Vol. 5, No. 4, April 2008
RSS Feeds
Backyard Paradise
There’s a reason they call New Jersey the Garden State. Find out how to make your backyard a botanical showplace
It’s spring. At this time of year, who among us does not daydream about daisies and day lilies, hyacinth and heliotrope? After all, as your car’s license plate proclaims, New Jersey is the Garden State.
A combination of sandy, slightly acidic soil and an exceptionally moderate climate (especially here in South Jersey) make it possible to grow an amazing variety of flowers and plants. Even if you’ve never picked up a spade before, try it this year, with these pointers from some of the region’s top gardening experts. The experts are:
• Hope Gaines, the proprietor of Garden Keepers and longtime gardener for the Physick Estate in Cape May. At the 19th century estate, she has faithfully recreated Victorian-style gardens as they appear in photographs of the era—including a front lawn oval garden planted to resemble an Oriental rug.
• Sally Burke, Atlantic City manager for Parker Plants, the landscaping and garden design company. Parker Plants is responsible for the street-side gardens of just about every casino in town.
• The aptly named Jack Aprill. He made his gardening dream a reality more than 30 years ago, when he and his family converted their 30-acre historic homestead into the largest annual garden in the United States, Leamings Run in Cape May Court House.
Laying the Groundwork
According to Gaines, the first thing you may need to do is condition the soil. Although sandy soil is preferable to clay-based soils, plants do need some type of organic matter to thrive.
“If you have really sandy soil, the water just goes right out of it and it pulls all the minerals and everything with it,” she says. “So you may need to condition your soil with compost and topsoil, or you can just stick with plants that do well in sandy conditions.” Some of the plants Gaines recommends for sandy soil: lavenders, salvias and many herbs.
Both Aprill and Burke recommend having your soil tested by your county extension service. Soil tests are offered through the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Service and cost about $15. (For more information call 609-465-5115 in Cape May County and 609-625-0056 in Atlantic County.)
“Especially for lawn care,” says Burke, “a lot of people think they need a four-step fertilizer system. But it’s often unnecessary. Before you waste your time and energy putting things on the lawn, make sure it needs it.”
Aprill recommends using your weekly grass clippings as mulch in your flower beds. “They’re the ideal mulch because they’re full of nutrients, they’re moist so they rot rapidly into rich soil, and they’re not in your way next year like bark mulch.”
Each week at Leamings Run, the gardeners place two inches of fresh grass clippings around all newly planted flowers. Aprill says each week’s two-inch layer prevents weeds from sprouting, and adds that residual lawn chemicals have never affected a single one of his plants (he uses clippings from a landscaper that originate in over 30 residential lawns). By mid-June, the plants will fill out and no longer need to be mulched.
For those who are short on time or don’t have a yard to work with, a container garden might be ideal.
“You can just go crazy with containers and window boxes,” says Gaines. “Anything that will grow in the ground will grow in a container. Even vegetables—you can put a couple of lima beans in a pot with a trellis and they’ll take off.”
Burke stresses the importance of using containers with drainage, and recommends placing a layer of crushed stone in the bottom topped by a good commercial potting soil.
“We also use a water soluble fertilizer like Miracle-Gro on our container gardens two or three times during the season,” she said.
Pick the Right Plant
When you start shopping for plants, you’ll see that most of them have labels indicating whether they’re suitable for sun or shade, and the zones where they’ll do best. South Jersey is zone seven, which means there are almost limitless options. According to our experts, some of the easiest flowers to grow are impatiens and begonias for shade, and marigolds or zinnias for sun.
Gaines suggests that beginning gardeners do two things before they start buying plants: find a reputable nursery and observe what looks good in your neighbor’s yard. “You may want to be different and try something unusual, but sometimes there’s a reason everybody has the same plant—they do well!” she says.
McNaughton’s in Somers Point sells between 4,000 and 5,000 flats of impatiens every spring. “They are our most popular flower for shade, by far,” says store manager Chris Miller.
Another of Miller’s favorite flowers for this area is the annual vinca flower, not to be confused with the perennial or vine vinca.
“It looks like an impatiens, but it can be put in the full sun and it’s drought- and salt-tolerant,” Miller says. “It takes three or four weeks to establish itself, but then it just takes off.”
If you’re interested in planting vegetables, just remember they need at least six hours of sun per day. Which vegetables grow best? “With our climate, you can grow just about anything you want to eat,” says Aprill. At the very least, all self-respecting Garden State residents should try their hands at growing Jersey tomatoes.
If you’re planting from seed, check the instructions on the packet and go by the directions for zone seven. Gaines’ general rule of (green) thumb is to plant lettuce and greens as soon as you can stand to be outside.
“For everything else, you need to wait until the nighttime temperatures are consistently about 60 degrees, which is usually the middle of May,” she says.
Aprill starts plants early in a cold frame and babies them along so that Leamings Run is ready to open to the public in the middle of May, but he doesn’t recommend it for the average gardener.
“One of the factors that causes plants to grow is day length,” he says. “Earlier in the spring, it can take weeks for a plant to grow the same size it would grow during a week in May.”
Aprill also recommends planting in a “muddy puddle.” After digging a hole with a trowel, fill the hole with water and push the plant down into the mud. “That way you don’t end up with an air pocket under the plant. We’ve never lost a plant with this system.”
Once your plants are in the ground, it’s just a matter of keeping them watered (about an inch per week should suffice) and checking for pests.
For the most part, however, the rest of your summer should be spent enjoying the fruits of your labor. Even gardening experts don’t like to spend too much time working at their gardens. “For me, if it’s not easy, it takes the fun out of it,” says Burke, “and it ought to be fun.”
VEGGIE TALES
Quick, name 10 good reasons to thank a Jersey farmer! It’s no secret. The colorful fruits and vegetables that abound here from spring through autumn are not simply the hallmark of the Garden State. They’re also a fast track to good health and long life. Here’s our Top 10:
• Tomatoes. High in vitamins C and A, tomatoes contain lycopene to protect cells and lower the risk of cancer and heart disease.
• Broccoli. High in vitamins C, K and A, this green leafy is full of phytonutrients, thought to have anti-cancer effects.
• Eggplant. High in fiber, potassium and manganese, eggplant also contains phytonutrients.
• Carrots. High in vitamins A, K, C and fiber, carrots have antioxidant compounds that help protect against heart disease and cancer and promote good vision as well. You’ll never see a rabbit wearing bifocals!
• Peppers. High in vitamins C and A, peppers of all colors are full of antioxidant compounds to guard against heart disease and cancer.
• Onions. High in chromium and vitamin C, these aromatic roots may help lower blood sugar.
• Strawberries. High in vitamin C and phytonutrients, strawberries are good and good for you.
• Watermelon. High in vitamins A and C, this summer favorite contains lycopene to protect cells and lower the risk of cancer and heart disease.
• Blueberries. An excellent source of vitamins C, K, manganese and fiber, blueberries are an antioxidant superfood shown to slow and even reverse age-related brain decline. Blueberry bonus: Along with their little red cousin, the cranberry, they may help ward off urinary tract infections.
• Corn. Mmm, there’s nothing like a fresh ear of Jersey corn! Forego the gobs of butter and salt and you’ve got a good source of vitamin C, thiamin and folate. Corn also helps maintain eye health.
