Homegrown: Gardening in changed environment

In an attempt to clear out closets and book shelves, I’ve been paging through stacks of old garden magazines looking for any ideas worth saving.

For years I shelved every issue thinking that eventually I would browse through each one again and glean ideas to invigorate my garden.

But now that I’m deep into that effort, my overwhelming response to every issue and nearly every page has been, “Why did I subscribe for so long and why did I think these garden concepts could be helpful?”

At first, the impracticality of most articles just didn’t resonate. Today, a statement like “a little time and plenty of water” is bothersome to read when that’s the advice for a successful garden make-over. It just doesn’t apply at all to our local situation.

In truth, it has never applied, but over the years too many of us gardeners were swayed by out-of-state testimonials and photo spreads and planted water-hungry species with abandon, often attempting to emulate English-style gardens.

But that approach to gardening applies mostly to the Midwest, East Coast, Southeast, or Northwest - areas of the country where rainfall is generally plentiful year-round.

A Western alternative

Some years ago Sonoma County Master Gardener Sandy Metzger wrote an article describing a more practical version of a cottage garden, one that demands little water and is appropriate for the West, specifically for us in Sonoma County. (You can find it at sonomamastergardeners.org. Click on “Gardening Articles,” in the menu at left, then on “English Cottage Gardens.”)

Perhaps surprisingly, Metzger’s version describes exuberant vines on a picket fence, beds filled with flowering perennials, borders reminiscent of Monet’s garden, and waves of color from spring through fall - all aspects of a cottage garden but with plants suited to the Bay Area and North Coast.

This and other articles on the Master Gardener web site are far more pertinent to our conditions than what we find in most nationally circulated publications, however interesting they may be.

Prudent choices

Local nurseries have begun to offer wide selections of California and other Mediterranean-climate natives adapted to our dry summers, and more and more gardeners are planting them, finally accepting the limits of our resources.

And many homeowners throughout the area are removing thirsty lawns in favor of designs including these plants, adding drip irrigation, mulches and hardscapes that restrict evaporation.

Hopefully when today’s Wine Country readers open book and magazine pages to photos of hostas and hydrangeas, they’ll recognize them as too water-hungry - except, perhaps, for the relatively undemanding oakleaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia), a summer bloomer that takes drier conditions than others of the species and also graces gardens in autumn with vibrant leaf color.

When alluring photos of roses appeal irresistible, readers will respond with an “ah-ha,” remember to plant in containers, and recognize an opportunity to use those buckets of cold water saved when first turning on and running sink and shower faucets.

Good & bad ideas

So far, I’ve paged through about half the magazines I’ve collected and have found only one article that applies specifically to our local gardens, probably because the author lives in the Sierra foothills.

The photo spread featured ornamental artemisias that thrive in either coastal or dry environments, in containers or in the ground. Lucky for us, these plants are all choice selections available at our local retailers.

Despite the lack of relevancy of most feature articles in national magazines, letters from readers are interesting and often enlightening. Useful ideas pop up frequently, but a not-so-good hint advised adding sand to clay soil. That might appeal to gardeners who struggle with adobe, but it’s bad advice.

It takes truckloads of sand mixed with heavy equipment to change the texture of native clay in garden soil. Smaller amounts make things worse and you end up with something more like concrete than loam.

Adding compost to clay is a far superior method to lighten soil and improve drainage.

Wait for dry weather

It’s a wonderful change of events when we must wait for dry weather to be out in the garden. But waiting is important now that the rains have begun in earnest.

Walking on or working in wet ground tends to compact soil, just the opposite of ideal conditions. Wait until soil becomes moist, not wet, to add compost or cultivate.

Rosemary McCreary, a Sonoma County gardener, gardening teacher, and author of Tabletop Gardens, writes the monthly Homegrown column for The Press Democrat. Write to her at P.O. Box 910, Santa Rosa, 95402.