Gardening chores must be done year-round, and Paul James, host of HGTV's
Gardening by the Yard has a bag of tips for making them easier:
Relocating boulders
Moving a 2,231-pound limestone boulder, which doubles as a bench, isn't a simple matter. James' plan was to have the boulder dropped exactly where he wanted it, but a forklift would have left deep ruts on the lawn. Instead he had the forklift operator bring the boulder over to a nearby bed, raise the boulder slowly on the forks and gently flip it--hoping it would land in the perfect spot. Instead, it landed a few feet off target and upside down as well.
James was able to move it to the right spot with the help of some straps attached to the forklift, but he still wanted to move it a few more inches, and in order to do that he needed some leverage. Using a long steel pry bar as a lever and a piece of stone as a fulcrum, he slowly lifted the boulder and simultaneously rotated it until it was where he wanted it.
Ideally, boulders like this should be sunk a bit below soil level, because they look more natural that way, but this would have been difficult. An easier way is to put some soil around the edges of the boulder and slope it gently outward so that the boulder appears to have been sitting there for a long time. To add to that been-here-forever look and feel, James plants a few Japanese painted ferns around the base of the boulder. The silvery color of the ferns will blend well with the color of the limestone and soften the hard edges of the boulder.
Hanging heavy baskets
Planting a fern in an iron basket is his next chore, and James begins by removing what remains of last year's fern--the potting mix and the liner. He packs the interior of the basket with a new liner made of coconut fiber that's precut to fit in a round basket this size. He adds potting mix, puts the fern in place and continues adding potting mix until the basket is full. To finish the basket off, he adds a layer of sphagnum moss on top. He hangs the basket beneath the eave of his house so that it remains in full shade all day.
The basket--plus plant, potting mix and water--may weigh up to 40 pounds, so James screws a heavy-duty eyehook into a stud so that the weight of the basket won't pull it out. He then adds an S-hook to the eyehook from which to hang the plant.
Invisible trellis
The next chore involves lending a helping hand to a climbing rose he planted against a brick wall a few weeks ago. Climbing roses don't actually climb, at least not in the sense that true vines do. They have elongated stems that need a support such as a fence, arbor or trellis. Ready-made trellises come in many shapes and materials, but James decides to make an invisible trellis.
Steps
- Using a masonry bit, drill a l/2-inch hole into the brick wall near the base of the rose.
- Drive a lead anchor into the hole, then put a lag screw into the anchor and give it a few turns--leaving about 1/2 inch of the lag screw exposed.
- Install several more anchors and screws spaced evenly higher up in the wall.
- Use galvanized wire to complete the trellis and reveal its finished shape. To do that, loop one end of the length of wire around one of the screws higher up in the wall, and secure it with a few twists.
- Stretch the wire as tightly as you can, and secure the other end of the wire to the lag screw down at the base of the rose.
- Repeat this process until you have a length of wire running from the base screw to each of the screws on the wall. James has three lengths of wire running from the base screw up the wall in the shape of a trellis.
As the rose canes begin to grow up the invisible trellis, train the canes on each wire and secure them with some twine to the wire. Ideally, you will wind up with a fan-shaped climbing rose that appears to be clinging to the wall.
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