Thursday, May 3, 2012
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Finding balanceln00t :e.garden
Gardening takes orga-
nization. From the first
seeds sown to finding time
in your calendar to process
vegetables or prune roses,
design. Rather than pur-
posing for an edible land-
scape, wily not sprinkle
edibles throughout your
flower garden? It can be
gardens don't just happen.
Nature happens.
In our attempt to create
the most natural look-
ing landscapes, garden-
ers often plan and plant
genus and species that
grow together in the wild.
No one plants a hybrid tea
rose in a meadow or prai-
rie planting or sunflowers
in the shade of a magno-
lia. In the latter case the
misplaced sunflower will
slowly die for the sun
and soil requirements are
amiss. In the former, the
rose just looks out of place,
detracting from the overall
"wow" effect of a bloom-
ing meadow. Striving for
the natural look more often
than not places gardens in
a box.
Vegetables in the veg-
etable garden, roses in the
rose garden; beauty and
purpose can flank formal-
ity. Nevertheless, do not
whimsical gardens bring
smiles to our faces and
a sense of.wonder to our
spirit? Many gardeners are
finding ae between
done without appearing
as if a plant out of place
and it can bring that ele-
ment of surprise to garden
visitors.
I recently enjoyed walk-
ing with friends on a
mini-tour of the changes
they had made to their
gardens in the past year.
One woman walking with
us was filled with joy
at the sight of ripening
strawberries intermingled
with low-growing conifers
and perennials. The bright
green leaves of the berries
blended in beautifully and
gave me the idea for this
column,
Looking through my
photographs I found many
examples of edibles mixed
with flowers. Some of the
pictures were specific with
herbs, others like corn in a
raised box I had forgotten
about. In each the beauty
of the moment caused me
to snap a photo and in ret-
rospect I understand why;
edible plants in flower
beds harbors creativity
and interest.
the two. One way to b!end the two
.di2;ls3ndgCa.les are isi,itf-rtlit trees. Flower-
mbt :ne!b finy mdans, iperenlalalst require
but:have %ften found minimal maintenance and
thegaselVes liTnited in positioned away from
the trunk of the tree can
create a cloud of flow-
ers long after the fruit is
harvested. Another way
is to intersperse herbs
with flowers.
When walking through
a garden center, herbs are
rarely paired with flowers.
Herbs are for herb gardens
or to be planted in con-
junction with vegetables.
While I agree with that
theory, I also believe herbs
are for everywhere! With
a little research and atten-
tion to detail when visit-
ing botanical gardens or
gardens of friends, novice
gardeners will discover the
varied and beautiful world
of herbs.
Be it the feathery, red
fronds of bronze fennel or
the tight golden mounds
of lemon thyme; herbs
can accentuate plantings
throughout the landscape.
Though some can be more
aggressive than others, few
herbs fall into the category
of invasive; this allows
them (even if perennial)
to be a part of a flower
bed that is redesigned each
spring. Woody herbs like
rosemary and lavender can
bring subdued structure to
a bed and still bloom their
little hearts out ..... .,
Browsing book, s on
kitchen gardens and edible
flowers will also give gar-
deners ideas of appropriate
plants for a desired effect.
A gastachefoeniculum or
Anise hyss-6 "is. Widely
offered., and planted '.i:mt_
few realize the flowers are
edible and have a wonder-
ful licorice flavor. Daylily
buds are in many cultures
included in stir-fries.
Pineapple sage with its
bright, red tubular flowers
not only is a hummingbird
favorite, but makes a dandy
tea. Purple-leafed peppers
and Scarlet runner beans
add more than just color
and contrast to a flower
bed-- they add food !
I have been accused in
the past of having a surviv-
alist mentality, and I do.
I don't stockpile weapons
and gold for the coming
Armageddon, but I cannot
help but wonder what
happens if the economy
really crashes. No drug
companies, empty super-
market shelves, though I
trust in God for provision,
I can't not include edible
and useful plants in my
gardens. Won't you?
k
roslon control under trees and in shady areas
By Keith Reed
..... The theme forz the
week in the Extension
ofice has bni,erosion
p01]ems und;er trees
aother shady areas, a
pblem we are happy to
address since it means we
have been receiving some
nice rain. Tall fescue,
our "go to" turfgrass for
shade in this region, is not
the ideal solution in many
Circumstances. Extreme
shade, high humidity,
and hot summers all pose
problems for this species.
Consider the following
options for dealing with
these problems in your
own landscape.
