Hampton Gardener: June Ramble

It’s mid-June, and like many of you I spend my weekends gardening. Like many of you I do the two-hour drive on Fridays, and sometime early in the evening I pull in the driveway, park—and I leave the world behind as my Friday grin spreads across my face. The grass is inevitably too tall and needs to be cut … but, ah, the garden. The garden is just sublime beyond description, and after 12 years of hard work I’ve got my little piece of heaven. And, it’s time to ramble.The thrill of the garden at this time of the year is heightened because most of the hard work is done and for the next 10 weeks or so we can, for the most part, enjoy the fruits, flowers and vegetables of our efforts. Every week brings new delights, and while the weekends are all too short when you need to mow and trim, the flowering has begun, the colors are filling in and the scents are heavenly.

It’s also at this time that we really need to pay attention to staking. This is always a perplexing task, because plants continue to grow and for some strange reason the stakes stay the same size. My fantasy of a reusable, telescoping garden stake remains unrealized. But if you use the twig method, using mostly beech twigs collected in late winter, the stakes can be cut to different sizes and shapes, and they become invisible as the plants get taller. Then there are the plants like the lilies that can get up to 7 and 8 feet tall. To keep them from snapping in high winds and storms, they need to be staked, and only the cleverest gardeners can do this without the stake becoming the focal point instead of the plant. Here, the color of the stake is critical, as is the material used to tie.

Staking some plants early in the season, like tall garden phlox, allows us to use taller stakes that are quickly hidden by the rapidly growing stems of the phlox—and again, the color of the stakes is critical. Use natural bamboo here and, as it sticks out like a stake, use a green stake with green stretch tape or green twine—and in no time everything disappears but the plant. The biggest mistake I think gardeners make is staking too late so that the stakes never blend in. There’s a choice in staking material, and choices in tying material. Use both wisely.

Back in May, when the raindrops were few and far between, I had to get my hoses out to reach my new plantings. There’s nothing quite as frustrating as pulling 100 feet of hose only to have it kink back in the first few feet. It’s especially frustrating when you buy allegedly kink-proof hose. But I had a new experience this year. I had the water pressure all the way up, no kinks, and yet only dribble came out of the hose end. I shut off the pressure, removed the nozzle, and inside the hose I saw what appeared to be a stone blocking the water. With no way to get it out, I cut the male end of the hose with the intent of simply putting on a new male end with a repair kit once I got the stone out.

No stone though. Instead I found the inside of the hose, a plastic-like inner tube, crushed. So my no-kink, guaranteed-for-years hose had collapsed and not in one spot but several spots. This was a new one. I happened to mention this to the retailer where I’d bought the hose a few years ago and to my surprise I was told that I wasn’t the only one who was having trouble with this brand. Not a good sign, not at all. At this point all I’ll add is that the brand is signified by a large white waterfowl and that hose won’t be flying in my garden ever again. Hint, it’s not a duck and it’s not a goose.

But I do have some good news. We’re all plagued by various visitors to our gardens who show their gratitude and appreciation by eating our plants. We spray, we fence and they always seem to find that one opening and tell all their friends. Well, this year I’ve been manic about spraying and spreading repellents, but in my all-important trial garden I took a new tack. I put in an electric fence. Now don’t go crazy on me, because it’s not the kind you find on horse and cattle farms. This one is small, easy to set up, and runs on only a couple of flashlight batteries. Will it keep deer out? No. Will it keep rabbits, raccoons and groundhogs out? Yup.

This fence, the Zareba-battery-powered KGPDC-Z, is available online for about $125, and it comes with enough wire and stakes to protect a good-size garden. The kit includes the charging unit, 10 stakes, a tester, three warning signs and 250 feet of wire. In theory it can cover miles of garden, but as sold it protects a smaller space. I just set the 10 stakes around my 1,000-square-foot square plot, set a single strand of wire about 8 inches off the ground, installed the ground rod, put the batteries in and zap, my fence was working.

At 8 inches above the ground, any small animal that comes into contact with the wire will be shockingly reminded to keep away. The fence has been up for two months now and not a nibble has been taken. Esmeralda, my trusty companion of the canine type, didn’t believe me when I told her to stay away. Now she stays away.

A few plants of note to mention. Saruma henryi is a much-overlooked perennial of 12 to 15 inches and it tolerates light shade. It sports velvety green foliage and bright yellow flowers about the size of a quarter just above the plant. Not spectacular, but very reliable and subtle, the plant will flower for months as long as you deadhead it. Keep pinching and it keeps blooming with no apparent insect or disease issues. I’ve seen it at local garden centers and it’s been in my garden for 10 years. Also take a look at Spigelia marilandica or the Indian pink. I found mine at, of all places, a hardware store in Fleischmanns, New York, and it’s a real standout later in the summer. It’s also a perennial, and really red and not pink, Growing 12 inches wide and tall, and flowering late in the summer with bright red flowers and yellow star centers, it can be an interesting focal point.

Then there’s Peony “Blaze.” Wow, what a stunner. If ever a single word described a flower, “Blaze” is it. I’ve never seen such a vibrant red, and everyone who passes this plant gets caught by it. This is a single, early-flowering peony that will bloom out here in mid to late May. Planted as a single or in a group of three, this plant is nothing short of spectacular. It needs to be grown in full sun, but as the sun sets it’s a ball of fire. Add this one to your wish list. Keep growing.