Revitalize your garden for next year

Michele Koskinen

Summer is in our rear view mirror and we gardeners are looking forward to next season. There is much to do before the winter sets in. Cleaning the beds, removing any diseased plant material, composting your raised beds, maybe caring for a few cole crops through November, planting buls for a spring bloom, getting the vegetables beds ready for early spring planting (remember when you couldn't start because of the snow on the ground) and other chores you may have each year.

This past year, looking at my garden did not inspire me.  I see a tired, overgrown, wrong plant wrong place garden that was beautiful 5 years ago but now some love and tough decisions are required. So where do I start?

Do I remove the weeping cherry that is failing or try to save it?
The Magnolia is getting too tall and looks crowded in the corner…..Prune and lighten up the small specimen or remove.
One Hydrangea seems to not have good growth or bloom this year. Investigate how to help it become vigorous again.
Move some of the perennials and divide other's.
Add a piece of art to the garden.

The two photos are my timeline of two years that show the problems that became more obvious this year. This is one of my tools for reinvigorating the garden. After all, we do forget from year to year what did well and what needs to be changed.

Garden Shot 2015 July Magnolia getting too large for space
Yes you see veggies with my flowers.

Garden in late June 2016…Coneflowers reseeding everywhere, hosta needs to be divided, back beds not showing well this year.

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The list below are questions and suggestions you may use to look at and evaluate your garden.


1. Photograph and map your current garden for reference.
2. If you have kept a journal every year, check back for any comments or photos on your garden. This allows you to remember any changes made over time.
3. Make a list of what you like and dislike about your current garden.
4. If large trees, shrubs or  perennials need to be removed or pruned, decide the how, who, and what will replace them.
5. Is your garden all seasons, or spectacular in two seasons? Do you want to extend the beauty of the seasons by adding another or happy with what you have?
6. Are your plants perennial, mixed, or mostly annual? How about your vegetable and herb garden.
7. Start planning now if you are going to add shrubs, trees or perennials. Many could be planted at this point and watered until the first frost. Fall plantings are often less traumatic for many species and will have a head start in the spring.

Remember that gardens are not static and last forever.  They grow, are beautiful and often need our help to remain beautiful and inspiring. Change is not a bad thing.


For more inspiration check out these articles:

Journals for the garden     previous blog
Photography of the garden…..previous blog


Updating you garden/garden.org
Finegardening.com/2-ways-design-bold-gardens

Summer into Fall Gardening

As fall arrives the summer garden is waning and the intrepid gardener has much work to do. Hopefully you have taken photos of your garden as it has grown, bloomed and produced for future planning. If you are not planting a fall garden what is next?
Veteren gardens know you are never totally finished in the garden. New or beginner gardeners need to be thinking of all the additional steps to good gardening Below is a short list to get you started.










A short list of things to do in September.

Planning:

This is the time to take photos of your garden, and pull out your notebook and takes notes on successes and failures of your garden. Did you like your selection of container plants? How productive were those tomatoes and peppers? What insects or diseases did you encounter? How was the overall weather pattern? Where are you going to rework that perrenial garden? Are you expanding your raised beds and getting them finished by November for next year? What bulbs will need to be planted for a spring garden? Do you need an additional shrub or small tree? These are just a few of the questions that will make your life easier in the spring.


If you have not read our blogs on photographing and logging information visit these links.

Photographing your garden
Journals for Gardens



Planting and Harvesting:

• It is not too late to sow some lettuce or other cold hardy greens nto the ground.
• Transplant cabbages, collards, kale, broccoli and kohlrabi.
• If you have a sunny place indoors, pot some of your favorites and healthiest herbs and enjoy them in the the winter.
• To prolong the vegetable production, keep your veggies picked
• Watch for frost and cover your tomatoes that are still on the vine. Pull the green tomatoes in your garden and wrap them in paper. Store them at 55to 60 degrees. You could have tomatoes at Thanksgiving.

Maintenance:

• Start pulling up plants that are no longer producing or past their prime.
• Clean the garden of dropped foliage to discourage disease and insects from overwintering in the soil.
• Make sure the mulch is thick enough on your cold season crops.

A little light reading:

august-garden-chores-2013

And finally, refresh your containers.  Find fall plants like ornamental cabbages, grasses, hardy pansies and chrysanthemums. Take color and beauty into the fall.

Photographing your garden

Michele K. Koskinen

Landscape of Public gardens.      
This photo pulls you into the garden scene and has depth.

I was recently at a public garden and was taking photos when a women ask why I took photos of trees and landscape in the winter. I was not sure how to answer her so my reply was " I always take photos regardless of the season. It gives me information about the garden I am visiting, When in bloom it is a teaching tool for me to learn more about cultivars I am not familiar with and may want to try, In the fall it shows the colors you may get from trees and plants and the winter it is all about shape and texture. As an added benefit, I can frame my favorites and use them as rotating galleries, gifts to friends and family or use them to practice my newfound hobby watercolor.



So why take photos of your garden, public gardens, or flowers in general.

1. It allows you to see design patterns you favor for you landscape.
2. As you garden matures it helps you make decisions about changes.
3. It allows you to examine what attracts you to a plant, tree or shrub and why you buy the plant.
4. It gives you a perspective of how your garden works through the seasons.
5. It gives a visual history of what was successful and what was not.
6. It teaches you to observe more closely a flowers distinct characteristics.
7. You can learn what the names of plants are that you would like to try.
8. It is an archive of the things that work inside and out in your growing environment.

Tip: Photographs in the summer garden change with light as the day goes from the soft morning to the harsh daylight of summer and then the colors of the sunsets. In the winter it is different as the colors are mostly browns, faded green and therefore texture becomes your focal point. Spring is coming and gardeners are preparing for the new seasons of flowers, vegetables, containers or a combination. Take photos, keep a journal, or as I do, keep a book on your computer of ideas in the garden. Not only is it a learning tool, it gets you ready to go out and garden.


A few of my favorite and mistake photos. Inside and out, gardens or walks take that camera with you and Go out and shoot.

What is in bloom at the time of year.

June-- Iris in full bloom.

July----- Iris are finished, Lilies are beginning, Coreopsis and Heuchera in bloom.

I found this at a garden and wanted to look it up later.

Take the plant marker to remember.

A nice shot. The light through the wings and the muted background.
Patience this day about 10 minutes and I don't know how many tries.

overexposed/ poor background
framing is awful

Overexposed but a nice framing.
The chair in the background another point of interest
to draw the eye in. Tilting the camera makes
it a little different.

Corrected by iphoto enhance.
What is this plant?
Previous blog

 

A macro shot with a dark background made by shutter and apeture manipulation

Photo color enhanced and cropped

Don't forget to take photo's of your favorite bulbs in bloom during the winter months....Paperwhites, Amaryllis, African Violets.......

Closeup of the parts are often intriguing photos.

There are many tips and tricks for the beginner to the advanced. Books, classes, youtube, and the worldwide web.....Two links below to get you started exploring how to photograph flowers and gardens. Like gardening, photography is a learning experience. With digital, you can shoot and shoot and learn through doing. Enjoy........

Fine Gardening tips
5 quick tips