Save Your Money - Don't Buy Plant Supports

I can't help but be frugal. I hate waste and I dislike spending money needlessly. I rather save funds to buy more plants.

Here are some ways to promote waste diversion and help to support/stake plants:

1. Chop sticks. I love Asian Food and when we order take out, we ask for chop-sticks. I may not use them to eat dinner, but my plants benefit from them!

Now, we do use them for eating as well. We just give them a good wash before using them as stakes.

Because I am so busy in the spring with outdoor gardening, several of my houseplants stretch for light in the summer.  As the shade tree casts dimmer light in my living room, I sometimes forget to turn the plant and it winds up growing off to one side. Chop sticks are fabulous for that extra prop.

2. Stems and branches from pruning shrubs and trees:

A pony tail support of sorts, this grass took a beating one night from a nasty thunderstorm.  The grass was smothering the begonias beneath and they needed rescuing. In a few weeks the undergrowth will hide the binding. I used birch stems from a recent dead birch take down (you probably have some from your old winter planter creations, no?), they are great supports. Better than bamboo sticks. IMO anyway.

Tucked in behind, they do the trick!  You can use dogwood, pussy willow stems and any that are sturdy enough to bear the brunt of some wind. Tie them into a teepee formation. It will work great with sisal or raffia bindings.

3. Coat Hangers:

Now that my amaryllis has flowered, I patiently wait until leaves start to yellow and whither, to start the whole process again.

With a simple cut and twist, this ?-shaped plant support is soooo handy. From holding up cactus, to divisions, to orchids - it's been used a LOT. So easy to make.


4. Dead evergreens: ie Taxus (Yew)

Unfortunately, a large Taxus Yew lived here. To dig out yews, well - the retaining wall around it may have been damaged since the roots are really deep. So instead of cutting it from the base, we placed some pots around it and have grown Morning Glory's that are nicely covering and give visual interest.

I've seen dead trees miraculously transformed by Ivy, Clematis and Creepers. Bringing new life to what was dead is pretty cool.

5. Plastic Utensils: I added this one to just prove a point (you can use ANYTHING!)

Having removed baby plantlets from below, and repotted, this Haworthia needed a little propping up for a month or  so. A plastic fork works great!

What do you use?

Don't Throw Away Broken Clay Pots - Part 2

In my previous post on broken clay pots, I recommended not throwing them out. If you're like me, and many others, perhaps this has happened to you this spring:

Not to worry, there are plenty of uses if you have the will to use them elsewhere.

You can use broken pots as garden art - allowing plants to spill out from their brokenness. It's quite interesting, and I will do a post on that method soon...

For now, this weekend, we made a path to the compost heap with all the broken bits that were saved over the years.

First, it was decided that this worn area should have a permanent path made with aggregates. Shade from a Black Walnut and Silver Maple back there has made growing grass difficult.  Crushed clay chips are ideal for this.

I used rags to wrap the broken sections and a sledgehammer -smashing the clay pots into 1 inch bits. 
(Make sure you don't smash and damage the surface beneath.)  
Never do this on patio stones.

Various sizes are the best. They help level and fill in gaps better.

I went through several rags accomplishing this. The impact shreds the material quickly.

If you have an intended area, use dark plastic to first kill off any grass or stubborn weeds before laying down the clay bits. It takes about 2 weeks with this plastic cover to kill off most everything. 
Make sure you way down the edges, so no light and moisture get through.

Next, level off the intended path area. 
Remove ruts, high-low areas and remove any roots from neighbouring plant material. 
Level the path down to about a 1 inch depth, so that the clay bits won't be too high off the ground.

If you like to suppress more weeds and grass from growing through the broken clay, use landscape fabric or this old pond liner. It will help keep the weeds down.

I made the path slightly wider, and it's ok to overlap this fabric to create the desired shape. 
You don't have to use landscape fabric. We used it, since Convallaria majalis (Lily of the Valley) is situated on the left.

Once I crushed a bucket full, I spread it over the landscape fabric. 
I just tamped it down with foot traffic, but you could roll it with an aggregate roller to make the chips embed in the soil.

I had a hunch there was enough to cover the entire path...

Here is the finished result.  Now, whenever another pot breaks, we can easily crush and top-up or refresh the path. Great waste diversion.