Category Archives: Design trends

Design trends

The Mountain Gardener Celebrates 900 Columns

Take inspiration from this cottage in Guatemala for that shed
in your backyard.

Well, it’s come to this – my 900th column. Starting way back in October of 2005 my first column appeared in the newly combined San Lorenzo Valley Press and the Scotts Valley Banner which was re-named the Press Banner. This is how it all got started.

My father wanted me to be a writer and researcher for National Geographic, encouraging me to take writing and science classes. My interest in nature and photography was the easy part. It was the 60’s, though, and if you grew up then you know that one didn’t always do what was expected of you. I did study science at Humboldt State and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and aced the plant taxonomy and science classes.

After I moved here, I started working at a local nursery which really wasn’t work at all. Then one day I had an idea. I typed up a sample column and marched into the editor’s office for the Press Banner. Little did I know that he had taken horticulture classes himself and so had a soft spot for my idea to write a weekly gardening column. Next thing I know he’s saying he wants 5 columns, 400 words each, excluding prepositions, on his desk by Friday and the column would be called ‘The Mountain Gardener’ and not ‘Ask Jan’ which I had suggested. I knew my father would be proud. I was a newspaper columnist.

So on this anniversary of my 900th column I want to share with you some interesting gardening lore and stories from my travels over the years.

From Doc Hencke’s wonderful arboretum-like landscape I have learned about trees. From Robby, the serial mole killer, I learned about smart irrigation and the value of strolling in your garden, beverage in hand, to identify problems early. From the collections of Ron, Marc, Pete and Ed of Santa Cruz Bonsai Kai club I discovered the world of bonsai.

A fellow landscape designer I know was born on Halloween so she celebrates this holiday in a big way. The days following are called Day of the Dead or Dia de Muertes. Families gather together to remember and honor their deceased loved one. It’s a sacred and joyous time. Day of the Dead traditions include food and flowers which is where those of us who love plants come in.

I was in Central Mexico in the highlands of Chiapas many years ago during this celebration and was able to experience this tradition and enjoy the hundreds of marigolds growing around cottages and decorating every small business and church. In the village of San Juan Chamala, marigolds grew in the dozens of greenhouses.

I’ll never forget another trip I took to Guatemala, Honduras and Utila, an island off the coast of Honduras. It was on Utila that I saw plants growing in washing machine baskets. I thought it was a clever way to re-use old appliances but wondered why there were so many old washing machines on a tiny island. A local laughed at me for asking about them and told me the baskets protect their plants from the big blue crabs that come out at night. Seems they’ll sever the stems right at ground level and drag the whole plant into their hole. Also the baskets protect the plants from iguanas who will eat anything within two feet of the ground. And you thought deer and bunnies were a problem?

More recently I have enjoyed visits to Filoli Gardens, Valley Churches United garden tour last year, Gamble Gardens and their annual garden tour as well as the fabulous gardens of my landscape designer friends.

I get emails and texts often from readers asking for advice. I’m happy to problem solve anyway I can. Text me a picture and if I can help, I will. Over the years, Lompico resident, Tom Miller, has reached out many times with gardening questions. Several years ago he posed with his collection of The Mountain Gardening columns that he cut out of the paper and saved. Sitting on his deck with all the clippings and flowering pots, it’s quite a testament to his loyalty. So Tom, are you still saving my columns now that I’m up to 900 of them or have you run out of space on your desk?

Live and learn. Hope springs eternal in gardening as it is in life. I hope you have enjoyed reading the last 900 columns as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.

Design trends

Gardening in the Real World

With our gardens coming to life at this time of year we are hopeful that each plant will achieve its full during this growing season. But that doesn’t always turn out to be the case and sometimes it’s hard to figure out what exactly is the problem. Growing plants isn’t an exact science. What works over at the neighbors yard doesn’t always apply to ours. What are the different factors that can make a plant thrives or just mope along? And how can you plan when one “reliable” plant source says the plant will get 6 ft tall an another shows that same plant as reaching 8-12 ft tall and just as wide?

When designing a garden whether it’s a client’s or my own tiny garden, I need to take into account the growing conditions such as soil type, nutrients, water requirements, high and low temperature, space and light. Most all plants use water to carry moisture and nutrients back and forth between the roots and leaves. Some need more water than others to do this but all have their own levels of tolerance. Too little or too much water or nutrients can be harmful to your plant’s progress.

Healthy soil provides an anchor for plant roots and helps support the plant in addition to providing nutrients. Healthy soil contains micro organisms and adding organic matter to your soil when you plant and in the form of mulch will increase your soil’s fertility.

