YardbirdMC mini field guide to help you with your new garden.
The best looking garden is one that’s looked after, and it’s not as daunting as it feels. Read below for my suggestions on how to keep your garden thriving for years to come.
The best way to have a successful garden is to get to know it, check in on it, ask questions, and ask me anything any time. I’m always a phone call away. And I want to know how things are doing. Really, I do. If something doesn’t make it or you’re concerned something isn’t healthy, please reach out.
Please remember, horticulturalists are re-learning how to plant and plan for a rapidly changing climate. New info comes out every day on how to manage our gardens responsibly. No one has one answer. Drought is problematic - dry roots for days and weeks on end will have a catastrophic effect on a new garden while consistently wet soil can rot root systems.
watering
Water every 3-4 days in the growing season unless your garden is planted near established trees. If that is the case, every 2-3 days, because established trees have big, thirsty root systems that compete and you don’t want new plants struggling to stay alive. For extremely hot weather during the first season of the new garden bed, water more frequently if the ground is drying out quickly. The best gauge is the finger test - place your index finger 2” down into the garden soil and feel if it’s dry or damp. Dry = water, Damp = hold off. And remember that rain counts! If we’re getting rainfall, take the day (or week) off until beds dry.
Let the beds dry out before watering after a long rain - turn off irrigation if you have that on until turning it back on is necessary. Rain censors aren’t reliable for irrigation as I’ve seen sprinklers go off after a big rain in many gardens.
Pruning
Prune post flowering is the general rule. However, naturalistic landscapes like The High Line in NYC have influenced many gardeners to leave those flower “skeletons” aka dried out seed heads to provide winter interest as well as feed birds and insects through winter.
But shaping early flowering shrubs to maintain a preferred size is best after they flower (azaleas, rhododendrons, mock orange to name a few) grow on old wood so pruning immediately after flowers perish is the safest time to ensure you don’t cut buds set for next year.
Late flowering plantings (after July) should be pruned after frost/late winter as they flower on new growth.
Tidying Up
Some clients prefer a clean winter landscape and cutting back perennials and grasses in mid-late November for a cleaner look throughout the winter.
I recommend leaving the garden be through winter the first year so you can decide what your preference is.
I personally find seed heads and bleached out grasses lovely throughout winter so I wait until March to get the garden ready for new growth.
The added bonus of waiting to make cuts until late winter is the habitat you’ve created for wildlife. Letting the beds be through winter leaves an essential habitat and food source for wildlife and nesting insects. I think we’re going to see this become the new normal in the coming years for its environmental benefits.
So for me, I personally prefer a March tidy with a landscape crew I trust to help me.
Care and Feeding
Laying compost and then mulch onto the beds, defining the edge of the beds, these are all great ways to feed the soil and have a well managed landscape. Once your garden fills in, the soil won’t need as much amendment and ground covers will work as a mulch on their own, keeping weeds at bay.