Proudland Blog

Columbine: A native bloomer for Atlanta woodland gardens

Here is another native bloomer for woodland Atlanta gardens. Established Atlanta gardens with stands of trees, can frequently use part-shade bloomers for interest. Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) is a good choice, and easy to maintain.

Columbine will produce nice bi-colored flowers in a variety of combinations: including yellow, white, blue, pink & purple. Established from seed or nursery pots, they can be grown in old tree stumps, rock crevasses, and of course, in flowerbeds.

Uses. Columbine make nice cut flowers, a good addition to a perennial beds, a filler for odd sections of establish tree stands.

Establishment. Plant from nursery pots or seed in early Spring, or purchase potted from nursery. Locate in dappled shade. Avoid all-day full sun. A woodland plant, it will prefer rich soil. Prepare soil well with compost. Seed sown in Spring may not flower the first season.

Maintenance. Primary maintenance concern is leaf-miners. If you see yellowed or mottled foliage, cut back and discard, and allow new foliage to sprout. Keep soil moist during dry spells.

A few varieties:

A. canadensis 'Corbet', yellow, 12-24 inches
A. flabellata 'Nana' under 12 inches.
A. hybrida - multiple hybrid varieties come in many color variations

References:

• "Georgia Gardener's Guide," by Erica Glasener & Walter Reeves
• http://www.gardenersnet.com/flower/columbine.htm

Abdurrahim is the lead designer at metro-Atlanta based, Proudland Landscape, LLC.
You can contact him with question via email at arjalal@proudlandlandscape.com.
Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/Proudland.
Also, check our Facebook fan page facebook.com/ProudLandscape

Labels: color, flowers, garden, native, planting, Spring

posted by A. J. @ 11:46 0 comments

March Vegetable Garden Considerations

Planning on a vegetable garden this year? March is the time to begin getting things done, regardless where in the country you are. There are several planning considerations to account for in preparing your garden. I'll be focusing on Planting Time. Your other considerations include:

• Planting time
• available sunlight
  
• soil condition
  
• available space
  
• irrigation
  
• plant types
• time available.

Many resources are available on methods to address each one of these considerations.

For this time year, we're looking at warm-season vegetables. Examples are tomatoe, lima bean, green bean, and cucumber. Each plant will have a different growing time to maturity, typically ranging between 50 to 90 days (7 t0 12 weeks). Which brings us to our timing consideration.

Before planting, we need to prepare soils, if not frozen, this can be done at any point prior to planting. Some would argue it is best to let the prepared soil lay, and turn again, but this may not be practical for many.

Which brings us to planting timing for various USDA Zones. A note about USDA zones, these have become more fine tuned in recent years, however, they remain general guidelines, and each local area will create varying growing characteristics based on humidity, ocean winds, etc. Additionally, the zones are targeted at cold-hardiness, and don't account as well for heat-tolerance.

Zones ................ What to Start Indoor & Outdoors
1 & 2 --- start tubers, tuberous roots, and rhizomes indoors
sow tender vegetable seeds indoors that require more than 12 weeks

3 & 4 --- start tubers, tuberous roots, and rhizomes indoors
sow tender vegetable seeds indoors that require 6 to 12 weeks

4 & 5 --- start tubers, tuberous roots, and rhizomes indoors
sow tender vegetable seeds indoors that require 8 to 10 weeks

6 & 7 --- start tubers, tuberous roots, and rhizomes indoors
sow tender vegetable seeds indoors that require 4 to 6 weeks

8 & 9 --- start tubers, tuberous roots, and rhizomes indoors
sow vegetable seeds outdoors

10 & 11 --- Plant tubers, tuberous roots, and rhizomes indoors
sow vegetable seeds outdoors

The bottom line: March is a good time to get things started, but unless you live in the coldest regions of the country, you need to get out there and start getting busy!

Abdurrahim is the lead designer at metro Atlanta based Proudland Landscape, LLC.
You can contact him with question via email at arjalal@proudlandlandscape.com
Follow him on twitter at twitter.com/Proudland.

Labels: garden, planting, Spring, vegetable

posted by A. J. @ 09:08 0 comments

February Gardening Task Rundown

For those you who may have missed some, here is a rundown of our essential gardening articles for February that we published on Examiner.com . This information is generally applicable to many areas of the United States, however, the seasonal timing is specific to the metro Atlanta area, surrounding counties, and North Georgia.

Gardening tasks for February -- a list of gardening tasks to get accomplished before March.

Which lopper pruners should I buy? -- a discussion of some key factors in selecting a new pair of loppers.

Protecting flowers & pansies from ice -- still relevant information for the next four to six weeks in areas above the fall line Georgia (line running from Columbus to Macon to Augusta)

Live plants from Valentines Day? -- applicable advice for any live plant flower baskets you may receive, even after Valentines Day.

Pruning Crape Myrtles -- if you absolutely must prune your Crape Myrtles, get it done now, and read this article.