Choosing the right plant for the right spot is another important factor but how can you determine if your garden has the right amount of sun or shade or moisture? In our area a good rule of thumb in deciding if your plant is getting enough or too much sun is to look up during the growing season and see how many hours of sun, part sun, bright shade or partial shade your area is receiving. To simplify, it’s not as important what is going on during the winter but knowing the summer conditions is crucial. Too little light can make plants weak and leggy looking with few flowers or fruit.

Allow enough space for your plant to grow. Plants can become stunted without enough room to grow and overcrowded plants often get diseased when air doesn’t freely flow between them. There’s a difference in a plant that just needs a little time to kick in and really start growing and one that is not thriving. Be patient.

Plant your new addition correctly. When digging the hole be sure that you loosen surrounding soil 2-3 times the width of the root ball. There is no rule that you can’t loosen the soil even wider around your planting hole. Use the shovel to loosen the edges of the hole so that it’s not hard and smooth. Roots have an easier time of growing out from the initial hole is sides aren’t hard as a rock.

If dry fill with water 3x and let drain. You can loosen the soil below the depth of the root ball if it’s really hard and amend it also. Because most of us live where the soil is sandy or clay I recommend amending 25%. Even natives are grown in soil that is better than some of our native soils around here. Be sure to firm the soil underneath the plant so the crown of your plant doesn’t sink below grade and drown during winter rains or watering. Planting a bit higher than the surrounding soil also allows for 2 inches of wood chip mulch or some compost making sure the mulch doesn’t touch the crown which could cause rot. Water your new plant to eliminate air pockets and settle the soil. Do this even if your soil is moist already.

If you have a steep hillside, a super sunny or deep shade location or problem soil all the above tips are important for your planting success. Email me for more tips.

Oh yeah, and don’t forget the deer repellent even if your plant is “deer tolerant”. Don’t take a chance with your new plant at least at first when it’s filled with yummy nitrogen and new growth.

Design trends

Natives attract Birds, Bees & Butterflies

It’s always a breathtaking experience taking a walk at this time of year. You might see the cobalt blue flowers of ceanothus or a stand of dicentra formosa with their dainty pink bell-shaped flowers backlit in the spring sunlight. Coral bells are in full bloom as are the Pacific coast iris. These are just a few of our local native plants. Everywhere you look nature is beginning the season fresh with anticipation and promise.

California is a vast domain when it comes to natural features and different soils. From hills and mountains to deserts, valleys and ocean bluffs, there are 6000 plus plant species within our borders. Hundreds of these are showy and useful plants worthy of cultivation in our garden. Some, like ceanothus, have already been cultivated for a century or more, both here and abroad.

There are features of the California landscape that present a certain flavor and seasonal progression, quite distinct from that of the subtropics and year-round, moist forests that many traditional garden plants come from. Plants of hilly and mountainous areas are often found in rocky or sandy soils and require well-drained garden soils. Many plants of the chaparral have poor resistance to the root pathogens that thrive in a warm, moist soil and may not tolerate typical garden style irrigation in summer.

Matching or creating the right conditions is the key to success to grow California natives. Planting on a raised mound or berm, for instance, is one way to drain water away from sensitive crowns. Knowing where in California a given native plant comes from can help you make the right decisions.

That being said there are many natives with an amazing broad tolerance of different conditions. Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) grows in both sandy and clay soils as does yarrow (Achillea millifolium) which is also a good cut flower. Carex grass and Seaside daisy (Erigeron glaucus) also do well in most soils.

If you garden in clay soils, good native shrubs are Western redbud, manzanita, spicebush, bush anemone, ceanothus, garrya, Pacific wax myrtle, Western mock orange, blue elderberry, mahonia, California wild rose and snowberry. Native perennials for clay soil include coral bells, sticky monkeyflower (a good cut flower), salvias, deer grass, rubus and Dutchman’s pipe vine.

Sandy conditions require California natives that are decidedly drought tolerant. You may already grow many of our manzanitas and ceanothus. But do you also have lupine, lavatera, coffeeberry, buckwheat, fuchsia-flowering gooseberry, purple sage, wallflower or the beautiful Douglas iris?

Then there are the folks that live in the shade. Native plants from canyons and riparian areas will do well in your garden. They require some summer watering but that’s all. Native shrubs that tolerate bright shade are manzanita, spicebush, bush anemone, ceanothus, mahonia, Pacific wax myrtle, any of the ribes, wild rose, snowberry and huckleberry. Perennials for color are columbine, Western bleeding heart, California. fuchsia, Douglas iris and coral bells.

Where ever you garden, to provide food, nectar or berries for our winged friends be sure you have some flowering currant, sticky monkey flower, coffeeberry, salvia clevelandii, Dutchman’s pipe vine, wax myrtle, California fuchsia, aster chilensis.