Mary Mary March 2011

Mary, Mary, How Does Your Garden Grow?
by Mary Crowell

MARCH 23-27, Wednesday-Sunday will be the fantastic Flower and Garden Show, in our backyard at the San Mateo Fairgrounds, not the Cow Palace as it has been in the past. The theme this year is “Life in the California Garden. “ Check out their website: www.gardenshow.com. This event houses thousands upon thousands of flowers and plants with all their rich colors, fragrances and textures. Four acres of inspiring flower gardens, free seminars for all gardening levels, and shopping at 300 exhibits all strictly related to San Francisco & California gardening, outdoor living, plants and gardeners. There is a myriad of facets to the Garden Show; while the gardens, commercial exhibits and seminars are the core of the Show, there is still much more to see and so many things to do.” Anyone interested in any aspect of gardening shouldn’t miss this spectacular event. California Garden Clubs, Inc. (CGCI), will be represented in the Expo Hall this year. Look for one or two of my floral designs, along with other local members of garden clubs and floral design groups.

March is such a fabulous time to sit in the garden and contemplate, taking the time to really look at each flower emerging from its winter sleep, ready to perk up your life and make you smile. It is in spring that the garden is at its peak, the time when one can get absorbed in the sights and smells of the greenery and flowers to come. It is also the time to reflect and watch the birds and butterflies as you weed. The rains we had this year will certainly help our drought situation, but we should be so happy we do not live Midwest or east.

March is the time to prune winter blooming shrubs and vines after they bloom. Thin fruit trees after blooming when fruit is setting to get larger fruit. Hopefully you have already applied acid fertilizer to those citrus trees, camellias and azaleas along with an all-purpose one for the rest of the garden.

If you planted the fall bulbs, you should be getting an array of color right about now. My daffodils, hyacinths and grape hyacinths were up in February and now some tulips that were given to me in a pot by a friend are just starting to appear.

Now you may safely prune those plants that badly needed a haircut last month. Keep those trees healthy by raking the leaves and pulling any grass beneath them as the grass takes away nutrients. With the soil still moist from the rains, it is easy to pull weeds.

Some hardy perennials to consider might be campanulas, penstemon, phlox, mimulus, hellebores, delphiniums, salvias, and geraniums, especially the scented ones. I love to plant the summer bulbs in Mar to get the blooms of glads, watsonias, agapanthus, anemones, cannas, begonias, ranunculus and dahlias (tubers).

When you read gardening books such as Sunset Western Gardening Book find your appropriate zone at www.sunset.com/plant finder.

Put out snail bait such as Sluggo as we seem to be overrun with them right now or you can make the midnight run with the flashlight or put out beer in small lids to drown those lushes! To get rid of aphids on roses, dig in systemic rose care products around the base every 6 weeks and get rid of the ants!! Use a homemade spray of 1-1/2 T baking soda, 2-1/2 T corn oil, 1Tb. vinegar, 1-1/2 T ivory liquid soap, mixed in one gallon of water. This concoction works on aphids, fungus and mildew.

Container plants seem to be my personal favorites, I have way too many, but will pare down this year to a more manageable number. I find it fun to find odd artifacts that can be made into interesting dish gardens, by creating drainage. Containers can provide colorful impact for the garden, a small balcony or patio and are portable. Staging containers around your garden is a way to spotlight them to best advantage and are an easy way to have an instant vegetable garden using a trellis to grow beans or peas. Using containers on your front porch is a great welcoming feature.

Perennials have long lasting appeal even when they are no longer in bloom as many have interesting structure and seed heads. Try some of the following that provide structure: Phlomis, Veronicastrum, Thalictrum, Eryngium, Filipendula, Salvia, Limonium. Plants that provide interesting seed heads: Aster, Monarda, Sanguisorba, Rudbeckia, Solidago, Persicaria, Sedum telephium, Echinacea, Helenium, Kirengeshoma.
You may ask me questions at macro6096@hotmail.com