Gardening Tips

When all the world around me falls apart, I retire to my garden sanctuary. That’s how it’s always been. My garden is my solace, it gives me time to just be, to just sit back and take a breather. It may not always be a time spent on a garden bench listening to the gurgle of my pond, in fact there are times when I spend my time in frenzied activity whether it be turning soil or paving another section of the garden or planting something. Still, I think the promise at the end that I never leave disappointed is what brings me back time and time again for its therapeutic powers. Gardening is therapy. Scientists put it down to being outdoors, breathing the fresh air, getting enough sunlight. All too technical for me. I just know what I feel and it’s that invigorated feeling of being truly alive. Marvelling in the goodness that is around me. My garden doesn’t protect me from harsh realities. No, oftentimes these harsh realities are there to behold - the hail affected fruit and tattered leaves, the heliothis infestations that decimate my tomatoes…so what is it that is different between my garden and the world outside that gives me peace despite all its similarities? I think it has to do with the promise of better things, better times if only we hold out long enough and persevere. I find that harder to see in the developed world with all its clutter and confusion. I see it more clearly and evidently in my garden - which is why I am forever thankful that I am a gardener. It keeps me sane far from the madding world…

Tulips are available in stunning colors nowadays from solids to the striped and with straight petals or furls. Each time I think I’ve seen my most favorite variety, out comes another that usurps its position. There’s even an almost ‘black’ variety that is available. I think black flowers are almost a horticultural challenge - it’s almost as if to finally attain a black flower of any variety is like a trophy to be attained eg the black rose, the black tulip etc. Tulips look best planted enmasse. In fact I think most bulbs look their best when planted enmasse rather than just having one or 2 dotted through the landscape. It’s that ‘wow’ factor. Most tulips like a cold snap before appearing in spring so if your winters aren’t quite frosty enough, you will need to ‘imitate’ nature by putting your bulbs in the vegetable crisper for ideally 6-8 weeks (NOTE : in the fridge, NOT the freezer!) before planting out in a sunny well drained spot in your garden. Plant the bulbs about 4 inches apart for a mass effect or if you only have a couple of bulbs, you may opt to plant them in a shallow container to great effect. I normally plant them quite deep (they like the cold soil) - around 4 inches deep. Before planting I dig in some blood and bone and add some water retaining crystals to the soil. Then I water and wait for the little green spikes to break out of the soil. When the flowers first appear, I keep a watchful eye for aphids and hit them with a garlic/soap spray (or pyrethrum spray) to halt their progress.

The good news is that there are now varieties of tulips which don’t require as heavy chilling to perform well. Look out for ‘Single Late Tulips’ (otherwise known as French Tulips or Warm Climate Tulips). Where once you could really only have good looking tulips in the cooler climates, you can now grow these varieties in your warm climate garden as long as you follow the vegetable crisper routine. I’d suggest you dig out your tulips after the leaves have yellowed and store them in a dry shady spot with good air circulation to reduce the chance of mold and fungal attack on your bulbs. I usually also give them a good dusting with some insecticide to keep the insects off the bulbs to ensure that in mid autumn I can safely take them out again in preparation for their next planting.

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to live totally independent of all the daily conveniences that we are so used to nowadays and to be self sustaining, so it was with great interest that I continued in the life and times of one such couple daring to baulk the trend and to attempt to attain domestic sustainability (see http://www.lintrezza.com). Their struggles and day to day adjustments in attempting to go 6 months without spending a dollar was mind boggling. This is reality TV in the flesh and a rivetting read to say the least! I admire their perseverence, their tenacity, their ingenuity and I guess deep down I wish for a similar sort of simple life. I think however, if you ask them they would say that it’s NOT simple, if only because of all the adjustments they have to make to get by.

For myself, I want to achieve semi-sustainability. I don’t think I can survive without my luxuries and I’m not sure I have the time and patience to bake everything, grow everything etc. I do harvest rain water. I re-use the rinse water from my washing machine to water the garden and I use low phosphorus detergents so that I can do this. I have contemplated using a composting toilet and to purchase an electric bicycle for those trips that are just too long to walk and too short to justify using a car (I live in a hilly area and I can peddle up some but the steeper ones I have to get off my bike to push). I think for me I just want to be able to live as organically as I possibly can and to leave this world with as little rubbish (landfill) as is possible and to leave a legacy of being ‘a gardener who tried’.

Focal points in landscaping are those objects or plants or trees that draw your eye to focus. It’s kinda like a statement in your garden - for some a landscaping focal point could be a grand outdoor garden statue of monolith proportions complete with spouting fountains or it could be a little irresistable hideaway resting place that beckons you to just kick up your heels and just be for a moment. Don’t have too many focal points in your garden because it tends to have a confounding effect - where do I look now? Unless that is your ultimate goal in your garden ie to create a maze of focal points of interest to keep your garden guest guessing.

If you look at the larger Asian gardens, you will notice that they have these bizarre looking zig-zag bridges, often made of concrete but it can also be wooden. I guess the theory behind these would be that it’s not a ’straight’ up and over type bridge which we are often accustomed to and that at the end of one section of the bridge, you can pause in that corner to look at the view from that angle. So in other words, the zig-zag pattern actually forces you to amble through the bridge slowly and not just go straight through it. There is also a religious connotation (Feng Shui) aspect in such Asian garden bridges. The Chinese believe that evil spirits don’t like corners and they ALWAYS move in straight lines ie in creating the zig-zag effect on the bridge, any ‘bad omen’ or ‘bad spirit’ would get so confounded that it would get ’stuck’ in the middle somewhere and not be able to ‘get to the other side’ of the bridge. And the Asian garden often extends this meandering and curves into their garden landscaping - no direct paths from the driveway to the front door. Whilst these religious aspects of Feng Shui may not appeal to you, the curves in the garden does make it more appealing in my mind. It creates an aura of wonder - what’s just around that corner? And it makes gardening all the more interesting.