 |
| The first tulips of this—very late—spring! |
Growing up, my mother and I used to garden together regularly. I enjoyed the reward of seeing the things we planted grow into flowers, bushes, and trees, many of which would come back year after year.
To this day, the first flowers that I can pick from my yard are my proof that winter is finally over. When I first moved into my house several years ago, my mother gave me The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch as a housewarming present. I carried the book with me as I gardened, shopped for plants, planned my garden, or — quite often — tried to figure out what I'd done wrong!
 |
| Coneflowers are native to our region. |
One of the things that I realized shortly after moving in was that we needed to give up any attempt at a lawn in our front yard and minimize it elsewhere. Through trial and error we've achieved an effect I'm pretty happy with, but others might benefit from a book like Lawn Gone by Pam Penick to complete a project like this faster. To make our lawn-free yard happen, we tried to pick native plants and perennials to minimize upkeep and to avoid invasive and potentially invasive plants whenever possible. According to the University of Maryland Extension: "invasive plants cause damage through their displacement of more desirable plants." Plants classified as invasive are often available in garden centers; some may have potential benefits, especially in a changing climate, but, I'd prefer to steer clear of them.
 |
| Tomatoes! |
After failing for years to successfully guard my plants from the local wildlife, I signed up for a community garden plot near my house last year. The community garden has much higher fences than I can put around my garden and, last year, proved perfect for a bountiful tomato harvest. A partial list of community gardens in Maryland is available from the University of Maryland Extension. If you don't have time for or access to a community garden, you might also consider container gardening to take advantage of patios, decks or windowsills. You could also try techniques like square foot gardening, designed to get the most out of small garden spaces.
Want more gardening tips or need to diagnose your plant woes? Stop by a Master Gardener clinic at one of our branches. We have some other gardening links, and information about local gardens you can enjoy without having to do the work, on our website. You can also hear more about MCPL's gardening resources from librarian and gardening enthusiast Beth Chandler on our latest episode of the Library Matters podcast:
Happy gardening!
LenneaLabels: Books, e-Books, Gardening, STEM
