Listen up! Your weeds are trying to tell you something.
Like all varieties of plants, individual weeds thrive in particular conditions. Some like it dry, others moist. Some prefer acidic soil, others thrive in more alkaline environments. Some will even tell you that your soil is perfect.
So before you pluck and pull, take note. You can learn a lot about the growing conditions in your yard, based on which weeds are growing where. These 10 common weeds will reveal secrets about your soil:
Used in traditional medicine to make a poultice against stings, rashes, and insect bites, plantains are nonetheless unsightly in the lawn and garden. Their presence indicates low fertility and high acidity. They also thrive in poorly drained, compacted soil.
The cure: To prevent plantains, correct the soil imbalance, aerate soil, and raise the level of your lawn mower so tall grass blades can shade plantain’s leaves.
Crabgrass
Above: Digitaria sanguinalis (crabgrass). Photograph by Rasbak via Wikimedia.
Ever the opportunist, crabgrass thrives in both poor or very fertile soils, and will spring up in times of drought or excessive watering.
The cure: To combat, raise the height of your mower to encourage “good” grass. Seed control also works with this annual: discourage germination by spreading cornmeal in the early spring.
Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea), also known as “Creeping Charlie,” is an aggressive weed that can quickly consume an unhealthy lawn. It thrives in areas with poor drainage, low fertility and lots of shade.
The cure: Ground ivy will take advantage of bald spots, so make sure your lawn and garden have a lush canopy (or mulch), and fertile, well-drained soil. A higher mowing height (from 2.5 to 3 inches) will also help.
Annual Bluegrass
Above: Poa annua(bluegrass) photograph by Rasbak via Wikimedia.
An abundance of annual bluegrass is an indication that your soil is fertile, but most likely compacted and over-watered and poorly drained.
The cure: To combat, aerate and water less, raise your mower height, and prevent seeds from spreading by spreading a cornmeal gluten in spring.
Chickweed
Above: Common Chickweed (Stellaria media); photograph by Hugo via Wikipedia Commons.
Got chickweed in your garden? Goods news. That means it’s highly fertile. But this spreading annual can also indicate poor drainage and too much watering as well as compacted soil. (Good thing they’re delicious to eat.)
It’s not every day that a client asks their landscape designer to come look at a barge they’re thinking of buying, but that was exactly the call the team at Hollander Design Landscape Architects received a few years back. The property in question was a house that had been built on a torpedo barge in the 1950s and docked on a harbor in the Hamptons ever since. The bulkhead was in need of a total rebuild—and the landscape would need restoration afterwards. Hollander Design was up for the challenge.
The clients ended up buying the house, and after a marine construction contractor rebuilt the bulkhead, walks, and the docks, Hollander Design returned to conduct major revegetation efforts. The clients were looking for a low-maintenance landscape, as they wanted the home to be a retreat from their busy, working lives. They desired a beautiful landscape, but they didn’t want a garden that would compete with the breathtaking setting. The trick would be to create the illusion that the barge and bulkhead were knitted into the marsh around them.
“Everything that’s around the house is very wet and boggy, but their property happens to be a high, dry spot because it’s up on that bulkhead,” explains landscape designer Melissa Reavis, the director of Hollander Design’s residential studio. “So we chose plants that were appropriate to that area but completely different from the immediate area that it sits in.” Think beach grass instead of the nearby rushes, plus, beach plums and northern bayberry that are found in nearby dunes.
In addition to its unique barge setting, the property experiences intense deer pressure (a challenge that many gardeners can relate to). Furthermore, the site is exposed to sea salt and increasingly frequent storm surges. “We were left with a pretty limited palette,” says Reavis, but she focussed on what she calls “bulletproof plants for a coastal environment” to create a garden that is almost as magical as its setting. Here, her formula for getting it right.
Photography by Neil Landino, courtesy of Hollander Design Landscape Architects.
The soil comes first.
Above: From overheard, you can see how the barge is tucked in behind the rebuilt bulkhead.
After the bulkhead rebuild, Hollander Design needed to replace a lot of the soil, which Reavis explains had been backfilled with whatever was on hand back in the 1950s. The new soil is mostly clean-draining sand, so that nutrients won’t leach into the water. “Everything that was replanted in that area is planted almost into direct sand and we don’t add any additional nutrient loads to the soil, to ensure that we weren’t affecting water quality around it,” Reavis explains.
Design for minimal maintenance.
Above: Instead of a lawn, the main open area of the property is one over-sized perennial bed. The gravel path is used to bring kayaks and paddleboards down to the dock.
To fulfill the owners desire for a low-maintenance landscape, Reavis eschewed turf lawn and instead planted native and climate-adapted perennials. Hollander Design’s maintenance team does a hard cutback in May to keep the plants from outgrowing their homes, which also ensures a long bloom, but otherwise the maintenance is minimal—and free of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.
Mimic the nearby aesthetic.
Above: The American beachgrass planted on the bulkhead mimics the look of the native rushes in the surrounding wetlands, so your eye sees an almost uninterrupted swath of textured green.
“You feel completely enveloped by the harbor here,” says Reavis. “The landscape’s job here is just to make it feel as knitted into this magical world as possible.” To complement the landscape, Reavis pulled in not only native plants, but also climate-adapted ones that feel like they’re in the same world as the natural landscape beyond. “They’re all flowing grasses and flowing perennials, and so nothing feels out of place with the more native natural habitat,” says Reavis.
Mints for the win.
Above: Russian sage ‘Denim n Lace’ is reliably deer- and rabbit-resistant.
For their historic home in the enclave of Clifton in Bristol, UK, an energetic couple wanted an informal, biodiverse, and sustainable landscape where their grandchildren and dogs could romp. They called on landscape architecture firm Artisan Landscapes to come up with their dream garden, but the firm recognized that the grand Georgian-style home imposed a degree of formality on its landscape that couldn’t be ignored. As a compromise, they kept the classic formal courtyard layout and overlaid “soft, naturalistic meadow planting” to fulfill the clients’ desires for an environmentally friendly garden.
