Don't get me wrong, I love Maine. People are friendly and genuinely warm, down to earth folks, who will give you the shirt off their back when asked. Life is more simple, no one is in a hurry. We can be on a mountain top or a beach on the Atlantic Ocean in less than an hour. Summer nights are silent and cool for sleeping. But of course there are those pesky black flies and ice storms to contend with. But you know, it's something you can get used to and makes for great conversation with out- of- state friends :-)
But back to the gardening...
I started gardening at a young age. My grandfather in CT had gardens and we learned to love asparagus and hate Japanese Beetles. I joined a Garden Club 10 years ago and learning from other gardeners was a great way to start. I actually thought I already knew what I was doing and learned otherwise. Needless to say, the gardens I have today have changed drastically from 10 years ago. When a garden club is federated, you have more learning opportunities through National Garden Clubs. One such course is Gardening Study, which is held here in Maine. There are four courses with a wide variety of classes from basic botany to identifying trees in winter. After the four courses you must refresh once a year to keep active. I have done that and hold a certificate as a Master Gardening Consultant. Next I will have to take a refresher every four years. I'm looking forward to it!
Four years ago I took the Master Gardener Course. I had always wanted to to that but wondered how on earth I could get in 40 hours of classroom and 40 hours of volunteerism. The classroom worked out well, held every week during evening hours, with one Saturday class. Then I found out there were many projects available other than having a plot to work on at the University of Maine's farm or weed someone elses plot. But many folks are happy to do just that. Some come up with their own projects in their own towns. The classes were very simliar to Gardening Study and we actually had many of the same instructors. But I found that no matter how many times I take a class on a subject, I learn something new. And then again there's the learning from others thing. Some of the best education comes during those 40 hours of volunteerism.
The first Master Gardener project I worked on was indoor gardening at an assisted living facilty. We faced many and varied obstacles! Mainly of the insect variety. You think greenhouses have it bad! But it was hugely successful and loved by everyone who visited, those that live there and the staff. But it was difficult to get the residents involved on a long term basis. Bi-weekly watering was our biggest problem. When left to staff, it generally was over-watering. After nearly 3 years we had to give it up.
While working on that project, I also had another weekly project in a new native plant arboretum. We planted 23 varieties of trees and shrubs with 3 or 5 plants in each grouping. The purpose of the arboretum is to see which native plants have potential to perform well in residential and business landscape settings. Another Master Gardener and I do weekly observations May through October and measure the plants Spring and Fall. The main obstacles we face are insects and sometimes disease and watering. Plants need at least an inch of water a week. So any new plantings were kept watered in the summer. I have muscles in my arms to prove it!
While the plants adapted, we did not interfere by removing or treating the bugs. And of course Master Gardeners are not licensed to use herbicides and encourage organic gardening. This year, however, our fourth year, we were finally able to prune and hand pick insects. What a difference that made in how the trees adjusted!
Where we live is a zone 5a. This allows us to grow a variety of wonderful perennials, trees and shrubs. One of my favorite varieties of long blooming perennials is the Coneflower (echinacea). This comes in the purple color everyone knows and loves but lately we've been treated to new colors and varieties. One has double flowers. But you have to wait a couple seasons to see them. In my garden just a week ago in late October, one of the yellow colored Coneflowers, "Sunrise", had a blossom still hanging in there. Amazing.
This has been a strange year, in that we had a very long and warm Fall. Where we live, we have not even had a frost as yet. The plants have no idea what is going on! We're usually thinking about planting spring blooming bulbs now before the ground freezes! I think we have plenty of time for that.
When you start out gardening, see how much sun or shade you have and select the right plants for the area. If you aren't certain, look on the tag of the plant or ask the professional you are buying from. There are plenty of books around and also internet searches. But I like to compare with other gardeners when I plant something I'm not familiar with. Once planted, mulch well and keep watered! Remember that they need an inch of water a week. You can figure out how long to run your water to accomplish this by setting a bucket next to your sprinker and see how long it takes to get an inch of water. I believe that plants prefer not having their leaves wet if you don't have well water. Especially in hot sunshine. But anyway, you shouldn't be watering in the heat of the day and especially when the sun is beating down hot. The best time to water is early morning. This cannot always be accomplished with work and possibly being away, so for that reason I recommend a soaker hose and a timer on your faucet.
In the Fall, I like to let my perennials die back naturally. It's not always visually appealing this time of year but it lets the plant do it's natural thing and the nutrition goes back to the plant. Some plants have decorative seed pods, which look nice in the landscape when it snows and they also offer food for birds and perhaps other wildlife. Around here, you don't mind seeing deer munching on hostas. Well, okay not too much anyway. It's just the way things are in the woods.
By the way, I have several tips for keeping deer away. One is to simply have the man of the house "mark territory" around whatever you don't want them eating. Yes, ladies you know what I'm referring to. I have never tried doing it myself being female, but if you don't have a man around, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try it yourself :-) Another tip is to shred a deodorant type soap and place this around your plant. It doesn't look great if you're using blue Coast soap, but really works. Human hair also works. If you can get your hairdresser to save it for you. But all of these need to be repeated if it rains. Try one of these tricks next Spring and see if they don't work for you!
But let's get back to Fall clean up.
Most perennial plants can be trimmed back to the ground after it gets cold, and as long as you really don't think there is anything there for the wildlife to take advantage of. It sure makes for easier Spring gardening if you do this now or next month. Annuals should be removed. Anything that has the Three D's (dead, diseased or damaged) can be pruned but save pruning of roses and trees until winter. Remember that some plants bloom on old wood, so you don't want to go pruning off next year's blossoms! A safe way to go is "prune after bloom." Lilacs, rhododendrums and forsythias are a good example.
Speaking of forsythias... ever wonder why you see so many blooming just a few feet up on the plant? These are generally not hardy varieties to the area and the snow creates a barrier that kept the buds warm. Thus, they bloom up to snow height. That's why it's important to know your zone and only plant what will grow in your zone. Growers are continually creating new plants that will be hardy to many zones.
If you haven't already, mulch your plants before winter. Especially new plants and that includes any trees, shrubs or perennials you've planted in late August. They also need to be kept watered weekly until the ground freezes. We generally don't have to worry, Mother Nature generally takes care of that this time of year.
I'm sure I'm not the only one that hasn't harvested everything, so pick those green tomatoes before frost and put them in a paper bag to ripen. Carrots and parsnips can linger until November, getting sweeter with exposure to a little frost. Parsley and even catnip may last another couple months if mulched thickly with a blanket of straw.
When you plant your spring blooming bulbs, don't forget they too need to be kept well watered. A tip I got from a gardening friend for keeping the deer and rodents from digging them up is to spray the ground often with Hot Pepper Wax Spray. Once the new shoots come up in the Spring, spray again to keep the deer from nibbling them.
In future posts, I'll talk about what gardeners in Maine do in winter months and I'll clue you in on a garden club project I'm working on with invasive plants.
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