Garden Makeover

Rusty garden table

A smart approach is to start your garden with a theme in mind. This way you can plan ahead for appropriate pots, plants and decoration. After all you want a practical garden that has visual impact and good looks.

For starters, think if you want an edible or an ornamental garden. Our recommendation is a combination of both where you can have fresh ingredients for cooking, and color, texture, and visual impact with ornamentals. Remember to take into consideration your space size and environmental conditions such as the hours of available sun and wind. As a good rule of thumb herbs require at least 6 hours of sunlight while flowers and other ornamentals may require less.

Before the makeover

When we started our garden we didn't have a theme in mind. Actually this whole gardening madness started because I like to cook and I wanted a windowsill garden for a few herbs. (I'm actually helping a friend create hers, keep tuned for this upcoming interesting post.) Turns out our sweet basil grew so much we had to transfer it to a large pot and so our balcony garden started. In the beginning it was mostly the pots we could get, all placed across the balcony floor. (Editor's note: Not the best floor plan for a garden.) 

There is an excellent gardening book which has a lot of information on the different plants that could be appropriate for containers: The Encyclopedia of Container Plants. The author, Ray Rogers, has won numerous awards for plant displays and flower shows, so the book presents lots of ideas about the different combinations you can do based on the shape of the leaves, and the color of the plants and flowers. We have learned about the best combinations and decided to experiment a little (yes, always leave some space/time for experimentation).

It was time for a garden makeover! We went shopping and found some interesting pots and colorful garden tables. After pondering for a while (Editor's note: "a while" = hours) we settled on a rusty theme, which will prove to be very convenient in Puerto Rico's high humidity. We selected several rusty metal tables but incorporated a few wooden pieces and pots that also have rusty accents. 

Color palette is important too. You can use a color wheel to decide on good combinations. Play with analogous colors, which will prove very useful for edible leaves or maybe mix and match complementary colors using your flowers. For our new pots and tables we selected colors that are not too bright but which include white, yellow and some blue and purple. Since most of our plants are just green, we wanted to add some color without overcasting our flowers.

There are also other ideas you can incorporate into your garden. One of our favorites is creating theme pots. You can create a pot that is all about salad, mixing and matching different edible greens like arugula, lettuce, scallions. Combine aromatic plants like basil, parsley, lemongrass and rosemary for a more romantic touch.

After the makeover

As you can see in the picture above, the change is not over-dramatic, but it does add great touches, it looks more organized, it has more shape and depth, it displays better the smaller plants as they don't disappear into larger ones. Every once in a while we rearrange them either because plants achieve their their lifespan or because we get new plants always taking into consideration shapes and color.

We will keep improving our garden and as always, keep you posted. We might start introducing some trees to our garden arrangement. Don't miss the updates.

The Substitute(s)

Garlic chives in a pot with some cucumber seedlings.

As you may know in the beginning there was basil. Shortly after that there was mint and chives (and parsley and peppers and a whole bunch of other stuff. For the complete nostalgia trip see the original roll call). Incredibly, I haven't written a post about chives (probably because we've had some issues in getting chives to germinate). Chives, Allium schoenoprasum, are a perennial member of the onion family native to both the New and Old World. They are commonly used as an onion substitute. Unlike scallions (another onion substitute) they form a small bulb underground. From this bulb very shallow roots and long, round, slender leaves emerge. These leaves are what we're interested in. Chives are propagated by seeds or division. By division is easier but seeds are more gratifying (and our recommended choice, as always). However, we've had very poor germination rates with chives (You've been warned). At the beginning of summer leaves stiffen and purple edible flowers emerge from the tip. 

In terms of care, chives have needs similar to scallions (which we previously covered here). They require a well-drained soil in a location that receives full sun. Due to their shallow root system chives can grow well in just 3-4 inches of soil. So if you have a shallow container that you can't seem to use (we had a few of those) pair it with chives with no worries. A balanced or nitrogen-heavy fertilizer every 1-2 weeks is recommended for optimum growth. When you are ready to harvest just snip a few leaves at the base of the plant. The following day new leaves will emerge so don't worry if you have to take every leaf. Chives can be grown in a monopot or combopot but our experience tells us that they grow better as a monopot. If you want to grow them in a combopot either plant them first and wait until they are established before introducing new plants or make sure you fertilize heavily each week to help them compete with the other plants in the container.

