We have a habit around here at ABODE: Every April, we publish an issue on gardening. We do this because we know that for many of you, the garden is also a habit—and we do mean habit as in “irrational, all-consuming addiction.” It starts innocently enough: one tomato plant in a bucket, a few hastily scattered zinnia seeds. Before you know it, you’re out there at midnight, picking aphids off your spinach leaves one by one and humming Mozart to the snapdragons. l Good stuff, man. When you’re in that deep, you’re really part of a community with plants, bugs and other natural phenomena. And that got us thinking: Why not take a look at the ways gardening connects people to larger communities? For example, as Katherine Cox explains, building a rain garden (don’t worry, she’ll lay out what the heck that is on page 20) is a good way to be a steward of our watershed: the community, if you will, of creeks and rivers in our region. l Then there’s the human community. For years, the city of Charlottesville has offered garden plots for rent in Azalea Park and at Meadowcreek Gardens—and as Carolyn Zelikow found out in her interview with John Clark on page 19, gardeners there interact with each other as much as with their cucumber seedlings. And this being the 21st century, more and more of those gardeners are likely finding each other as well on a computer screen. Check out page 20 for a review of online gardening forums. And then get outside and check on your garden! (As if we had to tell you…)
 The City has a rain garden (in Greenleaf Park), and you can have one too. |
Water you waiting for?
Make a rain garden in five easy steps
Want to make a rain garden? For those of you who know what that means, kudos to you. I didn’t. So I signed up for the workshop offered by the Rivanna Regional Stormwater Education Partnership, where I learned that I’m a perfect candidate for making a rain garden—there’s already a low spot in my yard that gets saturated when it rains, and the runoff goes straight into a little stream nearby. Rain gardens are a multifunction solution: They absorb excess rainwater and filter it before it hits deeper soil, protect streams and rivers from taking in so much polluted runoff, and provide dynamic new spaces for trees, shrubs, flowering plants and vegetables. If gardening or lawn beautification is on your spring to-do list, try it out. Here’s how:
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1. Survey. Locate a low spot or depression in your yard, where grassy slopes meet. The grass will act as the first filter for your garden, slowing the water down and collecting large particles that might clog the mulch layer. Make sure no utility lines run through your chosen site, and note if you’ll be getting water from the roof or gutters of your house. If you’re up for a bit of writing, check in with the Virginia Department of Forestry—because you’ll be protecting public resources, they might give you a grant to build your garden!
2. Dig. The smallest size that will filter properly is about 3’x3′ across and 2′ deep, but you can go bigger than that (and don’t feel limited by geometry—you can make circles and ovals, too). General guides are no more shallow than 2′, though if you build a big one, you’re going to need to dig several feet deeper. If you want a more precise method of determining area (especially if you’re getting lots of runoff from “impervious” or impenetrable surfaces like roofs or road), contact Repp Glaettli at the Department of General Services, 296-5816.
3. Fill ’er up. First, a layer of sand, at least 4" deep. Next, a filtering soil mixture: You can buy it premade at Luck Stone, or you can make your own from 50 percent sand or sandy soil (in Central Virginia, you’re not going to be using the clay-heavy stuff you just excavated), 25 percent compost and 25 percent topsoil. Fill the hole several inches short of the surface.
4. Plant. Choose only species that tolerate both dry and wet. For aesthetic and functional purposes, situate the tall plants in the center, keeping in mind that they will get more moisture than plants on the edges. Native plants will fare very well, and there are tons of gorgeous trees, shrubs, annuals and perennials that love this area—check Web resources for selecting good rain garden plants. Go to www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/waterquality/426-043/426-043.html at the Virginia Cooperative Extension’s site, or call Extension agent Peter Warren at 872-4580.
5. Mulch. Hardwood mulch is the only kind that won’t float away, so finish your garden with several inches of it. The mulch surface should still sit a few inches lower than the surrounding ground.