Does anyone else garden under trees?
I seem to have a knack for gardening where I shouldn't. When we bought our house, there was an area along the driveway lined with large trees. The grass wouldn't grow there and it would be a dust cloud each time we mowed. Moss would occasionaly grow there where the edges met 'real grass'. The gravel driveway seemed to have been shoveled into that area each winter prior to our arrival. So what do I do being a new homeowner and new gardener? Try to plant a garden there....geez, Louise, you'd think I'd figure out that grass isn't growing there, that a garden sure isn't going to be happy there. The area is filled with roots from the trees, hard, dry compacted soil that you can barely get a trowel into. Know what I planted there the first year? Well, how's astilbe for starters? Ha ha ha, now I laugh because I know better, but it took many years since to know that was a deadly error and a waste of beautiful plantlife. I persevered, and I still have a garden under the oaks and one really pain in the neck hickory ( I think) with the chains of pollen coated things that fall into the garden each spring. Anyway, now I try to gear some of the plants to the conditions there, and I try to improve them as much as I can..compost mostly in the spring, mulch and I water it a lot more...no water gets through that thick canopy of leaves.
I also didn't learn soon enough. I started a 'White (moon) garden....you guessed it, under the canopy of high trees...which the moonlight doesn't touch all the time, sometimes yes, but most times no. I do like the garden and at dawn and dusk it is magical to me..but another under tree experience that 'live and learn' falls under.
Slowly I rescue some of the plants that have been friendly to me and lived all these years under the trees. For instance I have one coneflower that is about 8 years old, and it is so small and puts up one or two flower stalks a year..but it lives and I cherish those flowers. I think of moving it, but it has proven strong over the years, so I leave it to be the strong little coneflower that it is, and I appreciate the two flowers a year. (unfortunately so does the local ground hog..but I spray now, and that issue is mostly under control....dare I say it, lest he's out there chomping as I type.)
Well, anyway, this got long, but I was wondering if any of you garden under the canopy of trees, your experiences with it, and suggestions for tough, but beautiful plants to continue the insanity.. Thanks for your thoughts....JoAnn
ps...I do have gardens that are out in the open now..amazing how well they grow.
Comments (17)
tulipscarolan
18 years agoenchantedplace
18 years agoRelated Discussions
Does anyone else have this garden problem?
Comments (6)If what you have is bindweed the worst thing you can do is pull it. Pulling it and breaking the roots actually stimulates the plant to grow more rapidly. You can get rid of it but it will take you a while. The idea is to weaken and exhaust the root so much that the plant dies. First of all, stop pulling it! You need to mow/weed whack/shear it to force it to keep putting out new growth. You want to keep it in the active growth phase and not let it get to the flowering or seed setting life stage. With continuous cutting the plant will/might start to grow extremely flat, it will hug the ground. At this point you'll need to switch to chemical warfare. Start spraying it with an herbicide containing glyphosate, i.e. Roundup and things like that. It need to be an herbicide that kills the root. Unfortunately if the bindweed has invaded a flower bed, you will have collateral damage. Shield the innocent as best you can. Don't try lifting plants to save them from the herbicide. If you get even the tiniest portion of a bindweed root you will spread it. While doing all this never let the plant flower even if you have to hand pick the blooms! Try to keep mowing/shearing it whenever possible. Watch for new plants trying to emerge away from the parent plant too. Keep after this mowing/cutting/herbicide routine until the plant freezes back this winter. Watch for new growth next year. You might have to do this routine for several years because of seed drop from previous ones. Even after the plants are gone you'll need to always be on guard for the stuff, it's a real pain. Good luck!...See MoreAnyone else gardening with articifial knees or hips?
