Plugging the Gaps

June 4th, 2013

   One of the last garden jobs I do each spring is “plug the gaps.”

Botanical orphans looking for some soil.

   I’d like to say it’s a carefully planned endeavor where I insert selected plants to finish off that year’s design. 

  But what it really boils down to is me going around trying to figure out where I cram those last few onesies and twosies into any remaining open space that I can find. 

  Yeah, yeah. Do what I say, not what I do.

   I’ve got some good excuses, though.

   The main one is that my landscape is a sort of sacrificial land dedicated to seeing which new varieties are going to croak around here before you waste your money.

   I’m always on the lookout for something new, something different and something that’s not quite officially winter-hardy here that might be.

   I also get a fair number of trial plants from growers – often things that are going to hit the market next year.

   Growers are obviously hoping I’m going to love the new introduction and write about them, but they’re also interested in getting trial feedback to see how the plants perform in different parts of the country.

   For me, it’s a way to stay on top of what’s new while being able to separate the hype from the true winners in our particular soil and climate conditions. I’d much rather base my writings on first-hand experience or at least first-hand observation in a test garden as opposed to relying on what others tell me.

   And the trialing lets me get pictures so I can show you what the plants are going to look like in real life in our area.

   The down side is that I get one or two or three of this and that. I also usually have no idea what’s coming.

   As Tony Avent of Plant Delights Nursery says, it’s hard to “landscape in drifts of one.”

   The other challenge I’ve got is my wife’s new fascination with taking cuttings.

   She found out that it’s surprisingly easy to snip the tips off plants, stick them in moist potting mix and get lots of free baby clones.

   She’s been snipping and clipping and sticking all over the place lately to the point where now she’s the one stacking plants next to every available window over winter.

Found an opening!

    Some of the cuttings go on pots on the front porch or back patio. Others went in the ground in spots that made sense.

   But we’re still left with a table full of maybe two dozen assorted cuttings of houseplants, tropicals, annuals and shrubs.

   Toss in some of the seedlings my lovely wife also started, and we’re still looking at a lot of orphans in search of soil.

   Many of you who go on our garden bus trips will end up with some of these. I play garden trivia games on the bus and usually use extra trial plants, cuttings and divisions as prizes.

   Persian shield, anyone? How about some coleus starts? Come on aboard and answer the questions.

   Otherwise, I suspect I’ll be wandering the yard looking for just one more little opening where I can cram one more little plant.

   It may not be great landscape design, but it’s fun gardening.