Planting Day

After weeks of preparing our four planting sites two were ready.

Wednesday was the big day. The temperature was just above freezing, a degree or two below dewpoint. Consequently, we had frost.

At this point, we had already finished site selection and prep and picked our plants.

This is a reenactment of our final step in the planning process.

Chandler S. and Juliet represent a mountain laurel. Chandler P. is a skeleton leaf goldeneye. Kallie, Sarah, and Holly are Will Fleming yaupon hollies. Blake, Steven, and Niles are purple salvias. We selected all evergreens to work as a windbreak. It is so windy at this spot that mulch blows away. Holly suggested crushed granite as a top dressing (which we did).

What follows are the steps we used installing our garden beds.

Step 1.

Measure and dig the hole. Hold the blade of the shovel against the pot. Make a visual mark on the blade at the top of the soil line within the pot. Dig hole a little wider than the container and as deep as the soil line. (Okay, this is technically two steps)

Step 2.

Fill hole 1/2 full of water.

This provides the bottom most roots instant access to moisture.

Step 3.

Gently remove the plant from the container. First try squeezing the sides. If that doesn't work push it out from the bottom. Still not budging? Lay on its side and spank it with your spade or shoe. On 5 gallon sized pots and larger, we frequently employ the spanking method.

Yanking the plant from its pot can cause serious root damage.

Step 4.

Situate in hole. Check depth. Turn to show its best side.

Step 5.

Backfill.

It's important to keep all the soil you remove in one pile so you'll have enough for this step.

Step 6.

Water. Be gentle.

Step 7.

Mulch. This will help retain moisture, insulate the roots, suppress weed growth, and slowly fertilize as the mulch decomposes.

Check out more of our work by clicking on the picture below.