Liriope (monkey grass)
is a great plant. However,
it is so common that we
often overlook its value
for this situation. Once
the plant matures, it
forms a very dense mat
highly resistant to ero-
sion. While primarily
planted for its foliage,
Liriope does have a nice
purple flower spike to add
some interest to shady
areas. Mondograss is a
very similar plant, only
smaller.
Inland sea oats is
another common plant
that is often overlooked
for this use. Inland sea
oats is a bunch forming
grass with a very showy
seedhead that is valued
for its use in winter and
cut flower arrangements.
The flat seedheads like to
dance around in the wind
and are quite attractive.
If you have sPent any
time wandering along
our creeks, you have
probably seen this plantl
Ajuga, also called car-
petweed or bugleweed, is
a low growing broadleaf
plant. Ajuga has a very
showy purple flower
spike. It is available in
many cultivars with a
wide range of leaf colors.
This plant may not per-
form well in every site,
but if it likes the location,
it makes a very dense
groundcover.
Moneywort is another
plant to consider,
especially if adequate
moisture is available.
Moneywort is a very
low growing plant that
also forms a very dense
mat. You should know
that this plant is on the
invasive species list in
some states although it
has not proven to be a
problem in our part of
the world. However,
just to be on the safe
side, it is probably best
not to plant this if you are
unable to keep an eye on
it. In other words, don't
plant it along a creek or
other riparian area where
flooding could move it
downstream.
Many common types
of mulch will float and
follow the water. A
few that resist this to
some degree are cotton
seed hulls, pine needles
and shredded cypress.
Cotton seed hulls will
mat together and form a
very dense barrier. Keep
this in mind when you are
making your initial instal-
lation as it is always easier
to go back and add more
than remove part of it if
too much was installed in
the beginning. There are
no hard and fast rules as
to the amount of slope/
runoff these mulches will
withstand so it is best to
start small and see how it
works in a run-off event
before spending lots of
time and money only
to see it float down the
street.
Lastly, be sure your
maintenance practices
are not contributing to
the erosion problem. A
common issue we see is
repeated non-selective
herbicide application,
especially along fences
and other hard to main-
tain areas, creating a bare
ground situation. Any
cover is always better
than no cover when ero-
sion is involved.
If you have additional
questions, you are always
welcome to email (keith
.reed@okstate.edu), call
405-747-8320, or stop
by the Payne County
Extension Office at 315
W. 6%
Horticulture tips for the month of May
By Keith Reed
The best time to prune
most spring blooming
shrubs is right after
they have dropped their
blooms. These plants
flower from buds set last
year, so pruning now (as
needed to control growth
or improve shape) insures
that the plant has plenty
of time to re-grow and set
buds fully for the follow=
ing year. The forsythia
is a great example of this
principal. These land-
scape standbys can tend
to get large and unruly
late in the summer and we
have a tendency to want
to prune them back at that
time. The plant tolerates
this just fine but it will
not bloom the following
spring.
Early to mid May
should be the last time
your tall fescue or other
cool season lawn is fertil-
ized until fall. Summer
fertilization will only
exacerbate disease and
heat stress issues these
grasses will soon face.
On the other hand, now
is the perfect time to
make your first fertil-
izer application on your
warm season turfgrasses
such as bermuda and
zoysia. Some fertilizer
costs have risen dramati-
cally recently. We would
encourage you to use this
as an incentive to have
your soil tested if you
have not done So in a few
years. This may help you
avoid needless fertilizer
application. Contact us
in the Extension office
for more information on
this service.
BagwormS are acommon
pest that typically affects
our landscape plants
beginning in late May. As
early as other insects have
appeared this season, I
would suggest scouting
for these insects soon.
Look for small worms
near the bags or on the
tips of leaves. Control
is much more effective
if you begin treatments
now while the insects are
small. You can find more
information on OSU Fact
Sheet EPP-7306 concern-
ing scouting and control
strategies for this pest.
Remember that seeing
only a few of a particu-
lar pest does not mean
chemical control is war-
ranted.
With our recent rains
and forecast warm
temperatures, you can
expect to see fungal dis-
eases becoming an issue.
If you are spraying fruit
trees, remain diligent in
the timing of your appli-
cations during this period.
If you are considering
planting new roses, look
for "landscape" roses as
opposed to hybrid teas.
These plants have been
bred with disease resis-
tance in mind and are
much easier to maintain
in the home landscape.
If you have additional
questions, you are always
welcome to email (keith
.reed@okstate.edu), call
405-747-8320, or stop by
the Payne County Exten-
sion Office at 315 W. 6%
