How to create your own dry garden

The four boulders represent the four islands of Japan

What we, in the US,  like to call "Zen Garden" is actually called "Dry Garden" in Japanese culture.  It is a low water option for any gardener who desires a simple, peaceful place to relax and meditate.  Creating a dry garden can be a highly refined art, with very precise requirements for material and placement, but beginners can achieve a similar affect by observing some basics:

1. Decide how large you want to make your dry garden. Determine your available space. Are you going to make a garden that fills up part of your backyard, or are you going to start with a dry garden to place on your desk?  The beauty of a dry garden is that it can be any size you wish.  The steps are the same, the scale will just be different. 
2. Create a border to contain the sand and/or gravel. Sand or gravel generally form the matrix of a dry garden.  You want your dry garden to look sharp, clean, and uncluttered.  To keep the material from spreading and looking sloppy you must have borders that will prevent the sand/gravel from escaping If you are making a large garden, bamboo is one of the prettiest materials to build your border with.  If you don't have bamboo, you can also use 2" x 4" pieces of lumber, old railroad ties, or any other type of wood.  You can even build a low rock wall.   If you are making a desktop dry garden, you can create it out of almost any container that will fit on your desk.
3. Nail, screw, or glue together your border. After you have completed your form, you can decorate the wood by painting, staining, or varnishing it.  
4. Weed control. Dry gardens receive much of their appeal from their cleanliness. Keeping out weeds is a must for outdoor gardens.   Thoroughly treat the area with a weed control.  As a precautionary measure, you may wish to also lay down some landscaping tarp to prevent the re-emergence of any weeds that you missed.  Allow two weeks to elapse before planting anything in this area.
   
5. Fill the form to the top with sand or gravel.  You will want very fine sand or gravel.   Pick a sand that is visually appealing if you are placing it on the surface of the garden. Spread the sand or gravel evenly and as level as possible. For a small desktop garden, you might be able to buy sand in small bags at a local pet shop or aquarium supply store. For larger gardens, call the local rock shop, quarry, or landscaping supply company.
6. Put selected features in your dry garden to set a visually stimulating theme.  Place features  off-center and partially submerged for the best effect. dry gardens generally include natural items made of wood, rock and vegetation, but don’t be afraid to add statues or other additions. Just don’t clutter your dry garden; use features sparingly. Remember, you want it to be peaceful and simple. Make sure that the feng shui is in check with your karma and dharma before enjoying your dry garden!  As with most things in life, balance is key.  Some features that look nice in dry gardens include:
•  Water features
• Boulders
• Mossy logs
• Plants.  In particular, evergreens or bonsai plants for smaller gardens
• Moss
• Rocks with interesting shapes, textures, and/or colors
• Statues
• Lanterns
• Pottery
7. Rake the sand or gravel in long, curving strokes to represent water ripples. You can use a number of patterns to accentuate your garden, and the nice thing is that you can change it as many times as you like! 
8. Enjoy many relaxing hours your dry garden!

November featured plants for Oak Ridge Shrubbery

Holly Fern

Holly Fern
Cyrtomium falcatum 'Rochfordianum'

Holly Ferns are a coarse-textured; but handsome evergreen fern.  Holly ferns are great for growing indoors, not only because of their glossy green fronds, but because they withstand dry air, drafts, and low light levels. Holly ferns are native to Asia but they also do very well outside here in NC giving your shade garden green foliage all year long. 2’ -3’ T’ 24” W


1 gal $10.49

Mardi Gras Abelia

Mardi Gras Abelia
Abelia x ‘Mardi Gras’

The dramatic coloring of the Mardi Gras Abelia will make your garden sing. The leaves are green and white with a blush of soft salmon pink. This semi-evergreen shrub sparkles with white flowers from spring to fall.  3’ T x 5’ W.  Full Sun. 

