editor's note: welcome to spring

savvy classes: free classes in April

garden hotline: the dirt on soil

feature story: love your dry shade

savvy advice: ten tips for great northwest food gardens

Greetings! With a warm winter and spring blooming early this year, we have a special reminder that it’s wise to work with nature in the garden – which is what the Savvy Gardener is all about. Each spring, summer and fall we strive to bring you best practices for the Northwest - for lush, resilient plantings that are friendly to our environment. We hope you enjoy this issue as you delve into spring.

Read the full class descriptions on the Saving Water Partnership website. All classes are free.

Native Plants: Combining Beauty with Water Conservation
Taught by Peggy Campbell
(two dates & locations)

Saturday, April 10 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Swansons Nursery at 9701 15th Ave NW, Seattle
Cost: Free, no pre-registration required
(206) 782-2543

Saturday, April 17 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Sky Nursery at 18528 Aurora Ave N, Shoreline
Cost: Free, no pre-registration required
(206) 546-4851

Ornamental Edibles – Pretty Tasty!
Taught by Lorene Edwards Forkner

Saturday, April 17 10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
Swansons Nursery, 9701 15th Ave NW, Seattle
Cost: Free, no pre-registration required
(206) 782-2543

Welcome to our newest feature! The Garden Hotline Corner is written by staff of the Garden Hotline, the experts who answer your gardening questions at (206) 633-0224 or at help@gardenhotline.org.

The Dirt on Soil
Soil, mulch, compost; what’s the difference? These terms can be confusing when you are learning about how to create healthy soil. Let’s take a look at each one.

Soil is your “raw material”—a mix of mineral content from rocks, organic matter from decaying organisms, water, and air. It also contains live organisms that do the work of breaking down the organic material.

Mulch is a material placed on the surface of your soil to suppress weeds and maintain soil moisture. Commonly used mulch products include wood chips, compost, straw or leaves.

Compost is created as a result of tiny organisms breaking down organic matter such as leaves, food waste, lawn clippings and farm manure. Compost is often dug into the soil to add nutrients and feed beneficial soil life but can also be used as a mulch on garden beds.

Learn more about soil-building
Seattle Public Utilities - Growing Healthy Soil: how to evaluate your soil, types of compost and mulch materials and how to use them, composting at home.

King Conservation District: information on common soil types in King County, soil fertility, and soil testing.

King County Soil Web site: how to use compost and mulch.

For free garden advice and information, please contact the Garden Hotline at (206) 633-0224 or help@gardenhotline.org or visit www.savingwater.org.

Love Your Dry Shade!

By Judy Redmond

Judy Redmond is the editor of Northwest Horticultural Society’s quarterly publication, Garden Notes, and she is also a WSU Snohomish County Master Gardener.

What to plant in dry shade can daunt even experienced gardeners.

What is dry shade?
Dry shade is partial to full shade under large trees, under eaves, or against north-facing walls, where there is little moisture or light. Planting under trees can be most challenging of all, as tree roots can absorb most of the nutrients and water from the surrounding soil, and their root systems make both planting and amending soil difficult.

Plants that do well in dry shade
Here are some of my favorite plants for dry shade. Generally, the following plants will do well in dry conditions once they are established. As always, consult a good reference guide for more details about plant requirements before purchasing. See the Resources at the end of this article.

Epimedium
Epimedium, also known as barrenwort, Bishop's hat, or fairy wings is my number one choice to plant for dry shade! It’s a genus of about 60 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Berberidaceae. Most flower in spring; some are evergreen. Two favorites are:

• Epimedium x perralchicum ‘Frohnleiten’
• Epimedium acuminatum

Ferns

• Polystichum munitum, Western sword fern, is an evergreen fern native to our area. It’s adapted to the dry shade under Douglas firs and Western red cedars.
• Polystichum setiferum, soft shield fern, has finely dissected evergreen fronds.

Shrubs

• Mahonia nervosa, Cascade Oregon grape, is a tough, native evergreen groundcover.
• Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’, Irish yew, is an evergreen conifer tolerating a wide range of conditions.
• Taxus baccata x hybridus, spreading English yew, is a low growing evergreen conifer that loves to spread.
• Viburnum tinus ‘Spring Bouquet’, is a large, dense evergreen shrub. It features early white blooms that develop into electric blue berries.
• Sarcococca ruscifolia, sweetbox, is valuable for glossy evergreen foliage, and delightfully fragrant winter flowers. It grows from three to five feet tall.
• Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis, dwarf sweetbox, is a low shrub with similar features to sweetbox, growing one foot tall by three feet wide.

Perennials

• Cyclamen coum, Persian violet, is a summer-dormant groundcover that tolerates the dense shade of Douglas firs, Western red cedars, beeches, and maples. It features lovely flowers - white through pink to magenta - which peak in February and early March.
• Cyclamen hederifolium, Ivyleaf cyclamen, has similar needs as C. coum, but is larger growing and more vigorous. Its blooms in fall, featuring flowers in white or shades of pink.
• Helleborus foetidus, stinking hellebore, features striking green flowers in winter. Both this and H. x hybridus, below, are valuable in the winter garden with their lush blooms.
• Helleborus x hybridus, lenten rose, has similar needs to H.foetidus, but with a wide range of bloom colors, so you may want to choose when it is in flower.

Tips for Success
If you’re planting these dry shade plants under trees, it’s important to protect the trees’ roots. Remember that most tree roots are in the top 12-18 inches of soil.

