The Coastal Gardener - July, 2005
The Nighttime Garden
|
The flush of spring has passed from the garden by July. With the sun setting into a fog bank, the heat of the day subsides and a soft wind ripples the grasses gilded by the fading light. Parched sagebrush sighs with fragrant relief and even dust enriches the atmosphere with its scent. The last sunset rays turn Cotinus and Halagoris to blood red while green fades to black. Cosmos and sunflowers bob in the ebbing wind while the last bee buzzes home in the gentle evening; swallows wheel in the pale air as the first star shows over head.
So many times, we get home too late each night to really enjoy our gardens. I wonder why more people don't think outside the box by creating a garden that looks good at night? A nighttime garden would glow with silver and blue foliage to reflect the moonlight, awash in pale flowers that shine in the starlight.
Two plants come to mind for the nighttime garden. First is Brugsmania or Angel Trumpet. It is probably familiar to you as a large open shrub decorated with hanging white trumpet flowers that are fragrant at night. Brugsmania also come in yellow, pink, red and lavender; some with double or ruffled flowers. Good rich soil, plenty of moisture and a little shelter from sun and wind is what they need. Brugsmania are tropical plants from Brazil and must be protected from frost in cold areas, or propagated by cuttings struck in fall in a greenhouse.
The other is Datura, or Jimson Weed, which looks very similar to Brugsmania but whose height is 3 feet or less with its white trumpet flowers facing upwards. The species grows as roadside weed in dry places, but others can be lavender, yellow or two tones. Each flower is powerfully fragrant, with a simple beauty like a lily. They are mostly grown as annuals that reproduce from spike covered seed capsules harvested in fall. Datura need full sun, good drainage and can be very drought tolerant when they reproduce by self sowing. Both plants are poisonous, so be careful in placing them where curious children or pets may put parts in their mouths. Both plants should be available from Valley Hills Nursery or Annie Annuals.
One distinctive feature of my main garden space is the open quality of it. Even though each part is clearly defined by paths and low hedges of rosemary, the space is not cluttered with tall shrubs or trees, allowing the sky and distant vistas to dominate. Instead of bulky shrubs I use the filmy bobbing heads of grasses to give visual lift to the space, uniting garden flowers with the view. Stipa gigantea is my grass of choice, being evergreen, drought-tolerant and non-invasive. It thrusts up 6-foot stems of flowers, each papery bloom like a flake of gold leaf and silver thread that sparkles in the daylight. The whole mass is but a veil, substantial enough to be visually arresting, airy enough to keep from feeling crowded.
An essential ingredient of good soil and healthy plants is calcium which helps build strong cell walls and moderate soil pH. Working with Sudden Oak Death, Dr. Lee Klinger is educating people to the value of calcium and trace minerals in restoring forest health. He came by the tomato farm that Clayton Scicluna and Carissa Chiniaefs have planted on Front Hill Road. There Dr. Klinger presented them with a bag of Azomite Soil Sweetener, a pelleted mixture of calcium and trace minerals from volcanic deposits. He placed a handful of the mixture into each planting hole with the tomato atop it. He encouraged me to try some on my roses, noting that I myself have recommend gypsum and Epsom salts to encourage healthy plants. Blossom end rot in tomatoes and zucchini and mushy strawberries are two common problems related to a lack of calcium and poor watering practices. Dr. Klinger is working with Post Ranch on the decline of the oak forest. From his recommendations, the staff there has begun painting the oak trunks with a white lime mixture to provide "intensive care" against further tree decline. In the months to come, he hopes to get more people informed about his ideas and save more landmark oaks on the coast (lee@ioscientific.com).
By this month some of your early perennials may be fading. A sharp haircut down near the base will refurbish them nicely in time for August. Coreopsis, catmint, cranesbill geraniums, Achillea and Bidens all take well to this treatment. Some annuals, like cosmos, fiber begonias, petunias, and nemesias can also be refurbished with a little pruning and deadheading. In either case, a dose of liquid kelp fertilizer will get them going again.
Enjoy! Dave Egbert
