Sunday November 8th, 2009
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My Ideal Urban Garden
Posted by Bridget Murray Law on October 6, 2009 - 12:42pm.
As the summer winds down, my thoughts are turning to next year’s garden.
I’ve learned from this year’s urban vegetable-growing experiment that some vegetables work and some don’t in the small 15’ x 16’ space I have in back in this hot Washington, D.C., climate.
I’ve also found out that many veggies are subject to pilfering by pests, while flowers and shrubs are largely left alone. So next year I’m planning to grow mostly flowers and shrubs, with herbs and a few veggies.
In choosing what to grow, my main considerations must be weather conditions, sunlight, and soil quality. As already noted, the Mid-Atlantic climate means hot, humid summers—in D.C. made hotter by the urban heat-island effect. (The USDA, in fact, recently revised D.C.’s hardiness zone from six to the hotter zone seven). What’s more, our backyard faces west and offers minimal shade. The result: The hottest afternoon sunlight beats down and reflects off the house, generating even more heat. As for the soil, it’s not the best (too high in clay), though I’ve bumped it up with compost and imported soil.
Given these conditions, here’s how my ideal garden breaks down.
On the deck in containers I’ll have tomatoes, green beans, herbs and:
Clematis. This low-maintenance, perennial climber produces huge colorful flowers early in spring and again in early fall. Its the only creeper I’ve grown successfully (besides that pesky weed, the Virginia Creeper).
From the deck to the dogwood in the ground (left), I’ll have:
Echinacea. This super hardy, heat-withstanding perennial is native to the region and produces bold, beautiful purple-pink flowers with interesting cone centers all summer.
Rudbeckia. Hardy, long-blooming and native, like Echinacea, this perennial’s big sunny yellow flowers bloom into the fall.
Chrysanthemum. Also low-maintenance and perennial, mums bloom in fall when little else does. I like the orange ones.
From the deck to the double cherry tree (right), I’ll have:
Lilacs. This hardy perennial shrub produces poker-like pastel blossoms in spring. Just watch out for mildew.
Weigela. This perennial shrub goes gangbusters in warm weather, repeatedly covering itself in pink-burgundy bells. It just needs trimming.
Azaleas. Everybody knows the beautiful showy azalea blooms of spring. They do better in D.C. than their rhododendron cousins.
That’s my list. It’s a lot more contained than previous years based on my accumulated wisdom. Heck this list even leaves room to plant grass for our toddler boys to run around on—no doubt music to their grandmother’s ears.
Topics:
- Gardening
- compost
- container gardening
- flowers
- global warming facts
- Local Harvest
- organic vegetables
- soil
- The Urban Gardener
I've heard the same about lilacs - over the years I have planted a few varieties and have been lucky. They do take a year or two before you get the impressive blooms, but are well worth the wait! Korean lilacs are a smaller, more compact bush - the flowers are smaller, but the scent even stronger! Vicki R is right - lilacs do better in certain soil and by pruning certain times a year (I'll have to ask my husband - he's been in charge of my lilacs and whatever he's doing is working :-))
Many years ago I was a fan of a program call “Crockett’s Victory Garden”. I was hosted by Jim Crockett and gave gardening advice and visited different gardens. One he visited was a family that very little yard space and took to container gardening. The neat thing was they grew squash, cucumbers, and melons from hanging baskets. They would plant the seeds and when the vine would grow they would trail them down twine to the ground. They would plant their beans in pots and trail them up twine. I was all quite interesting. I have grown strawberries’ in a strawberry pot and tried my hand at tomatoes in containers. I wonder if the urban gardening will ever be big. I would love to know if others are doing the “Hanging basket” gardening?
Unity in a garden is very important, as when this is achieved, it will improve the artistic look of the garden. Unity has to be achieved from various angles. First, the unity of style, feeling and function between the house and the garden has to be achieved. Secondly, the different components of the gardens should merge harmoniously with each other. The aim is to give the visitor an over all impression of the garden rather than blowing up some special features. The last point, which is also very important is to achieve some harmony between the landscape outside and the garden. A garden laid out in complete defiance of the local conditions may look exotic.
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Decking(http://www.deckbuildersltd.co.uk/)
Many people make unnecessary expenditure to make their patio or lawns attractive. There expenses only make a hole in their pockets. While the outcome obtained by making these expenditures might be attractive, one should consider why he should make unnecessary spending when he can obtain the same beauty by taking another cost effective option. The option that we are talking about here is the flower garden. No matter how big or small you lawn may be, flowers can add a certain charm to it and make it look attractive.
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Garden Decking (http://www.timeless-timber.co.uk/)
Hi,
Popular herbs, fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, corn, cucumbers and onions are easy to grow in an urban garden setting and are flavorful alternatives to store-bought varieties. Herbs can grow almost anywhere in nearly anything that will hold soil and water.
http://www.gateequipment.com/access.html
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