The Master Gardener Articles

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Your Garden’s “Bones"
By Susan Kinser, Union County Master Gardener

Does your garden have good “bones”?  By bones I mean the walls, fences, and trellises that help to define your garden area.  Careful choices of garden “hardscape” can enhance your garden by providing a dramatic backdrop for plants, bushes and trees.

Walls and fences can help to create focal points for your favorite specimen plants or trees.  When deciding on what type of “bones” you want for your garden, you should first consider the type of garden you want – do you prefer a more formal setting or do you really appreciate a more natural setting?

By choosing hedges as a backdrop or using rocks and stones to build a wall you can enhance the natural feel of your garden.

Using manmade materials such as brick, concrete or trellises can aid with a more formal feel for your garden.
Whichever you prefer, giving your garden good “bones” will beautify and help define your garden space.

Your Favorite Gardening Author
By Susan Kinser, Union County Master Gardener

Do you have a favorite garden book author?  I know I do – me!  I have been keeping a binder(s) full of ideas, articles, photos, gardening pamphlets – all things garden for several years.  These help me when I get ready for a new project as I already have a collection of ideas that I like and find interesting.

Choose a 3-ring view binder so that you can create your own cover and even change it out whenever you want a new look.

The 3-ring binder gives you many options.  There are page inserts that have pockets for seed samples or pamphlets, clear page protectors can give you a way to keep precious articles and information safe and yet you can remove them for easy access – no need to carry the entire binder with you at all times.  Another advantage to the 3-ring binder is that you can move to a larger size if you gather more information than your current binder can contain or you can use multiple binders for different subjects.  When you create your own garden book you can set it up any way that you like.  For example, your perennial section can be subdivided into shade and sun perennials, or perennials that tolerate either wet or dry conditions.  Wildlife could be another section.  You can research plants that are deer resistant for example.

Putting together your own garden manual gives you a customized book and is very rewarding.

The Master Gardener Offers horticulture advice and tips, focusing on current issues by volunteers who are with The Ohio State University Extension, Union County Master Gardener Program. For answers to gardening questions, call 937.644.8117 or e-mail gmcvey@ag.osu.edu. Hourse are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday