Introduction
The more you discover about gardening, the more satisfying it is. Gardening is all about a process that delights the eye and fuels the soul with a connection to the earth. As countless teachers and community workers have learned, gardening is one of the quickest (and cheapest!) ways to reduce vandalism and crime, and to increase community pride. Gardening is good for the body. An hour or two of weeding, harvesting, or cultivating provides just the right kind of light exercise we all need. Responsible gardening also does good things for the environment: materials get recycled and certain habitats attract wildlife, for example.
The point is, gardening has moved out of the vegetable patch and the flower bed. Gardening now encompasses our lives – if you have a garden, even a very tiny one, you are a gardener. If you have a sunny windowsill, you are a gardener. National surveys show that gardening has become the most popular, least exclusive hobby of all. Everybody’s doing it.
People are simply enjoying their time outdoors and striving to make their little corner of the world more peaceful and beautiful – a better place to live. And that’s what this book is about`
The more you discover about gardening, the more satisfying it is. Gardening is all about a process that delights the eye and fuels the soul with a connection to the earth. As countless teachers and community workers have learned, gardening is one of the quickest (and cheapest!) ways to reduce vandalism and crime, and to increase community pride. Gardening is good for the body. An hour or two of weeding, harvesting, or cultivating provides just the right kind of light exercise we all need. Responsible gardening also does good things for the environment: materials get recycled and certain habitats attract wildlife, for example.
The point is, gardening has moved out of the vegetable patch and the flower bed. Gardening now encompasses our lives – if you have a garden, even a very tiny one, you are a gardener. If you have a sunny windowsill, you are a gardener. National surveys show that gardening has become the most popular, least exclusive hobby of all. Everybody’s doing it.
People are simply enjoying their time outdoors and striving to make their little corner of the world more peaceful and beautiful – a better place to live. And that’s what this book is about
Just a Few Ground-Level Questions and Answers
If you want to learn more about gardening – and you must if you’re reading this – just where do you start? We could start with some heavy-duty science, tossing around terms like cotyledon, cambium, and the ever-popular pith. Or we could start talking about beautiful gardens like critics of fine paintings – employing words like composition, energy, focal point, and the like.
We don’t mean to suggest anything but respect for scientists and artists. In fact, the chance to combine science and art is what draws many of us to gardening in the first place – especially if you throw in a little farming and a few old wives’ tales (of course you shouldn’t plant sweet peas at the full moon).
All we really want to do here is to get you through a few basic principles of plant growth and garden planning so that you can rush out into the garden when the weather’s right for planting and the soil’s ripe for digging.
First, any questions?
How Do I Make My Plants Grow Rather than Die?
ike other living things, plants have certain requirements for good health. For example, they require the right amounts of light, temperature, moisture, and nutrients.
When selecting plants, you can meet their requirements in one of two ways. The first (which we don’t recommend) involves selecting your favourite plants and then doing your best to alter the growing conditions at the planting site to meet their needs. You can change the growing conditions by adding irrigation, incorporating fertiliser, hauling in fresh topsoil, pruning some trees, or covering plants with blankets in winter. But this is the backward approach that costs you loads of time, money, and hassle.
By far the best approach is to work with what you have. Get to know the conditions at the planting site first and then choose plants that will thrive there. The better you match plants to the planting site, the longer the plants live, the better the plants look, and the less work (watering, pruning, fertilising, and controlling pests) you have to do to care for them. Your garden looks great, and you have more time and leisure to enjoy it – a win:win situation all round.
Your climate and microclimates
You need to match a plant to a planting site on both a large and a small scale. On a large scale, a plant needs to adapt to the general climate of the area in which it lives. Can the plant withstand winter’s low temperatures and summer’s high temperatures? Is the annual rainfall enough to keep the plant alive, or will it need watering? Understanding your climate is a huge step towards successful gardening.
On a smaller scale, can the plant grow well in the localised climate of your garden or the particular spot where you want to plant? Smaller climates, called microclimates, can be quite a bit different from the overall climate of your area. For example, because of the shadows that your house casts, the northern side of your house is cooler and shadier than its southern side. Or a planting site located beside a white, west-facing wall can be several degrees warmer than the rest of the garden because of the reflected heat from the wall.
Sun and shade
All plants need light to grow properly. However, the amount of light that plants need varies. The main terms to determine a plant’s needs are full sun, partial shade, and shade.
Plants that require full sun need at least six to eight hours of sun per day. Plants that don’t get enough sunlight become leggy (develop long, spindly stems), as if stretching out for more light. Sun lovers that don’t get enough sunlight also tend to flower poorly. Sites that get full sun face south or south-west.
Plants that prefer partial shade need to grow in sites that face east or west to north-west, where they have sun for several hours but not enough to bake. Other plants also create partial shade – trees and large shrubs.
Some plants prefer to be out of the sun entirely, growing in shade. Heavy, all-day shade appears on the north side of buildings, and under trees. Note one obvious rule for gardening in the shade: Put shade-loving plants in the shade. Sun-worshipping plants just won’t make it. Don’t fret. Hundreds of incredible shade-loving plants (some with showy flowers and others with attractive foliage and form) are available to choose from.
To make matters just a little complicated, a plant’s shade tolerance may vary both by region and by specific garden conditions. For example, many plants that need full sun in cool climates tolerate or require some afternoon shade when growing in warm southern climates. The label on the plant, or the information in this book, can help you figure out where to put your plants.
Soil and water
The kind of soil in your garden – heavy clay or porous sand, for example – is closely related to soil moisture. Chapters 11 and 14 detail the importance of these two factors and the ways in which they affect plant growth. Those chapters also cover cultural practices such as cultivating, watering, and fertilising. Wet, soggy clay soil is very difficult to correct, but certain moisture-loving plants can grow, and even thrive, under those conditions.
Similarly, if your soil is free draining (sandy or stony, not holding water for long), you’re well advised to go for drought-tolerant plants that have developed various strategies for conserving water, such as waxy or narrow leaves, or fleshy leaves that store water. Choosing plants to fit existing soil conditions is a great deal easier than altering the soil conditions themselves
What Can I Use My Garden For?
A garden can make your life more comfortable, healthier, more colourful, and more convenient. A garden lets you expand your living area to the outdoors, harvest fresh food, and pick your own flowers. Take a look at the different ways that a garden can enhance your life.
A private getaway. Imagine taking a break in your own back garden or relaxing in a shady spot, secluded from the hustle and bustle of daily living. This dream can be yours, if you begin by creating a private area for your own pleasure.
A place for entertaining. Whether you like large get-togethers with family and friends, or a quiet dinner à deux, your garden can provide an ideal atmosphere. You need a few key ingredients to make your garden perfect for entertaining, such as comfortable seating, shade provided by a pergola or parasol, screening to create a secluded atmosphere, fragrant plants, plus lighting and heating for evening use.
A site for
children and pets. Everyone in the family has a stake in the garden, so take account of all their interests. A garden isn’t just for the grownups. If you tell your kids to keep off the garden they may just obey you
for life – and miss out on a fascinating and absorbing hobby that can give them a lifelong interest in gardening and the environment. Not to mention art, science, and an excuse to get joyfully grubby.
A way to get close to nature. Unless you live in a treehouse, your garden is the nearest and probably the best way of getting in touch with your environment. Gardens are increasingly vital for the survival of wildlife, with natural habitats disappearing fast. Feeding the birds, watching the butterflies, and listening to the bees is a fabulous way of de-stressing, and high on the feel-good factor too – you know you’re doing a bit for the environment. Research has shown that walking barefoot on the grass significantly reduces heart rate and blood pressure!
Your own flower stall. Cutting a bunch of flowers from your own garden and arranging them in a vase indoors is hugely satisfying. Some flowers are better for cutting than others, so be sure to include a few in your borders. If you have enough space, consider having an out-of-the-way patch for a ‘cutting garden’ so you won’t feel guilty about robbing the borders.
Harvesting the fruits of your labours. A delicious aspect of your garden is that it can produce wonderful vegetables, fruits, and herbs. No shop-bought produce can ever beat the taste of your own crops, picked and eaten straight away, like crisp crunchy salads, and strawberries still warm from the sun. Mmm. You can grow gourmet produce, or rare and special crops, and grow them organically.
A practical work area. Being outdoors means more than fun and games. You’re likely to need a place in your garden to keep your garden tools, barbeque, firewood, clothesline, or rubbish bins. If possible, organise all of these less than attractive outdoor necessities in the same out-of-the way location – separate from your entertaining and play areas. Ideally, the location should be handy, near the garage or driveway, but screened from view.
A haven to relax. Anywhere that seems cosy and pleasant is a great place to put a secluded seating area. The area doesn’t have to be fancy, just a place for you to relax. If you put in an all-weather surface – gravel, paving, or mulch, for example – you can sit outside regardless of the soil conditions.
Do I Have to Learn a Foreign Language?
The language spoken in gardening circles can be a little odd at first. For example, dirt isn’t just dirt, it’s soil. Dirt is what you make mud pies with; it’s the stain on your shirt. Soil, on the other hand, is full of promise and good nutrients. And some gardenaholics tend to go on and on about plant names. You may catch them at the nursery asking ‘Which Latin name is most correct, the old one or the new one?’ or ‘What is the proper pronunciation for that plant?’ Real garden snobs even get into heated debates about how to spell a particular plant name. Don’t be too hard on these people. Not only can they not help themselves, but you may find yourself behaving the same way someday.
Plants usually have tongue-twisting scientific names and easily-pronounced common names.
The fancy name
The most important name is the genus – the ‘Smith’ of Joe Smith, if you will. (The genus name always begins with a capital letter when part of a multipart name.) A genus is a group of closely related plants. Just as in your own family, some of the plant cousins look a lot alike, while others don’t bear much resemblance at all. Also like your family, some closely related individuals have very different comfort levels. One uncle lives in the sun and warmth of the south coast, the other loves the cool damp Scottish climate. It’s the same for plants.
The second name, the ‘Joe’ part of Joe Smith, is the species name. The species name usually describes some feature of the plant or its native origin, or serves as a tribute to whoever discovered the plant. But the species name is in Latin, of course, just to keep things interesting. Consider, for example, Hosta undulata. Hosta is the genus name. The species name, undulata, describes the undulating shape of the leaf.
The plain old-fashioned, natural species of some plants acquire new status in face of prodigiously hybridised plants – tulips, for example. In those cases, the norm for the plant is some kind of hybrid of indeterminate botanical origin. That’s why when gardeners finally have in their gardens an actual natural, nonhybridised type of tulip they say something like, ‘And this is my species tulip.’ Gardeners are funny, aren’t they? (In this book, we use the abbreviation sp. for species.)
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