Table of contents for May/June 2021 in Garden Gate

Whatever is happening in your garden (or life), container gardening gives you a chance for a fresh start every year. Sometimes all a patio or entry needs is a few different plants for a completely different vibe. Containers also offer a little order when the larger garden seems a bit much. When I’m feeling overwhelmed by the demands of a busy career and family responsibilities, the job of picking a few dead flowers from the pot of petunias outside my kitchen door seems like a manageable task and lures me outdoors. From there, I see that the beets are sprouting and could use a little water, then I notice the fascinating leaf miner trails in the columbine leaves and that a cherry tomato has reseeded in the front yard flower…

I painted a piece of plywood for the plant stand’s center panel, but you could modify it to suit your style. Here are a few simple ideas to try: Rustic Chic Reclaimed barn wood gives the plant stand a rustic vibe. If the center panels are 5 inches wide or narrower, use 1×½-inch corner braces for a more subtle appearance. Take-Out Art Not sure what to do with all of the extra chopsticks from takeout meals? Use them to create this sunburst design. These were painted metallic gold and glued onto a painted center panel. Grand Entry Add some curb appeal to your entry by painting or attaching house numbers to the center panel. The numbers are each 2 ½ inches tall but for a longer street number (or if…

Spring just wouldn’t be the same without the beautiful blooms of Siberian irises. They’re stunning in big sweeps but just as fascinating up close. All this on a unique-looking plant that complements its companions and doesn’t suffer from pest or disease problems. Most Siberian irises are hybrids. Breeders choose from up to 11 related species (I. sibirica and I. sanguinea are often used and occasionally found in catalogs) and hundreds of hybrids to get the beautiful Siberian irises we all love. FLOWER COLOR EXPLOSION Years ago, Siberian iris flower colors were limited to shades of blue and purple like the well-loved variety ‘Caesar’s Brother’. It’s a great plant with beautiful deep purple blooms, but it’s been fantastic to see all the new colors introduced in recent years. In addition to…

CHANTAL AIDA GORDON & RYAN BENOIT thehorticult.com Chantal and Ryan are the authors of How to Window Box and founders of the award-winning blog The Horticult. Chantal has written for The New York Times, Better Homes & Gardens and more. As an engineer and founder of SkyPots, Ryan has an eye for modern furniture and planters. These two know their stuff and have shared a few of their tips here. Learn more of their windowbox and other container tips in Garden Gate’s Grow Better! Garden Summit at GrowBetterSummit.com…

Boxwood Buxus spp. and hybrids Giant dogwood Cornus controversa Angel wing begonia Begonia hybrid Boxwood Buxus sempervirens Coral bells Heuchera hybrids Creeping Jenny Lysimachia nummularia Epimedium Epimedium spp. and hybrids Golden oregano Origanum vulgare Hellebore Helleborus spp. and hybrids Korean boxwood Buxus sinica var. insularis Daffodil Narcissus spp. and hybrids Redtwig dogwood Cornus alba Laurentia Isotoma hybrids Agave Agave spp. and hybrids Lavender Lavandula spp. and hybrids Banana Musa spp. and hybrid Bismarck palm Bismarckia nobilis New Zealand flax Phormium spp. and hybrids Rose Rosa hybrid Sago palm Cycas revoluta Banana Musa spp. and hybrids…

Q What are ways to repair mole damage to my lawn? Ken Cohrs, IA A Mole activity often looks like large raised veins spreading across your lawn and garden. These veinlike patterns are actually surface tunnels that moles use as feeding runways. Moles can construct them at a remarkable rate of 10 feet per hour. Luckily, mole damage is relatively easy to fix: Flatten all raised tunnels—you can use your feet or a soil compactor. If the turfgrass is dead, scratch the exposed soil with a rake, then apply grass seed at the recommended overseed rate. Be sure to lightly compact the seeded area and cover it with a thin layer of soil to help keep the grass seed from drying out and washing away. Water well. You’ll need to…

Building the perfect container planting can be daunting: Not only do you have to try to imagine which plants will look good together in coming months, but you have to make sure you choose companions who like the same water and light. We’ll show you exactly how many of each plant you need and give you the tips that’ll help keep the containers looking their best. Enjoy! key Our at-a-glance icons will help you determine the optimum light and moisture needs for these container recipes. Full sun (8+ hours of direct sun) Part sun (6-8 hours of morning and afternoon sun) Part shade (4-6 hours of mostly morning sun; all-day dappled light) Full shade (2-4 hours indirect or reflected light) Needs frequent watering; check every day Needs regular watering; check…

Gerbera Daisy Tips You can’t beat gerbera daisies for big impact. Keep them going all summer with our growing guide. GardenGateMagazine.com/articles/flowers-plants/plant-guide/ Talk & Tour YouTube Video Series In this popular new series you’ll get to see more of our favorite gardens and hear great advice straight from the gardeners themselves. Youtube.com/gardengatemagazine Deadheading Guide Cutting back spent flowers can encourage rebloom, stop aggressive reseeding and tidy up your garden. Let us show you what, how and why for dozens of your favorite perennials. GardenGateMagazine.com/articles/how-to/prune/…