Above: “The homeowners are lucky enough to have both a front and a back garden,” say the architects, “so we could devote the entire back garden to ‘garden,’ while the front garden has a large lawn for the dogs and grandkids, a greenhouse, and informal borders of vegetables intermingled with perennials.” The back garden, they say, is a more intimate space, “although the grandchildren love whirling about the paths.” Above: The sunken octagon is a focal point of the garden but was also one of the more challenging features to install. “There was a one-meter-thick piece of limestone bedrock located under it that had to be removed to install drainage,” say the architects.
Before
Above: The courtyard had a generous footprint, but the neglected landscape was uninspiring.
After
Above: An antique urn is a focal point in the garden. For more inspiration, see Landscaping: 8 Ideas to Add Antiques Artfully to Any Garden. Above: A long, slim reflecting pool is one of two major water features in the project. “They have a combined volume of five thousand cubic liters,” say the architects, and both are controlled by pumps on remote-control switches. Above: Salvia surrounds the pool. For everything you need to know about growing it, see Salvia: A Field Guide to Planting, Care & Design.
I’ve always known in theory that if you plant spring-flowering bulbs (such as tulips, daffodils, crocuses, and alliums) you can fill your garden with successive waves of color for three months while you wait for summer. But in my garden, after the spring flowers on the azaleas and rhododendrons fade? Nothing—until June. I eye my neighbors’ more colorful gardens with envy and initiate late-night talks with my husband about why this is the year we should hire a landscape designer.
This fall I plan to be proactive and plant bulbs—which I know is a thing you do in autumn because one year I went to our local nursery and asked for alliums. (I’m particularly enamored with the extraterrestrial look of alliums, with their large pompom heads and tall, slender stalks.) But it was during the height of summer, and the nice lady who worked at the nursery had to break it to me that I’d have to wait until September or later for the bulbs to be available for purchase. Like many other bulbs, they are planted in the fall and bloom in the spring, she told me, with not the slightest bit of disdain.
A job requirement for working at nurseries must be an uncanny ability to refrain from rolling one’s eyes when asked idiotic questions. Thankfully, my interview with Barbara Pierson, nursery manager of White Flower Farm, in which I asked beginner questions about spring-flowering bulbs, was conducted over email. (Thank you, Barbara, for not inserting any eye-roll emojis.) Here’s what I learned:
Q: What are bulbs, anyway?
Above: Tulip bulbs ready for the planting. Photograph by Meredith Swinehart.
A: A bulb is “essentially a storage organ” for plants, says Barbara; all the food they need is concentrated in a compact, onion-shaped mass. “True bulbs have scales, which are fleshy and become leaves after the bulb begins to grow.” They’re often lumped together with corms, rhizomes, and tubers, because they all grow underground and produce plants, but they are different. Corms don’t have scales; rhizomes grow horizontally and can produce more plants; and tubers have eyes (like potatoes) that can grow into sprouts or roots. (See Everything You Need to Know About Bulbs and Tubers for a roundup of some of our favorite springtime bulb and tuber flowers.)
Q: Which bulbs are the easiest to grow?
Above: Barbara recommends ‘Globemaster’ alliums. “They are easy to grow and, most times, will flower the first year after planting in the fall,” she says. “Plant them four to five inches below the soil line in a border close to other perennials so the foliage is hidden when it dies down during and after flowering. Remembering to let bulb foliage die down naturally is the key to having them come back year after year.” Photograph by Justine Hand.
If you’re lucky enough to have a garden in a big city, you learn to accept the fact that while you’re out there, you’re in full view of everyone whose windows overlook your yard. Hanging an awning over your entire backyard or planting a tree big enough to screen everything isn’t a good option, since usually, getting the light you need to grow things is already a challenge.
So what are the best ways to make a small urban garden feel more private—or at least to create the illusion of privacy? For advice, we asked landscape designer Susan Welti, a partner in the Brooklyn-based Foras Studio. Susan has designed countless urban spaces; two of her gardens appear in our Gardenista book.
Here are some of her ideas to create privacy in a small city backyard.
Photography by Matthew Williams for Gardenista, except where noted.
Above: An eastern white pine tree draws the eye away from the neighbors’ houses in a Brooklyn garden designed by Foras Studio.
Is it really possible to have privacy in an outdoor city garden?
Let’s admit that it’s almost impossible to create as much privacy as you might want. “There are so many buildings surrounding you, and they’re so much bigger than you,” Susan says. “But while you can’t block out the buildings, what you can do is to create something beautiful and compelling that will hold the eye within the confines of the site, and make you feel enclosed and secure.”
Above: The neighbors’ Japanese maple trees (at right) create a bower and privacy barrier.
How can you use trees to create privacy?
“You can’t just throw in a big tree to block the view, because that also blocks the light,” says Susan. “In most city gardens there are trees in your sightline, but they’re often really big—such as oaks or maples or ailanthus. It’s nice to put in a tree that’s a more human scale. We use a lot of fruit trees—crab apple, dwarf apple, even pomegranate and fig. These all flower, which is always nice.”
Susan also recommends small understory trees like Chionanthus virginicus, known as “old man’s beard”; Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Autumn Brilliance’ (serviceberry); and Magnolia virginiana—native magnolia or sweetbay. And if you’re not going for bloom, consider a Japanese maple—“They fit beautifully into a pared-back grassy landscape.”
Above: A row of small hornbeam trees (Carpinus caroliniana) are pruned tightly to create a flat screen against a fence.
What are the best trees for fence-line privacy?
When space is at a premium, Susan often uses trees that are pleached—trained and clipped to grow on a flat plane, like an espalier.
