My earliest garden memory dates back to when I was about 3 years old. I remember running ahead of my Dad’s reel mower “saving” the Johnny-Jump-ups from being mown over. (What’s funny about this is I still ask my husband to let me know before he does the first cut of the year–with a battery mower now–so I can “save” the early bulbs from the lawn).
My first paying job was also in “horticulture”–I was paid $1/week to deadhead my neighbor’s petunias when I was 11 years old. I’ve been gardening ever since.
By 14, I had 50 houseplants in a 10′x10′ bedroom. I still am over-run with houseplants–the collection numbers in the hundreds, but since I lecture on houseplants, I never want for props!
I’ve been organic in my indoor gardening for as long as I can remember. I became organic in my outdoor gardening in 1994 when I realized I had no butterflies on my property. In researching what butterflies need, I learned that they are very susceptible to pesticides. So I have used no pesticides since then, and I now have 29 different kinds of butterflies on the property–a remarkable comeback.
My gardens are certified as a backyard habitat by the state department of environmental protection (#22), a program they no longer have, and by the National Wildlife Federation (#34,999). Whenever possible, I try to tread lightly on the earth.
This has been such a great growing season! For the first time, I feel like I have a green thumb. But now that my garden is more successful, Karla, what do you recommend I do to keep some of this rapid growth at bay? For example, the green stalks on my bleeding heart has gone absolutely bonkers after its blossoming season! How drastically can I cut it back?
By: Joyce on July 17, 2010
at 1:55 pm
Joyce,
First, congratulations on the garden! It’s been a tough year for some with the heat and the dryness so consider yourself quite the success!
If you have the hybrid bleeding heart (and you’ll know this because it stopped blooming and hasn’t re-bloomed) you can cut it all the way to the ground. These generally go dormant at some point during the growing season anyway and begin to turn yellow–mine already have in fact–so I just cut them all the way to the ground.
If you have the fern-leaf bleeding heart, these don’t go dormant and they re-bloom, so rather than cutting them back to the ground, you might just want to cut back the outer, woodier stalks a bit–and in the fall, or cooler weather, you can divide them. Happy Gardening!
By: gardendaze on July 17, 2010
at 8:07 pm