Scent in the garden

Fragrance in the Garden

By Amy McDowell

Gardening is a full-immersion hobby. Unlike reading or watching television, gardening tantalizes all five senses—from the soothing sight of a leaf unfurling and the sound of birds singing to the taste of tangy tomatoes and the sting of a rose thorn—our senses tingle to life when in the garden. And the fragrance! Thousands of plants scent the air, not to enchant our noses but to attract pollinators. We might as well admit it; their sex scents seduce us, as well.

If you’d like to add fragrant plants to your garden, consider the following list.

Aromatic Annuals – Garden centers offer ready-to-plant packs of these scented annuals: Alyssum, snapdragons, Nicotiana and Viola. Also look for larger pots of Heliotrope and scented geranium (Pelargonium). Sow seeds of the following annuals directly into the ground: Datura, Nasturtium, four o’clocks and sweet peas.

Tantalizing Tropicals – Expand your repertoire to include tropical plants that easily overwinter indoors. Brugmansia, Jasmine, Gardenia, Stephanotis, night-blooming Cereus and citrus plants top the list.

Perfumed Perennials – These guys will return year after year to scent your garden: Achillea, Allium, Candytuft (Iberis), Hosta, Iris, Lily of the Valley, Monarda, Peony and Scabiosa. Although butterfly bush (Buddleia) is a woody plant, it frequently dies back to the ground during our winters, so it’s a good idea to mentally place it into the perennial category.

Scented Shrubs – Lilacs come to mind first because they are blooming as I write this. I always cut stems and bring them inside in massive heavy glass vases. But the long list of fragrant shrubs offers generous choices. Consider Roses, Caryopteris, allspice (Calycanthus), Clethra, Daphne, Mock Orange (Philadelphus) and Viburnum. In addition, a couple of fragrant Forsythia varieties can kick your spring off with scent including F. geraldiana and F. ovata. For Viburnum, look for V. x burkwoodii, V. x carlcephalum, V. carlesii, V. fragrans and V. x juddii.

Fragrant Trees – Thousands of scent-free Crabapples on the market have led us to believe they are not fragrant. But look for Malus sargentii, M. coronaria, M. hupehensis and M. transitoria ‘Golden Raindrops’. Other scented trees include fringe tree (Chionanthus), snowdrop (Halesia), golden chain tree (Laburnum), Magnolia and Pine.

Voluptuous Vines – In addition to the tropical vines listed above, there are few winter-hardy vines, including climbing roses, Wisteria and honeysuckle (Lonicera).

Finally, a word of caution: not all plants are pollinated by bees, butterflies and birds. Some, like the Hawthorn tree (Crataegus crusgalli) are pollinated by flies. And what scent attracts flies? You got it—rotten meat.

It's ALIVE! Soil and Mycorrhiza

Mighty Mycorrhiza – Super soil staple or snake oil scam?

By Amy McDowell

Promises, promises. We’ve all heard advertisements making promises about some amazing new product and what it can do for our homes, our lives, our gardens. A healthy spirit of skepticism has become part of our nature.

So what is the scoop on mycorrhiza? At least 25 mycorrhiza products are available in garden centers across the U.S.—oddly named products like Myke and Myco Stim to name just a couple. What are these products, and what will they do for your garden?

Mycorrhiza is a beneficial relationship between plants and fungus. “Mycorrhiza is a natural part of the soil and a part of plant nutrient uptake,” writes Ted St. John, Ph.D. in The Instant Expert Guide to Mycorrhiza, 2000. “The fungi are the dominant soil microorganisms, and soil biology depends heavily upon the presence, density, and types of mycorrhizal fungi.”

Mycorrhizal fungi are easily destroyed when the plants are removed and the soil disturbed. “They are always missing from freshly graded sites,” St. John writes.

Adding mycorrhizal fungi spores to your soil (called inoculating) will not necessarily produce big, robust plants, as many of the products claim. Being familiar with soil biology, I was thrilled when companies began packaging micorrhizae for home gardeners. In recent years I’ve tried several of the products in my garden without noticeable results. Although there are greenhouse and field studies that show amazing differences in plant growth, I’ve learned that it’s unlikely that you would notice differences like that in a trial in your own garden.