“Pleached trees are a powerful visual element, and you can control where they canopy out,” she says. Susan’s choice is hornbeam(Carpinus caroliniana), a native tree that takes well to pruning; she buys them already started off from Brooklyn’s Urban Arborists. “Pleached trees don’t bloom; it’s more about the shape and the beauty of the foliage.”
Can vines and climbers be used to create privacy?
“Vines are great for adding a green layer to a fence or pergola,” says Susan. “For an airy look, you want plants that have some visual porosity. We use Wisteria frutescens ‘Amethyst Falls,’ a native plant that’s less vigorous than Chinese or Japanese wisteria, and has a nice bloom.” For other flowering vines, she recommends clematis, honeysuckle, and crossvine, such as Bignonia capreolata ‘Tangerine Beauty.’ To create a wall of green, Susan suggests the vigorous, shade-tolerant Akebia ‘Shirobana’—but be aware that it’s considered invasive in some areas, so check with local authorities before planting, and be prepared to monitor its growth carefully.
All week, we’re republishing some of our favorite Garden Visits that have a personal connection to our writers. No public gardens here, no vast estates, no professionally designed landscapes—just the backyards, vegetable patches, and flower beds that remind our writers of home. This story by Gardenista founder Michelle Slatalla is from 2017.
Whether it’s a new patio or a complete garden overhaul, any landscaping project can quickly outgrow its budget unless you plan ahead. I speak from experience.
In the six years since I moved into my house on a small lot (0.15 acres in downtown Mill Valley, California), I’ve changed nearly every aspect of the outdoor space, from the backyard to the front garden. The upgrades included a new patio, garden beds, paths, a gate, and a privacy hedge. Every step of the way, there were decisions to make on where to splurge and where to save.
As with most budgets, mine required more saving than splurging. Here are the top 10 ways I saved money on landscape design without cutting corners.
Photography by Matthew Williams for Gardenista.
1. Don’t toss; transform.
Above: My backyard gate is a repurposed vintage iron trellis, which we discovered leaning against the facade soon after we moved to the house and began to liberate the garden from years of overgrowth.
“Don’t toss; transform” is a lesson I learned from my friend Jean Victor, who wrote the chapter on Expert Advice: Garden Design in our Gardenista book: “Avoid the temptation to rip out and discard everything in your existing landscape,” Jean recommends. “Repurpose bricks from a planter for a new pathway; use old fence pickets to make a gate; dig up hardy perennials and move them to a new bed.”
2. Embrace the slippery slope.
Above: Rather than trying to change the grade of my sloping front garden, I planted perennials and grasses that would accentuate the lay of the land.
“There isn’t another site like this available anywhere near Portland, Maine,” said Russell Tyson of Whitten Architects, “and it’s the site that makes this house so unique.”
He’s describing a jaw-dropping 36 acres perched along the oceanfront in Scarborough, Maine, the site of many native habitats—rocky coastline, woods, wetlands, and meadows included. Most of the land is in a conservation trust to preserve its natural character, but that didn’t deter the owners, a young couple with two children who wanted a weekend retreat that was “the antithesis of their high-rise life in New York City.” Two acres could be developed, so they removed an existing 1980s house that had “no sort of relationship to the landscape,” said Tyson, the project architect. In its stead, they designed a four-bedroom, mostly single-story house and detached car barn with guest quarters above.
Whitten partnered with landscape architect Todd Richardson to create a strong connection between the house and landscape. They knew each other well and had collaborated before, so they designed the project’s indoor and outdoor elements in tandem. “Here, the exterior spaces were just as important as the interior ones,” said Tyson. Let’s take a look.
Photography by Trent Bell except where noted, courtesy of Whitten Architects.
Above: At the entryway, a Rockport granite boulder directs visitors from the parking court toward the front door just off to the right. A small apple orchard flanks the walkway.
The site was once part of a farm, full of rolling meadows that drop down to the shore.
Above: In the front garden are salvia and ornamental grasses mixed with lawn. “The walls extend outward from the house to throw the architecture out into the landscape,” said Richardson.
The previous house had an asphalt parking lot prominently featured in front; in contrast, said the architect, “we wanted you to park your car and forget about it for the rest of the time you are here.”
Above: Flanking a porch off the bedroom wing: A birch tree at far left hovers over highbush blueberries, northern bayberry, low huckleberry, lowbush blueberry sod, and hay-scented fern. The patch on the right side of the walkway also includes black chokeberry, rhodora, and cinnamon fern.
The landscape architect chose native plants that thrive in this part of Maine.
Above: Each bedroom has a porch to encourage residents and guests to head directly outdoors in the mornings.
The house is framed in Douglas fir and stained in Cabot Nantucket White. The decking is water-resistant ipe wood, and the roof is standing seam metal in slate gray.
Above: Bordered by full-height sliding glass doors, the living room links a courtyard in front of the house to a patio on the opposing side. The landscape architect planted pitch pine here, centered on the axis of a single large pitch pine hovering over the water’s edge—the only tree along the waterfront for about 1,500 feet, visible beyond the living room.
Recently we spotted a project on The Modern House that compelled us to stop our scroll and investigate deeper: a home that looks otherworldly and not of this time, located in Dartmoor, a region of southwest England known for its rugged landscape dotted with outcroppings and pre-historic sites. Capped with a rolling green roof and set into a hillside, the two-story residence disappears into its environment, sometimes literally.
“We wanted something that was timeless, that would still be here in a couple of hundred years. I read so many articles about houses with conservatories, swimming pools, tennis courts, games rooms and cinemas. You just don’t need all that,” its owner Gail Pirkis, a literary editor, told The Modern House. Instead, she and her husband, David, hired Peter Hall from Van der Steen and Hall Architects to design a unique but unostentatious house that “faded away around” the landscape.
