Beyond petunias and marigolds

GREEN SCENE GOTTI KELLEY

“Gardening is a way of showing that you believe in tomorrow.” Doug Tallamy

Now don’t get me wrong, petunias, especially the new-wave cultivars, are terrific showstoppers. The marigold was just named the Flower of the Year by the National Garden Bureau and justifiably so. A most durable, hardy plant featured in gardens for decades, it has branched out into many great cultivars.

But won’t you check out some of the new kids on the block? An eye-popping variety of annuals and perennials wait for you in the garden centers. Try some — some will surely become your favorites.

Now that the garden soil is breathing warm spring air, daffodils spilled out in a riot of gold and burgundy fingers of peonies have clawed through the soil, we know summer is just around the corner.

Eager to go outside, I don my Wellies to see the furry spools of unraveling ferns and check the progress of variegated Solomon Seals. Having grown almost 4 inches overnight, they assert their space and quietly invade the neighborhood, competing with bold hosta and aggressive May Apples.

A word of caution: Be careful what you put in your garden — some plants are terribly gregarious! But, on the up side, you will have an endless supply of giveaways to unwary gardening friends.

Gallivanting deer have started their browsing amid the bountiful, tasty buffet you have provided in your garden. To avoid bitter disappointment in the future, select shrubs that they do not particularly like, such as abelia, barberry, callicarpus, buddleia, deutzia, forsythia, rose of Sharon, sweetspire, viburnum and weigela.

While these flowering shrubs are considered to be “deer resistant,” this does not guarantee that deer will not eat them. It does mean they are less likely to browse on them than on others. If deer get hungry enough, they will eat just about anything. So, you may need to use deer repellant.

A mini-course for gardening in containers:

Container plants need your full attention. They rely solely on you for all their needs. Because these babies are confined to a limited space, they will quickly become stressed if essential water or fertilizer is not provided regularly.

To keep your hanging friends happy, use a properly drained soil mix; do not use your garden soil for containers! A good commercial potting mix will give consistent drainage. It is free of weeds and pests and will not compact to a rock-hard mass by mid-summer.

Replenish last year’s soil in your containers to ensure the best conditions for young plants. Whether you have a little space or a lot, container gardening is an easy way to create an inviting and relaxing outdoor room.

Do you consider yourself a foodie? Is a French- or English-style potager already on your patio? If Italian is your thing, try easyto grow oregano, rosemary, parsley, basil and sage. If you prefer French cuisine, concoct your own herbes de Provence with thyme, savory, fennel and lavender.

And if Asian cuisine intrigues you, grow lemongrass, Thai basil, cilantro and chives. You do need a minimum of six hours of

sunlight for all herbs. Just imagine walking out of your back door and snipping herbs to enjoy your own delicious gourmet meal.

Looking for an addition to your garden?

A great small tree, height 10 feet, spread 12 to 15 feet, is the Ruby Tears crabapple tree. It packs all the beauty of a crabapple tree into a petite package, its smaller size makes it a great ornamental tree for any garden, and the naturally weeping branches are loaded with pink blossoms in the spring. Burgundy foliage provides interesting color all season long.

What to do now:

• Mulch plants to conserve moisture, reduce weeds and stabilize soil temperature.

• Leave bulb foliage on plant until it has turned brown. Green foliage provides food for next year’s bloom.

• Transplant seedlings on a cloudy, calm day. Water your plants as soon as possible to settle them and increase the root-to-soil contact.

• Add a diluted water-soluble fertilizer to the watering-in solution.

• Pinch off buds and flowers to encourage a strong root system.

• Sow beans, basil and other warmweather plants directly outdoors.

• Move houseplants outdoors and keep them in light shade.

• Prune spring-flowering shrubs as soon as flowering is finished.

Gotti Kelley, past president of the Navesink Garden Club, is on the board of the Garden Club of New Jersey.