Question: Can you slow water runoff at the top of a slope?
Master Gardener Carolyn Langdon advises you to build a small rain garden at the top of your slope. Add a small berm at the top of and/or mid-way down your slope. Put in a berm of logs, branches, soil and/or rocks to slow down the water running off and to allow time for the rain to absorb and for plant roots to establish. The idea is to place any material that will act to obstruct or slow down the path of water. Organic material has the additional benefit of providing texture and nutrients to your soil as it breaks down.
Clearing a shoreline or hillside of herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees can lead to erosion if not re-planted. Longer, steeper slopes, especially those without adequate vegetative cover are more susceptible to very high rates of erosion during heavy rains than shorter, less steep slopes.
Please remember that a rain garden is not the same as a water garden. There are 5 components to a rain garden:
1. Depression
2. Amended filter bed (see wood log trench below)
3. Berm on the low side
4. Rockery to slow water entering the garden if necessary
5. Plants tolerant of water and long periods of dryness (i.e. 2-3 days of standing water)
A rain garden is a low tech solution for a location that periodically gets inundated with water. For example some downspouts can’t handle the quantity of rain and the spill over can cause existing vegetation to die and erosion of soil. Hard surfaces channel water during torrential rain and spring snow melt events that cause erosion particularly on steep slopes. A rain garden and berming might be an affordable solution. A 5X10 foot rain garden 6 inches deep is equivalent to 11 rain barrels.
Dig your rain garden (12-18” deep) and fill with a combination of logs, branches, and wood chips at different stages of decomposition. Add native soil and locally composted organic matter. Plant. Remember good humic soil will store a lot of water. Other practises for extreme sites is to mulch deeply, contour the soil, plant native species adapted to the location and plant densely.
Select the Right Plants
In this situation plants that can withstand short periods of flooding and long periods of dryness are required. Xerioscaping plants i.e. those that tolerate drought won’t do well in a condition that includes extreme wet and extreme dry. Likewise plants that require constant moisture wil not do well.
Do favour native over non-native plants and do not plant fast growing invasive plants however tempting that might be to stabilize your slope.
The following native Ontario plants can tolerate moist and dry soil:
Aster (Aster spp.)
Bergamot, Wild (Monarda fistulosa)
Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta)
Blazing stars, Rough (Liatris aspera)
Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis)
Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens)
Goldenrod (Solidago spp.)
Verbena (Verbena spp.)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Sweet gale or bog myrtle (Myrica gale L) Myricaceae (Wax-myrtle or bayberry Family)
Non invasive ornamental grasses, native sedges (they look like grasses and can tolerate some shade), and rushes. Hierochloe odorata or Sweetgrass
Marginal Woodfern (Dryopteris marginalis) can tolerates mid-summer drought if planted in the shade.
Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) a Zone 3 Ontario Native that is heat and drought tolerant,
Liatris aspera or Blazing Star, another Ontario native,
Schizachyrium scoparium or Little Bluestem (Ontario native)
Highbush Cranberry (V. trilobum or V. opulus var. americanum). This native shrub likes to grow in open, wooded, somewhat poorly drained locations. In the ideal location, cranberry can become very wide, often three metres or more, and reach about the same height.
Low bush Cranberry or Squashberry (V. edule)
Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago) will grow almost anywhere including shade, but they take on their best form in full sunlight. In full sun their fall leaf colours will be a vibrant purple-red.
Common or Eastern Ninebark up to 3 m, spring flower cluster, berries
Credit Valley Conservation planted native plants in their rain garden. They chose the following plants because they were widely available at local nurseries: Red Osier Dogwood, New England Aster, Tall Meadow Rue, Black Eyed Susans, Canada Anemone. Shade-tolerant native plants included: Common elderberry, Sensitive Fern and Heart leaved Aster.
A dense base of day lilies and irises will give you a fibrous root system. While they aren’t native they are often planted in a naturalized landscape.
To buy plants please try your local garden centre and check other sources listed in our list of suppliers and services here.