The project took seven years to complete, during which time they found themselves subtracting the superfluous from their plans (“we didn’t want fancy bathrooms; we didn’t want gizmos in the kitchen”). What they ended up with is a truly low-impact home with a soft, modest footprint that’s simpatico with the natural world that surrounds it.
Here’s a peek. For the full story (and interior images), go here.
Above: The couple prioritized the use of local materials. “The granite that faces the building comes from the spoil heap of the quarry that was used to build nearby Castle Drogo, the last castle to be built in Britain designed by Edwin Lutyens.”
Above: Two levels of green roofs help keep the house cool in the summer months.
The name The Wild Yards Project tells you a little about its founder David Newsom’s journey over the last seven years: It started out as a project. A Los Angeles-based film professional and photographer, Newsom had recently become a parent when he discovered gardening. “I immediately began to worry about my kids’ baseline interaction with the wild world,” he says. “I had no background in botany. I wasn’t into horticulture. I just knew that I found solace in being around plants and animals, and I wanted to give my kids that.” Newsom decided to rewild his backyard, so his kids could have nature right outside their door.
Above: Newsom’s own yard reveals how land can come back to life. “Before I began this work, the state of our home’s dead, baked lot [at left] was overwhelming and depressing,” he says.
As Newsom transformed his yard, he documented his work. “I made so many mistakes, but I wrote about it,” he remembers. “And because I had worked in documentary television, if I saw someone who had written an article or someone who was doing really great work, I would just call them.” As Newsom learned more and shared his journey on social media, he says, “I quickly realized that a lot of people were hungry for the idea.” In 2018, he decided to make his project official, naming it The Wild Yards Project—note that it was yards plural–not just his own.
Above: Newsom’s own wild yard looking particularly lush after California’s atmospheric rivers this past spring.
“At first, I thought I would just go around and film and share stories about what people did,” says Newsom. “But I pretty quickly felt compelled to get my own hands dirty and to build these gardens.” Soon Newsom was consulting with other homeowners who wanted to rewild their yards. “I would go over to their house and help them spin a story about what their land could be—that’s how it started.” His work led to deep research into hyperlocal plants in his Mediterranean chaparral biome and ecological gardening practices. “There’s a series of benefits, so many stacked functions to these gardens beyond amplifying biodiversity,” he says. “We’re amplifying physical and mental health, water infiltration, and carbon sequestration.”
Above: This hillside garden is an example of a full design and install project that Newsom executed for a client.
Casual advice gradually morphed into more formal garden coaching and eventually design and installation services. However, Newsom’s landscape work is different from traditional garden designers. For one, he wants his clients to get their hands dirty. “I tell them: I promise you’ll know more about your land in a year than I do,” he says. “When people move away from traditional gardens, they become authors in the natural and cultural history of their land—and that land is its own educator.” For any project, Newsom visits the property, tests the soil, and explores nearby nature with a similar disposition. Then he creates a plant list and offers a design plan whose execution can range from homeowner DIY to full design and install. Gardeners who want to do it themselves can book Newsom hourly for future coaching. “You don’t need to spend $50,000 to $150,000 on high-priced landscapers,” he says.
This is part of a series with Perfect Earth Project, a nonprofit dedicated to toxic-free, nature-based gardening, on how you can be more sustainable in your landscapes at home. “I am more interested in nature than any other subject,” says Russel Wright, the influential mid-century industrial designer, who believed that good design was for everyone […]
When mulching your garden, you have many, many choices: shredded hardwood, pine needles, straw, and seashells, to name a few. One of the most common materials used for mulching is wood chips. But not all wood chips are the same. There are bark chips made from the bark of pine trees, which are very attractive and tend to last a very long time. There are industrial wood chips that are made from pallets and waste wood, which is not recommended for use in vegetable gardens due to the possibility of leaching chemicals. And there is one type of wood chips that you probably have never heard of: ramial mulch.
Above: Branches from a lime tree, ready for the wood chipper. Photograph by Arpent Nourricier via Flickr.
Ramial is from the Latin word for branch. Ramial mulch is a type of wood chips made specifically from young hardwood tree branches that are up to about two and a half inches thick. (In some cases, shrubs are also included in this description.) In the late 1970s, Laval University in Quebec researched if there could be a use for this lumber byproduct and they found one. Another name for this mulch is BRF, an abbreviation for its French name, bois raméal fragmenté.
What makes ramial mulch special?
Because the mulch is made from the youngest of branches, it is full of nutrients and minerals, as most of the tree’s resources are directed to those fast growing branches. This makes them an almost a perfect food for your garden. Ramial mulch is essentially a mulch that also works as a soil amendment.
What are the benefits of using ramial mulch?
Above: The lime branches and leaves, post wood chipper. Ramial mulch often contains leaves as well. Photograph by Arpent Nourricier via Flickr .
There are more than a few benefits! First, they are chock full of all the good stuff that goes into making plants grow. Second, they are small, and break down faster than most mulches. And third, fungi and bacteria love it and start to break it down quickly.
What are the cons?
As mentioned above, it’s almost a perfect food for your garden—almost because the process of breaking down the ramial chips “steals” available nitrogen from the soil. And when gardeners hear that, they tend to not like it at all. But with most things gardening, it’s not that simple. Yes, the bacteria take nitrogen from the soil, but they are really just borrowing it. Once the decay process is complete and the chips have become humus, the nitrogen is released back into the soil. Keep in mind, too, that mulch is on top of the soil. Your plants’ roots are deep below the top inch of soil where all of this is happening, meaning established plants won’t be affected.
Where and when should you use ramial mulch in your garden?
You can use it at any time in established beds, but don’t add it to your vegetable beds or beds with seedlings during the growing season because of the nitrogen issue. Wait until you’ve cleared them in the fall to add it. This gives it time to break down and have the nutrients available in the spring.
