Garden Gate May/June 2022

There are so many exciting things happening in the garden world that we never run out of ideas for our issues. That’s partly why we launched the Grow Better Garden Summit a couple of years ago as an additional opportunity to share information. This year’s online, on-demand collection of five webinars has something for everyone: Learn more about this exciting event at left. When planning containers and my annual plantings, I’ve been known to dismiss coleus and impatiens as boring in favor of plants that seem newer and more exciting. But it’s hard to deny their long-lasting color and easy-going care, and plant breeders seem to keep developing more and more new features. Think bigger flowers, new variegation patterns, better disease resistance and more. We’ll introduce you to the varieties that…

Try Houseplants in Your Garden Planters Save money and create beautiful mixed containers with plants you might already have! Check out our 3 exclusive plans. Gardengatemagazine.com/articles/containers/ How to Fight Garden Pests From the dreaded Japanese beetles to grasshoppers, slugs and deer, we can help you grow a great garden in spite of these frustrating garden visitors. Gardengatemagazine.com/articles/how-to/deal-with-pests/ Follow Us On Instagram Fill your feed with beautiful garden photos, helpful garden tips and see what’s going on behind the scenes with the Garden Gate team. Instagram.com/gardengatemagazine…

GREAT IDEAS FROM SMART GARDENERS Using a funnel, transfer liquid fertilizer from large, unwieldy containers into smaller pump bottles to reduce spilling and make measuring a breeze. For safety, be sure to clearly label the pump bottle with a marker. Determine how many pumps of fertilizer are equivalent to the number of tablespoons needed per gallon of water, and you’ll save yourself a step. Donna Saverino, WA Cute copper coils Chloe Deike, IA To add a little height and interest to a container, craft some of your own decorative stakes. Look for copper tubing (often labeled utility or refrigeration tubing) at hardware stores in lengths of 6 or 10 feet. For this small shade container in the photo above, one length of tubing was cut into three pieces using metal snips or pruners. Curl one…

Bearded irises are the true divas of the late-spring garden. The striking flowers have three upright petals (known as standards) and three downward petals (known as falls) that usually have a fuzzy “beard,” giving the plant its common name. These showstoppers can hold their own but benefit from a supporting cast that shows off these fancy flowers to their best advantage. And since they come in almost every color except true red, the possibilities for beautiful combinations are endless. GOOD NEIGHBORS Grow bearded irises alongside other spring-blooming flowers with contrasting shapes, like the lovely spires of lupine you see in the photo at right, or tiny-flowered ground covers like creeping phlox. Plant later-blooming perennials, like garden mums or coneflower, nearby to provide color and disguise the strappy iris foliage after plants…

May I be a garden bully for just a moment? If you are a gardener, whether new or experienced, and have not yet dabbled in the joy, meditation and artistry of topiary, then I tell you, you simply must give it a go. Don’t let its mistaken reputation for being difficult, highly sophisticated and expensive fool you. As you can see in my garden above, pruning plants into topiary forms gives you so many options for shapes and sizes. And it can be created out of the most common and inexpensive plants. A skinny, lanky boxwood in the clearance aisle may have great potential, as would a leggy basil or coleus needing a good pinching to encourage bushiness. I often shop my own garden for topiary candidates: small junipers that have…

A Dwarf myrtle Myrtus communis ‘Compacta’ Good tabletop topiary. Has an expensive, sophisticated look. Needs a lot of moisture: Never let plants dry out. Responds well to frequent pruning. USDA cold zones 8 to 10. B Spanish lavender Lavandula stoechas Lavender is a little more difficult to start from scratch. It’s a good one to buy already in topiary form. Not always long lived but fragrant and beautiful while it lasts. USDA cold zones 8 to 11. C Juniper Juniperus chinensis Great for big outdoor specimens. Look for seedlings in your garden. Plants are very cold hardy and drought tolerant. USDA cold zones 4 to 9. D Chinese privet Ligustrum sinense ‘Sunshine’ This gold-foliaged shrub assumes topiary form very quickly when you start your own. Requires frequent pruning to maintain shape and size. USDA cold zones 6 to 10. E Boxwood Buxus microphylla…