I see that I’ve started a “theme” unwittingly that has to do with TIME.
Which is of course the magic ingredient that anyone who fusses around a garden knows well is really what a plant needs.
Sure, really good compost is helpful, if not mandatory for a plant to get certain nutrients and micronutrients. It is something you can make yourself; buy it in bags; or as we do, we support our local recycling center that takes food scraps from restaurants, and “old” food from supermarkets and turns it into compost, a recycled, and affordable amendment that refreshes the existing soil.
Water of course is even more important than the addition of compost because without it, just like us humans, plants would wither and die. Some plants are almost all water, (think cucumber, lettuce, and even the beloved tomato) and in the heat of summer can often require a good hosing down twice a day. Other plants create large taproots that conserve water and use that during dry spells to keep the plant’s cells hydrated. I’m not going into the science of it here, which is quite fascinating but just explaining the level of dependence a plant has in your garden on YOU when you put in it the ground.
Annuals are the most dependent, whether they are ornamental or edible. They require the most inputs from us gardeners, and although we do plant them throughout the arboretum, it’s not something I often recommend to beginning gardeners to start with. They need to be watered every day, sometimes even twice a day. Although newbies can’t resist planting their own tomatoes, and peppers, it’s the Begonias, Impatients and Petunias that drive me a little crazy..
I’m not looking to debate the worth of just having a tomato garden, because geez, a ripe tomato from the garden with a bit of salt and pepper is the height of summer mouth bliss.
Perennials both ornamental and edible require a certain amount of input too, like watering, but really just for the first year of getting established in your garden. In their second year and beyond perennials can do quite well with minimal interference from you the gardener to survive.
Trees and shrubs are in a whole different category for me, because even though we can think about them as perennial plants, in the sense that they need some intervention the first year, and sometimes the second year, over a longer period of TIME they can just do their own thing. Sure an additional yearly support of some compost, and maybe some watering during a dry spell trees can be helpful, but trees don’t really need us. We have come to learn the science of what is taking place below ground. Tree’s are communicating with one another via mycelium through their roots! It’s a “Woodwide Web!”
This is really a profound thing, since us gardeners (and people in general) are so use to observing whats taking place above ground, like the terrible insect infestation that is happening now with the Spongy Moth caterpillars..
Announcing the Summer Art Residency is currently taking submissions through June 21st. Click here for more information and to apply.
Upcoming Events and Classes at Hortus for June
May 26th - – Curator Tour of the Gardens - 3pm ~ Come join us as we tour around the arboretum and meet some plants, some you may have never heard of.
Illicium - Florida Anise Tree in flower in the Hudson Valley
June 16th – Levi O’Brien – Tree Identification Class - Come join us for the most informative and FUN class on tree identification with Levi where he explains some key points about native, and naturalized trees.
Levi at the arboretum
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So I’ve already mentioned what I consider is the most important ingredient for all us gardeners. It’s the secret sauce, and it’s something we can’t buy, it’s TIME.
Here’s a great example…
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