A few months ago we purchased several seeds from genericseeds.com (the jury still out on the site). I assume you read all about it (shame on you if you didn't) but in case you are coming late to the party here's a link. If you read the post you may notice that we bought garlic chive seeds. Garlic chives, Allium tuberosum, (which is what this post was supposed to be about until normal chives highjacked it or until I noticed I had more to write about chives than garlic chives) are a species that also belongs to the onion family. A staple of Asian cuisine, garlic chives differ from regular chives in that they have flat leaves instead of round leaves, white flowers instead of purple ones, and that they have a more "garlicky" flavor than the typical "oniony" flavor of chives. Some sources point out that when used in cooking they don't tolerate heat well but we have been unable to confirm this. Therefore, use with discretion. In terms of care, they have the same needs as regular chives so follow our advice above.

So if you like onions or garlic but find their flavor too strong give chives or garlic chives a try. You won't regret it.

Burning the midnight oil

Dama de noche flower. Stunning.

They say New York is the city that never sleeps but nature got there first. It's the original 24/7 operation. I remember years ago being in my mother's small garden waiting to see a spectacle that only happened at night: the blooming of a Dama de noche (Lady of the night). As she described it this plant bloomed only at night peaking at midnight. When daylight broke the flowers would die. The flowers were beautiful and very fragrant. Definitely worth staying awake to watch this. Fast forward to the present. My mother still has her garden and the same dama de noche. Our little garden has many herbs and fruiting plants but very little flowers. Jessica loves flowers so my mom offered us a cutting from her dama de noche. She wrapped it in a damp paper towel and off we went.

Dama de noche in a hanging pot. Each branch can be cut
and grown as a new plant.

Let's put a pause to the sentimental, personal stuff (not even sure why I shared that to begin with) and let's dig into the nerd stuff now. You would be amazed to know that Dama de noche is a cactus. Yeah, a cactus. The scientific nomenclature for this plant is very confusing with many synonyms being recognized but it is usually considered part of the night-blooming Cereus. However, it does not belong to the Cereus genus but rather to the Epiphyllum genus; its full scientific name being Epiphyllum oxypetalum. The species is native to Central America and possibly South America, and is available worldwide through the horticultural trade. It has dark green branches which can grow several feet in length. In nature, the plant grows on trees, much like orchids. Its flowers are large, white, night-blooming and fragrant. Now you might wonder why it blooms at night since most plants bloom during the day. Well, day-bloomers are pollinated by bees, birds, and other diurnal creatures. Dama de noche, on the other hand, is pollinated by bats, moths, and other nocturnal creatures. This also explains why the flowers are so large and white. They are easier to spot at night (Yep, nature is amazing).

A few more flowers just because

If you are growing dama de noche it's certainly not for its looks (it's an unattractive plant in my opinion) but rather for its flowers. Be warned that not everyone gets this plant to bloom, especially on temperate climates. While we don't have a magic formula for making this plant bloom we can offer some tips to improve your chances. Dama de noche can be grown as a monopot (single species in a container) or in a combopot (multiple species in a container). We've found that it grows better in a monopot but it has produced more flowers in a combopot (Yes, nature is weird like that). Dama de noche looks especially nice in a hanging pot but make sure it is properly secured to the wall since the plant can get very heavy. Being a cactus a well draining soil is recommended. Water sparingly but do not allow the soil to dry completely. Fertilize once a month with a balanced fertilizer. Dama de noche prefers full sun but it can grow well in partial shade (3-4 hours of sunlight). It can be propagated via cuttings or (according to some websites) through seed. We wouldn't bother with seeds since cuttings are so easy to obtain and grow. Just snip a small branch from a mature plant and place in moist soil. In 2-3 weeks new branches will emerge and 6-8 months later the plant should be mature enough to produce flowers.

If you like flowers go out there and grow some dama de noche. You won't be disappointed. Until next time.