This year I am suffering from way too much rain but I remember years when we had drought. Over the last few years I have set up many of my garden areas and landscaping to conserve on watering.
photo credit: dlisbona

When the garden season begins you never know what Mother Nature has planned so my motto is “be prepared!”

Setting your garden up for drought conditions can be done by using mulch or planting in containers so that they can be moved into shade or closer to water. You can also landscape your yard and gardens for drought by using perennials, using plants and trees that require less water, or by planting re-seeding annuals, herbs and native plants.

I also water in the morning, use deep watering methods and rain barrels for catching rain. You will find a few more ideas at my sister site Backyard Oasis,  How to choose drought resistant plants.

One idea I have used for many years is watering by milk jug (or a small plastic pop bottle for containers)

Fill the cleaned empty milk or plastic pop bottle with hot water. This will clean the bottle and also help remove the label.
I let my bottles and jugs sit overnight to make sure they are clean.

Use a sharp nail to make a hole or two in the milk jug. You can also use a cordless drill with a tiny bit to make the holes. Just remember the larger the holes are on the bottom the faster your water will run out.

Hint: if you use jugs with holes and without, mark the jug. It’s not fun to fill a jug and have the water run out and into your shoes while placing it in the yard.

Place the jug by the plant that needs water. Using this method you get a slow watering what will soak in the ground near the plant where it’s needed,

Pop bottles

I tent to use small pop bottles in containers. Cut off the bottom of the pop bottle. Remove the cap and place the bottle in the center of a container. I submerge the bottle halfway into the soil. This will act as a funnel and take water directly to the roots. This works well for vegetable plants that require a lot of water. And as the plant grows the bottle is hidden from site.

Tips:

If you have a fish tank or pond you can use that water to water your plants and then top off what water is removed. You will help clean the tank or pond and have nutrient rich water for your plants.

When not using the milk jugs you can run a string through the handles and store them by hanging them on a wall out of the way

Here are two sites for ideas on hardy plants. I enjoy Hibiscus plants and Best Flower gardening has an excellent article, Hibiscus-a-must-have-perennial.

Home and Garden Online has a nice write-up on native plants, Native Plants: flower-garden-guide. Native plants add so much to your garden landscape.

Whether you have too much rain or too little with planning and preparation you can still have a beautiful yard and successful garden. It just may be a bit more challenging!

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There are times when you need new compost as soon as possible. This may be in the spring or fall when you are replanting plants or laying out new gardens. In my case it’s redoing several gardens after flooding.

photo credit: vinzcha
I need to redo my perennial garden, which was totally washed out and I am planning a new garden in the front yard to help redirect water, just in case I have this problem again.

Compost usually takes anywhere from a few months to a year, depending on how you set your compost pile up.

How to make compost in two weeks.

To make compost in two weeks you need to encourage the pile to work quickly. This is done by using several composting materials; and cheating. Yes, I am encouraging garden cheating!!

Compost materials needed.

Hay or straw (preferably straw)
Grass clippings
Table scraps:  fruit, vegetables, coffee grounds but no grease, fish or meat products.
Any compostable material you can get for free. Leaves, old sawdust, old dirt, manure

Layer your compostable items in a pile. I usually use old bales for sides and create a U shape and pile my material in the U.

Now this is how you cheat. To make you pile compost faster you need your compostable items to be as small as possible. I mow the leaves and straw and blend any table scraps. Layer the compostable items and lightly stir. Dig a hole and put in your table scraps.

Stir the pile every day.

Other items that will help your compost pile break down faster:
Yarrow
Comfrey
And coke… yes, coke will help a pile compost in no time at all.

I have six large pile of compost working now. They should be ready next week. I have used this process for years and it works every time.

Here is a link for more ideas for materials to compost.

And if you are like me, you find free materail to compost with. the money you save can be spent on seeds or new plants.

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May is iris and peony time throughout our section. The real work has already been done on these two and the results indicate just how thorough we were. The main thing now is to provide plenty of water through the flowering season, to produce top quality bloom.
photo credit: Donnaphoto

Each iris plant should have a feeding of one cupful of balanced fertilizer but it should be kept well away from the plant. It will be wise to note the ones that should be divided after flowering and perhaps prepare the soil for planting in new locations.

Peonies are subject to aphid infestation and many times this is first noticed by the presence of ants. These ants live on the honey dew secretions from the aphids and quite often there are “farms” of aphids that are milked” regularly by ants. Aphids cause a blasting of the buds quickly on peonies. Regular spraying with a contact spray will control these critters.

Rose Time

Throughout our section roses are giving their first lush crop of blooms. The annual rose shows are usually staged beginning the second week in May.

In the garden the chief chores are regular spraying at ten day intervals with products to control blackspot, spraying to control aphids, watering. feeding and light pruning to control blooming and habit of growth.

Rock garden plants respond beautifully to feeding and watering this month. Divide and transplant violets and allow a spacing of about ten inches. As the perennials come into flower, keep the faded blooms cut back to encourage new growth and a second crop of flowers. Pinch the early set chrysanthemums is one of the highly recommended plant branching ideas, and feed lightly.

For those of you who enjoy gourds, May is the month to plant. These plants are among the novelty group and are most interesting. Be constantly on the alert for weeds… most of these have an uncanny way of getting established very early.

Investigate the new herbicides for control of weeds by chemical sprays; many hours of hard work can be saved by using them. Read and follow the directions carefully. There is still time to replant water lilies and other aquatic plants. And why not plant a few herbs for both seasoning and unusual foliage for arranging?

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