Article Sources
For additional plant selection please see Appendix C, List of Plants tolerating both wet and dry conditions. University of Guelph
Keep it simple…follow some basic steps…let them sleep…greet them in the spring!
Plant between Thanksgiving and mid-November here in the Highlands
Our growing season is not long and therefore by planting in the fall, roots are given a chance to develop before the cloves go to sleep in the freezing soil. As the soil warms in the spring, the clove, still cold, is stimulated to sprout and develop into a bulb. Since the roots have already started in the previous fall, the cloves get a head start on the new growing season.
Site
- A sunny location (8 to 10 hrs)
- Loose crumbly soil so the roots can penetrate deep for the nutrients and water.
Soil prep
- Work year old manure or compost into the top 4 to 5 inches of the planting bed.
- Raised beds are preferable, 3 to 4’ wide for easy access from either side of the bed.
- Length of the bed will depend on your space and how much you wish to harvest.
Planting
- Source fresh, local garlic for planting. It will be primed to Haliburton’s growing conditions.
- Separate the cloves from the stem, protecting the root base, so each clove has a root base for new growth.
TIPS UP! Always!
- Plant in holes or trench prepared 4” deep – 6” apart
- Cover and tamp down gently to bring soil into contact with cloves.
- After a good frost and before the ground freezes, it is recommended to apply a mulch of 6” to the planted garlic bed. Spoiled hay, straw or chopped up leaves can be used to cover and protect the cloves from heaving and cold weather damage.
In our gardens, many of us have space for, or may already grow an herb garden but feel more comfortable keeping these fragrant plants outside. These delicate plants can very easily be brought into your kitchen to enrich your cooking and your lives.
Growing and cooking with fresh herbs can be an extremely rewarding experience. Not only do you have beautiful fresh herbs throughout summer and fall but if harvested and dried properly you can have a bountiful supply of herbs throughout the winter and spring months until once again your new harvest comes in the following summer. Imagine walking out to your herb garden and snipping just the right amount needed for a recipe as opposed to going to the market being forced to buy a large overly-priced container of an herb such as oregano when all you need is one or two teaspoons. That in itself is worth the effort of growing your own herbs.
A good idea is to plant only those herbs that you will cook with or use to make herbal teas, vinegars and oils. An excellent selection of herbs to start with would be basil, chives, cilantro, dill weed, fennel, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, sweet marjoram, tarragon, and lemon thyme. Many aromatic herbs such as mint, parsley, sage and rosemary tend to repel certain insects therefore making valuable garden companions for vulnerable plants. Dill, balm, and thyme are some of the herbs that attract bees which pollinate other plants. Therefore, keep in mind companion planting when deciding on where to plant each herb. But as delicate as these herbs are, aggressive growers such as mint and oregano should be contained in pots so they do not overtake your entire garden.
Harvesting Herbs
Throughout the growing season, be sure to snip herbs regularly to encourage branching and new growth. Harvest whenever you need fresh herbs but do not cut more than one third of the stem’s length. The only exception to this would be when harvesting chives or lavender which should be cut at ground level.
Preserving Herbs
To preserve freshly cut herbs, wash thoroughly and then dry them using a salad spinner and then blot the rest of any remaining moisture with paper towels. Tie the stems together with kitchen string then hang upside down in a cool, dry area that has good ventilation. Then once the herbs are dried they should be placed in clean jars and labelled and dated. Using a dehydrator which has a heat control, will dry herbs in hours rather than days.
The three greatest dangers in storing herbs are: Excess moisture, too much light and improper sealing of container. If herbs are not properly dried after washing excess moisture left on herbs will produce mold; excessive light in the drying area will cause fading and/or loss of colour; and improper sealing of storage containers will allow insects etc. to get in and contaminate the product.
