Garden Meeting February 1

The Biltmore Triangle Gardeners met on February 1 to plot out the 2006 garden. That is...the plots are already there, but we wanted to plan our plants.

We decided that, while individual gardeners would continue to experiment and refine their plots, we would focus on three projects for the garden overall:

1. Reseed the grass, which has gotten weedy and spotty. Between us, there was no lawn expertise so we hope that someone reading this has suggestions about how to deweed and reseed. (We will probably return to a discussion of pavers or other alternatives, especially between some of the plots that come close together, at some point in the future.)
2. Landscape the (dry) shade garden behind the bench-We decided we would all work on it;
   
3. Have flowering plants all seasons--especially mid to late summer, which can be hard to sustain. We will fill in with a mix of perenniels and annuals.
   

We did some budgeting for the upcoming year, including setting aside funds for metal markers to identify plants, grass seed and related materials, compost and mulch, a trellis for the passion flower that did so well last summer, and annuals for midsummer color.

The idea of a camelia for the shady back end, to replace a lilac that will be moved into the sun, carried the day. However, there is still some discussion under way about the use of other plants such as black cohosh and variegated ground covers. Since they all have very different habits and bloom or feature times, it is possible all will go there.

We also discussed reaching out to the community including building ties to local florists and landscapers, and perhaps having a garden party to celebrate blooms, bring garden fans together, and honor a neighborhood garden notable.