How do you find ramial mulch?
Since it is a lumber byproduct, ramial mulch can be hard to find if you aren’t anywhere near commercial logging locations or near Canada. You will need to be a bit creative. Contact your arborist. In their process of trimming trees, they could offer you the chipped trimmings. This may also include larger branches. Your local fruit orchard may also be able to provide ramial mulch. Or, you can make your own by renting a chipper and feeding it the prunings from your yard.
Too often pathway gaps are neglected and become a home for weeds. But where some may see awkward spaces between stepping stones, I see potential. Plants between pavers can soften hard lines, adding a lush, living element to a design.
It’s relatively simple to fill the cracks between pavers with creeping plants that will stay low, won’t mind being squashed a bit, and may even be fragrant. Ground cover can triumph over weeds, too. Read on for everything you need to know:
How do you choose a ground cover to grow between pavers?
Above: White blooming Isotoma grows in a pathway, framing pavers with texture and color in a California garden designed by Elizabeth Everdell. Photograph courtesy of Everdell Garden Design.
As a landscaper, I routinely feel like a boss on the plant employee search, hunting for highly qualified plant candidates for the position of ground cover. Listed below is my required criteria:
Height: A plant should be low growing, raging in height from basically flat to 2 inches tall. Anything taller could be trip pedestrians and make the pavers look as if they are sinking, even drowning. Rule of thumb: the larger the scale of the pavers, the taller the filler plants can be.
Foliage: The ground cover should be vigorous (but not invasive) and dense like a carpet to smother competing weeds and cooperatively traverse the spaces for continuity.
Above: Photograph by Matthew Williams for Gardenista. Cotulaleptinella ‘Platt’s Black’ (dollhouse fern) grows densely and has a shallow root system, which makes it ideally suited to creeping between stones to fill cracks. See more of this garden in our Gardenista book.
Hardiness: A plant that grows between pavers should be tough and durable to withstand occasional trampling by foot or paw.
No-Fuss: Ground cover plants for pavers must require as little maintenance as possible. A total given.
Design: The ground cover needs to meet the design needs of foliage color, texture, and form. The choice also should complement the colors and textures of the pathway material rather than compete with it, and be congruent with the current landscape theme.
What are the best plants to grow between pavers?
The options below are by no means the only ones, just some of the popular ones, and you have different options depending on whether your path basks in sun or hides in shade.
Above: Different varieties of thyme such as ‘Minimus Russetings’ and ‘Purple Carpet’ soften the pavers in this Brooklyn rooftop garden. Photography by Marni Majorelle. For more, see Brooklyn Oasis: A City Roof Garden, Before & After.
Full Sun:
Creeping thyme (Thymus spp): Considered one of the finest ground covers for filling in between flagstones. It meets all of the criteria of a good plant employee. This petite herb comes in many varieties, all with tiny, rounded fragrant leaves in shades of dark green, lime green, and even yellow with a white edging. Elfin or woolly thyme are especially good varieties that will grow in difficult soils, stay flat and are frighteningly easy to grow.
Dymondia (Dymondia margaretae) is a good alternative. Its phenomenally flat, tidy appearance bears slender leaves that are green on top and gray underneath. A slight upward curl on each leaf edge provides a frosted, two-tone look and it occasionally bears small yellow daisy flowers.
A career in art direction is a useful grounding for anybody wishing to go into garden design. Sheila Jack’s career shift was not so much a break as a continuum—of research, editing, and presentation. Before designing the pages of Vogue magazine, her first job was for the architect Norman Foster, and these visual strands from the past feed into her present-day career as a landscape designer.
We visit the project which turned Sheila’s design ideas into something more three-dimensional: her own urban garden.
Above: A work studio faces the house in Sheila Jack’s garden in Hammersmith, London.
“When we installed my husband’s garden studio, we needed to create a pathway to it,” explains Sheila of the garden’s layout. “Our children were beyond the need for lawn, so there was scope to include more planting.”
Above: Photograph by Sheila Jack.
I first met Sheila by the photocopying machine at Tatler magazine, several decades ago. Amid the madness, Sheila stood out as a beacon of clarity, in a crisp white shirt. A few years later I spotted Sheila, ever crisp, at 444 Madison Avenue, a recent arrival at Condé Nast in New York. While I failed to take my job on the 17th floor seriously, Sheila worked hard downstairs, in the scary offices of Vogue. Fast-forwarding a few years, she suddenly appeared on Instagram, with beautifully composed pictures of gardens, in focus. How had she got from there to here?
Above: Sheila’s London garden of mainly green and white.
Ever tasted a fresh olive? If you have, then I’m so sorry. Fresh, raw olives are surprisingly very bitter and need to be fermented, cured in a vinegar or salt water brine, or dry-cured with oil in order to be delicious.
When a tree, like an olive, is slow-growing then it pays to buy the largest one you can afford to avoid frustration and disappointment. I usually recommend nothing smaller than a 15-gallon tree.
7. …and slow to fruit, too.
On average, an olive may take four to five years before it fruits. This production is also dependent on whether the growing conditions are warm and sunny enough. If these requirements aren’t met, then fruiting might not occur at all.
Italians say that you should prune the olive tree in such a way that a bird can fly through the middle of it. Pruning is needed to reduce the density of the foliage and allow sunlight to infiltrate every part of the tree. Also, olive trees produce fruit on the previous year’s branches, so in order to have fruit every year you must make sure that adequate growth occurs every year. In general, prune fruiting olives after harvest. If you are growing a non-fruiting olive, proper pruning is still strongly encourage to avoid a gangly or lopsided tree; plus it’s always a good idea to remove dead, diseased, or damaged limbs. This can be done in the spring or early summer. Pro tip: watch out for snacking deer who also like to “prune” young olive trees. You may need to net the lower branches or spray a deer repellent on newly planted trees.
