Episode 38: Hard Lessons

Mistakes, we’ve made a more than a few

The soundtrack of this episode might have been the classic Queen song “ We Are the Champions”—not because of its triumphal chorus , but because of the lyric acknowledging all the misapprehension made in biography . When it come to their gardens , Steve and Danielle have definitely made error — some grown than others — yet all are lessons they ’ve had to read the hard way . In a going from the normal plant - sullen content of LAAP , this funny installment has the Host recounting several boo-boo they ’ve made in their garden in the hope of saving listeners some heartbreak of their own . In expert testimonial , we ’ve got the brainy horticulture professor Holly Scoggins recounting why perhaps a weewee garden is n’t all it ’s cracked up to be . take heed now to laugh at us , and with us !

Expert testimony : Holly Scogginsis an associate professor of horticulture at Virginia Tech University .

Address your drain issues first . We all want to skip over the right way to the planting portion of gardening , but if you do n’t face underlying issues with the grade / urine flow on your dimension , you ’re just asking for trouble . This garden was built , and only after did the gardener substantiate that the principal downspout of the house spill right into the middle of the new create bed creating a river . Despite seek to reroute the water and installing a dry well , the problem persists . Gallic drains installed before landscaping would have solved the egress .

Do n’t corrupt just one . Variety is the spicery of life , but too much variety in a garden can lead to a case of onsie - itis . When Steve started gardening he liked to get one of every kind of works that strike his fancy , but this top to a garden with no ropiness . Now he buy in groups of three or five . “ Five is best , because then when I inevitably defeat a yoke , there ’s still a group left . ”

If you have critters , install a barrier in your raised beds . Only after 5 - foot - tall tomato plant plant start disappearing overnight did Danielle realize voles had waged war on her veggie garden . This forced her to reconstruct the beds and install hardware textile on the bottoms to prevent surreptitious interloper . This blooper caused her to move several yards of soil a walloping four times .

Bigger is n’t always better . When grease one’s palms Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , be sure to take one with a individual leader , or be sure to remove any extra leadership with corrective pruning ASAP . Danielle could n’t contribute herself to reduce the size of her lovely coral barque Nipponese maple ( Acer palmatum‘Sango - Kaku ’ , Zones 5–9 ) , and age subsequently it has split down the centre and is damaged beyond reparation .

Fine Gardening Recommended Products

A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo

Fine horticulture receive a direction for particular purchased through links on this situation , admit Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising political platform .

Get our latest tips , how - to articles , and instructional videos send out to your inbox .

Signing you up …

Lessons Learned in 25 Gardening Years

Episode 39: Perfect Peonies

Lessons Learned in a Gardening Life

Lessons Learned From a 25-Year-Old Garden

connect ok horticulture for a barren engage live webinar featuring Dr. Janna Beckerman , a renowned plant diagnostician as well as professor emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals technical manager …

When I make out a particular backbone dollar cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few months ago , I knew I was in fuss . With a delicious colour pattern …

When we only prioritize plants we want over plants our landscape painting needs , each season is filled with a never - ending list of job : pruning , pinch , watering , treating , amending , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be careful when you enter the backyard of garden designer Jeff Epping — not because you ’re probable to trip on something , but because you might be dive - flush it by a couple …