November 2007 Newsletter
Halloween has come and gone, leaving behind the scary feeling that warm days are gone until next May. Or are they? Today the temperatures are into the mid sixties and it's November! Yikes! I don't know which is scarier. Truly, we gardeners are painfully aware of the uncertainties we face. We live the weather; we witness the changes year to year. We keep trying to stay ahead of changes with solid, proven techniques. We mulch as deeply as we can. We advise watering deeply and infrequently. We select plants that are hardy to our area and we choose young, vigorous specimens rather than large plants with tiny root systems. All these elements work towards creating strong plants and resilient gardens.
In this year 2007, we've seen more climate
change flags: severe drought in the southeast USA has the city of Atlanta almost
totally out of water, numerous vicious storms in the Midwest spawned dozens
of tornados day after day, flooding seems to be everywhere. And the ice keeps
melting. Blue Planet has always been sensitive to the potential changes and
we work at staying up with what to do and how best to handle extremes. One change,
for instance, is cutting back the ornamental grasses in late February and early
March rather than the historical norm of cutting back the first of April. By
April the grasses are already well on their way into the growing season. Roses,
too, are being cut back earlier as well. Seasonal patterns that gardeners used
to time events have been radically changing. Pots not longer freeze solid in
October and some last into the November, even December. Your Blue Planet team
is conscious of the uncertainties and we proceed accordingly each year. We keep
turning our focus to sustainable, naturalized designs and techniques and try
to steer our gardens that direction. This year, for instance, we installed a
small urban orchard, complete with dynamic accumulator and insectary plants
along with the fruit trees. Hopefully that orchard will be fruiting for the
next hundred years!
Xeriscaping is just a beginning, not an end. Gardens of the future will embrace rainwater harvesting (not catching and storing, but "harvesting" directly into the soil.) Future gardeners may be more concerned with food production and herbal medicines than the latest exotic bloom. Many future gardeners will turn to beekeeping to provide their own pollination system for their gardens. Greenhouses will become much more common as will rooftop gardens.
Fall cleanups are in full swing and will
be at your gardens soon, if not already done. Winter watering, appears to be
on the schedule for Front Range gardens. All watering systems should be shut
down and blown out by now. We will begin winter schedules by the end of November
if we don't receive some moisture. To water the grounds, we bring our own hoses
and sprinklers, as well as soakers and sprayers, and set up watering the plants.
We water the lawns and open areas to water large trees and we hand-water most
of the gardens. The hours available to water are reduced in the cold season,
beginning around 10am and ending at 3pm to allow the water to soak in before
freezing night temperatures set in. Large landscapes sometimes require two days
to complete the watering. This is a deep watering once a month and makes a big
difference to your trees and shrubs. Plants that don't get enough water in winter
will show damage the following summer when the weather heats up. Not enough
water causes the roots to desiccate and die back. If you plan to water your
own grounds, please let us know. Otherwise, we consider winter watering to be
a critical aspect of quality service.
Becky's long awaited book, Raven in
the Garden, a Front Range Gardener's Journal will be coming out before the
Holidays (if all goes well.) Taken from Becky's own journey through gardening,
Raven in the Garden was the First Place non-fiction winner of the Pikes Peak
Writer's Competition in 2003. It is well written, has original art on the cover
and local illustrators and photographers throughout. Select photos from Blue
Planet gardens are included in the book as well.
We encourage you to visit our web site: www.blueplanetearthscapes.com After a busy season, the gardeners are now finding time to write their bios for the site. Devoted to the gardens, we are still much more than mere gardeners. We embrace you, our beloved clients, and hope you are enjoying your gardens. Peace.
Becky Elder Blue Planet Earthscapes 685-0290
The changing of seasons, summer
to fall, pulls on strings attached to years of unraveled time.
The colors change as people change, grow and age.
Crickets still chirp into the night, but their song is soon to end.
After all, winter follows fall.
Everyone knows, yet chooses to forget
during toe warm, golden, windy days of autumn.
The Earth twirls around her course, ever constant spinning.
Spinning the seasons and years
ar ound & around & around...
into generations and eras of time.
Yet always returning to the here and now...
the moment,
this moment in the autumn season of this year.
"Everything gardens."
Peter Bane, Permaculture teacher
Blue Planet Earthscapes P O Box 861 Manitou Spgs, CO 80829 (719) 685 - 0290