9. Olive trees can be a houseplant.
Above: Olea europaea ‘Arbequina’ is a Spanish olive tree that makes a great indoor specimen. Photograph via Terrain.
Looking to add a little Mediterranean style to your home decor? A potted olive tree might be the addition you need—for a little while at least. Long-term these trees are best grown outside. But a potted olive can thrive for a year or so indoors as long as you make sure it gets lots of light—a south-facing window or under a skylight works. Maintenance-wise, water your indoor olive when the top inch of soil is dry to the touch. If you see leaves yellowing and dropping, then either it is receiving not enough or too much water. Use cacti/palm soil for good drainage, as soggy soil can be detrimental. Pest-wise, be on the lookout for scale invading leaves and stems. Pro tip: An early scale invasion can be handled by simply picking off the critters.
Amazingly, almost all parts of an olive tree have significance. The trees themselves symbolize wisdom, peace, power, fertility, and purity. The branches symbolize peace and abundance and were once ritualistically offered to deities and powerful people as signs of purification and blessings. And olive oil has long been considered sacred and is still used today in many religious ceremonies.
So you’re finally ready to plant up an area of your garden. How do you ensure you’re giving your plants the best possible start? In part 5 of my series on making A Garden from Scratch (scroll to the bottom for the other installments), I look at one border in my own garden and explain how I prepared it and put it together.
1. Get the timing right.
Above: What I started with. This was a tired lavender walk that needed a lot of plants replaced and was interspersed with climbing roses. I wanted a more substantial border as this was also a key view through the garden, so I removed everything except for the established ‘Blush Noisette’ rose on the right-hand side of the border.
Autumn and spring are perfect times to get a border planted, giving plants a chance to settle and send out roots when soil is likely to be warm and moist. Because I am nearly always running behind, the new border here would eventually go into the ground in early May. It’s not ideal timing as they need a lot more attention and irrigation if there is prolonged hot weather, but in reality it’s feasible to plant perennials at any time the ground is not frozen—just be prepared to keep an eye on them in summer.
Make sure you have all your plants gathered, ready for planting. If you are buying plants and want to keep costs down, know that 9-cm plants will be the most economical, while 1-liter or 2-liter plants will provide more instant impact. That said, those small plants will have caught up with the larger plants within one season and definitely within two seasons. If you’ve got time, growing some of the plants from seeds or cuttings will be the most economical of all. You can also divide plants from elsewhere in the garden, too, creating more plants for free. (See Your First Garden: How to Start a Garden for Practically Free for other ideas.)
2. Enrich the soil.
Above: Preparing the planting area.
I widened the existing border as much as I could while still leaving a path through the middle. At this point it can feel like there’s a lot of space, but once plants mature and grow over the edges this central path will narrow considerably. As this area has poor very free-draining soil, I dug in well-rotted manure through the whole border to prepare it for planting; whatever your soil type, the most beneficial thing you can do at the outset is to add as much compost as you can to enrich the soil.
3. Lay out the plants.
Above: Laying out the plants.
Place all of your plants along the border where you think you’ll want to plant them. Then spend some time considering how the plants will look as they grow. Think about how wide they will spread and allow enough space for plants to grow (check the plant label for approximate dimensions). Group perennials together in threes or loose triangles which will create more impact with blocks and color. What you are trying to create is a naturalistic feeling rather than regimented order. (See A Garden from Scratch: How to Choose Plants and Put Them Together for my tips on plant composition.)
Repeat some plants through the length of the border to help create rhythm. In this border, Alchemilla mollis, Geranium ‘Rozanne’ and Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foester’ are repeated down the length of the bed. And leave space for self seeders—over time, if you prefer a more naturalistic look and you’re happy to encourage self-seeders, your border will fill out with these volunteer plants. This border has several self-seeders, especially Salvia turkestanica, Digitalis parviflora and D. ferruginea gigantea, and occasionally Baptisia australis and Alchemilla mollis, creating free plants and a more abundant and lush border.
We learned this young: When the third little pig chose brick, he knew what he was doing. As a building material, brick has stood the test of time. It’s hardworking, aesthetically versatile, easily maintained, eco-friendly, and affordable. Although it’s sometimes considered a formal look for a patio, that depends on the type of bricks, the color, the pattern, and the application.
Here’s everything you need to know to design a brick patio:
Most bricks are composed of clay soil combined with lime and sand. Although red bricks are the most common, bricks come in many colors, including cream, grey, tan, buff, pink, brown, and black.
The color varies according to several factors: the relative proportion of lime, the color of the sand, and the temperature and duration of the firing. One strong attribute is that brick color doesn’t fade with age or wear.
If you’re looking for a weathered look and don’t want to wait years to get it, you can buy tumbled bricks. Used bricks are another option–try searching under “building materials” on Craigslist. But don’t buy unless you’re assured that any residual mortar has been cleaned off. Whatever you choose, make sure they’re bricks that will work well for a patio–they’re not too porous, for example, or prone to flaking in freezing temperatures. If in doubt, check with a stonemason or stoneyard worker.
Your choice of pattern will be largely determined by how much space you have and how much money you want to invest. Here are the most common patterns, from the least expensive and labor-intensive to the most:
Running bond just means bricks laid in simple rows. Concentric squares or rectangles are variations on running bond; these are appealing if you have enough space to show them off. In smaller spaces, a concentric pattern can look busy.
Basketweave is a classic pattern that’s slightly more labor-intensive than running bond. It comes in many variations. To make the pattern work, you’ll need bricks that are twice as long as they are wide (plus any mortar joint). That also reduces the number of bricks that will need to be cut.
Herringbone is a timeless look that works well for both pathways and patios. A herringbone set at 45 degrees is somewhat more expensive because the bricks on the edges all need to be cut. Herringbone set at 90 degrees involves less cutting.