Must-do Atlanta Winter gardening tasks -- your most essential last-minute Winter gardening tasks for Atlanta gardeners.

Phlox--a classic Atlanta flower garden plant -- can start indoors now, or seed outdoors beginning April.

Get ready for Lawn Spring Green-up -- task list to have a great Spring green up for your warm-season lawn grass.

These are the articles from February which are, and will remain seasonally relevant through March. I will be putting out a new March gardening task list, so look for it.

Abdurrahim is the lead designer at metro Atlanta based Proudland Landscape, LLC.

You can contact him with question via email at arjalal@proudlandlandscape.com

Follow him on twitter at twitter.com/Proudland.

Labels: articles, Crape Myrtles, flowers, garden, lawn, maintenance, Pruning, Spring, tasks, winter

posted by A. J. @ 10:07 0 comments

Phlox--a classic Atlanta garden flower plant

Have you ever seen those billows of cascading pink and pale purple flowers spilling over walls? These things go in cycles, and there was a time that phlox was ubiquitous in the Atlanta gardens. In older landscapes it can be seen flowing over stacked stone retaining walls in pillows of soft pink. Phlox is a fairly easy to grow flower, available in perennial cultivars (e.g., garden phlox, and creeping phlox), and annual varieties.

A number of phlox varieties are originally native to the Southern and Appalachian Regions of the United States, making it a nice choice for gardeners interested in native plants, or encouraging a native feel to their gardens.

Uses. These make nice cut flowers, are good choices for balconies, patio railings, behind retaining walls, and in window boxes. Typically seen in pink or pale purple, they are also available in reds, white, and yellow.

Establishment. Indoors - You can begin growing indoors from seed six to eight weeks before the last frost. In Atlanta that would be planting from beginning in the middle of February, to the first week in March. You can then transplant to the outdoor garden after the middle of April.

Outdoors - Locate your phlox in full sun. Transplant seedlings you started indoors, or plant outdoors from seed. Sow seeds in your prepared garden soil beginning in the middle of March.

Maintenance. Dead head faded flowers. Fertilize once with 10-10-10 fertilizer. Maintain a good layer of mulch. And keep watered, to maintain soil moisture, but be careful not to oversaturate soil (well drained soils)

A few varieties:

Creeping phlox -- Phlox stolonifera
Garden Phlox -- Phlox paniculata 'Peacock Neon Rose'
Moss Phlox -- Phlox subulata 'Drummond's Pink'
Garden Phlox -- Phlox paniculata 'Peacock White'

Abdurrahim is the lead designer at metro Atlanta based, Proudland Landscape, LLC.
You can contact him with question via email at arjalal@proudlandlandscape.com.
Follow him on twitter at twitter.com/Proudland.

Labels: color, flowers, garden, Spring, Summer

posted by A. J. @ 22:42 0 comments

Must do Atlanta Gardening Tasks before March: If you only have one weekend to get it all done.

There is only one weekend left before March. For gardeners in Atlanta, surrounding counties, and North Georgians this means the Spring season is almost upon us. The question was asked regarding the February gardening task list, "What if I only have one weekend to get it all done?" Well, here is that list:

1. Clean leaves off lawn. This is way overdue, from our January list--So get it done!
2. Scalp cool-season lawns (Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede). Mow to lowest setting on mower. Bag and pickup clippings. Compost your clippings.
3. Prune hydrangeas, crape myrtles. Hydrangeas may be showing some budding, but get it done. Pruning crape myrtles is always a contentious issue, but if you're going to do it, now is the time
4. Cut back ground covers & ornamental grasses (e.g., monkey grass/lirope, ivy, pampass grass). Pickup clippings and trimmings and compost.
5. Check & refresh mulch in flowers beds. Keep a few bags of your preferred mulch on hand to repair behind squirrels and neighborhood dogs.

If you have more than a weekend to work with, double check my task lists for this winter so far from January, and February.

Whatever you do, get something done, because there is a whole new set of things we need to address going into March.

Abdurrahim is the lead designer at metro Atlanta based Proudland Landscape, LLC.
You can contact him with question via email at arjalal@proudlandlandscape.com
Follow him on twitter at twitter.com/Proudland.

Labels: Crape Myrtles, garden, lawn, mulch, tasks, winter

posted by A. J. @ 11:48 0 comments

February Gardening Tasks--Atlanta & North Georgia

It's February in North Georgia, and Atlanta is cold and raining. Gardeners, don't sleep, because Spring is almost upon us. Do not be lulled into complacency because it feels and looks like winter. In just a few weeks Atlanta Spring will begin, and there are things you the gardener needs to do now to be ready. Here is a list:

• Scalp warm-season lawns (Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede)
• Continue to monitor local freeze warnings, be ready to protect tender plants
• Pick up the clippings and put in your compost pile
• Prune roses (middle of February)
• Cut forsythia to force indoors
• Fertilize seasonal flowers, tulip, and daffoldil beds with a low nitrogen, high phosphorous ferilizer
• Dead head yellowing, brown, or burned Camellia blooms.
• Prune crape myrtles (middle of February)
• Trim unruly shrubs like hollies, ligustrum, and cleyera
• Refresh mulch, if you haven't already
• Nurse your compost pile.
• Inventory and inspect gardening equipment
• Get mowers, chippers, weed eaters that need it to the mechanic (if not done in January)
• Sharpen blades and change oil on mowers
• Sharpen chain saw chains.
• Check the January gardening task list, and do on there what you didn't do.