Herbal Tea
Those of us that buy herbal tea tend to forget that the fragrant plants that fill our tea bags can be harvested in our own backyard. Making your own herbal tea is a lot of fun and a total matter of preference when selecting and creating flavours. The rule of thumb for brewing tea is to use only one teaspoon of dried plant material for one cup of water. Three teaspoons of any fresh herb equals one teaspoon dried. That rule only exists until you figure out the strength of tea you prefer. So then, the perfect cup of herbal tea would be to pour one cup of boiling water over one teaspoon of dried herbs or three teaspoons of fresh herbs, wait five to eight minutes and then sit back and enjoy your tea. If you steep your tea any longer it can develop a bitter taste, and if you steep it less than five minutes you will barely get the flavour from the herb.
Herbed Vinegars
The two main considerations in making herbal vinegar is the type of vinegar to be used (examples being white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, champagne vinegar, sherry vinegar etc.) and the desired flavour, dictated by the choice of herb or combination of herbs. To create flavoured vinegar simply fill a jar with chopped fresh herbs, then pour in the vinegar of your choice to cover the herbs completely. Stir the contents to release any air bubbles then cover the jar using a plastic lid. Label the jar with the date made and herbs used and type of vinegar used. Leave for two to five weeks, making sure to sample each week until the desired flavour strength is reached. At that point, decant the vinegar by straining the vinegar through a cheesecloth or coffee filter into a new clean jar or bottle and create a new label with a date and the list of contents. Unopened, the vinegar will last approximately two years but once opened it should be used within six months.
Herbal Oils
When making herbal oils, like vinegars, there is a tremendous selection of oils. The popular choice is to use sunflower or safflower oil as they have the mildest taste therefore have a minimal effect on the final product allowing the flavour of the herbs to shine. The process is quite simple. Loosely fill a jar with freshly chopped herbs then pour in enough oil to cover and fill the rest of the jar covering the herbs completely. Seal and label the jar with the date and list of contents then place in a sunny spot like a window sill for three to four weeks. For the first two weeks stir the contents every day then place back on the window sill. After the four weeks, strain through a cheese cloth and bottle the herbed oil, remembering to create a new label with the date and list of contents.
These herbed vinegars and herbal oils can be used to enhance your favourite dishes. Adding them to salad dressings or pasta sauces adds depth and a joy of knowing your garden provided these delicious flavours.
General Culinary Uses
An excellent way to use herbs during barbecue season is to cut sprigs of rosemary, oregano, marjoram, cilantro, and basil and tie them together at one end with a rubber band creating a basting brush. Then proceed to baste meats, fish and vegetable with any specific marinade using the herbal basting brush. While basting the essential oils of the herbs are released onto the food along with tiny bits of the herbs. Once the food is ready to be served, cut off the tied end of the brush (then discard) and spread the remaining sprigs of herbs onto the serving platter before plating the food. The resulting aroma and taste is exceptional.
Herbs have been used for centuries to enhance the flavour of soups and stew either by adding the herbs directly or creating a small packet of herbs tied up in cheesecloth, commonly known as a “Bouquet Garni”. This herbal bouquet is typically made up of fresh parsley, marjoram, summer savory, thyme, a bay leaf and rosemary. In French cooking a well known seasoning blend is known as “Herbs de Provence” consisting of dried winter savory, thyme, rosemary, basil, tarragon and dried lavender flowers. This herb blend is delicious when used in egg dishes such as soufflés or omelettes.
The herbs you grow can also be used in potpourris, sachets, herbal butters, or to make long lasting floral displays that scent your home well beyond the growing season. As Julia Child once said “There’s no end to imagination in the kitchen.”
So you’re a flower grower, not a vegetable grower? Did you know that vegetables are actually easier to grow, taste better than grocery store purchases and do not have poisons on or in them (unless you do it). The seeds are cheaper than nursery plants, though granted your produce will be more expensive than in-season store bought vegetables when you consider your time and energy spent – but much more satisfying to eat.
Do not picture acres of row on row of vegetables which means you must harvest, clean, freeze and store vast quantities of produce. Eating cabbages, beans and potatoes until you turn green. No. Simply interplant only your favourites amongst your flowers. Perhaps a pepper or tomato plant. A few radishes, beets, swiss chard or red Russian kale. (In France I saw dill waving in the breeze interplanted with the flowers in the boulevards and rosemary hedges.)
