"On the Greener Side"
By Dana DuGan
Working the gardens
Hailey gardening is neighborly
Garden tours are heady affairs for the
gardeners, of course. It takes extensive planning, sometimes a year in advance
to ready a garden for the event. It also takes massive weeding, watering, mowing
and possible last minute planting. The whole affair can be exhausting and
gratifying, all at once.
The valley has recently celebrated, over
two consecutive weekends, the Sawtooth Botanical Garden Tour in the north
valley, and the Friends of Hailey Library Garden Tour in Hailey. That’s a lot of
prep work for valley gardeners and nurseries. Just think of all those who just
want to kick back on a deck for the remainder of the summer.
This year, Hailey’s tour took place in
what is known as Old Hailey, among the quaint old houses and small lots.
I discovered a funny side bar to this
whole venture. Not only are the gardeners toiling but their neighbors are as
well. Believe me, it takes a lot of work, though probably less money.
Because my garden backs up to one of the
featured gardens in the Friends of Hailey Library Garden Tour, with a fence
between us, I found myself weeding for hours the day before the tour and the
morning of the tour. My weeding led me into my neighbor’s garden, where I could
get a better look at how the growth from my own site might look to those on the
tour. There I stayed for another couple of hours, helping my neighbor weed, and
trimming, pruning and cleaning all the stuff I never get a chance to see.
But it wasn’t just the two of us. Folks
all over Old Hailey were busy making their own lots look their best. It was a
neighborhood event in the best way. Everyone was in on it.
Speaking of cleaning up, there is plenty
for gardeners to do even if they’re not faced with a deadline.
Since it’s the height of summer fading
blossoms from bulbs need to be deadheaded, though some, like daylilies usually
drop blossoms on their own. This encourages new blossoms and keeps the garden
looking spiffy.
If you know a flower self seeds, deadhead
it before the plant goes to seed, or wait and cut the flower heads, dry and save
them for planting at a later date.
A good example of this is the gigantic
lovage plant in one of my plots. It is nearly time to deadhead it totally, so
that it won’t spread anymore than its already done. If you want lovage, and
frankly who doesn’t, you know whom to call.
As for the lawn, much as gardeners would
like to eliminate it altogether, it needs cutting every 10 days or so. Raise the
height of the lawn mower so that the grass grows a bit higher. Longer grass
blades shade the soil surface and roots, keep the ground cooler, and the grass
greener, as pesky brownouts won’t occur as frequently.