3 gal $27.99

Limelight Hydrangea tree form

Limelight Hydrangea
Hydrangea paniculata  ‘Limelight’
Vigorous, spreading deciduous shrub with ovate, pointed, toothed green foliage.  In late summer, outstanding bright lime green flowers hold their fresh color right until autumn.  No need to add any special amendments to the soil to achieve its beauty.  Ideal for mass planting, accent, foundation, or use in the shrub border.  Outstanding for cutting and drying for long lasting arrangements.  Part Sun to shade.
3 gal $31.99                Tree form 15 gal $159.99

Cleopatra

Fall Blooming Camellias
Camellia sasanqua
Evergreen with beautiful, shiny, green leaves, these gorgeous shrubs bloom from fall through early winter.  The bloom colors range from white, pink, to hot pink, to Christmas red (which of course blooms during the holiday season).  These timeless Southern favorites add elegance to any garden and a welcome splash of color during the time of year when most plants are dormant. 

The hybrids vary from 6-12 feet tall, so be sure to choose the appropriate size for your space. They are fabulous alone or in a grouping.  Pictured here are Cleopatra (light pink), Winter's Snowman (double white), and William Lanier Hunt (double hot pink/red).

3 gal $29.99            7 gal $69.99           15 gal $249.99

Winter's Snowman

William Lanier Hunt

Dogwoods
Cornus florida ‘Cherokee Princess’/’Cherolee Brave’ or Cornus kousa’Prophet’/Satomi’

The dogwood is the state flower, the flower color range from white to cream to pink to mauve to red!  They are most recognized for their spring blooms but their fall foliage is equally beautiful. Plant one now and enjoy the leaves and then in the spring you will be thrilled! 

7 gal $64.99               10 gal $134.99              15 gal $184.99

Golden King Aucuba

Golden King Aucuba
Aucuba japonica ‘Golden King’

An evergreen shrub with rather large leathery leaves which in this clone are very heavily splashed with yellow. A great shrub to brighten up dark shady corners of the garden where the soil is moist but well-drained. Aucuba japonica is native to Japan. Shade loving.  8’ T x 8’ W 

3 gal $29.99

Elegans Dwarf Norway Spruce

Elegans Dwarf Norway Spruce
Picea abies ‘Elegance’
A beautiful textured evergreen with delicate light green needles, slow grower.  Great for smaller spaces or container gardening.  This plant will reach 5’ T x 5’ W .  Can handle morning sun or dappled shade.

Gingko Tree

Gingko Tree
Gingko biloba ‘Princeton Sentry’/’’Shagri-la’

These special trees offer a unique leaf shape often depicted in asian art.  Their green leaves turn bright yellow in fall, these are all males so they bear no fruit (too smelly), The ginkos are quite special and when more mature they typically drop all their leaves in a 48 hours period, so the tree rains leaves!!

15 gal $229.99

Fall leaves suncatcher project for kids

Thanks to good rainfall and cooperative weather, we have been given the gift of a gloriously colorful fall this year.  Take some time out from your busy schedule to enjoy and preserve the fall bounty with your kids with this fun, easy project.

Fall Leaves Sun catcher

Beautiful fall color for your window!

You will need:

• Beautiful fall leaves.  The more colorful the better.
• Waxed paper
• Newspaper
• A towel or ironing board
• An iron

Cover work surface with newspapers.  If you have an ironing board, use that for your work surface, but if you don't, then spread a towel on a table to protect it from the heat.

Lay down a sheet of wax paper.

Arrange leaves on top of the waxed paper. Cover with another piece of wax paper. 

Place a piece of newspaper on top and iron with a warm iron until crayon shavings melt and the two sheets of wax paper sticks together. 

Trim and hang in the window.

Pruning

Hey!  Hold on there...Just because some guys with a truck are pruning your neighbor's trees does not necessarily mean they know what they are doing.  But you could know what you are doing by learning just a few easy facts.  It doesn't take a degree in horticulture to prune properly, but it does take the proper equipment and some basic understanding of the rules of pruning.

First, the proper equipment.  You need sharp pruners or loppers.  As long as they are sharp, most pruners or loppers will do, but the best brands are Felco, Fiskar, Bahco, and Corona.

Next, the technique.  Cut all branches cleanly with no jagged edges.  Prune just after a branch or bud and if next to the trunk, prune flush to the trunk.