• As always, plant in fall for best results.
• Water regularly the first year to establish your plants. After that, water when needed.
• Dig individual holes instead of a deep, large bed.
• Plant no closer than two feet from the tree trunk.
• Avoid cutting tree roots over two inches in diameter.
• Mulch once or twice a year (in spring and/or fall).
• Apply a slow-release, or organic fertilizer as needed.

Resources

• Great Plant Picks (greatplantpicks.org) is a local online treasure detailing the cultural needs of plants, with photos. Most of the above plants are GPP selections.
• The Soest Herbaceous Display Garden at the UW Botanic Gardens features a dry shade area under a red oak in the northeast corner of the garden.
• Read about the experiment to test which plants thrive in the dry shade area of the Soest Herbaceous Display Garden. Part I, Planting (pdf); Part II, Results (pdf).
• Horticulture magazine has a list of dry shade plants in their online edition dated October 16, 2009.

Ten Tips for Great Northwest Food Gardens!

by Lorene Edwards Forkner

Lorene Edwards Forkner is a freelance writer with a passion for small gardens and food; follow her blog at Plantedathome.com.

Reap the rewards of growing your own! Grow fresh, healthy and delicious food - have fun, get some exercise and save money, too. Before you begin, spend a little time planning for the season ahead. If you are new to food gardening use one of the excellent books in Resources below to get familiar with best practices, such as the importance of rotating your crops. This will save you time, money and result in better crop yields, too. Follow the watering tips under #4 to provide the water your plants need, while helping to preserve precious water resources. Here’s how to get the most from your efforts:

1. Take advantage of the cool growing season and seasonal rains
   Chard, kale, lettuce, arugula, mustard, bok choy, cabbage, and many other greens thrive in the cool months before the soil warms enough to support summer crops. Root crops like beets, carrots, parsnips and cabbage family crops will hold through the winter, with your backyard serving as a crisper drawer until you are ready to harvest.
2. Limit warm-season crops to half of your available planting space
   Corn, tomatoes, squash and other heat-loving vegetables can be a gamble when we have an especially cool summer. Be thoughtful in your planning, and use the right techniques to get the most from your efforts.
3. Combine edible and ornamental plantings
   Feeling squeezed for space? Cultivate peas with your poppies and encircle beds with delicious and colorful lettuce, chives, or parsley. Dense plantings serve as a “living mulch” to preserve moisture in the soil; you’ll increase your yield and conserve water at the same time. Growing vegetables and fruits are a great motivator to switch over to organic gardening methods; healthy gardens produce healthy food.
4. Group vegetables with similar water - and other - growing requirements
   Not all veggies need a full day of hot sun. Did you know that many cool season crops (see above), as well as peas, bush beans, chervil, mint, and cilantro actually prefer a little shade in high summer? Cucumbers will produce poorly under dry conditions, whereas a little drought stress prompts late summer tomatoes to ripen their fruit. Before you apply any water check the soil to be sure it’s needed. Avoid irrigating in the heat of the day and overhead sprinkling in general to reduce water wasting evaporation and over-spray.

   Get the most from watering!
   Tips to help you grow great veggies and fruit while using water efficiently:

   • Amend your soil with compost, and mulch the soil surface, to help retain moisture.
   • Plant more densely to grow a bigger harvest with the water used.
   • Plant crops with similar water needs together, paying attention to crop rotation and other best practices.
   • Select the best watering method for you: soaker hoses or drip watering may be the most efficient, but watering with a water wand works well, too.
   • Regardless of method, probe into the soil surface before watering to make sure water is needed, and water in the morning before the heat of the day.
5. Choose varieties wisely
   Siberian tomatoes and Japanese eggplants have proven themselves productive under growing conditions similar to those in the Pacific Northwest. Select seed varieties – see Resources below - that do well in the cool springs, moderate summers and mild fall conditions of our Northwest gardens.
6. Buy from the experts
   Purchase locally grown organic vegetable starts at independent nurseries, farmers’ markets, and plant sales. These plants will generally be varieties that thrive in our area.
7. Master the time/space vegetable continuum
   Days to maturity: This information appears on every seed packet and most plant labels to indicate when you can expect your harvest.
   Catch Crop: Plant fast-maturing vegetables in the space between slower-maturing ones that will later spread.
   Double cropping or succession planting: Plant another crop as soon as you’ve harvested the previous one to keep your garden in constant production. This tactic is greatly enhanced by using transplants.
8. Include continuously bearing vegetables
   Chard, kale, pole beans, cucumber, summer squash, broccoli, and “indeterminate” or vining tomatoes are just a few crops that continue to grow, flower and produce if kept picked.
9. Grow UP!
   Employ trellises, teepees, fences, poles, and arbors to take advantage of the growing space above your beds and add a pleasing vertical element to the garden.
10. Always include herbs and perennial food plants
    Don’t forget rhubarb, strawberries, herbs, asparagus, fruit trees, cane berries, blueberries, artichokes and bunching onions. These permanent garden residents produce a broad range of delicious flavors year after year without replanting.

Resources

Edible Heirlooms: Heritage Vegetables for the Maritime Garden, by Bill Thorness; Skipstone Press, 2009.

Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades, The Complete Guide to Organic Gardening, by Steve Solomon; Sasquatch Books, 2007.

Growing Your Own Vegetables: An Encyclopedia of Country Living Guide, by Carla Emery & Lorene Edwards Forkner; Sasquatch Books, 2009.

The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide, by Carl Elliot and Rob Peterson; Seattle Tilth, 2000.

We welcome your suggestions. Please share them by emailing Nota Lucas, Seattle Public Utilities.

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