Seed companies now sell many vegetables that grow only to mini sizes. You could even have little carrots in your planters so that you have pretty feathery green leaves. Consider that garlic is a companion plant to roses. Since the former must be planted in the fall you can get it into the ground when you hill up those roses. A 12 inch pot of mesclun (mixed lettuces) is very attractive and will supply you with plenty of salads. Just keep picking those outside leaves and remove any blossom stems.
Vegetables are healthy food. They are better tasting than lilac blossoms, violets and day lily flowers. But I must admit nasturtium leaves should be given a chance by dedicated vegetable growers.
Check out some of our articles on growing food and have fun!
"Homeowners in the Highlands are realizing that, in many cases, nature does it best. Discover how using naturalist planting can enhance your cottage - and your own well-being."
Courtesy Over to Me Studio
Janice Hardy, Retired MG
The two fastest growing hobbies in North America are gardening and bird watching. Imagine combining both hobbies in your very own back yard through designing and planting a garden to attract these very special friends. To entice a variety of birds to your yard or garden, provide them with an oasis of everything they need to survive: food and water, shelter from weather and predators and a nesting place and materials. If you design your garden from a bird’s perspective, they will come.
The Birds
Many birds require different food sources – from insects to seeds; from fruit to nectar. Warblers, for example eat primarily insects while finches like seeds such as those found at bird feeders. Nectar eating birds include hummingbirds and orioles. Some will forage for seeds directly from the ground while others look for insects under fallen leaves in woodland areas. Most birds will eat two or three different types of food, but usually have a preference for one. For the safety of birds, avoid the use of pesticides.
The Plan
The first step is to evaluate your space. Birds like to be in transition areas that provide food and water, shelter and nesting areas. If your property borders on a forest you are in a perfect area to develop a transition garden. However those on smaller properties require gardeners to visualize the transition area from a fence or wall where open space on the outer edge such as a lawn gradually gives way to mature shrubs closer to the fence or wall.
Transition the garden from lower perennials and annuals to shrubs and trees. Plan for a bird bath or water feature. Birds are especially attracted to moving water so consider suspending a plastic water bottle with a small hole in the end and allowing it to drip into the bird bath. Bird feeders around the garden, in the open but close to shelter, are another feature that should be considered, especially for winter sustenance.
The Plants
Fruit producing trees and shrubs will attract birds year round with fragrant spring blooms to fall and winter berries. They also provide an environment for those insects that attract warblers and orioles. In general, shrubs can grow quite tall (1.2-2.4m; 4-8 feet), although there are some dwarf varieties of Viburnums and Rugosa. While many deciduous shrubs are hardy only to Zone 5, there are some attractive native species for the gardens of Zone 4. Plants to consider are: Dogwoods, Viburnums, Rugosas, and Sumacs.
Birds are particularly fond of the native Red Twig Dogwood (Cornus albus) whose dense thickets of branches provide shelter and food for flycatchers, kingbirds, catbirds, waxwings, woodpeckers and vireos in the spring and summer and succulent berries in fall and winter. The red foliage in fall and red stems in winter contribute additional interest to the garden.
One of the great beauties of the autumn season is the Burning Bush (Euonymus alata ‘Compactus’). It’s not native but does well in our northern gardens. It’s distinguished by unusual corky “wings” which flare out along its branches as well as vibrant scarlet foliage and small red-orange fruit in the fall enticing cedar waxwings, cardinals, robins and brown thrashers. The plant grows 1.8-3 m (6-10 feet) high but there is a smaller variety, “Rudy Haag”, growing only 1-1.5 m (3-5 feet) high and wide. This is a shrub that is best left unpruned although it can be pruned if you have space issues. It is not fussy about soil requirements (except for excessive wet areas), will grow in sun to part shade and there are no significant pest problems.
Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifloium) is a wonderful addition to your shrub base. A broad-leaf evergreen native to western regions, the fragrant yellow flowers in spring produce spectacular blue fruit that clings to the branches over winter. Both Blue and Grey Jays, waxwings, robins, redstarts and thrashers will forage for remaining fruit during fall migration and winter.
Shrubs should be planted at the back of the garden amidst evergreens such as junipers, spruces, and pines that are often preferred nesting sites for many birds. Conifers also offer warm shelter and protection from predators and food for house finches, crossbills and red-breasted nuthatches. If space is an issue consider a coniferous shrub such as Pfitzer Juniper (Juniperus x pfitzeriana). With a mature height of 6-8 feet this shrub delights robins, warblers and catbirds with superb nesting sites.
Deciduous trees such as a hardy hawthorn, with their exquisitely fragrant blooms in spring are a magnet for migrating warblers and in fall, cedar waxwings and robins eat the fruit. Be sure to check the zone as many Hawthorn cultivars are not hardy to Zone 4.
Whether grown on a fence or climbing a tree or trellis, Vines will add a dimension of height to your garden as well as provide shelter and nesting areas to our feathered friends. Vines that flower at different times of the year or have brightly coloured foliage in the fall will add interest in all seasons. Honeysuckle (Lonicera x brownii ‘Dropmore’ Scarlet) are a favourite of hummingbirds and robins will nest in a thick clump of Clematis. Indigo Buntings prefer to nest within a vine tangle such as Boston Ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata). The native Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) provides winter food and spectacular colour beckoning thrushes, woodpeckers, vireos and warblers.
The final section of the transition garden that birds love includes herbaceous perennials, grasses and annuals. They provide seeds for ground feeders such as sparrows and dark-eyed juncos as well as nesting materials for many birds. Some plants, such as Bee Balm, Bleeding Heart and Columbine will attract the nectar eaters – hummingbirds and orioles.
Grasses furnish sufficient shelter for finches and sparrows that prefer foraging in lower branches and also attract insects for warblers. Grasses also provide excellent nesting material and the tall grasses such as Karl Foerster(Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’) lend themselves to planting near the back of the border with shorter grasses such as Blue Oat Grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) as accents closer to the front of the garden.
Plant progressively from taller to lower species that bloom at a variety of times over the season to add more interest to the garden. Any perennial that produces seeds will provide food for cardinals, finches, indigo buntings, chipping sparrows, song sparrows and goldfinches. Some excellent Zone 4 perennials or annuals include spring flowering plants – Columbine, Bleeding Heart; early summer flowering plants – Coreopsis, Cosmos, Bee Balm, Daylily; mid-August to September – Purple Coneflower, Black-Eyed Susan and other Rudbeckia, Daisy, Phlox; Autumn flowering plants – Sedum, Asters; annuals for late spring to frost – Impatiens, Petunias and Zinnias.
In summary, some key points to remember:
Birds require food and water, shelter and nesting areas. A few bird friendly seed-producing perennials and a bird bath are good starters, especially for common back yard birds (Finches, sparrows, woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches). Avoid the use of pesticides; Transition the garden from open areas and low growing plants such as annuals and some perennials to larger and taller perennials such as Black-Eyed Susan and Coneflower to even larger shrubs and trees; Choose plants that bloom at different times of year: Examples are Columbine and Bleeding Heart for spring, Bee Balm and Daisy for summer and Asters and Sedum for fall; Add winter interest and food sources by planting evergreen shrubs and trees, plants with interesting bark such as dogwood and burning bush and vines like Virginia Creeper; You don’t need to design a brand new garden – just add some of the above featured plants and a bird bath and you are well on your way to having birds in the garden.
Resources
Bezener, Andy, Birds of Ontario, Lone Pine Publishing, 2000
Dolezal, Robert J.,Birds in Your Back Yard, Readers Digest Association, 2005
Lanicci, Rachael, Garden Secrets for Attracting BIrds, Planet Friendly Publishing, 2010
Cornell Lab of Ornithology “Bird Notes”.
Fletcher Wildlife Garden, Ottawa, Ontario
Landscape Ontario
Suite 101: On line magazine
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