As a regular reader, you may already be familiar with Perfect Earth Project, as Gardenista has partnered with them on an ongoing series about nature-based, toxic-free gardening. But you may not know much about the group’s tour-de-force founder, Edwina von Gal. The venerable landscape designer-turned-sustainable gardening advocate has been calling for less lawn, more wildlife for decades, via both her projects for clients and her nonprofit. She is currently on the board of What Is Missing, Maya Lin’s multifaceted media artwork about the loss of biodiversity, and an honorary trustee of the Native Plant Trust.
Edwina, who resides in Springs, NY, recently responded to our Quick Takes questionnaire from her retreat, Cocoloche, in Panama: “I built it with minimal resources to explore just that. How could I keep my footprint light and—with good design and the materials at hand—make a place that would engage and awe people?” It’s her philosophy to garden design as well.
Read on to learn Edwina’s favorite hardscaping material (hint: it’s not hard), her go-to work pants (we want them now, too), and why she thinks it’s imperative for designers to push back on client’s misguided requests.
Above: Edwina counts Cindy Sherman, Calvin Klein, and Ina Garten among her clients. Photograph courtesy of Perfect Earth Project.
Your first garden memory:
The patch of silver dollar plant (Lunaria annua) that always returned in a spot by our swing set. I looked for it every year, and would open it and spread the seeds without realizing I was its dispersal agent.
Above: Edwina visiting one of her projects. Photograph by Allan Pollok-Morris.
Experimental. Exuberant. Engaging.
Plant that makes you swoon:
Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboretum). It blooms late in the summer and then follows the show with brilliant fall color. It is relatively small, so it won’t outgrow its space or out-compete the plants beneath it. Since it is a southern plant, it is a bit of assisted migration for me, providing familiar blooms for wildlife that are moving north to escape the heat.
Plant that makes you want to run the other way:
Crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia). It’s overused and under-useful for biodiversity. One good thing about it, though, is that in the conventional landscapes where it is so popular, it doesn’t need to be sprayed with pesticides.
Favorite go-to plant:
Above: Edwina can’t get enough of spotted beebalm (Monarda punctata). Photograph by Edwina von Gal.
Monarda punctata. It tends to be short lived—it might act like an annual—but I am willing to replant it as I never tire of its odd combination of wacky complicated bloom and understated presence. Not to mention how many pollinators love it, too.
Hardest gardening lesson you’ve learned:
When to stop.
Unpopular gardening opinion:
Designs that are harmful, but the designer does it anyway, because it is “what the client wants.” We are hired for our expertise. But how can we, the ones who are expected to know, allow even one more garden to be harmful to the environment and the people who enjoy them?
Gardening or design trend that needs to go:
Monocultures: large swaths of one plant.
Every garden needs a…
Above: A place for thirsty wildlife in Edwina’s own garden in Springs, NY. Photograph by Edwina von Gal.
It’s always a good idea to give the gift of courtesy to your neighbors. Even if they’re not the type to fly into a yard rage, they’ll still appreciate a little kindness in the garden.
What do the basic tenets of neighborliness require? Keep your yard tidy (dazzling horticultural displays are always welcome, but not mandatory). Mow your grass (if you have any), rake the leaves, and try not to leave stuff like bikes, toys, and garden tools littering the lawn. A good rule of thumb is to consider how you’d like your neighbor’s yard to look, and then apply it to your own. Oh, your standards aren’t that high? Then try imagining yourself as a discriminating person with a penchant for orderliness and good taste.
City gardeners, you’re not off the hook. The neighbors whose windows overlook your backyard or balcony may be a tad jealous of your outdoor space. If you can’t invite them over for a barbecue, at least keep your outdoor space looking decent (and, OK, enviable).
For garden etiquette insights we talked with Melissa Ozawa, the former gardens editor at Martha Stewart Living (and now the director of content and communications at the Perfect Earth Project). Ozawa herself tends a small outdoor space in New York City and also gardens upstate in Columbia County. Here are 10 common-sense good-neighbor suggestions:
Prune your trees, shrubs, and vines so they don’t encroach on your neighbor’s space. “And keep safety in mind,” says Ozawa. “Remove any big branches that look damaged or diseased—a storm could make them more precarious, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Trimming overhanging branches also helps prevent your leaves from falling into a neighbor’s yard—and you don’t want your leaves in the neighbor’s yard.
Plant Natives
Above: Sunflowers (Helianthus). Photograph by Britt Willoughby Dyer. For more, see Field Guide: Sunflowers.
Installing a pool in your backyard is an exciting adventure, but before you dive into the cool water, there’s an important task that needs attention: leveling the ground. Ensuring the surface is level is crucial for the stability and safety of your pool.
Whether you’re setting up an above-ground pool or preparing for an in-ground pool, a level base prevents problems like uneven water distribution and structural damage.
In this post, I will walk you through the steps to achieve a perfectly level ground for your pool, making sure the process is clear and manageable.
Why Is Level Ground Important?
A level surface provides a solid foundation for your pool, preventing many potential issues. It ensures that the water stays evenly distributed, which is essential not just for the enjoyment of swimmers but for the pool’s longevity.
Uneven ground can lead to uneven pressure on the pool walls, increasing the risk of damage or collapse. In simple terms, a level ground means a safer and more stable pool for everyone.
For those considering pool installation, exploring services from professionals like Achievable Pools and Spas can provide valuable insights and assistance in ensuring a smooth and successful project from start to finish.
Preparing the Site
Before anything else, choosing the right spot for your pool is critical. You want a location that’s not only flat but also away from trees and too much shade, which can complicate maintenance due to debris and algae growth.
Steps to Prepare the Ground
Clear the Area: Remove any grass, stones, and debris. The goal is to start with a clean slate.
