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Water Garden: Timber, brick, gravel and water have been combined to make this Japanese-style garden. The overall design consists of a series of regular geometric shapes in varying colors and textures. Water is used in three ways to produce different textures: there is still water, rippling water and spouting water. Plants are kept to a minimum.
Next I ordered one white pygmy water lily, one spike rush, ai one dwarf papyrus, from a water garden nursery for spring delivery kept the number of plants low, realizing that with a tub this size it best to underplant.
Upon arrival in mid-May, the water lily went into an 8-ini plastic pot, the type with many openings on the bottom. The oth two plants went into 6-inch clay pots. Either plastic or clay pots a be used. I used 3/4 heavy garden soil and 1/4 composted manui The soil was topped with a layer of pea gravel to prevent escapii dirt from muddying the water. Each pot was then plunged into a p( of water to completely soak the soil.See Also Keep The Garden Weed-free:Common sense should rule your maintenance program. Re¬move dead or dying leaves, dispose of annuals when they are fin¬ished blooming, and remove spent blossoms to encourage the produc¬tion of new flowers. When seeds form, most plants are chemically triggered to stop blooming. Keep the garden weed-free. Even though this particular kind of garden is not for show, every weed is taking moisture, space, and nutrients from your chosen plants.
too, is a good time for cutting, but I would rather confront an awaken¬ing butterfly than a journeying slug.
Whenever possible, choose burgeoning buds and flowers just beginning to show pollen rather than older blossoms that have been trod upon by an army of bees.
Choice of plants, and their arrangement, exert an enormous influence on the amount of time needed for maintenance. The aim in a carefree garden is to make the plants themselves do as much of the work as possible. Plant shrubs that need little pruning rather than those like hybrid tea roses which require more attention.
Among herbaceous varieties, those that self-seed freely without becoming invasive are ideal in a low-maintenance garden. Ground-cover plants are perfect for filling the spaces between shrubs and give excellent weed control, provided the ground in which they are planted is completely free of perennial weeds in the first place.
On The Other Hand See Bulb Garden On Page:Peacock orchids (Acidanthera bicolor) have a wonderful and sweet fragrance which is present all day and then intensifies at night. They are described in the bulb garden on page 52.
The cruel plant (Araujia sericofera) comes from Brazil and Ar¬gentina and is hardy only from Zone 9 and south. Everywhere else it does well in a 10-inch pot filled with a mix of good potting soil and composted manure, 2/3 to 1/3. Pots should contain a trellis or be near one, for Araujia is a climber. Seed germination takes three to six weeks and seedlings will bloom about ten months later. And it's the bloom that is the most interesting feature of this unusual plant. Starry, creamy white, 1 1/2-inch flowers use their sweet scent to attract the nocturnal moths from the garden. Once lured to the flow¬ers the moths are trapped in the sticky pollen.
Lilium formosanum blossom from mid- to late September 6-inch flowers of white on 4- to 6-foot stems. Although open ar fragrant during the day, their perfume is stronger at night. They are i described in the Bulb Garden on page 56.
Evening stock (Matthiola longipetala) is a straggly, hardy annual! that either falls along the ground or stands up to 12 inches. In spring] sow the seeds directly where you want the plants—they are also fine j in pots—and about six weeks later be prepared for a big surprise, ; These flowers, uninspiring by day, open to pink or purple fours petalled stars at dusk. Their sweet vanilla-like odor is so strong that it] would seem only a much larger flower could scent the night so much.! |
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