Warning:  Do NOT use  tar or any product on the wound.  Mother Nature will heal it up all on her own.  The use of these products will kill the cambium layer of the tree in that area. The cambium layer is the area just below the bark that divides to produce wood or xylem on the inner side toward the center of the tree. Leave the wound open to air.






Light Pruning
Trees and shrubs can be lightly pruned any time of the year.  If it is a flowering tree or shrub, prune it right after it blooms.  If you find disease in a plant or insect infestation, wipe down your tools with alcohol before moving onto the next shrub.

You prune to:

• Help shape the plant (but try to stay with the natural shape of the plant)
• Help balance the shape of a plant
• Remove a weird branch that is sticking out
• Remove dead branches.  Dead branches can encourage disease and pest infestation, so they need to be removed as soon as possible.
• Removing crossing branches.

If you have to prune to keep a shrub from growing, it has been planted it in the wrong area of your garden.  It should be moved, but if that is not possible, try pruning it down into the middle of the plant as opposed to using hedge trimmers, which only prune the very ends of the branches.  There are enough cultivars of various plants on the market today so that you should be able to find a plant in the size and shape you desire without having to force it to your will.  Buying a Gold Mop cypress and trying to keep it as a 3'x'3 mound is like buying a Great Dane and trying to dwarf it because you want a small dog.

Hard pruning of Crape Myrtles is not only ugly, but an unsound horticultural practice.  It promotes unhealthy sucker growth and exposes the tree to disease and insect infestation.

And please, unless you are Pearl Fryar, try to stay with the natural shape of the plant.

It's not too late to plant!

Fall colors at Oak Ridge Shrubbery

Fall foliage viewed from our stoneyard

 Fall is for planting!  Woody shrubs and trees are the ideal candidates for fall plantings.  September and October are ideal months to plant, but you can still plant in November too.  Fall is an ideal time because we still have warm ground temperatures, but the air temps have dropped, which means less watering as well as less sweating.

Planting with soil amendments is the key to success in our clay soils.  Cow manure and soil conditioners are the answer to good plant nutrition and drainage.  Hole sizes need to be generous, at least twice as wide as the existing root ball (or pot) and one and a half times as deep.  You want to plant trees and shrubs 1/2"-3/4" high, meaning the grade of the plant (top of the root ball) needs to be slightly higher than your existing soil grade).

Watering new plants through their first year is important.  Much less water is needed during the cooler months, but do remember that new plants still have watering needs (albeit not as much).  All plants will continue to need water during the winter months if we have a dry season with no snow or little rain.  Keep in mind that cold temperatures and winds can still desiccate the soil.

Fertilization can be done on a limited basis in September.  I recommend this only for trees and shrubs whose color is off.  Yellowing or uncharacteristic pale green foliage is an indication of lack of fertility.  You want to follow the direction for the size of the plant, but go with half of the recommended rate during the cold months.  When fertilizing more, most assuredly is not better.  Use Hollytone or Treetone.  Do not use grass fertilizer like 10-10-10!  Tree and shrub fertilizers provide yoru plants with the correct amount of micronutrients without giving them the jolt that is caused by grass fertilizer.

For more detailed information on planting trees and shrubs, check out our blog article How to install a plant in Guilford County.

Keeping your gardens looking great throughout the fall is possible, despite the crazy heat from this summer.  Encore Azaleas, knock out roses, and Loropetalum bring a re-emergence of color in the fall.  Gardenias, black-eyed Susans, coneflowers, dianthus, and many other flowers may also bloom again in the fall with careful pruning.  Cutting off old blooms will promote a colorful fall surge.

Additional plants to consider:
Flowering:

Toad Lily

• Anemones
• Toad Lilies
• Asters
• Chrystanthemums

Berrying:

Callicarpa (Beautyberry)

• Callicarpa (Beautyberry)
• Ilex verticellata (Winterberry)

 Color changing foliage:

Oakleaf Hydrangea

• Wildfire black gum
• Korean Stweartia
• Japanese Maple
• Chinese Pistachio trees
• Oakleaf Hydrangea

We are now operating under winter hours.   Drop by the garden center and check out our latest featured plants!