Mark the Perimeter: Use stakes and string to outline the pool’s dimensions. This step helps ensure you’re working within the right space.
How to Level the Ground
Once the site is prepared, it’s time to focus on getting the ground level.
Measure the Slope
Tools Needed: A long level or a laser level, stakes, string
Process: Place the level on the ground and measure the highest and lowest points. This measurement will give you an idea of the work ahead.
Remove High Spots
Tools: Shovel, rake
Process: Use the shovel to dig down the high areas. The rake helps in smoothing out the dug-out soil.
Fill in Low Spots
Materials: Sand or soil
Process: Fill in the lower areas with sand or soil, then use the rake for smoothing.
Compact the Soil
Tool: Lawn roller or tamper
Process: Compacting the soil is key to preventing settling once the pool is filled. A lawn roller or tamper will do the job effectively.
Ensuring Stability and Safety
Water Testing
After leveling, it’s wise to perform a water test. Spread a thin layer of water over the area to see if it collects anywhere. This test can reveal spots that might need more attention.
Adding a Base Material
For extra stability, consider adding a base layer of material over the leveled ground.
Materials: Crushed stone, sand
Benefits: Improves drainage, provides a smooth surface
What if You Hit a Snag?
Encountering Rocky Ground
If you encounter rocky ground:
Solution: You might need to remove larger rocks manually or with machinery, depending on the size.
Solution: Mixing in sand or gravel can improve the situation.
Final Steps Before Pool Installation
Installing a Ground Cloth or Foam Pad
Purpose: Adds a protective layer between the pool and the ground.
Benefits: Helps prevent punctures and provides a softer bottom.
Checking Level One Last Time
How: Use the long level or laser level again to ensure the ground is perfectly flat.
Why: It’s crucial to catch any minor discrepancies before setting up the pool.
Maintenance Tips for a Level Pool
After installing your pool on the newly leveled ground, ongoing maintenance is key to ensuring it stays level and safe over time.
Monitoring Water Levels
Regularly check that the water levels in your pool remain even. Significant differences could indicate a shift in the ground beneath or an issue with the pool structure.
Checking for Settling
Periodically inspect the area around your pool for signs of settling or erosion. These could compromise the pool’s stability if not addressed promptly.
Preventive Measures: Planting grass or using landscaping fabric around the pool area can help reduce erosion.
Adjusting for Rainfall
Heavy rains can alter the ground around your pool. After significant rainfall, assess the ground for any changes and take corrective action if necessary.
Solution: If rain causes the ground to settle unevenly, adding or removing soil to maintain level ground may be required.
FAQs
Can I Level Ground for a Pool Myself?
Absolutely, with patience and attention to detail, homeowners can level the ground for their pool. It’s a project that requires effort but is achievable with the right tools and guidance.
How Long Does It Take to Level Ground for a Pool?
The time required depends on the size of the area and the initial condition of the ground. It could take anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days.
Is Sand or Soil Better for Leveling?
Both have their advantages. Sand is easier to level and provides excellent drainage, but it can shift over time. Soil, especially when compacted, offers more stability but requires proper preparation to ensure it’s free of organic material that could decompose and cause settling.
What’s the best time of year to level ground for a pool?
Spring or early summer is ideal. These seasons offer dry weather that makes the soil easier to work with and allows enough time for the ground to settle before the installation.
Do I need to remove grass before leveling the ground for a pool?
Yes. Removing grass ensures a smoother leveling process and prevents organic material from decomposing under your pool, which could lead to uneven ground later.
Can I use a pool on slightly uneven ground?
Not recommended. Even a small incline can cause significant pressure on one side of the pool, leading to structural issues and potential safety hazards.
Final Words
Leveling the ground for a pool might seem like a daunting task, but with the right tools and a step-by-step approach, it’s entirely achievable.
Remember, the effort you put into this stage pays off in the form of a safe and stable pool.
Taking the time to level the ground properly means fewer headaches in the future and more time to enjoy your backyard oasis.
Just when we were learning to live with box blight, the box tree caterpillar is laying waste to the remains. On the Royal Horticultural Society’s web page ‘Box: Problems’ it is clear that there are many other sap-sucking insects queuing up to destroy anyone’s dream of an English country garden.
The solution, unsurprisingly, is to plant something else. There is no consensus on what this should be: Ilex crenata, a boxwood lookalike, is often put forward, though it is less easygoing about soil conditions. Other common suggestions for small-leaved, easy to clip shrubs include Lonicera nitida, Teuchrium chamaedrys, and Euonymus japonicus. We visited the RHS headquarters at Wisley, Surrey (an hour from London) and found a few surprises. Let’s take a closer look:
Ed. note: These suggestions are meant for UK gardens–some of these plants are categorized as invasive in the USA, so use caution.
Dwarf Yew
Above: Above: The most surprising discovery was that a walled garden, divided into beds of low hedging, could be so lively and colorful in winter.
Waves of shrubs interweave into informal knots, yet every plant is sign-posted and on trial. The most interesting boxwood alternatives in this trial are not imitations, like a vegetarian burger; instead they bring a new perspective altogether.
All of the parterre beds in the garden are edged with the dwarf yew Taxus baccata ‘Repandens’. Already carrying an RHS Award of Garden Merit, it is moderate in size compared with regular yew, with a shorter growth rate. “I think it has great potential,” says Matthew Pottage, the young curator at Wisley.
Berberis
Above: Red, orange and purple berberis are a standout in autumn and early winter.
Of the deciduous varieties, orange Berberis thunbergii ‘Erecta’ is shown here, mid-drop, while its red counterpart Berberis thunbergii ‘Orange Rocket’ competes for attention. An evergreen type is Berberis thunbergii ‘Compacta’, which the trial manager Sean McDill is very happy with. “I like this berberis,” he says. “It has a nice, compact habit and after a couple of clips it has a dense, dark green surface.”
