It’s not what you think and, no, you did not forget to scrape off the moss up there. Green roofs and walls are all the rage and are appearing in ever-greater numbers on “green” houses, corporate headquarters and public buildings.
Used by fashion designers, interior decorators and restaurateurs, these verdant backdrops are a lush and aesthetic focal point. An excellent example of this are the exciting vertical gardens, created by Chinese artisans in Beijing, enchanting visitors to the Summer Olympics.
Green grid modules are used to hold dwarf stonecrop (sedum) of every imaginable form and color. These sun lovers show extreme tolerance to cold, heat and drought, making them an excellent choice for rooftop plantings. Modules are attractive insulators and collectors of rainwater. A children’s playhouse, a wood shed or a garden wall covered with a green roof can lend an exciting and novel look. Is vertical gardening the next “hot” thing?
Rooftop gardens can house containers of all shapes and sizes filled with vegetables, herbs, small fruit trees and flowers. Primarily seen in cities, these small gardens are spreading to suburbia. Considering the skyrocketing gas prices that pinch your wallet, now would be a good time to grow your own veggies, either in the ground or in a container. Food-borne illnesses, safety issues and environmental concerns are forcing us to look at how best to use our natural resources. And yes, there is still time to plant fast-growing lettuce, radishes, chard and other goodies from seed.
Some 65 years ago, Victory Gardens were tended by almost 20 million people, many of whom had no idea how to plant seeds or use a hoe. These gardens produced an amazing 8 million tons of food, representing 40 percent of all vegetables that were consumed at that time. Now, there is a national movement under way to create Liberty Gardens as a way to grow delicious, organic food that nourishes both the family and the land.
Gardening is experimentation. Consider a part of your garden as your “laboratory.” This sounds impressive and suggests serious involvement,
not to be confused with weeding or attempting some coherent plan. Try some unfamiliar plants each year and watch their behavior. If good, they get a gold star and are worthy of finding a permanent home in your garden. If disappointing, give them one more sporting chance and see if they shape up the next year. If not, off they go to the happy garden in the sky. Wipe the slate clean, start all over and don’t consider yourself horticulturally challenged.
You will never, ever, even if you live to be 120, know all there is to know about plants and gardening. By experimenting, you will open up new doors, gain formidable knowledge and more insight in your garden’s ability.
This year my tree peonies had such a short life span. They evolved beautifully; pristine silken blooms of white, rose, pink and purple opened up by mid-morning, and then the rain came, crushing the petals to a formless soggy, dripping mass. Now I know why Japanese gardeners in the know cover their prize tree peonies with colorful umbrellas to assure a longer life span.
July is the time of the coleus. No other plant offers such a range of basic hues or such dizzying variety of pattern and leaf shapes. There is a new generation of hybrids that will take the blast of a New Jersey midsummer sun without scorching a leaf (provided you have a watering can handy and use it often). These coleus have more velvety dark purple, richer warm gold and a more luscious red.
Are squirrels raiding your birdfeeder or digging up your prize bulb treasures? I have used Scoot Squirrel this season and successfully warded off attempts by our robust squirrel population by using this repellant. Castor oil and habanero capsaicin makes the treated area an undesirable location for the little fellows. The product won’t harm birds and does not harm the squirrel invader either. It simply trains them to stay away. Look for it in your garden center.
“Now days are slow and easy, the summer sighs into fall … ”
– John Keats
Gotti Kelley is past president of the Navesink Garden Club and is on the board of the Garden Club of New Jersey