Eric Liskey

Great Fakes

Written on November 17, 2011 at 12:24 pm , by Eric Liskey

A CBS affiliate (KCAL) in Southern California reported today that the city of Glendale has banned artificial grass.

If you’re like me, the first thought you had after seeing that was: They banned it because it’s tacky.

Not so fast. The reason given (according to KCAL) by city officials? Harmful chemicals used in the artificial turf. There’s more than a little irony in that. California is known for its greater-than-average concern over environmental pollutants. Which is why the anti-lawn/lawn chemical movement is particularly strong there. So you’d think a substitute for lawns, one that didn’t require all the fertilizers and weed killers, would be welcomed.

Interestingly, artificial turf is only banned in Glendale’s front yards, not backyards.  Which brings us back to Reason #1.

I have mixed feelings about artificial turf. I love real lawn, and couldn’t dream of not having at least a small patch of it to run around on. But it does take work, and it does consume resources. Artificial turf doesn’t. So I understand the appeal, or outright necessity, for some people. And the new versions available now are not the weird, yucky looking stuff of the 1970s (which still taints the whole concept, I think). Artificial turf can be quite realistic—from a distance, the giveaway is only that it’s too uniform, too perfect. Frankly, I thought it would have caught on more by now, given the greater push for water-stingy landscapes and more eco-friendly living.

I guess it’s the power of the fake = tacky mindset.  Somehow it’s not honest. Or something. Like toupees, to which artificial lawns are sometimes compared. (There’s even a company called Toupee Lawns, in Tuscon.) But by the standards used to judge real turf, artificial lawn looks great. It’s uniform, it’s green, it’s tidy-looking. It’s also extremely practical, not to mention eco-friendly. But it’s been labeled as tacky in our collective mindset, and that’s a tough reputation to shake. Too bad. The lawn in the photo below is fake. How upset would you be living next to that?

 

 

 

 

 

Cutting back

Written on May 19, 2011 at 12:54 pm , by Eric Liskey

In our April issue, we wrote about Sedum ‘Maestro’, a summer/fall blooming sedum, available through Garden Crossings, whose best attribute, as far as I’m concerned, is its sturdy stems. Seems like a funny thing to key on, but if you’ve ever seen an ‘Autumn Joy’ or ‘Ruby Glow’ flop flat on the ground in the fall, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I bring this up now because sedums are one of those plants that benefit from pinching or cutting back to help them stay more compact later in the year. Gardeners usually know this about asters and mums, but not so much with sedum. But the latter does respond well to pinching back before June. I don’t actually pinch….it’s more like shearing. In fact, that’s the easiest thing to do. Just get out your shears, and start cutting, then rake up the trimmings when you’re done. Better than one stem at a time.

It’s very effective, but why do it if you don’t have to? That’s where ‘Maestro’ comes in. Anything that lessens the work load is a good thing, right?

Mulching Mower

Written on November 23, 2010 at 10:35 pm , by Eric Liskey

This is not a new idea, and I’m not pretending I thought of it. (Just wanted to make that clear up front.) But I’ve started doing this, and it’s one of the  most practical, time- and money-saving ideas I know of. Ready?

When you clean out your beds this fall or winter, pile all the leaves and trimmings on the lawn. Then take your lawn mower out, set it the mowing height to its maximum, and get to it! Go slow, and don’t worry if you stall out the mower a few times. Go back and forth a few times, and you’ll have nicely shredded yard waste.

Rake it into a pile, then you can do one of three things: put it back into your flower beds as a mulch; put it in your compost bin (it will compost much more quickly since it’s already so nicely shredded); or, if you prefer to get rid of it, just put it into a yard waste bag. Shredded, it takes only a fraction of the space and you can fit four or five bags worth into just one. But really, why throw it away? It’s a marvelous mulch or compost. And it doesn’t leave a mess where you mowed it. Nor is it hard on your mower (as long as you don’t try to mow any branches or rocks!).

I’ve long advocated mowing leaves on lawns. Why bother raking, collecting and disposing of them when you don’t need to? So this is just a logical next step. And it WORKS! See the before and after below, taken on the same day (I swear).

Tomato Soup

Written on November 16, 2010 at 10:35 pm , by Eric Liskey

With our (relatively) mild autumn weather, we’ve been treated to some later-than-usual color. Here is a coneflower, ‘Tomato Soup’ I think, with a nice ‘Blue Point’ Alberta spruce. Nice to see blooms in mid-November. Interestingly, we’ve already had mid-twenties. It takes more than a light freeze to knock them back for the winter, apparently. And why not? Nothing else seems to kill these beasts, why should cold weather?  That’s not a complaint. It just amazes me how tough coneflowers are.

The plants that ate my flowerbed

Written on November 1, 2010 at 1:44 pm , by Eric Liskey

Asters are among the best autumn performers. The color of the blooms is intense, the plants are rugged and carefree, butterflies love them. So why don’t I love them anymore? Well, I do still, actually. But not quite as much as before. Asters are not like hardy mums, which might last a couple years, then fade away. These suckers get a lot bigger every year, and also reseed pretty aggressively, so before too long, you notice that you suddenly have a bed full of asters threatening to push everything else out. So, I’m pulling most of mine out.

I didn’t specify before, but the offending plants in my beds are mainly New England asters—like many natives, they’re rugged and robust, but sometimes overpowering. There are some nice, more-domesticated asters around that don’t take over, but still offer some of the most fabulous fall color of any perennial bloomer. The Dome series is one example. Purple Dome was the trendsetter. Vibrant Dome, shown in photo, is one of the later in the series. White Flower Farm is one source. They stay nice and contained, a foot and a half tall, if that. And even have better individual blossoms, if not the sheer mass of color, compared to New England aster.

The big asters have their place. But most residential gardens are too small for them. They’re like a Great Dane in a  studio apartment.  Stick to the smaller asters. If you shop for asters this fall, be sure to read the label and choose the more diminutive sorts.

One other thing, while I’m on the topic: Pinch asters back (the way you would mums) at least twice during the summer; I usually do so in June and again in July. It just takes a few minutes and it needn’t be a delicate operation. Just grab as big a handful of stems as you can and cut off the ends with a pruner.

One you never heard of

Written on October 25, 2010 at 1:26 pm , by Eric Liskey

But probably should know about.

This little gem is called GoldDust Mecardonia. Proven Winners markets it. They sent me a sample this summer to try out and although I was less than impressed when the little plants first showed up, they made a believer out of me in short order.

It’s a mat-forming plant, tough as nails, and it’s covered in these little yellow flowers. It NEVER stopped blooming after I planted it. Heavy, thick blooms that never slowed down. This is a tender perennial, listed as hardy to 25 degrees, so that makes it even better because you can grow it in cool season pots. But it doesn’t seem to mind heat either. During wet spells, it just kept going. When I forgot to water and it went into full wilt, it snapped back as soon as I watered it. It’s really just amazing. Take a look at the container below (where it’s combined with another Proven Winners plant, Blue Mohawk Juncus). Imagine that in your pots all summer, with no letup in flowering all season. Give it a whirl next spring. You’ll like it.