From shady garden borders to the flowers in your wedding bouquet, hydrangeas have a timeless appeal. And with good reason: These shrubs come in a variety of sizes and shapes and have huge, gorgeous blooms. Even better, you can grow them in sun or shade. Hydrangeas are a good choice to anchor a border. They can be planted as a hedge to define a space or form a backdrop for a colorful perennial bed. Compact varieties can even be grown in containers. Although they’re often loaded with neutral white blooms, you can find great shades of blue, pink, or chartreuse to combine with any color flower or foliage. HOW TO GROW HYDRANGEAS No matter where you plant hydrangeas, be sure to keep them well hydrated. They like rich, moist soil…

Asparagus + Winter Rye Living mulches growing in a bed of asparagus provide soil protection, improved soil fertility and weed suppression. Using a living mulch to hold down weeds around asparagus is important because it’s nearly impossible to weed a mature patch. COVER CROPPING Winter rye can be sown in either spring or fall (direct sow seeds atop raked soil as if you were planting grass seed). Spring-sown rye (after the asparagus harvest in late spring) reduces weed germination, especially for fall-germinating weeds like dandelions. Fall-sown rye has the added benefit of delaying the emergence of the asparagus spears in spring, resulting in less frost damage. Regardless of when you plant, the rye will die back in summer’s heat, keeping it from competing with the asparagus. While the rye breaks…

If you don’t have room for a garden or only want to grow a few plants, containers are definitely the way to go. Getting started can be as simple as sprinkling a pinch of seeds in a pot on a window ledge. But how about learning a few tips that will go a long way in your success? We turned to some of our favorite container experts for their best-kept secrets and clever tricks to help your displays look like they were designed by a pro. You can thank us later. James has recently resigned himself to the fact that he is, at heart, a container gardener and he will be putting many of these hacks to work in his garden. 1 The bigger, the better. The most common mistake…

I love growing root crops. It’s an adventure and a treasure hunt: You start with a tiny seed or root, and before you know it you are pulling on the tops, hoping for a good yield. Let’s start with the basics for beets, radishes and carrots, then turn the page to learn how to grow a few more of my favorites: ginger, turmeric and horseradish. 1 PLANT AT THE BEST TIME Beets, radishes and carrots grow best when soil and air temperatures are between 50 and 75 degrees F. For fall harvest, plant in late summer and continue to do so throughout the fall months. They’re happy growing in full sun or even part shade. This makes them great candidates for interplanting with taller crops, which will help protect tender…

Turkish thistle Carduus cinereus What it looks like Turkish thistle is an annual thistle with winged stems that can grow 4 feet tall. Its basal leaves are up to 4 inches long, and leaves reduce in size moving up the stem. Flower heads are compressed, nonspherical, and single or in loose clusters. Each purplish flower head is typically on a short hairy stem or may be stemless. Thistle seeds are spread by the wind. Where to find it Turkish thistle has only recently been documented as spreading in the Pacific Northwest, competing with and crowding out native vegetation and forage plants. It hasn’t yet been found in gardens, but be on the lookout, as it spreads readily and can be competitive in native rangelands. Other thistle species are known to…

If you have a variety of garden gloves, keep them organized with this space-efficient hack: Tie clothespins down a length of sturdy cotton string or twine, and hang it in your shed or garage. Clip the gloves onto the clothespins and be sure that the string hangs low enough for you to easily clip and unclip gloves when you need them. Giuliana Ciampol, NY Makings for a metal fence Debbie Lacy Anderson, MO Classic iron fencing is durable but can have a hefty price tag. Debbie perused many garage sales to find a more affordable alternative: metal headboards. First, she spray-painted the headboards her preferred color scheme (with a purple painted gate for a pop of color), then she pounded metal fence posts into the ground along the perimeter of…

Every year, there’s a new bounty of heavily promoted perennials to choose from—mostly variations on common border plants with different flower colors, stem heights, or foliage colors. But if you’re looking to grace your garden with something truly out of the ordinary, consider going back to the source: native species, original heirloom perennials and lesser-known relatives of widely grown garden plants. Species perennials tend to be somewhat more unpredictable than cultivars, since they can vary a bit in their final height or exact color. Unless you really need the uniform results that cultivars provide, adding some species plants will give your beds and borders a more natural look. Buy them as plants if you like, but raising them yourself from seed is an option, too, so you can have as…

Basil Ocimum basilicum Bronze fennel Foeniculum vulgare Lavender Lavandula spp. and hybrids Rosemary Salvia rosmarinus Tomato Solanum lycopersicum Aloe Aloe spp. and hybrids Cocoon plant Senecio haworthii Crested euphorbia Euphorbia lactea Crinkle-leaf plant Adromischus cristatus Echeveria Echeveria hybrid Euphorbia Euphorbia polygona Haworthia Haworthia spp. and hybrids Hens and chicks Sempervivum spp. and hybrids Kalanchoe Kalanchoe blossfeldiana Pachyveria Pachyveria hybrid Snake plant Sansevieria spp. and hybrids Air plant Tillandsia spp. and hybrids Burro’s tail Sedum morganianum Myrtle spurge Euphorbia myrsinites String-of-pearls Senecio rowleyanus Sweet potato vine Ipomoea batatas…

You’ve seen them—the ugly ducklings of the garden center. They sit on the greenhouse bench like wallflowers at the spring dance, waiting for someone to notice them. The garden center world is focused on growing plants to look flashy enough to sell quickly. But some perennials simply don’t cooperate: They may have a taproot that struggles in a constricting container; their first year or two of growth may be underwhelming and will never look spectacular in a pot, especially a small one; they might be biennials that don’t bloom the first year, or maybe they bloom much later in the season after most of the garden buying rush is over. Often it’s not until these plants find a forever home that they spread their wings and become the swans they…