March is less than a month away, and Atlanta Spring season will be upon us, despite what a certain groundhog in Pennsylvania may say. Regardless, for them it will be winter a bit longer than for us.

Abdurrahim is the lead designer for a local, award-winning landscaping firm. You can reach him via email at: a.jalal@ProudlandLandscape.com

Tweet at: twitter.com/Proudland

Resources:

"Winter chores in the landscape" -- UGA CAES

www.cleanairgardening.com/npkexplanation.html

www.groundhog.org/groundhog-day/about-groundhog-day/

Labels: Crape Myrtles, garden, landscape, maintenance, mulch, Pruning, rose, tasks, winter

posted by A. J. @ 23:07 0 comments

Check out our articles on Examiner.com

I'm now writing for Examiner.com as the Atlanta Gardening Examiner. Check out my articles . I will still be posting here. There will be some cross over. In fact, some of the articles will be posted here, and vice versa. However, this will created some division between Atlanta area gardening information, and more landcaping and Proudland Landscape specific posts.

At any rate, check me out as the Atlanta Gardening Examiner.

Labels: articles, garden, gardener, misc

posted by A. J. @ 17:22 0 comments

Emotional compost

Thich Nhat Hanh describes turning emotional garbage into compost, and using it as we tend to our spiritual gardens. In his book, Taming the Tiger Within we should not try to throw away or discard our anger, but rather sooth it, transform it into a positive emotion. Much as we take grass clippings, leaves, and banana peels and put them in the compost pile, instead of the land fill.

In the compost pile we take garbage, tend to it, transform it, and use it to feed a beautiful garden. In the land fill, we take garbage, put it out of sight out of mind, but it never goes away. It becomes a problem to be dealt with later on down the road. Organic matter which would become nutrients in a compost pile, when buried deep within a landfill, never decompose. They just take up space. Similarly, we can take our anger and darker emotions, and transform them into something beautiful. Or, we can ignore them and allow them to fester. We can feed and indulge them. Either way they never go away. They persist to become something worse. They persist to make us miserable.

We could take the analogy even further, with a karmic perspective. The planet will eventually recycle all the waste and toxins we release into the environment. Over the course of millions of years, plate tectonics, erosion, and cataclysmic events will recycle and reconstitute everything, bringing it all back full circle. Similarly, even the most mismanaged miserable lives, the most abusive and violent people, the most sinful and self-destructive souls will get the chance to come back and do this over and over an over again, even if for thousands of years, until they get it right.

With anger and hate we have the same choices we have with garbage and trash. On one hand, we can transform waste, recycle it, transform it into something beautiful. On the other, we can bury them, ignore them, or indulge them until they grow and accumulate to create more misery.

Eventually, maybe millions of years, both the polluted earth, and the polluted soul will be cleansed and purified. The question is, then: What do you want right now? Right now do you want a toxic, polluted planet? Right now, do you want violent and war-torn societies? Right now, do you want a life of suffering? Or, would you rather something different, NOW. You will get it eventually. But do you want it NOW?

A.J., Proudland Landscape, LLC © 2007

Labels: compost, garden, gardener, misc, philosophy

posted by A. J. @ 15:18 0 comments

Compost Experiment--Spring Flowers 2007

We’ve been amassing a compost pile over the past few seasonal flower change-outs. We install a fair amount of annual flowers each Spring and Fall--using a LOT of compost. As a result, our compost pile has neither seemed adequate for the job, nor quite ripe enough at the right time. However, this year the stars lined up just right, the worms moved with sufficient efficiency, and Mother Nature delivered on time, in sufficient quantity for the Spring flower change-out. We managed to install all our current commitments using our own composted material.

Time will reveal whether our blend of ingredients proves better, worse, or as middling as its commercially available brethren. It’s seemed, in my anecdotal experience, that the commercially available compost has been something less than super rich in recent years. Maybe, we’ve hit upon the solution.

We’re still using our other proprietary blend of ingredients--fertilizers, microbes, moisture enhancers, mulches, soils, and of course, flowers.

Updates on the benefits to begonias, et. al. will follow.

A.J., Proudland Landscape, LLC © 2007

Labels: compost, flowers, garden, gardener, landscape

posted by A. J. @ 14:54 0 comments