I don’t start school until the 19th, so I allotted this week and the next for specific garden projects. In retrospect, I could not have planned this better - it’s a great way to keep myself from perseverating over the news. We’ve had a slight amount of rain, which allowed the weather to warm up a bit, and being in the garden is exceedingly pleasant as long as I’m wearing a sweatshirt.
My first big job was cleaning up - removing dead plants, clearing out heavy layers of leaves, etc. This is all necessary and important, if not particularly fun. But the last two days I’ve spent refreshing some containers that really needed it.
After a year (or more likely, two), hanging baskets tend to look like the one above. The birds have pulled out a bunch of the coir to use in their nests; the plant is clearly senescing and not happy. I have eight of these around the property, so I took out all the old plants, cut them back, and replanted them in the ground elsewhere. They may not make it, but if they do, hey - it’s a free plant in a place I need one! Then I bought new coir liners, filled them with fresh potting soil amended with vermiculite for drainage, and added a little bit of organic fertilizer. All of the pots received a sowing of sweet peas (this is a great time to sow them if you live in a mild climate).
It was also time to refresh our pallet wall planter. This hangs on Adam’s train shed, which is painted white and reflects a lot of heat. It’s south facing and gets full sun all day. Keeping it wet is a challenge, even though we have run a drip line up to the top of it. When we originally planted it, we didn’t make ‘shelves’ under each crosspiece; we just laid it down horizontally to pack it with dirt and plant it, and then hung the thing vertically. Can you guess what happened? Over time, as the soil compressed, it moved down to the bottom where Tom had made one shelf to keep the dirt from falling out. Packing more dirt in was impossible without it falling down, and then out the front. Many, many plants died.
Tom and I took all the old plants out (most of them beyond saving) and all of the old dirt out. Then he made me shelves for each level, so that each level acts like it’s own separate container. He made the shelves out of redwood and drilled drainage holes in them. I poured over my plant books and catalogs, trying to figure out what might work in a very dry, very hot place. Today I went shopping and then planted the pallet with Anthemis sancti-johannis “St. John’s Chamomile” and one of our native Californian Phacelias, Phacelia campanularia “Desert Canterbury Bells,” as well as some succulents that made the cut. The plants at the top are transplants, two of which are Felicia aethiopica “Tight and Tidy” and the others something with silvery foliage and yellow flowers that I can’t remember the name of. Everything looks a bit droopy because I forced them into a narrow, sideways space, and watered them half to death. But I expect they’ll perk up and start to look good in about a month or so. I will definitely keep you posted.
These mild days of winter, here in California, are a perfect time to do small, easily-accomplished projects around the yard, while we aren’t smothered with the spring ‘to-do’s.’ Remember that anything you grow in the ground can be grown in a container, with very few exceptions. All containers need a mix of good potting soil (the best you can afford) mixed with a little homemade compost if you’ve got it, and either grit or vermiculite for drainage. All containers need to be fed regularly, especially in late winter, with the days lengthening and plants starting to put on new growth. If you have container plants that are doing well, it’s still a good time to add compost, sheer back dead or browning leaves, and generally make things tidy before spring arrives.
I shall be sharing some of my other winter projects with you as I accomplish them. I’d love to hear about your list, too!