The month of August is winding down, the kids are back at school and we’re beginning to look forward to cooler weather. For gardeners, this can only mean one thing: fall planting is almost upon us. If you haven’t already done so, now is a good time to survey your landscape and see which areas need a little TLC. Perhaps you’ll see a bare patch that would benefit from some low-growing, easy-care groundcover. If that patch receives full sun, take a look at a couple of Creeping Phlox varieties such as Apple Blossom or Emerald Blue. Apple Blossom Creeping Phlox creates a carpet of bright, candy-colored blossoms with vigorous green foliage when not in bloom. As you might guess, the Emerald Blue variety produces masses of bright blue blooms atop a mat of dense spreading foliage. Both perennial Creeping Phlox varieties bask in full sun, grow 6” to 12” tall and are hardy in USDA zones 3 to 8. How about that bare patch that’s more shade than sun? The perennial Ajuga Burgundy Glow (Ajuga reptans) is a creeping, mat forming, groundcover that just loves shady areas. Ajuga Burgundy Glow spreads rapidly by stolons and gets only 6 inches tall and spreads to a width of 24 - 36 inches. In late spring and early summer, it produces dark blue flowers borne on spike-like whorls, and is hardy in zones 3 to 9. We can all use some help and inspiration when it comes to our gardens. Just as “foodies” love to read cookbooks, gardeners enjoy a good garden book. Here are a few that you might want to dig your fork into… The All New Square Foot Gardening Square Foot Gardening is a simple concept to follow, made easier by Bartholomew’s friendly guidance and the scores of detailed how-to photos in this book. Highly recommended for those who are strapped for space. The Green Gardener’s Guide His book is logically divided into sections with titles such as “Conserving water in the garden,” “Landscaping to control runoff,” “Turning waste into gardening gold” and “Consuming less energy in the landscape.” Lamp’l asserts that by mulching all landscape beds on your property, you can reduce the runoff and accompanying loss of soil to erosion by as much as 80 percent. Additionally, if every gardener in the U.S. planted trees for shade and windbreak, they would reduce heating and cooling needs by as much as 40 percent and cut CO2 emissions by 120 million tons per year. Most of all, he delivers simple, practical information in bite-size chunks anyone could use to “green up” their landscape. The New Encyclopedia of Gardening Techniques It would be hard to find experts with more qualifications than those at the American Horticultural Society who have edited this encyclopedia. It has a highly readable layout and hundreds of photos and watercolor illustrations to aid gardening techniques and identify plants and pests. And as you prepare for fall planting, stop by my Web site www.landsteward.org for a large archive of Plant Man columns and other helpful articles to guide you along. Fall is in the air! The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, including archived columns, visit www.landsteward.org
Mel Bartholomew (Cool Springs Press)
Sub-titled “Grow more in less space,” the publisher claims that the original Square Foot Gardening is the best-selling gardening book of all time. Author Bartholomew is a civil engineer by profession (and, he says, a frustrated gardener by weekend). His engineering brain told him that conventional single-row gardening was a waste of energy and output. He condensed the unmanageable single-row space to 4x4 feet, amended the soil, and found he had developed a gardening system that yields 100% of the harvest in 20% of the space.
Joe Lamp’l (Cool Springs Press) Author Joe Lamp’l is the host of the PBS series “Garden Smart” and DIY Network’s “Fresh From the Garden.” He has a passion for gardening and environmental stewardship, something close to my own heart.
American Horticultural Society (Octopus Books) This impressive volume won’t be published until November 2009, but I got a sneak peek at a few of the pages and I suggest you might want to add it to your Holiday Wish List!
