Posted: October 26, 2021
The Penn State Trial Gardens have plants that have unique characteristics that the novice or the experienced gardener may find useful for their own gardens.
Solidago sphacelata ‘Golden Fleece' is a low-growing goldenrod that can form a wreath-like circle as it grows.Photo by: M. Young
Do you still remember how hot it was for most of the summer--numerous days above 90 degrees! Not much rain during August. Finally, it cooled down enough that it was bearable to be outside in the middle of the day. Now it's October and quite pleasant outside. But on the really hot days, I would go out in the morning, pull some weeds, water what needed watering, and scurry back in the house or the shade to read my book in the afternoon. Then I would venture out again in the evening--pull more weeds, plant something, trim something and when the mosquitoes got too annoying back in I would go to eat my evening meal.
I imagine that scenario has played out with a lot of people. Now is the time to think about how you will change your gardening habits next summer. Since the prediction is more heat and heavier storms -- or drought -- we should spend time learning how to garden all over again. Come to the Penn State Trial Garden in Gettysburg and observe our plantings and how we accommodate our gardening to the changing weather conditions.
Three of our gardeners spent time researching the plants that are native to Adams County and for several years we have had one bed (H-1) devoted to these plants. The bed is in full sun and not many Adams County native plants are happy in full sun -- they would prefer shade from tall trees or dappled shade or meadow-like conditions. Since this bed has been in existence for several years we know what will survive with no extra water except when the plants are planted. Here is a partial list of the plants that do well in bed H-1: Culver's root which blooms in mid-summer; Columbine -- the red native that blooms in the spring; New York ironweed which blooms in early fall; garden phlox, a long bloomer; and an ornamental grass, little blue stem. There are several other Adams County natives that also thrive.
Two more garden beds are cared for by the same three gardeners -- they are described as Xeriscape Gardens. That means that they get no additional water after the initial planting. It doesn't matter to us if it is a dry or rainy summer -- these three gardeners do not water plots H-2 or H-3, and the plants have survived for many years (5 to 10 in some cases). Ornamental grasses can be a popular plant for this type of garden--Carl Foerster Reed Grass, Calimagrostis is an upright native, cool-weather grass which is a no-fuss plant--it usually grows upright and doesn't lodge (fall over). Other plants in this plot include Russian Sage, Shasta Daisy 'Becky', and purple coneflower, Echinachea purpurea. Don't make the mistake of choosing some of the newer coneflowers in vibrant colors--yes, they are beautiful with large flowers but they may not be such good pollinators. The cones are bred to be smaller or more ruffled and bees and other insects are not so attracted to them for pollen or nectar. The other main reason for choosing xeriscape plants -- you may spend much of a summer traveling or otherwise not be home and your plantings won't suffer from neglect.
Garden Plot A-2's title says it all: "Herbs and Plants of the Mediterranean." These plants are all drought tolerant and thrive with little water in hot summers and they like to be dry between waterings. Many herbs fit these requirements -- lavender, oregano and rosemary -- have rough, tough leaves with a rather stiff texture. They all have pungent scents and their branches can become quite woody. These plants are also long-lived perennials that may last for many years in a sunny location.
My garden bed (G-2) consists of many varieties of goldenrod, one of my favorite summer plants. Goldenrod is very forgiving -- it likes lean soil and doesn't do so well if the soil is fertilized and enriched. Roadsides and some abandoned sites are all good places to find goldenrod growing. The flowers are very recognizable - it is usually the leaves or growth habit which will help you identify a specific goldenrod. Some are clump-growing and others grow by runners. I'm sorry to say that some of my goldenrod plants have escaped to other beds and are doing well. My neighbors in the close-by plots may not be happy with this arrangement!
I have not watered my plot this past summer (or most other summers). Here is a not quite accurate account of the amount of rain we had this past summer: it took me a while to install the rain gauge, so May's total is less than 4 inches. June, July and August averaged 4 inches each month with September and October having two storms of 4.8 inches each time. Our worst storms came in the last 2 months but not so much in the early months.
Succulents are another group of plants that don't require much water. Our succulent plot thrived in the heat--the plants grew together and allowed very few weeds to grow in that bed. In fact, the heat did not seem to disturb the growth of any of our plots. Of course that could be because the owners of the individual plots were very good at keeping the weeds out and making the plantings look very healthy. We will all look forward to next year's Trial Garden and the opportunity to experiment with other xeriscape plants.
These are just a few of the 26 plots in the Trial Garden and all have plants that have unique characteristics that the novice or the experienced gardener may find useful for their own gardens. Make it a yearly habit to visit them for great gardening ideas.
Martie Young is a Penn State Master Gardener from Adams County. Penn State Cooperative Extension of Adams County is located at 670 Old Harrisburg Road, Suite 204, Gettysburg, phone 334-6271.
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