herb garden, the Tabard approached Canopy again in the spring of 2008 to 2 create more green roofs on roofs in need of new waterproofing.  Canopy eagerly accepted the new projects, but there were a few challenges along the way. 

The first challenge with the new roofs was that they both have a 5/12 pitch, meaning each roof is angled nearly 45%.  Erosion and soil slumping become an issue at only a 2/12 pitch, so Canopy had to utilize special materials to prevent any soil slipping off of the deeply pitched roofs.  They decided to employ a technique used by German Manufactures at Optigrun, plastic “bananas” that latch onto a geo-textile mat also installed on the roof. 

The plastic “bananas” are approximately 2 inches deep, so they hold 2 inches of soil in place while they also have spikes emerging from them that hold pre-vegetated mats in place.  The mats, similar to sod, were grown at a nursery in Stevensburg, Virginia with a variety of sedums.

The installation of the soil and pre-vegetated mats was a slow and laborious task exacerbated by the fact that the restaurant wanted to stay open for outdoor dining.  Canopy coordinated the installation between meals.  The roughly 350 square foot installation took about 2 weeks total.

Now the 3 green roofs offer verdant view for guests.  Additionally,  the green roofs are offering insulation benefits, reducing energy bills and helping reduce storm water run off.  The kitchen has also noted a reduced need to by expensive specialty herbs.

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It’s winter, so let’s stroll down garden memory lane, shall we?  Here’s my back yard in the summer of 1985, soon after I’d bought the house and plopped that tiny deck on the back overlooking the woods.  Notice especially the hideous cinder block wall with an opening waaay too narrow for a lawnmower to pass through it..  And DO ignore my outfit, which if I were better at Photoshop I would have deleted…somehow.  Delete me entirely I mean.

And here’s a roughly equivalent shot taken about 20 years later.  The new deck has been dubbed the "aircraft carrier" by a neighbor (he’s just jealous!) and the wall’s been replaced with a sloping mixed border and some large stone steps.   Now I just wish I’d taken a helluva lot MORE before pictures.  Don’t you, too?

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