September 18, 2016 – Ikebana “In Situ” technique - Expanded to composting 

          Years ago when we lived in Wayne, New Jersey, I joined the Packanack Lake Gardening Club.  They had AWESOME monthly speakers and a Christmas wreath making day that was known in the area as what real Christmas is all about.

          I took advantage of as many meeting as I could.  One in particular was the most illuminating.  It was an Ikebana demonstration.  They had a professional come in to speak; I can’t remember her credentials as it has been many years, but I took my sketch pad and a handful of different colored pencils so that I could take “memorable” notes.

          My take away from that Ikebana demonstration was going out into the garden and only cutting what you actually need for the planned arrangement.  You plan it in your head and then you go out to your garden and collect only what you need for your arrangement, not cutting masses of material.  Then you arrange it “in situ”.  This was a phrase I had never heard before.

          “In situ” means “in its original place”.  I have heard it pronounced several different ways – and I don’t really know which one is correct.  But, the instructor used it to mean – you would arrange your Ikebana flower arrangement – in place.   Where it will be seen and not arranged on the kitchen counter and taken to the living room coffee table.  Your arrangement is for that specific location. When you arrange in that location you are taking into consideration that light and space and you cannot do it elsewhere.

          Often times you will see massive flower arrangements at weddings, social events, or hotel lobbies.  They are 6 feet across or tall.  Those are arranged in place, or arranged “in situ”.  When I arranged flowers for the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Forest City in the last 1980s to early 1990s I used the “in situ” technique often on large bouquets.

          Later I noticed “in situ” mentioned casually in the context of composting in the garden. I instantly knew what they were discussing – sort of on location, next to, or nearby, what was being trimmed.

          I use the in situ composting technique to save time and effort, re-feed the soil where needed, and not overburden my compost pile with materials that quickly break down into compost.

          When I trim my Liriope I cut the dull, faded and dead leaves to the ground by hand in January of February.  I cut the leaves and then deposit them into 5-gallon or larger 10-gallon plastic pot I use for some of my gardening weeding projects.

          Then, nearby I have a white birch tree that is almost impossible to plant under because of its greedy roots – sucks the moisture and nutrients out of the soil and competes with most plants I try in that location.  So, it is the place we put our bird feeder and in the summer some groupings of large potted plants for color.  In the winter those pots are elsewhere and the ground is available for in situ composting.  I sprinkle the cut Liriope leaves evenly and then walk on them a little to flatten them down if need be.  I then top them with some nice pine needle mulch.

          This technique saves me time lugging the leaves to the compost pile; it enriches the soil beneath the birch tree, and provides an environment for better moisture retention.  It also makes a neat setting for the large potted plants I group there in the spring.

          I also use this same technique on my Ceasars Brother Siberian Iris [iris sibirica] leaves.  Often I cut those plants back once or twice a year – depending on the amount of rain.  I do the same thing; around the base I shake the cut leaves out in a thin layer of less than 1 inch and top dress them lightly with compost or mulch.

          I’ve even tried this with my Maiden Grasses ‘Morning Light’ [Miscanthus sinensis].  However, this is much more time consuming, as I have sat in Mid-January and cut the grass and the stalks into 4 to 6 inches pieces to sprinkle around as mulch around the base of the grasses.  As it is an extremely lightweight material it can easily blow away.  The trick is to cover it with heavy mulch immediately and not work on a windy day.  Also, if you have the time, it is a nice lightweight material that you can easily store and later use elsewhere because a large amount weighs very little.

          When you have a chance, try out the above techniques.  I believe it will save you time and effort and improve your garden soil. 

          Stay well and Happy Gardening!

September 12, 2016 - Spotlight on Liriope 

Liriope muscari variegata.

One of my favorite perennials is at its finest right now in bloom.

When I started this blog my gardening friends have been impatiently waiting for my gardening expertise.  Since I finally figured out how to include a picture in my blog, I guess I am ready to "Spotlight" some of my favorites.

I've been at my current home and garden for about 18 years.  All the variegated Liriopes I have in my garden derived from a dear friend. She enjoys gardening, but has an extremely busy work life and doesn't get much "dig-in-the-dirt time". So, when she visits my home and garden, she is one of my most ardent admirers.

I must tell you an amusing story about the above-captioned Liriope.  My husband and I were "camping" out in a rental house while one house was being sold and a new home was located. During that time, my dear friend said to me one day when I was visiting her.  "Do you want those, they have to go."  She pointed to an overgrown 3 or 4 plant clump of Liriope muscari variegata.  I thought they were beautiful right where they were, but for some reason her other half didn't think so.  I immediately answered, "Sure, I'll take them off your hands." and we arranged a time for me to come back and dig them up.

