"Gardening gets harder as we get older, but gardens are as strong as ever," said Butte County Master Gardener Kay Perkins. Our bodies become agile and flexible and prone to injury, so things like pulling weeds, pushing a wheelbarrow, digging holes, pruning, moving heavy objects become difficult over time.
But the idea of willingly giving up the passion and joy in gardening is unthinkable to most gardeners. With this in mind, UC Butte County Master Gardeners regularly hold workshops on how to be healthy and active in the garden and offer practical tips to help turn hard work into sustainable activity. This year's Gardening for Life Workshop will be held at the Gardens on November 13th. Workshop leaders will share information about landscaping techniques, plant selections, labor-saving techniques, and smartly designed tools. This workshop will feature simple yoga poses for gardeners, as building good balance and maintaining strength is essential to continuing gardening.
Many of the workshop topics were adapted from Sidney Addison's Gardening for Life: How to Garden Wisely as You Age (Timber Press, 2013). Edison is the author of six books on gardening and is a member of the National Garden Club, Inc. In 2010 Excellence Award.
For more than 50 years, Edison (born 1932) was an advocate of time-consuming garden selection: "Improving my garden takes a lot of effort... that's all,'' he wrote. Then a painful A-hip replacement interfered with her gardening duties, one of which was "digging big holes and moving plants all the time." Unwilling to leave her beloved garden, she began researching low-maintenance gardening techniques. Workshop registrations are explained below. A list of recommended tools and plants can be found at the end of this article.
Rethinking Perennial Borders: Edison once designed, planted and maintained massive perennial borders. Perennials require a certain amount of labor, often requiring year-round attention, which includes pruning, de-heading, cutting, dividing, cleaning and decorating. It's true, they give great rewards in color and composition and generally add to the landscape. Edison argued that shrubs can play a similar role in the garden, with less intervention. Bushmen pay the same or more for less work.
Choose compact or dwarf varieties of popular shrubs (such as buddleia) that need pruning once or twice a year. Berry-bearing shrubs add bright color to gray winter days and are a food source for wintering and migratory bird species. Edison loved conifers because they offered year-round color and a variety of leaf textures, as well as structural interest in cone, globe and mound shapes. But choose wisely and think carefully before planting shrubs, because shrubs are more difficult than perennials.
Perennials that make up low-maintenance garden borders must adhere to high standards of good behavior. They should be able to maintain attractive shape and color in all seasons, especially in hot and dry summer. Those of good character should maintain their clean habits for many years without slipping or spreading. If there are shrubs or perennials that continue to dominate your garden, you can reduce or replace them.
Lists, lists, lists: Making lists saves time, reduces stress, and improves organization and efficiency. Take time to create a master list and a daily list. A master list should contain all gardening tasks, prioritized by importance, organized by big or small, season, and species (such as trees, shrubs, or perennials). Your list may seem heavy and overwhelming at first, but Edison promises you'll be amazed at how many tasks you can accomplish. There's nothing more satisfying than crossing a task off the to-do list.
The daily list is prepared from the main list and should be realistic for a certain day and the time you can devote to gardening. This detail should indicate whether the work is useful or aesthetic in nature. This list will help you avoid confusion or confusion about the needs of the garden. If you are lucky enough to have an assistant on the day, making a list of your assistants will save time.
Hiring an Assistant: Ancient wisdom tells you that the days of "I can do anything without help" are over. Start by deciding what kind of help you need (which will change over time).
Do you need regular help with large tasks on a weekly, monthly or seasonal basis, or do you want someone to call when you need them? Are you looking for an experienced professional or someone to teach you the necessary skills? Areas where garden assistants are in demand include: horticulture programs in high schools, vocational schools and community colleges; References from gardeners; and local kindergarten relations. Make sure you know exactly what you want your employees to do. And make sure you're clear about your expectations, how many hours it will take to complete the job, and what you're willing to pay.
Speaking of the real thing: the garden is only suitable for a short and limited extraction window and (perhaps) our own plot. Learn to accept imperfection and realize that plants are always "in the making". Leave a few dead leaves under the bush to enrich the soil. Leave grass seeds in the lawn to soak the grass and feed the grass. But anyway, if it stays small and green - viola! - This is grass.
Find out which plants are growing beyond your control. 1) deciding to continue investing time and money in it; 2) Give them a brutal pruning to see if they can revive; or 3) removal and replacement. The most difficult trees to remove are old landscape trees that have provided shade and beauty to the yard for many years. If something needs to go, don't be in a rush to replace it - more sunlight will allow for a new landscape and allow you to enjoy your new outdoor space.
Container Gardens: Gardening in attractive containers of various shapes and sizes is a great option for areas with poor soil and for gardeners with limited mobility and/or growing energy. Containers placed around the deck or deck create a sense of structure and privacy while providing a splash of life and color.
Before moving on to the next list of ergonomic tools and plants to consider for your garden, consider Edison's advice to gardeners of old: "The easiest way to garden is to follow nature and learn to go with the flow." "
Supplier of ergonomic tools and equipment: soft-handled trimmers and cutters; Ratchet cutters and cutters; Pole saw with extension handle; A lightweight, durable, kink-free, ultra-flexible garden hose with zero-g; Digging and weeding with Radius garden tools; Hori Hori Knife; Short and long stem weeds; Ho in U handle; knee pads and benches; swivel chair A suit with deep pockets.
Battery Powered Tools: Blowers, Hedge Trimmers, Lawn Mowers, Weed Wickers, Hand Spreaders.
Another tip: use lightweight containers or wheels for planting in raised beds; Use the pool siphon to clean pools and water bodies; Hold a cell phone or whistle while gardening; Take regular breaks to stand and stretch; Stay hydrated.
For more information: www.gardeners.com; www.patriot-products-inc.com; www.radiusgarden.com
Easy care plants for Butte County
The list was compiled by UC Master Gardener Dana Drennan in Butte County.
Shrubs: Callistemon (glass brush); Cercis (red button); Chaenomeles (Flower Queens); cistus (rock rose); Cotinus (smoke tree or smoke bush); Dodonia (hopbush); Grevilla; Exium Lavender (lavender bush); Osmanthus (sweet olive); Prostanthera (mint bush).
Perennials: Achillea (yarrow); Anigozanthos (kangaroo foot); Caryopteris (blue bib); Epilobium (California Fuchsia); Hemerocallis (lily); Iris (see below); Oregano (Tim); Nepeta (mint); Perovsky (Russian sage); salvia Solidago (gold bar); Tecurium (Germany); Westringia (Rosemary Beach); Grasses such as Buteleua, Carex, Muhlenbergia and Stipa.
List of Low Maintenance Perennials (compiled by Addison) Sedum Harvest Joy, Agustache Blue Fortune, Ornamental Grasses, Liriope, Boltonia
Asteroid "Snowbank", Amsonia, Beautiful Red Aster, Sheep's Ear, Siberian Iris,
and daylilies
For more information on the Garden for Life workshop and more
Visit our website at Master Gardener Fall Workshop Series Workshops, Workshops-UC
Butte County Master Gardeners (ucanr.edu). All workshops are free, but registration is required
required
UC Master Gardeners is part of the Butte County University of California Cooperative Extension System, which serves our community in many ways including 4-H, agricultural consulting, nutrition and exercise programs. To learn more about the UCCE Butte County Master Gardeners and horticultural assistance in our area, visit https://ucanr.edu/sites/bcmg/ If you have questions or concerns about horticulture, please call the hotline at 552-5812 or email email@ucanr.edu.