Comments (8)Your post caught my eye as I am also recovering from knee surgery, fractured patella. Cant stoop, lose my balance easily, am slower than I was, but determined to garden. I am an RN, and this is what I would do were I in your position. First......gauntlet gloves that are as long as you can buy them. Then, protective clothing like something you can get from Cabella's, Eddie Bauer or other high end hunting store. They have overalls, jackets, shirts made for people who hunt in very rugged country, get the clothing that is impenetrable to thorns. Next, I would keep close at hand a first aid kit with items you would need to immediately clean a cut - I swab on 7% iodine when I get a cut - [use this in my horse barn on navels of newborn foals] or a strong Betadine solution [again...I use the strong scrub I keep for horse wounds I get from my vet - its stronger than what you can buy]. Or ask your pharmacist what he would recommend. Keep swabs, gauze pads, bandaids of several sizes in this kit. It will be handy, you can clean any wound immediately. Next, I would let your DH do some of the initial pruning, and let you do the finer touch up work. That way, the bigger branches would be gone by the time you started. And do all this early in the day to avoid heat. You have a beautiful garden, but you must take care. I get scratches all the time, never pay them any attention, but you must put yourself first, so you can get back to gardening sooner! And you are only 3 weeks post op? You really have to take care not to lose your balance! I shouldnt talk though, I was sneaking out on crutches the first week to plant some early roses that came so my boyfriend, who was at work, wouldnt catch me at it. Try to look at the long term consequences......[the first few weeks were the hardest for me] and know that you will improve weekly - but you really must take care. What kept me in line was the fear I would hop around too much and end up back in surgery again. Made a believer out of me! Found out today though that I will have to have the pins out at some time or other, more surgery, more down time, but not as bad. Let others do the grunt work, you fine tune, and be careful! Good luck! Judith...See MoreDoes anyone else garden by the moon?
Comments (22)A friend talked me into the notion a couple years ago, the jury is still out on the merits of moon phase planting for me. This winter I made it a point to obtain two different pharmacy calendars and they don't have a lot of common date information. Next I looked at three different farmers almanact's again there is a lot of difference from one to the next. I am currently communicating with Caren from the calendar web site listed above. She claims there are different ways to design calendar dates depending on how corrections are applied to lunar event period changes over the milleniums since zodiac events were first used and how accurately the designer accounts for not just days but hours in lunar cycles. I am still waiting for her to perscribe a calendar type of hers for my locality but also am wondering if it would be just as well to hang all those calendars in the out house and use them there. That thirteen bucks would buy a few more packs of fresh seeds or a grow light. What do you think....See MoreDoes anyone else have Monkey Puzzle Trees
Comments (124)The most recently posted Long Island street view is from 2012! No proof they are still there after the 2 polar vortex winters. And the other recent winter that was very cold in New England but not as much down here. (2016 IIRC: well below 0F on Martha's Vineyard. Have no idea how LI fared) They often look out of place in typical residential settings but I think those twin Seattle trees suit the house and are well taken care of so I give them a pass! Good catch GG. I am actually wondering if the NW DC, Bethesda, and Baltimore trees survived this horrid summer...by far the most humid I can remember. We barely had any comfortable dewpoints throughout September, not until the last few days. USUALLY cold fronts start pushing in some crisp weather by the 2nd week of Sept. It was a constant steambath since May. And yes it is humid compared to the PNW, but constant dewpoints 70F or above are not normal at least up here. There's a reason you see at least a few old ironclad rhodies in the DC/Baltimore area, but none in the deep south. And other than the late June/early July drought/heatwave - just long enough to be a nuisance - incredible rainy spells, one after another. I'm lucky to have only lost a couple important rhodies to root rot. OTOH it was nice to not worry about watering the 6 or so new planted camellias in my garden. They are so thirsty in the first year!...See Moremakalu_gw
18 years agosusanzone5 (NY)
18 years agoJustJoeyGirl
18 years agoginiene
18 years agoJustJoeyGirl
18 years agosusanzone5 (NY)
18 years agoJustJoeyGirl
18 years agosusanzone5 (NY)
18 years agoJustJoeyGirl
18 years agoklavier
18 years ago
anitamo
18 years agooldroser
18 years agoladychroe
18 years agoJustJoeyGirl
18 years ago
JustJoeyGirlOriginal Author