Issue Four Summer 2020

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Tending to the By Deborah Vanderslice Spring Garden Nahant Garden Club Oh, what an uncommon spring it has been! While we have sheltered in place, signs of the vernal season have erupted all around us. The mild winter has given way to an unusually cold start to spring, and yet Mother Nature is at it again, transitioning from one season to the next as the temperature rises. The signs are evident: the dazzling Daffodils and rainbow-colored Tulips have come and gone, the Allium are shyly beginning to display their round spheres of purple, taut Peony stems are jutting out of the nourishing dirt, Azaleas are blooming, and the leaves on the trees have awakened, creating a vast green canvas as a back-drop to spring’s glorious debut. The sights to behold in our gardens offer solace, inspiration and hope. The new growth, burgeoning blossoms and dazzling palettes that are slowly emerging are a welcome sight after the long, dark days of winter and the most trying of springs. Ask any gardener, and he or she would likely concur with the words of American gardening author Ruth Stout who said, “I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.” If you are new to gardening, it may seem daunting to know where to start. Just as a garden evolves with the passing of days and months, if you break down the garden into manageable steps, you can ease into gardening in a time-frame that suits you. Just think of that “pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.” Luscious plants, colorful blooms, and picturesque views are on the horizon. Conduct a spring clean-up. Rid the yard of any fallen branches and debris. If any bulbs planted in seasons past are covered with dead leaves, remove them to avoid rot underneath. Cut back ornamental grasses and perennials from last season to encourage new growth. Clean out dead annuals from pots, and clean the pots with soapy water in preparation for new plantings. Assess the landscape. Before you can consider what to plant, you need to know where to plant, so that you may determine what will thrive best in a certain spot. Ask yourself how any new plantings will impact the overall landscape, complementing what you might already have in place. Or, if beginning a garden for the first time, you can start out slowly, but keep in the back of your mind how what you are planting today will work with your overall “to-be” vision. Much like a jig-saw puzzle, you will ultimately want all the pieces to fall in place. Assessing how much sun or shade a certain spot gets will also factor into what you will be able to plant and sustain. Finally, living along the coast can be challenging for the survival of some vulnerable plantings, due to spray from salt water and excessive wind. Consider this in your assessment. Prepare the land. Clear the ground covering in the area you wish to plant. The soil below may be poor for various reasons, so you will want to help transition it to becoming more fertile, to increase your chances Nahant Magazine | 6
of growing healthy plants. You may do this by adding organic matter, such as a couple inches of compost, dry grass clippings or decayed leaves. Select your plants. This is the fun part! Remember that vision you arrived at earlier? Now is the time to begin to turn it into reality. Think of each plant as part of an overall composition, considering how its height, color and form inter-play with what is to be planted nearby. Think about the colors and how they will blend together in a cohesive whole. Remember to consider which plantings will thrive in the sun and which do not, so you may choose wisely (read plant tags or ask garden center staff for recommendations). In choosing, also consider how, as some plants fade away after blooming, other plants in the garden may bloom later so as to help ensure a continual stream of color, if that is your goal. You may decide to choose perennials because with proper care, they will return every year, but you may also want to supplement the perennials with annuals which could bring you the immediate pop of color you need at a given time during the garden’s life-cycle. Should bulbs enter the mix, they too need to be planted in relation to the other plants in terms of both location and bloom-time. Think about grouping the same type of plant in multiples, as a single type of flower or shrub will not always deliver the impact that multiples together will. If space allows, plant in groupings of three or five. If you are going to use a single plant or shrub as a focal point, try to pick one whose qualities are strong enough to stand on its own merit while integrating with the garden as a whole. Finally, to promote sustainability and biodiversity, consider purchasing native plants. They require less maintenance because they are native to the area and therefore inherently acclimated to the local growing conditions. Native plants also attract and support the all-important pollinators which are always under constant threat from habitat loss. Plant, water, and maintain. Gauge your watering based on how dry the soil is a couple of inches below the surface. Intense sun and wind require daily watering, but rainy days will do the job for you. Water slowly and deeply, to minimize run-off. To minimize evaporation from the sun’s rays and to conserve water, water early in the morning or later in the day. To maintain your garden, weed it and keep the soil moist. Eliminate destructive insects by picking them off the plants and dropping them into soapy water, or hosing them off. “Deadhead” the flowers on plants which are known to bloom again in the same season after having their spent flowers removed. Stake plants as necessary. In summer, plant prudently, nourish appropriately, and maintain diligently, and you will be rewarded with the fruits of your labors. As the nineteenth century poetess Minnie Aumonier wrote, “When the world wearies and society fails to satisfy, there is always the garden.” Such appropriate words for our time! 7 | Nahant Magazine
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Page 5: WHAT’S INSIDE 6 Tending to the Sp
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Page 15 and 16: I am Andrew Anderson, co-Owner and
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Page 23 and 24: Gene Canty Candidate for Selectman
Page 25 and 26: Diane Dunfee Candidate for Town Cle
Page 27 and 28: Estate Planning Steps to Protect Yo
Page 29 and 30: When you are 11 years old, everythi
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Issue Four Summer 2020

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