The bones of the garden

The wind is blowing, and leaves are falling. Autumn is the perfect time to review the bones of the garden. Once the landscape puts itself to bed for winter, you can truly see its structure, but now is a good time to plan for better garden bones for next year. Yes, you can always add garden bones, although some are easier to implement than others.

Trees, shrubs, and hardscape are your garden’s bones.

As I walk my garden paths, I can now see the garden bones starting to emerge, with hardscape, like arbors, pathways, focal points, and garden borders of wood, stone and concrete. Like the bones in our bodies, trees, shrubs, and grasses provide structure. Without structure, the garden looks fuzzy and frankly boring.

My garden has a mix of hardscape styles because it grew over a long period. For many years, I didn’t have any money, so we used what we found. Recycled materials gave my garden a somewhat rustic and organic style. There was a plan that grew as the garden did, and as I became a better student of landscape design and horticulture, the garden became better too.

I started with railroad ties, for example, because they were from an old job site. My gravel paths came from another job site. Railroad ties are now considered passé.

Also, I wouldn’t suggest river rock for paths. It slides and weeds love it, but it was also free for the labor of removing it from a playground. That’s why I have river rock paths instead of decomposed granite. There was a time when you couldn’t even buy decomposed granite in Oklahoma.

Recently, I bought new Adirondack chairs for the main pathway in the back garden after the recycled ones my mother gave me eventually broke down from twenty-five years of being outside.

Weeding and removing plants keeps garden bones sharp and fuzziness at bay.

Everything was fuzzy with overgrowth, and I spent most of September, once the temperature dropped, knocking things back into shape. When temperatures rose into the 90s in October, I went inside and let the garden go.

Yes, I too get tired by the end of summer.

Armadillo problems

I also lost interest because of an armadillo invasion. It was rough going until, I think, fingers crossed, we caught the last armadillo the night before last. Only time will tell. These are like the cages we used. If you decide to go that route, you may capture other creatures as well.

I have one opossum youngster I let out of the cage at least four times. Same cage. Same marsupial. We had a small discussion this last time before she hissed at me and ran off into the tall garden phlox.

Feeling better gave me more garden energy.

I think I was so sick with an undiagnosed autoimmune disease and Alpha-gal syndrome the last two years I let certain plants grow out of control. I didn’t realize it was happening until I saw how overwhelmed the garden was with takeover plants.

All that fuzziness will hide your garden bones for sure.

My list of takeover plants.

My garden is full of overly-enthusiastic plants, some of which I wish I hadn’t introduced to soil, sunshine, and water. Which plants are the baddies?

Most of these dumb plants came from well-meaning garden friends when I was a novice. It’s a cautionary tale. Don’t accept a plant until you Google it. We barely had the internet 35 years ago so that’s my excuse!

• Rudbeckia fulgida sullivantii ‘Goldsturm’
• Physostegia virginiana, obedient plant, or false dragonhead
• Symphyotrichum ericoides, heath aster
• Symphyotrichum drummondii, Drummond’s aster.
• Clematis terniflora, sweet autumn clematis. I know it’s pretty in late summer, but this tenacious re-seeder is terrible in subsequent years. It is aggressive at best, and probably invasive even if it isn’t listed as such yet. I wrote an article on identifying invasive Oklahoma plants in 2022, and much of it still holds true.
• Lonicera japonica, Japanese honeysuckle, that came from Bill’s grandmother. I have done everything to eradicate this true invasive, but I can’t get rid of it, no matter how hard I try.

These are just some of the irritating plants that live here, and I’m always working to remove them so that the bones of the garden show and my neighbors don’t hate me.

Time to mulch. Again.

Winter is coming, so it’s time to mulch again. I must replace the mulch the stupid armadillos dragged everywhere. It’s frustrating, but it’s also just the truth.

Stop ticks in their tracks before they bite.

I’ll wear gloves, but I’ll also wear my permethrin treated clothing. I have a tick-borne disease called Alpha-gal syndrome, and the sure way to lessen my symptoms is to stop being bitten again by the Lonestar tick. Longtime readers are probably tired of reading about gardening with Alpha-gal, but having this disease and trying to avoid tick bites has changed my life.

I don’t step one foot off my garden paths without wearing permethrin-treated clothes, so I recently purchased Insect Shield’s easy pack to treat my own clothes. Although I bought several of their items, it is cheaper to treat some of my jeans. If you’re concerned about being bitten by the Lonestar tick and want to wear permethrin-bonded clothing, use my code, DEENASHRDR for 15% off.

This way, I can also wear my new Duluth overalls they sent me in this darling print.

You can also spray your clothes. I spray my shoes, but I also know spraying doesn’t last as long. Here is the permethrin spray I use.

Depth of color adds flavor to garden bones.

As you can see in these photos, fall adds a depth of color you just don’t have in spring and summer. The leaves are turning shades of red, orange, and gold while many native plants have dark fruits hanging from their branches. This gives emphasis to the bones of the garden and makes it more interesting.

I’ve discovered that fewer plants are better. Choose your trees and shrubs carefully. You can always change out a lackluster perennial or annual, but it’s difficult to remove trees and shrubs. Still, it’s the trees and shrubs that are the garden’s bones.

If you’re having trouble choosing plants for your garden or knowing which ones to remove, shoot me an email about garden coaching. I’d love to help.

Till next time.