“Plant growth response in itself is not likely to tell the story. If uninocculated plots have been kept healthy by fertilization, any mycorrhizal effects will have been masked,” St. John writes.

Realistically, you can expect inoculated plants to be stronger, better able to survive harsh weather conditions, and protected from disease. Your site will be more resistant to invasion by weeds and most important, mycorrhiza will improve soil structure.

St. John recommends looking for a “propagule” or spore count on the label so you know what you are getting for your money. Mix the micorrhiza product with seeds as you sow or apply it to all sides of the root ball as you put plants in the ground. You can sprinkle mycorrhizae over the surface of the soil or till it in, but it doesn’t begin working until it connects with live plant roots.

Although he warns gardeners to be wary of hype and exaggerated claims, St. John solidly backs mycorrhiza as beneficial for gardens. “What is very clear, from every study that has done the tests, is that inoculation is greatly superior to no inoculation,” he writes.

Hug a Tree

A Gardener’s Refuge

By Amy McDowell

“Sometimes I walk into my front yard and I can feel all my trees just vibrating love.” --Oprah Winfrey.

I was delighted to read that, for I have felt that same powerful energy emanating from trees. It’s like a buzzing in the air that you can only sense when you are alone and your soul is quiet and peaceful.

Once while I was attending a horticulture conference, a speaker told the crowd—perhaps 700 of us—to go home and hug a tree. My first reaction was a light smile, and then a lift of my eyebrows when the speaker told us he was not joking. Seriously, he said, hug a tree.

Determined but feeling bashful, I waited until the next day. Although my back yard was pretty well isolated from the neighbors, I stepped out timidly and glanced around. A gorgeous white oak was the closest. I looked up to the canopy of branches and my breathing slowed. I felt a deep, sincere reverence for all living things and the fantastic energy that connects us all.

Touching the rough bark, I wondered whether the tree sensed my presence. I know that it did. Reaching my arms around, I hugged the tree and rested the side of my face on the trunk. Tears of emotion surged suddenly and crested at the edges of my lower eyelids. I released the tree and took a step back, breathing deeply. It seemed my slow breaths drew not just oxygen, but a quiet energy into my soul.

I urge you to go outside and hug a tree. Shrug off those trivial “I feel silly” thoughts and instead think about yourself and the tree. Try to take in the reach of that tree—its branches extending into the heavens, and its roots stretching out from the trunk to a distance two and a half times the height of the canopy.

Gardening is about recognizing our alliances with all things. Abandon your fantasies of gaining control and welcome a new harmony into your garden.

Build a pondless water feature

Burbling Water in the Garden

Six simple steps to a pondless water feature

for less than $50

By Amy McDowell

Water features add motion and sound to the garden, drawing both people and wildlife. The garden pond’s wave of popularity in the past decade makes the old standby water feature—the birdbath—unexciting and stale. Birdbaths add an architectural element to the garden, but the stagnant water evaporates so quickly that it’s hard to think of them as a true water feature.

With little more effort and expanse than a birdbath, you can add a water feature with moving water and a large reservoir that won’t run dry quickly. It is a ground-level feature with water burbling over a pile of rocks. The materials cost less than $50, assembly takes just a couple of hours, and birds will love it.

Materials:

   18-inch round plastic tub

   21-inch round metal grill

   Small submersible pond or fountain pump

   2-foot rubber tubing or PVC pipe

   Safe outdoor electrical source

   2-3 dozen rocks, fist-size and smaller

Six simple steps:

1-      Dig a hole large enough to bury the plastic tub up to its rim. Set the tub inside and backfill with soil around the outside.

2-      Set the pump in the center of the tub, using rocks to keep it upright if necessary. Run the cord to a safe electrical source, but don’t plug it in yet.

3-      Connect the tubing or pipe to the pump’s discharge so it rises straight up in the center of the tub to a point several inches above the rim.

4-      Place the metal grill on top of the tub with the tubing running up through the center of the grill. Bend the bars in the center of the grill if necessary.

5-      Stack rocks on top of the grill, concealing the empty tub below, the tubing and the grill. The rocks will be higher in the center and taper off to ground level at the edges.

6-      Fill the tub with water and plug in the pump. Rearrange the rocks so the water burbles over them.