Dirt: The New Prozac

In a recent Outside Magazine article entitled "The Pursuit of Happiness," I found one of the "life-improving strategies" of particular interest.  
It is simply...

Get Dirty.    

 "Dirt may be the new Prozac. Working in soil raises your spirits, in part because you pick up cheerful germs while digging. University of Colorado researcher Christopher Lowry injected mice with dirt-dwelling Mycobacterium vaccae and found increased serotonin in the critters’ prefrontal cortex. Getting your own dose is as easy as taking a walk in the wilderness or planting something. You don’t need to wait until spring: even in the dead of winter you can sprout basil seeds in a pot on your sunniest windowsill."


You know, I always say, "A day without dirt under your nails is like a day without sunshine."  Who knew what I was really saying all along was, "A day without Mycobacterium vaccae under your nails is like a day without serotonin." :-)

As we start a new year with all kinds of often unreasonable, unattainable resolutions and goals, I think this is one resolution we can actually keep.

So get out there (or in) and get some Mycobacterium vaccae under your nails, and have a...

Happy New Year!  

Toni :-)

Hellstrip Redemption

Redemption:  The act or process of redeeming

Redeem:

1. To reform, change (for the better)
2. To save, rescue, or recover.
3. To reclaim (to return land to a suitable condition for use).

My hellstrip has been redeemed!  It has been reformed, transformed, and changed for the better.   It has been rescued from a mundane life of Bermuda and weeds needing to be mowed on a weekly basis.  I have reclaimed that long hellstrip of lawn and returned the land to a suitable condition for growing beautiful blooming perennials that attract visitors of the pollinator and people kind.

Here is how the area looked in January right after having the utilities marked.

The transformation began in March by having the Bermuda grass removed.  As the Bermuda attempted a comeback, and as soon as temperatures allowed, I followed up with Roundup applications to make sure the Bermuda was killed to the root, leaving me with a clean slate. 

Then in late May the day I had been waiting for arrived.  

    

3 cubic yards of compost, 2 tons of cobblestone, and 1800 pounds of moss rock boulders were delivered first thing in the morning, and I got right to work.

Since phone cables run the length of the area literally just inches below the surface, and sometimes on top of the ground, I could not till the soil, so I opted to mound the bed with compost. 

Then with the help of my husband, the largest boulders were placed in random spots throughout the bed.    I  also added several pieces of flagstone along the front edge of the bed to make an area for visitors to have something to step on instead of flowers.  Then I began adding cobblestones along the edges to hold the mounded compost.

On Day 2 I finished adding the cobblestones along the edges of the bed.

 

On Day 3 I added the plants, and on Day 4 I mulched the bed.

And here's the finished product!

Notice the heart-shaped boulder :-)   

I love how the new bed turned out!!

You can see the taller plantings in the bed on the other side of the sidewalk.   All of the plants I chose for the hellstrip plantings are lower growing.

 (See detailed plant list below)

Elfin Thyme was added between the flagstones.  I am not sure if it can take this much heat, but I will replace it with sedum acre if it does not do well.  A variety of sedums and thymes were added along the cobblestone edges to soften the look over time as they creep between the rocks.

Before and After

Here's a list of the plants I used:

Catmint 'Walker's Low'

Zexmenia hispida

Lamb's Ear 'Helen Von Stein'

Pink Skullcap, Scutellaria suffrutescens

Dianthus 'Bath's Pink'

Blackfoot Daisy, Melampodium leucanthum

Salvia nemerosa 'Snow Hill' and 'May Night'

Four Nerve Daisy, Hymenoxys

Creeping Phlox, Phlox subulata

Dwarf Mexican Petunia, Ruellia 'Katie's'

Daylily 'Little Missy,' 'Little Zinger,' 'Little Trooper,' 'Dutch Art,' 'Sissy'

Pine Muhly, Muhlenbergia dubia

Germander

Gray Creeping Germander

Santolina (gray)

Thyme:  Thymus vulgaris Lavendar, Elfin, Silver Posie, Lemon, Woolly

Sedum reflexum 'Blue Spruce,' 'Lemon Ball'

Sedum kamtschaticum

Sedum potosinum

Sedum sarmentosum

Sedum mexicanum

Sedum acre

Daffodils:  'Golden Dawn,' 'Tete a Tete,' 'Erlicheer,' 'Carlton,' 'Ice Follies'

'Wise Blue' Starflower

I also added some 'Cora' Periwinkles and 'Sundial' Moss Rose just for some annual color this year until the perennials grow and fill in the extra spaces.   

Yes, my hellstrip has been redeemed!    In fact, I'd say it's downright heavenly now.

Do you have a piece of ground that needs rescuing?

Happy Gardening!

Toni :-)

My Garden is Growing

Spring is well under way here in North Texas, and my garden is growing.

The wildflowers and ornamental grasses are growing, 

and more perennials are emerging every day.

Buds are turning into leaves.

Ferns are unfurling.

