Making a simple garden pay-off
It is hard to experience springtime in Louisiana without dreaming of lush gardens and carefully-styled outdoor entertaining spaces, but the reality is that the best spaces take lots of time and money. Even a little effort, however, can result in a big pay-off for your own garden.
Foster Cook with Akins Nursery on East Kings Highway said a good place to see instant gratification at just about any price level is container gardening.
“Some people who have never tried to grow anything might be scared about work and maintenance but with containers, you can scale it to whatever size you want,” he said. “Potted flowers and herbs are great for apartments, townhomes and even larger houses.”
“If you like to cook, start with herbs,” Cook said.
“Some basic herbs like basil, rosemary, lavender and thyme are easy when grown in pots. The pests aren’t as bad. You don’t have to mother them but in a container, you can’t overwater them.”
Zinnias can be grown in pots or in the yard and they continue to bloom in full color all summer long. “Zinnias are a drought tolerant plant, too,” Cook said.
Another popular trend that is fairly easy to care for is succulents.
“People are going crazy for them,” Cook said. “They do bloom, but it is the uniqueness of the plant, the color of the plant that adds character. And they can take a ton of abuse. They are very, very forgiving.”
As more and more people begin to examine the foods they eat more closely, many are turning to growing their own organic food. Cook added that container gardens are a great way to try going organic for the first time. “If you start on a small scale and use organic fertilizers and soil, it’s a great stepping off point.”
Tim White with Garrison’s Nursery on Greenwood Road agreed, saying it is easier now than ever to go organic with all the new products on the market.
Garrison’s sells a complete line of Dr. Earth products that uses the latest technology to help people achieve their organic gardening goals.
“The main thing to consider is what degree of organic you want to be,” White said. “There are different levels from merely purchasing organic soils, seeds and plants, all the way up to making sure bees from nonorganic plants aren’t getting into your garden.”
Beginning is as simple as preparing the bed.
“We carry composted soil that is completely organic with lots of good stuff packed into the soil that make things grow really well. Every cubic inch of healthy soil is a little world of living organisms that break down organic matter for the plants.”
“Our approach to organics is that building your soil with probiotics is the main objective so that as the plants grow, you don’t have to keep adding fertilizers,” White said.
“The soil should be building microbes that feed the plants. But if you do use fertilizer in your organic garden, it needs to be organic, as well. We have a full line of Dr. Earth insecticides and herbicides which cure just about any problem but there is some controversy on organic fertilizer. Some companies use cow or pig bones, but the Dr. Earth line uses fish and kelp meal from creatures from the ocean.”
Next, it’s just as simple as selecting organic seeds or plants but White maintained that even if non-organic herbs are planted in organic soils and products, the end result is going to equate to being one step closer to living organic.
“For the home gardener, you get to set your own standards and use products and practices that will give you the peace of mind that your food is healthier.”
“It’s also good to get to know your own local environment,” White said. “To succeed at gardening, you have to understand local growing conditions, like the dates of the first hard frost. What we can plant and harvest depends on when our specific planting and growing season begins and ends and how long it lasts. It’s also good to know where the sun rises and sets in relation to your planting beds.”
White’s biggest tip for an easy flower bed is to use permanent shrubs.
“If you put shrubs in back, things that will take care of themselves, like boxwoods and hollies that don’t have disease and insect problems or require a lot of pruning, that’s the basis of your flower bed right there. Then leave some areas in front for color and that can easily be changed out a few times a year.”
The best place to learn more about gardening is to talk to other local gardeners and nursery professionals. “Just ask one of our staff,” White said. “We love sharing information that helps you get what you want out of the time and money spent on your garden. Choose what the nursery people recommend, use good quality plants and that will give you color all summer long.”
–Susan Reeks