This was one of those fabulous instances where I got a chance to get something on my "garden wish list" for FREE which is the best way!

When I dug them up - more like took a pick-ax and hacked them out of their site - I crammed them into a few 3 gallon pots and trucked them home.  I must tell you these free plants got serious abuse that day and I can say - they can handle it. Back at the rental house I divided them up into very hefty chunks, potted them up in one quart nursery pots and ended up with about 14 specimens. 

Next, I nestled the pots into my raised "temporary" garden where I was collecting plant material for my new location.  For the next two years I pampered them to make them prosper.

When we finally got the new home, I planted them on the walkway from the driveway to the back patio where they have become the focal point of my walk and my patio gardens.  

The soil at my new home was [and still is] that awful red clay.  By that time I could divide a few of the 14 specimens, and I ran clumps down both sides of the walk every 24 inches or so.  We were on a tight budget so they didn't get any extra special soil amendments.  I simply dug them in, watered, fertilized, and mulched them.  We had a drought the first year and I made certain they had plenty of water.  In August they sent up the most beautiful pale lavender stems.

They flourished so well in only few years that I lifted them all, cut them into 4 pieces again and this time I enlarged the back patio garden using them as the outside meandering focal point.  They lend an incredible continuity, texture and counterbalance to my other plant material.

The cream stripes actually take on a more pale butter yellow at times.  Visitors are impressed that the patio garden "looks really nice" even when there is hardly a bloom to pick.

My yearly maintenance includes: 

In January or February I usually sit on an old Yoga mat and hand trim each plant. I grasp a handful of the long leaves and cut each handful back to about 3/4 inch from the ground. Usually by this time there is new growth showing about the length of your thumbnail and I make certain I don't snip these new leaf tips.  [I collect the cut leaves for "in situ" composting which melt down quickly. I promise I will tell you about "in situ" composting in a future post.]   I pull out any wire grass or other wayward nuance - creeping weeds, ivy, etc., out or away from the plants at least 5 inches.  Then, I scoot along from one to the next until they are done.

Next I sprinkle a teaspoon of Osmocote around each plant and I mulch them. I do NOT cover the crown as I keep the mulch neatly away about 1 inch all around.

The spring rains come and they grow beautiful fresh leaves.  Often people will comment how nice they look.  I always tell them, "I hand cut the old dead leaves in January or February", and many times they comment, "Oh, my husband has been using the weed trimmer or the lawn mower."  I have to suppress a gasp.

Come August, they send up the most beautiful lavender colored lowers that sometimes turn to berries that drop off.   The flower stems make excellent filler material for flower arranging.  To pick, you slide your fingers down into the foliage alongside the stems and slowly ease them out; they will release with an assured pull.

After flowering and when the berries have dropped, the plants look a little scruffy to me.  At this time I go around a third time - pulling all those dead flower stems out and attend to any weeds. Then they look fresh until about January or February when the leaves look limp and ratty from the winter wind and cold.

Liriope does well in half sun [morning better than afternoon] and can manage under trees in dry shade. I don't like the way they look when grown in full sun - they look parched and washed out here in the Isothermal area of North Carolina.

So, for the two or three times a year I lavish attention on them, I get incredible beauty.

To propagate - I feel early fall to be the best, [but I have done it in all seasons except winter].   Dig up an established clump and slice it with an old serrated steak knife into chunks the size of your wrist being sure you leave most of the roots intact.  Pot them up in gallon sized nursery pots with good potting soil. You can hold them a year or two to increase size or just hold them long enough to create a new garden.  They do not resent transplanting as long as you give them ample water to establish and keep them out of direct sun.

Back to my friend who gave me the Liriope.

The second spring in my current home, my friend happened to visit me.  Walking around to my patio she stopped and looked at the Liriope and exclaimed, "Oh these are beautiful, where did you get these?"  I gently reminded her that she had given them to me.

The moral of the story:  What might look like an eyesore is only a beautiful plant in the wrong place.  If you have something in your garden right now that is "driving you insane for whatever reason", maybe it needs to be dug up and moved to a more suitable location or simply tossed on the compost pile.

You can accomplish this in two ways. Dig the offending plant up and pot it up. Then test drive it temporarily where you think it might look better.  Or, study various gardening magazines for how the professionals use a specific plant.  Maybe your problem plant is one of those beautiful plants that is only in the wrong place.