In this episode, we tour the makings of an Alpine Garden atop massive boulders in Sparta, NJ. You'll enjoy the lineup of highly deer-resistant perennials, creating movement cascading down the boulders.
We wrap up with a lineup of spring flowering bulbs, one with a skunk smell, leading to a lesson of acceptance of Canada Geese, not Canadian Geese as many call them.
I hope you enjoy the story.
Related Stories and Helpful Links:
Planning an Alpine Garden
Deer-Resistant Spring Blooming Bulbs
Winter Flowers and Folklore – blog post
Ep 98. Winter Flowers and Folklore
Etiquette of Pilfering Rocks – blog post
Ep 97. Etiquette of Pilfering Rocks
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I'd love to hear your garden and nature stories and your thoughts about topics for future podcast episodes. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com. Thanks so much for tuning in.
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Episode web page —Garden Dilemmas Podcast Page
Thank you for sharing the Garden of Life,
Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer
AskMaryStone.com
More about the Podcast and Column:
Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.
It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page
Ep 151 Rockin Alpine Gardens of Acceptance
Fri, Mar 08, 2024 8:50PM • 10:30
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
garden, boulders, plants, gardens, alpine, deer, rocks, flowers, sparta, spring, nature, bloom, yellow, aconite, lives, dilemmas, assortment, canada, geese, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration
SPEAKERS
Mary Stone
Mary Stone 00:00
Hello fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens, it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Mary Stone 00:26
Hello, there's Mary Stone on the screen porch; a sunny morning after a day of downpours yesterday that prevented me from sitting with you and now it's a little windy, but I hope it's okay. And we can enjoy our visit together. I don't know if you can hear in the background, but I'm hearing what I believe are carpenter frogs and my pond waking up even though it's not quite spring, but it is certainly showing its signs. That's for sure.
Mary Stone 00:55
Thanks to those that reach back after last week's chat St. Patrick and Legend of Clover, also known as shamrocks. I hope St. Patrick's Day has a new meaning for you. I also appreciate those who reached back with thoughts about the podcast with words of encouragement to keep going. And so we will. And I'm glad to hear that so many of you especially enjoy reflecting on the wisdom we can learn from nature in our gardens that relate to our lives inspiring us. I like to think of it as how nature and gardens help heal and grow our lives, don't you? You're so kind and I so appreciate it.
Mary Stone 01:31
While walking this morning I marveled over the snow drops and the aconite - the first beauties to emerge letting us know spring is near. We spoke about them in Episode 98, Winter Flowers and Folklore. And I just marvel at how snow drops appear in the most unusual places clearly not planted by humans. And it's true they have escaped gardens and are naturalizing all over the place. I wish they would find their way into my yard for some reason they haven't yet, but maybe they will or maybe they'll plant them someday. Speaking of aconite, it brings to mind a delightful project involving planning an Alpine garden in Sparta New Jersey, leading to a story that starts like this.
Mary Stone 02:15
Hello fellow listeners and readers. One of the joys of doing what I do as a landscape designer is working with special folks with unique properties, many with garden dilemmas that I see is opportunities, like James of Sparta, New Jersey, who lives on a mound of massive moss rocks. The foundation sits a top monster boulders. His home beautifully complements the natural surroundings with a sleek metal roof, creamy white trim, and an earthy green facade. When I first saw the setting, I declared my envy of his moss rock. Moss, which is bryophyte, is the oldest land plant on Earth for over 400 million years. And I'm drawn to boulders, especially massive ones, which may be related to my last name. Not to mention stone as the only deer proof thing in Sparta.
Mary Stone 03:07
The gardens were covered in landscape fabric, inhibiting moisture from penetrating soil and encouraging plants to have shallow roots. And due to the breakdown of mulch and debris, it does not prevent weeds. While removing the fabric. We assess root space for planting pockets, and I found many of them to my happiness.
Mary Stone 03:27
Alpine gardens frequently have gravel beds among hefty stones. I envisioned James' Alpine garden with swaths of plants to create visual movement cascading down the front boulders into a pool of a lawn alternative below. An Alpine garden mimics what we see in high elevations, full of plants that can handle poor shallow soil often sandy, but with good drainage.
