Art Design 4 Garden

Showing posts with label Favorite. Show all posts

Thursday, November 13, 2014

My Favorite Garden Tools Part 1

Nothing will say "I love you and appreciate you" this holiday season more than a well-made garden tool. The heft of King of Spades 16” round blade spade or even a 17 lb. pencil point San Angelo bar can communicate the strength and endurance of your love and appreciation to that gardener in your life.

Ive been threatening to write a post on my favorite garden tools for a while now. Actually, I guess I have been threatening to write anything for a while. Maybe because it is the gift giving season, or maybe it is because I no longer need for these tools now that it is winter. In any case, I thought Id write about some tools I like to use. * In the spirit of full disclosure, I have not been paid or received any compensation for the following reviews. However I would really appreciate any endorsements or compensation from these fine companies!

Here are some of my favorite garden tools:

AM Leonard soil knife, my favorite all around garden tool. This is the tool I reach for most often. I use it for transplanting, weeding, and any relatively small digging job. It is very well constructed and stout. You won’t bend or break this- it will last a lifetime. It is made with stainless steel and a orange poly something handle, easy to find, and will last forever, no splinters, and does not need any care. I have used a bunch of hori horis (Japanese soil knife) and other soil knives and this is my favorite. This knife has been redesigned and it is much better than the same model I currently have. The serrations are deeper and sharper, and it even has a twine cutting notch (pretty useful). Mine are several years old and probably have decades more use in them. A close runner up is the Lesche soil knife , it looks really cool and tough with the much more aggressive serrated edge and the hand guard. I have both and I like them. They are both made in the USA, which I also appreciate.

Diggit 2 weeding tool. This tool is nearly indestructible (and comes with a lifetime warranty) , with a bright yellow vinyl handle. It is really narrow to cut through compacted soil to get the deep roots of dandelions and other plants. It is so string and stout, that I use mine to pry up or reset concrete or urbanite pavers. For weeding in a small space it is my favorite, plus it is made in the USA.

Felco #2 pruning shears. I wrote a post about these a while back. A fantastic tool- there is a reason everyone likes these.

17# pencil point San Angelo bar (hard to take a picture of it, but it looks like a bar). Here is my shout out to Texas. The one I have been using for years was a wedding present (no lie, my wife and I registered for it). Around here digging holes does not require a shovel, but rather a digging bar and your hands. My favorite tool for the job is a 72”, hexagonal-shafted, chisel point on one end, pencil point on the other end, carbon steel digging bar. A friend of mine recently dug all the holes for a fence with a screw driver and a coffee can. The coffee can was for the soil. It can be really rocky here.

Drain spades- for general digging and transplanting I use one of these (the green handled one in the picture at the top of the post, and most of mine have been bent from using them as a pry bar or something), but they are light weight and good for general use. But when the digging gets tough, the one to use is this one: The King of Spades 16” rounded blade digging spade. This is a real piece of machinery. Heavy, sharp, unbend-able, with and removable and replaceable foot pad. Although not advertised as a pry bar, you can use it for one, and I have (made in the USA).

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Native plant photo contest one of my favorite flowers

Gardening Gone Wild has a photo contest- a picture of a native plant in a garden setting. The prize- eight agastaches from High Country Gardens! This contest gave me the opportunity to look at a bunch of pictures and think about a lot of plants in a different way.

I fanally settled on this picture of a false dandelion (Agoseris glauca). It is one of my favorite wildflowers, and one of my favorite native plants for the garden. It is very drought tolerant- it grows on the west and south face of Missoulas Mount Sentinel, which gets hotter than the sun in summer, and it is easy to grow. It produces a showy large flower on top of a 2 tall stalk and it blooms continually from late May through July (and even beyond if you were to give it additional water). It is a prolific seeder, and readily volunteers, but since this is one of my favorties, I dont think of this as a bad thing.

In the picture above it is shown growing with (and towering above) an understory of prairie arnica (the darker yellow flowers; Arnica sororia), nodding onion (the little purple flowers; Allium ceruum), and a ground cover of hairy golden aster (Chrysopsis villosa).

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Favorite Fillers

Today I wanted to share 4 of my favorite plants to use as gap fillers in my garden.

My absolute favorite gap fillers are hostas. I just love how their big, lush green foliage fills in around their neighboring plants. They come in a variety of solid and variegated greens. Some are flowering while others simply boast beautiful green foliage. Theyre easy to thin, so transplanting and spreading to other areas around the garden helps you receive more bang for your buck. This year, Ive thinned quite a few of my hostas, which makes them look sparse at the moment. But I know in the coming months, they will fill right in and cover up the gaps that are around them. They do well in shade, so they work great under larger tress or in areas that dont receive much light.

(Shade loving hosta, lady fern, and solomons seal. They were tiny 4 inch transplants a few weeks ago but each have already tripled in size)

(Variegated Hosta growing under a Shoshoni Viburnum)

Another favorite are Shasta Daisies. They may not typically be used as a "filler" plant, but I appreciate their pretty green foliage and how they tend to mold in open areas around them. Who knows why, but these guys love my yard. Ive already divided several times a tiny little 4 inch plant that I purchased four years ago. In early Spring, they are very easy to thin and transplant in new areas. Ive also given many away as gifts. Although they bloom later in the summer, I enjoy their pretty green foliage this time of year. They are happiest in full sun, but also do well in part shade.

(Thick Chamomile foliage that grows in full sun on the left, Shasta Daisy foliage in the center)

Chamomile, which is considered a weed in some parts of the world, is another plant that isnt typically thought of as a filler. In my garden however, I love how their delicate, lace-like leaves spread all over and fill in gaps. I grow both varieties - Roman (a perennial) and German (a self-seeding annual). Both varieties spread wherever they want and give pretty little blossoms all summer long. Some gardeners keep them under control in containers. Their tiny seeds spread like fire in late summer and they can be considered invasive, but I actually like the way they take over open spaces. They love full sun, where their foliage gets full and thick. Theyll grow in shade and will still flower, however the foliage wont be as full. In the cooler spring months here in Seattle, they start of tall, thin and leggy. But come July and August, these little plants will bulk up in volume.

(Leggy Chamomile in bloom)

My favorite plant to cover lower ground areas is Irish Moss. I just love the varying tones of green and how it fills in around stones, pavers and bricks. I wish it grew faster, in my garden this is a slower growing plant and has taken several seasons to fill in just small areas. Come summer though, I love the tiny white blossoms that shoot out of the compact green foliage and appreciate how much its grown over the years.

What are some of your favorite plants to use as gap fillers in your garden? Id love to hear of any success/ failure stories you may have.