Garden Gate May/June 2020
You CAN create the garden of your dreams with Garden Gate magazine! Every issue is packed with must-have plants, reader tips, simple time- and money-saving ideas, step-by-step, how-to help and the inspiration you need to create a gorgeous garden year after year.
in this issue
from the editor
I’ve divided and shared loads of bearded irises over the years. Check out Garden Gate Magazine on YouTube to see how I do it. Who knew a gardener could have so much guilt? Maybe you’ve started a whole flat of beautiful tomato seedlings but only have room for six plants in your garden. Or maybe you’ve kicked yourself after a weekend away in July because you returned to droopy container plantings. And let’s talk division. It’s just part of the rhythm of a perennial gardener’s life. When I started gardening, I was happy to have more Siberian irises or daylilies to spread around and fill in. But now my garden is full, and it hurts my heart to throw perfectly healthy divisions in the compost pile. That’s why I was so…
2021 reader garden award
Enter your own garden for a chance to be photographed and featured in a future issue of Garden Gate magazine! Open to U.S. and Canadian residents How To Enter: EMAIL ( PREFERRED METHOD ) Email your information and a link to your images in cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, Amazon Cloud Drive, etc.) to ReaderGarden@aimmedia.com INSTAGRAM: Submit photos of your garden using the hashtag: #ggmagReaderGarden MAIL: Reader Garden Award Garden Gate Magazine 2143 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312 GUIDELINES: Only amateur gardeners are eligible for awards; participants cannot earn their living from gardening, landscaping or interior design. Gardens that have received other national gardening honors or awards or have been featured in a national magazine are ineligible. Please retain an original copy of your complete entry for your records. Materials will not be returned. Images from entries may…
reader tips
Keep your spray paint bottles organized and easy to access for whenever you need to touch up your garden accessories: Store them in an unused wine rack!Elizabeth Fox, MI Oyster shell solution Kirsten Sayers, OH If your tomatoes get blossom end rot, it might be because of a lack of calcium in the soil. Kristen knew that crushed oyster shell is commonly sold as a calcium supplement for laying hens, so she wondered if it would work in her soil, too. She sprinkled a handful or two of the ground oyster shell in the planting hole and in the soil as she backfilled around the roots. Success! It’s helped combat the blossom end rot and now it’s less likely she’ll lose her tomatoes to the malady. A potting bench to put away Jim Childs, IA Need…
pest watch
Viburnum leaf beetle Pyrrhalta viburni Viburnum leaf beetles are ¼-inch golden-brown beetles that can infest all viburnum shrubs, but particularly arrow-wood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) and European cranberrybush (V. opulus). The larvae are yellow-brown with dark dashes. Female adults chew rows of small cavities in the stems of new growth, laying several eggs in each hole and covering them with chewed wood and excrement. Once this happens you’ll notice a series of black bumps. You’ll find these beetles in the eastern United States and Canada. Damage Eggs are laid at the end of summer into fall. They overwinter until spring, when they emerge as larvae and feed on and skeletonize leaves. At the beginning of summer, larvae crawl down the shrub to pupate in the soil and emerge in midsummer as adults. The adults…
make your shade garden better than ever!
Shade gardens are so cool! Yes, literally, because nothing beats taking a seat and relaxing under the canopy of a big tree. But also because of the plants you can grow there. Hostas spring to mind first, of course. They’re a classic. But there are lots of other options for shady borders, too. Some, such as the sweet alyssum at right, are flowery while others have awesome foliage: Imagine scalloped coral bells, lacy ferns, spotted lungwort and colorful coleus—all bringing their own unique look or texture to shady beds and borders. Whether it’s dappled, partial or full, there are some practical benefits to gardening in shade. For example, weeds have a harder time getting established and the soil stays moist longer than in full sun. Ready to add some variety to…
craft a clever rain chain
Rain chains are decorative elements with a practical function: to guide water in a sculptural and controlled way. They’re used in place of downspouts, but that’s not the only spot where they can catch water. Hung from tree limbs, pergolas, garden sheds or other creative spots, flowing water can be harnessed into an aesthetically pleasing feature. As I brainstormed ideas for a DIY rain chain, I wanted to use items that didn’t necessarily hold the water but directed the flow downward. Something that was affordable and easy to assemble with minimal tools was a priority, too. And I wanted to make it unlike any rain chain I’ve seen in a store. My solution: repurposing flatware and jack chain to make this floral-inspired version. It looks good when the weather is dry…
