Scenic Nursery | Weblog: Bedding Plant Planting
I always enjoy reading Patrick Rogers entries, and this one is now appropriate for Ohio gardens. We are still trying to put in our bedding plants…. between inundations.
‘Bedding plants’ is sort of an old fashioned term bringing on visions of Gertrude Jekyll, and her magnificent plans for elite estate gardens. These are all those plants we try to choose between in scores of flats on display. But you knew that, right?
You can stick these in any old way, but if you want results worthy of the time and money you put into them, follow Scenic Nursery’s directions. At the very least I like to slightly tease the roots before putting them into the planting hole, and pinch off the top bloom ( I know it hurts…just do it). When I had more time I also liked to carry a bucket of compost/peatmoss around to put a trowel-ful into the planting hole. It makes a difference.
And just a reminder now: give annuals a trimming after the first flush of bloom, they will reward you with renewed effort. It is much more desirable than struggling, sprawling plants going to seed in August.
I have an annuals page for further info, because we are now in the midst of planting these, still…but it won’t be much longer.
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Yes, it’s been rain, rain, rain, here. The weeds love it. The grass is getting away with more than its usual flourishing – I think I have mentioned before that I consider grass a major weed in this garden. I now have a prairie garden where it was supposed to be garden perennials. Yes, too, I am losing the present battles with that portion…but the war is not over. I did make major headway last week, it just isn’t noticeable yet.
So far my trees look good. That is what gardener’s do…look for their silver linings. I won’t tell you all that I have neglected to do…. I need to stay positive. Focused. It is time to fertilize everything, the rains made some things sort of yellowed. I’ll try fertilizer first, and then additives… Ironrite often works on the Sweet Gum trees.
Ok, confession: I am a guessing gardener….. if you are scientific you get one of those soil kits and try to analyze your soil needs. I am like the cook who figures out what is most likely needed and then tries a pinch of this and dab of that. Not very scientific. What can I say? I have an artist’s temperment.
We all have our garden styles.
