Weekend of June 8, 1996
This column is about your garden.
The writer—professional gardening editor/writer Dorinda Beaumont—
lives smack in the middle of our region—Rosendale.
So it’s about your zone, your soil, your plants.
Once a week Dorinda will chastise you, commiserate with you,
tell you what you absolutely can’t leave for another week,
all the while drawing inspiration from the daily journals she’s been
keeping for several years about her gardening experiences here in the Hudson Valley.
We've been distracted from our gardening all this week by an unruly crowd of Canada geese. Unlike the majority of geese, which are sedately engaged in gosling supervision, this group has been flocking into a ragged V formation and flying back and forth, yelping and barking, at least twice a day. On their shorter jaunts up and down the Rondout River, they're often joined by a large white gander, who's escaped domesticity and has, as my neighbor, Anne, puts it, "Hooked up with those wild ones."
I consulted Anne because she's lived here all her life and knows a lot more about what's going on than I do. The goose business has her stumped, though. Aside from contributing the information that these same geese were up at the Grand Union parking lot last Saturday night, she had nothing substantial to add to the case. We were unable to even develop a theory about the situation.
The gardening we've been distracted from is now primarily weeding and mulching, with a bit of watering for diversion. While we people still want a blanket on our beds these nights, it's really summer now in the plant kingdom. In their beds, each plant, from a sprig of chickweed to a mature sugar maple is competing ruthlessly with its neighbors for moisture, light, and nutrients. All we need to do is help out the less vigorous, and control the bullies. That's all.
VEGETABLES AND SMALL FRUITS
Take care shallow-rooted seedlings have enough water to prevent wilting. Begin mulching around vegetables to conserve
soil moisture and keep down weeds. The absolute best mulch is well-cooked, homemade compost, but, of course, there's
never enough of that. Straw, at about $5.00 a bale at garden stores, works well. Don't get hay; it's cheaper,
but it's full of weed seed.
This is the season of the best salads of the year. In addition to small lettuces and the indespensible arugula, include small thinnings of beets, chard, any member of the cabbage family, mustards, and tiny carrots. A salad spinner makes it easy to dry all the tiny bits after washing. Then wrap them gently in a kitchen towel and chill for half an hour. When the greens are this young and fresh, I toss them with only the most delicious extra-virgin olive oil followed by a sprinkle of coarse kosher salt. If your garden isn't offering all these delicacies, the closest substitute is the mesclun mix sold by Adams Fairacre Farms and Mohican Market. It's consistently excellent in both places.
TREES, SHRUBS AND VINES
If you're trying to limit the size of a pine tree, cut back the new candles by half. All evergreens may be
pruned and hedges sheared. Prune lilacs, if you've not yet done so. Fertilize trees and shrubs any time in June,
but not later; late feeding promotes late growth that's more likely to be killed by cold winter temperatures.
FLOWERS
Do just enjoy them. Everything seems to be blooming or budding, so there's lots to admire and plenty to look forward
to. The only bad actors in my garden are the hollyhocks. They'll be gorgeous on the Fourth of July, but now they have
rust. Sprinkle dusting sulphur over them to control it.
The above does not apply to annual flowers, except the part about plenty to look forward to. Most annuals love hot weather and the recent cool nights have slowed the marigolds, petunias, morning glories, and nasturtiums. They'll pick up soon. If you're relying on annuals for most of your summer garden, consider adding a few reliable perennials for early June. Irises, Oriental poppies, and peonies are three to consider, all best planted in late summer. I'll write about planting them when the time comes, but now is the time to look at them in bloom and find out where your heart will lead you.
I've been thinking a lot about space this week. Not only the space that each plant needs, but also the space we people seem to need. One way of viewing ornamental gardening is as the desire to occupy more space than we really occupy. If we used the landscape naturally, in most yards there would only be a few beaten paths through the wildernessÑfrom car parking to door, from door to garbage can. In some cases there would be a small clearing around a barbecue grill. I hear a lot of complaints from people about getting the yard under control. I suspect that some of these people are making themselves crazy by trying to control areas that would be better let alone. Lest I seem critical, I'm including myself in this group. After all, a few weedy corners do add considerable charm to a rambling country garden. I sense the hammock season approaching.
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