The lawn has gotten its annual topdressing of compost,
so it is growing and greening.

 My veggie garden is growing like gangbusters, and I've already had my first harvest of carrots and asparagus :-)

But my garden is growing in another way.   The front perennial bed is expanding.  That patch of grass between the sidewalk and the street, commonly known among gardeners as the "hellstrip," is on its way to becoming a heavenly patch of perennials.

I have been wanting to rip out this section of lawn for a couple years now, but with other projects going on and having my garden on tour last spring, I put my plans on hold.

In January of this year we had a drain repaired in another part of the front yard, so the underground utilities were marked across the whole front yard, including the hellstrip area. I thought, as long as the utilities are marked so that we can see where we need to be careful, now sure seems like a great time to start the hellstrip project.

Unfortunately, some of those utilities are just inches below the surface, so the grass removal could not be as thorough as I would have liked.  I am going to have to resort to spraying with Roundup to kill any remaining grass because I am not going to battle Bermuda for the rest of my life.   I consider myself an organic gardener, but I do have my limitations.  If there were ever a reason to cross over the line for a bit, it is for the eradication of Bermuda.  Believe me, if I could dig without either cutting phone service to the neighborhood, electrocuting myself, or causing a gas explosion, I would be digging to my heart's content, but that is just not an option.  So, my fellow organic gardening friends, please forgive me, but I will be nuking the Bermuda as soon as it starts to rear its invasive little head.

I got online to look for inspiration and ideas for designing my hellstrip plantings, and I came across a blog called the Art of Gardening.  Jim's post called Living Hellstrips shows a collection of beautiful hellstrip planting designs.

When I came upon this picture, I knew I had found what I was looking for.   Adding the cobblestones will hopefully allow me to raise the planting areas enough to be out of the zone of the utility lines.    My plan is to use low-growing perennials (no taller than 1 foot tall) so that the perennials in the beds on the other side of the sidewalk can still be seen from the street. 

So at this point the initial grass removal has been done.

Complete eradication of the Bermuda roots now lurking below the surface will just take some time, so I am trying to be patient.  I need to wait until the temperatures are warm enough and the Bermuda is actively growing in order for the glyphosate applications to be effective.

Here's the list of plant options I'm considering:

Lamb's Ear - Stachys byzantina 'Helen von Stein'
Pink Skullcap - Scuttellaria suffrutescens
Sedum (various)
Katie's Ruellia - Dwarf Mexican Petunia
'Azure Skies' Heliotrope
Thyme
Creeping Phlox - Phlox subulata
'Bath's Pink' Dianthus
Scabiosa
'May Night' Salvia - Salvia nemorosa
Four-Nerve Daisy - Tetraneuris scaposa
Catmint 'Walker's Low' - Nepeta
'Hameln' Fountaingrass or Mexican Feathergrass

Stay tuned for further updates on my latest garden project; I can't wait to get it growing!

Toni :-)

P.S. Check out Rhone Street Gardens to see the beautiful transformation of the parking strip in front of Scott's Portland home.

An Alphabet for April (E-H)

"E"

is for Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate'  

Although this plant blooms in late summer, early autumn, the foliage is beautiful this month.  And besides, any plant with the name Chocolate is a winner in my book :-)

 

"F"

is for the fabulous foliage of Farfugium

I have five different varieties of this great shade plant.

Farfugium used to be called Ligularia, and the common name is Leopard Plant, which is fitting for this spotted variety, 'Aureomaculatum'

This Green Leopard Plant has no spots

This beautifully variegated variety is

'Kaimon Dake'

Farfugium 'Giganteum' has giant leaves

'Shishi Botan' has curly leaves

 "G"

is for the green, green grass of home

A few weeks ago we top-dressed the lawn with compost.  

Click here to see the "before" pictures.

"H"

is for happiness

My arm is finally 100% healed, so I am back to diggin' in the dirt :-)

I am no longer a gimpy gardener -- just a happy one with dirt under my nails!

Remember...

a day without dirt under your nails is like a day without sunshine.

To see the Alphabet for April (A-D) post, click here

Who knows what the rest of the alphabet will bring...

Toni :-)

Black is the New Green

Yesterday was compost day!

12 cubic yards of beautiful rich compost were delivered to my driveway

bright and early yesterday morning.

  

In my excitement, I forgot to take a picture of the mound of compost, but here is the closeup of the magical soil amendment.

Every spring I spread 1/2 to 1 inch of compost over the lawn areas.

The spreading commenced (in a cold, drizzly rain, I might add)...

...first in the front yard.

And then the backyard.

Extra compost was added to the new bed areas I have been working on.  

You can click here to read about this year's project.

 For a few days the whole yard is black,

but then the magic happens and everything turns to a beautiful, lush green.

 I love compost day!!

Makes me think of Ezekiel 36:35  

"They will say, This land that was laid waste has become like 

the garden of Eden."

Please visit again and I will share pictures of the transformation from a "wasteland to the garden of Eden."

Happy composting!

Toni :-)