Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Your Neck of the Woods Chat- Winter Solstice 2012, 1 by happy_macomb

happy_macomb wrote:
I went to Meadows Farm in Chantilly yesterday (the only local one still open for the winter) to buy some pine bark mulch -- ssgardener told me that their Kambark mulch is really pine bark fines, and at $3.99 for 2 cu. ft it is a terrific price. I need a lot of soil amendment for my awful front hill.

My awful hill has really been quite an education. I am fearful that we didn't add enough soil amendment to the part of the hill we planted first (that is, the bulk of it). We probably added 2" of compost throughout. The soil is predominantly clay. It was quite dry when we were working it, so I think I was deceived into thinking it wasn't so bad. The soil was more workable than I had expected -- I had expected it to be more like hardpan than it was, and I didn't "respect" the clay sufficiently. But the last few "columns" I worked on (I've been working on it as if it were an Excel spreadsheet, with columns and rows, starting on the far right of the hill and gradually working my way over) -- I worked on those last columns about two days after the last heavy rain, just before Christmas. The clay was still very sticky, heavy and awful. It would grab my shoes as if it were quicksand. So I realize now, with the benefit of hindsight, that I need to increase the amount of soil amendments for the columns I haven't yet planted (hence the Meadows Farm trip -- I finally ran out of compost). I tried to only plant plants that are ok in clay, but I strayed from core principles, of course. I'm really worried now that I didn't do enough to improve the soil, and so I'm determined to add a lot more amendments to the final columns.

The photos are a few weeks old. I started on the far right side of the hill back in October (you can see the edge in the second photo -- the big grasses are on my neighbor's property). The outline of the columns and rows are still very visible. We used tracking tape to mark them (each square is about a yard long on each side). Then I wrote the names of the plants on a paper spreadsheet (I'll transfer it to Excel down-the-road). I tried to design it so the plants would appear in "drifts." Pippi pointed me towards a really helpful article in Fine Gardening that suggested "drifts." The plants barely show in the photos - most are so tiny! There are about 30 columns in all (only a few show in the photos -- I'm sparing you!). I'm now working on column 23 -- but the columns get very short so there isn't much left to do. (The first columns had about 10 rows; the final one has maybe 2). I may just let it go until the spring, unless there is a warm stretch (it is supposed to hit 50 degrees on Wednesday, so I have a fighting chance). The photo on the left shows the area I'm working on now -- I hadn't planted that area when I took the photo. I've now planted a few of those "columns" (again, working from right to left). You can see the front door way to the right on the first photo, and that same front door is way to the left on the second photo. The hill is very very steep - the photos are deceptive.

Every time I work on it, I think of you all. Pippi's Magnus is in there, and Gita's Pacificum, Ruby's Aster, Jill's Biokovo, just to name a very few of your contributions for which I am very grateful. I'll probably add some of Holly's Aquilegia.

But back to Meadows Farms. They have put all their remaining perennials under large pieces of fairly heavy clear plastic tarps with a few slashes in them. I asked why - they said it helps avoid damage to the roots due to wet winter soil I wonder if I should do that to the container plants I overwinter. I always lose some due to wet winter soil -- plants like Gaura that don't like wet winter feet. But I'm surprised the plants wouldn't burn under the clear plastic. Alternately, in the past I have turned potted hostas on their side for the winter, especially if a winter storm is due. I wonder if I should do that to all the container plants? Maybe I should do whichever seems easier? Maybe just for the plants that are fully dormant? What do you do?

Last comment: I have completely fallen in love with Sarcococcas. I was able to get 4 Sarcococca hookeriana var. 'Humilis' plants half price at Meadows Farms at the end of the season (so, less than $7 a pot). They had been sitting in their large pots all season, clearly, so I was able to divide them each into 3 or 4 plants. They are very very slow growing, but I am patient (or more accurately, cheap). Lazy S's website says they "are without peer for growing, blooming and fruiting in deep shade." And, Chantell, they are fragrant! Now I want to hunt down Sarcococca confusa. It grows to 6' (the Humilis is more of a ground cover). Lazy S says: "S. confusa has a lot of things going for it: It blooms in winter and when you walk by, the fragrance is wonderful in a season when you expect to smell nothing in the garden. It's much more fragrant than the more common, S. hookeriana. The white bloom is small and is on the bush at the same time as the glossy black berries which is just maturing from red from the previous year's blooms! How cool! It was introduced in 1916 so it's stood the test of time. It will take deep shade! Spreads by underground shoots." Look at this photo -- is this gorgeous or what? http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/179567/.