Designing Gardens for a Better Future

What I do is hard for most people to understand. The idea of growing food at home seems to have a hard time getting beyond the idea of the back yard raised planter. Much of that problem is caused by the concept that food production must be something that is hidden in the back yard, or put where the neighbors are not going to see it.

Many Americans have gone even further and decided that growing food is the job of professionals far away and that anyone trying to do it themselves is a menace and should be stopped. This is not far fetched if you look at city ordinances and HOA bylaws.

Since I am taking a step or five in the opposite direction of those trying to prohibit gardens, and since that still puts me a few steps away from the average gardener, I can see why there is a gap in understanding. To help clear up this gap here are some of the ideas I work with:

• Food and support of food should be the primary goal of the yard and home landscape.
• Plants do better with different types associated together.
• Planting different food crops in layers prevents waste of energy and plant nutrients.
• Food plants are beautiful.
• Perennial flowers are good for the food garden.
• The right balance of animals in the garden are better than trying to kill all the insects and critters.
• Perennial flowers are good for balancing the critters and insects.
• Fertilizer creation should be done at home whenever possible. 

To achieve these goals, thinking and design have to be stretched further than most people have the experience to do themselves. So, I try to do it for them.

Now that you have my ideas, what do you think your landscape should provide you?

Tips for Winter Flower Planters

Bright colors in groups show up best!

The hardest part of annual flowers in the winter is the pots and planters. While flower beds in the snowiest parts of the US are covered, planters stick up and often loose their protective snow cover while they are getting the worst of the cold.

Kale is a great centerpiece for a planter.
Redbor, Winterbor, and Red Russian are
some of the best varieties for winter hardiness.

But you don't need to give up hope of nice planters in the cooler months. You just need to plan ahead and give them a little care. Here are a few tips:

• Pansies and violas are your best bet for surviving cold weather.
• Plant bright colors like yellow and orange for the best visibility. Blotches or faces are great for close ups, but they will reduce distance visibility.
• Plant brighty colored plants in clusters of three or more to give them more pop.
• If you live in a USDA zone 7 or higher you might be able to to find some taller annuals to give your bed some hight, if not, look for trailing violas to hang over the sides.
• You will not get color while it is frozen outside, but when it warms up the flowers will start blooming again.
• Water during dry spells. Water with cool water only and do not saturate the soil.
• Planting in the fall gives a chance for roots to develop.
• Be careful when you fertilize. Lots of fertilizer will make the plants grow quickly and show lots of color, but it will also invite aphids and disease to destroy your plants.

Faces and blotches are great 

planters that are viewed close 

up.

Look at the three photos of
pansies. Which ones catch
your attention the quickest?

Feel free to ask questions, I will always do my best to answer them.

Manana!

8 Rules for Storefront Permaculture

This planter is in front of a local nursery. The sweet potato
vine jumps out at you! 

A flower bed or pot in front of a store is one of best ways to advertise. The splash of living color is refreshing and can compete with flashing neon. A traditional permaculturist might say that you can't have sustainability unless it involves food and at least a couple of acres.

I say poppycock!

The large clusters of flowers in bold colors jumps out at you
more than smaller flowers or milder colors.

Anything sustainable must be tuned to the needs of the system it is supporting. In the case of the storefront, sustainability must be focused on bringing in and satisfying the needs of the paying customer.

Two pots at a local nursery. The small pot
works because it accents the larger one. The
leaves of the sweet potato are edible through-
out the growing season!

In other words, it needs to look pretty. That doesn't mean it can't have vegetables or herbs. It just means that they have to be good looking. Here are a few tips to making storefront pots sustainable for your business:

1. Get a big enough pot. Minimum should be at least 18" wide and the same as deep. If you really want to make an impression two feet or larger is better. Rectangular planters are great for fitting into narrow areas and still giving you great displays.
2. Pick plants that are the right size and give you lots of bright color. I love green foliage plants, but they do not attract as many customers from a distance.
3. Don't forget texture, especially if you can't get enough color. An interesting mix of textures works well if your potential client is up close.
4. Fertilize appropriately. Organic fertilizers may not work well because of smell, but a little slow release, pellet type fertilizer like Osmocote can work wonders and still be environmentally safe. Other brands now make similar products.
5. Get plants that drape over the sides of the pot as well as some height in the center. Vining petunias and chartreuse sweet potato are perfect drapers.
6. Space plants about six inches apart. This is tight, but it will make your pots look like they are bursting with color.
7. Water, water, water! The smaller the pot, the more often you will need to water. Make sure you saturate the soil in the summer. You may even need to water twice a day. Check how much water is in the pot by sticking a probe eight inches or more into the soil.
8. Top off the soil mix every season and completely change it every few years if you have smaller pots. Intensive gardening is rough on soil and will wear it out quickly.

This pot has lots of details for close up inspection, but it is so
small it will need very frequent watering in Utah's hot, dry
climate.

Remember, a little color will go a long way to help your business be sustainable for you and your employees!

Backcountry Radio Interview

Caryopteris × clandonensis or Bluebeard, is a
good late summer meal for bees.

For a little of what is going on this season and what I am planning for this fall, listen to my radio interview with Brian Brinkerhoff on Backcountry Radio.

http://www.backcountrynetwork.com/Download/WesternLifeRadio59-9-7-13.mp3

If you are interested in attending my "Gardening for Bees" class in Orem UT, email me at utahsustainablegardening@gmail.com.

Gardening for Bees class!

A honey bee on the Agastache plant right outside my front
door.

I will be holding a "Gardening for Bees" class on September 28 at 10:00. This will be a 4 hour class, so we will do two hours in the morning, take lunch, and resume class at 1:30 for the remaining two hours. The location is in Orem Utah.

The cost will be $50 payable to Utah Sustainable Gardening for registrations received before September 21. After that the cost will go up to $65. Seating is limited so, registration will be on a first come first serve basis.

Topics being covered are:

Best trees and garden plants for bees

Weed control

Pesticides and bees

Designing basics for flower beds

For more information contact Alex Grover at utahsustainablegardening@gmail.com

I look forward to hearing more from you!