Mary Stone 03:53
While I thought Bambi would have a tough time maneuvering the boulders to munch on my proposed garden amongst the art of nature. I stuck with deer resistant plants, such as sun loving snow in summer, which is Cerastium with puffs of white flowers. Creeping phlox, phlox subulata, carpeting rocks and brilliant pinks and purples and spring. And hens and chicks that come in many shapes and sizes and adorably tuck in nooks and crannies as do stonecrop which is sedum. There's the tiny maroon and green beauty of Sedum serpentini and Sedum sexangulare, which turns copper in intense sun and has bright yellow flowers in late spring. And of course creeping time. Specifically Thymus praecox will have a place in the tapestry of foliage. I included ornamental grasses for texture and interests, such as the ambitious blue fescue and pops of fountain grass, which is Pennisetum. For the shady or spots, there's deadnettle (lamium) I particularly like pink pewter, one of my favorites. And many unusual varieties of Bugleweed such as Ajuga Chocolate Chip, which can also take the sun.
Mary Stone 05:06
James built a water feature way back when to meander through the boulder formations with an inukshuk straddling the crevice of the narrow ribbon of water, which he did with his garden hose. And inukshuk is an artful stack of rocks in the form of a person, such as those you see on hiking trails. I have to include a side note here as we spoke about in episode 97 Etiquette of Pilfering Rocks, that there's this social media craze that is inspiring folks to stack stones all over parks and trails making a mess of things, and it contradicts the outdoor ethics of leave no trace. Do Not Disturb nature, and leave behind only footprints.
Mary Stone 05:45
We added a permanent water feature to enhance James's great idea, installing a 300 gallon reservoir to increase the water flow and drama. Mother Nature intensified. In the fall, we planted 500 bulbs.
Mary Stone 06:01
Can we time them to have color from early spring until the perennials bloom asked James of Lake Mohawk New Jersey? Yes, indeed, I've put together an assortment of bulbs that will give us an extended bloom in a colorful purple and yellow theme. Sparta New Jersey has one of the worst deer pressure areas I know. The deer even nibbled the newly planted ferns. So the highest deer resistance is in order such as daffodils and ornamental onions, which is Allium. I chose an assortment of all yellow daffodils that will bloom from early to late spring. The nifty Rotterdam mix from Brent and Becky's bulbs. In the ornamental onion category I chose Allium moly Jeannine, with sunny yellow golf ball size long standing blooms about a foot high and late spring into June. Then the softball 'Giganteum' will stand tall, over three feet. I also love Allium seed heads when dry, prolonging the role in the summer garden.
Mary Stone 06:59
Winter aconite will be James's early season lemon yellow wake up call. Another early fragrant bloomer will be the mix of yellow and purple low growing dwarf Iris, Iris reticulata. Perfect for the rock garden of huge boulders where a river a perennials and groundcovers will go. Of course, I included the starry flowers of Siberian, Scilla siberica, that grows seven to 12 inches. They thrive in full sun and shade. I chose lavender blue, though they come and an assortment of whites, pinks and purples. Corydalis Purple Bird is in the lineup too, with bundles of flowers above the ferny foliage to carpet the part shade areas in mid to late spring.
Mary Stone 07:45
New to me is Fritillaria, which creates an unusual structure in mid spring with striking clusters of dark purple bell like flowers that rise two to three feet. They're cool looking, but the skunk like fragrance may be a bit distracting. Shall we try a few - promise I won't put them by the front door. Smiley face. James the adventurer writes back. They all look great Mary, I love the purple flowers and of course the yellow daffodils to match the newly painted bright yellow door. I'm not worried about the skunk smell. Maybe it will encourage the deer to avoid my yard entirely. Garden Dilemmas, AskMaryStone.com.
Mary Stone 08:27
I'm still giggling about James accepting the skunk smell being okay near the front door. If we all had such acceptance. It is a beautiful plant and I didn't put it right next to the front door. I'm just saying. Speaking of acceptance, one of the things I enjoy hearing in early spring is the migration of Canada geese returning home. Although some spend winters here much to the chagrin of office complexes and golf courses that provide perfect environments for them to stay. By the way a deer writer friend who lives in Canada corrected me that they are not Canadian geese. They are Canada geese, and they get their name from their scientific name Branta Canadensis, but they're native to many habitats in North America, not just Canada. I feel the energy and their sounds as a crescendo through the sky like the glorious energy of the upcoming season of growth unfolding, inspiring us to contribute our energy to nurturing our dear Earth. Whether you garden or not, observe the beauty and rhythm of nature, except all parts of it. Because we are all part of nature. We are all one and the cycle that never ends.
Mary Stone 09:38
So thanks so much for coming by. I always appreciate our time together and I hope you enjoy the sounds of the carpenter frogs. I hope I have the right species- I think I do. I would greatly be thankful if you could pass along the podcast or friend or to some more can join us in learning and growing in the garden of life. Thanks so much. I'll see you next time on the screen porch.
Mary Stone 10:00
You can follow garden dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden dilemmas.com. and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden dilemmas, delights and discoveries is produced by Alex Barling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch. And always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life, have a great day.