The garden catalogs have arrived, and we gardeners enjoy the wonderful opportunity of perusing them while we are snug inside as winter winds down. Sit down with a cup of their tea or coffee and review your 2020 garden beds and plots. I find it helpful to have a hand drawn layout of specific garden beds, with rough size measurements. Photos are also helpful in evaluating previous years’ beds.
The plot plan should be separate for each bed since they may have different growing conditions. The first and most important condition will be the amount of sunlight. The amount of sunlight is probably the most important factor when determining where different plant varieties should be planted. Full sun is defined as at least 6 hours direct sunlight; partial sun may be described as at least 3 hours of sun exposure. Partial shade plants need some relief from the intense heat of late afternoon sun, while full shade plants will survive on less than 3 hours of morning sun, with filtered sunlight the rest of the day.
Plants that need full sun, or close to it, include all vegetables, many annual flowers like geraniums, petunias and marigolds. Perennials include phlox, sunflowers, and most bulb flowers. Partial sun, or partial shade is perfect for a wide variety, including columbine, soapwort, ajuga, coral bells, hosta, black eyed Susan, and lilies. Often partial shade plants prefer morning sun, which is not as strong as afternoon sun.
Fortunately, the plant catalogs always provide information on the light requirements of plants, often separating them into large groups. Plant tags from plants purchased at nurseries or other stores also include light requirements, along with water requirements. The plants that thrive in full sun often do not require as much moisture as those that are shade loving.
Your plot plan should include where trees are planted, as well as perennial shrubs, since they will be there year after year. And they will also provide shade for part of the beds. We have a garden bed on the West side of our back yard, with mature trees, and shrubs of different heights under the trees. That bed gets lovely morning sun, and shade beginning in the afternoon. Planted in that bed are azaleas, hostas, many daffodil bulbs, along with crocus for early bloom.
In the center of the yard there is a larger bed of many plants that will take 6 to 8 hours of full sun each day. This bed has held many perennial plants, as well as added annuals when the mood strikes, or when there is an empty space. Along the eastern side of the yard are 3 raised beds, which have full sun all day. This area is the lowest point in the entire yard, and often is wetter than other beds. I have 3 blueberry bushes in one of the raised beds. They like the sun, but don’t like wet feet.
In the wet area between two of the raised beds are what I refer to as my ‘bog garden’. That is the wettest place in the yard. Plants in the bog garden are water loving, sun loving and easy to maintain. Turtlehead, and iris thrive In that bed. Spring chores include a weeding, fertilizing, and then spreading a thin layer of mulch. It is easy to maintain, with deadheading the spent flowers the main chore of the gardening season. If we have a hot, dry spell, I simply let the hose run in that bed until standing water surrounds the plantings.
A nice advantage of raised beds is that weeds don’t creep into them, plus they are a little easier to work in due to the fact that being slightly raised, one does not have to bend or stoop quite so far. I hope you try some new varieties of plants in 2021, and wish you happy gardening.
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