One of my favorite garden tasks involves maintaining the edge of the garden beds. It is also one of the most frequently commented upon aspects by visitors to our gardens at Oak Lawn. I first realized the importance of this aspect of gardening perhaps thirty years ago when I saw an article in a gardening publication on this topic. The pictures that accompanied the article "sold" me on the value of a well maintained edge. I had previously experimented with a number of edging materials, and realized they simply weren't as effective as an edge maintained by hand. Each season I take what I call a half moon tool and recut any edges in need of updating. I insert the tool to a depth of 4-6 inches, 3-4 inches from the old edge. I then pull back on the tool's handle which in moist conditions releases the excess sod. This is not an easy undertaking when soil conditions are dry, so I generally try to get to all areas needing the attention in the spring. All the excess sod gets added to my compost pile. I then rake the edge of the garden bed in such a way as to create a slope to the bottom of the new edge. I find that grasses don't care to send roots into air and the edge is easily maintained through the remainder of the season with the use of a gas powered edger. The look of the new edge reminds me a bit of a more vertical square root sign. I generally add some mulch to the new edge, but it is important to retain the drop off from the lawn where possible. Today I'll share a few examples of the edges in my gardens.
In the following photo, the drop is not as deep as I would like, and the grass is laying into the edge a bit... this is the stage when it's time to get out the gas edger and clip those errant stems...
The following photos show the bed edges maintained to the level I prefer...
The gas edger leaves a remnant of clippings in the garden bed as seen in the following photo, but these will soon dry up and disappear...
One would think that once an edge has been cut by hand, maintenance with the gas edger should mean that hand work would not be necessary in the following year. The problem comes when the plantings get so lush that the edges can't be properly maintained because the ornamentals overgrow them. In the following photo of the previous planting, a good amount of space remained without plant growth, making edge maintenance easier. I never use mulch in beds of annuals, so each year composted manures can be added and tilled in... as a result, a certain amount of edge reestablishment is always necessary. I also like the look of beds overflowing into pathways, but those are best left to situations where the material of the path isn't grass.
Another work saver in our gardens involves the mowing of the lawn areas. For the most part, all mowing and trimming can be accomplished with a John Deere tractor with a 45" mowing deck. As some of the paths are getting a bit narrower with the passing years, I've elected not to use a 55" deck. As these paths continue to diminish, I will eventually remove the grass and go for some other form of paving material in all likelihood.
I'll close with a few more photos of my garden edges. In several areas I am limited as to what I can do with the edges because certain areas of Oak Lawn have a lot of gravel from old drives associated with when this was a working cheesefactory.... that is the case with this side of the cottage garden shown in the following photo...
The next photo shows an area having the drop as well as a fairly deep level of mulch, making it easy maintenance...
I frequently have a need to change the shape of a garden bed or add new garden space. The following picture shows my technique for establishing new edges. I had decided to bed out these magnolias three years ago. I simply remove any sod in their immediate area and a strip about 10-12 inches wide to become the edge of the bed. Rather than remove all of the remaining sod, I will sometimes bury it under newspaper covered in four inches of mulch if I can locate enough newspapers, or in some cases I will use round-up.... all the sod removal is done with my half moon tool. Over time the mulch really improves the soil and I generally add fresh mulch to this sort of area every two to three years.
With the passage of time and the growth of the magnolias, a lot of maintenance is saved... in fact I am now to the point of either bringing the edge of the bed out farther or limbing up the Brozzonii magnolias as it is difficult to walk under them to maintain the edge.
I hope to do a lot more of this sort of bedding out in this part of the gardens this coming spring. The River's Purple beech is getting large and it is difficult to mow around... I really hope to keep the lower branches on this particular tree for many years to come. I also want to create more conifer areas... I actually can envisage this area eventually being a six foot strip of lawn with plantings on either side. A strip of lawn with nice crisp edges that is! Take care, Larry
0 nhận xét:
Đăng nhận xét