Episode 2615

- [Narrator] On this episode, Troy Marden strolls through a charming backyard landscape where the attention to detail makes it magical. Plus, we are finding that the warmer the winters, the more bugs that winter over. Julie Berbiglia finds out what we can do organically to lessen the impact of destructive pests. Stay tuned. First, a blended landscape that tells a story.

- In Hendersonville Tennessee, just north of Nashville, Bill and Mary Heeks have managed to bring a bit of jolly old England right here to Tennessee. From a miniature village, to a putting green, their garden a little bit of everything. Mary, tell me about the beginning of this beautiful garden that you've created here over the years.

- [Mary] Well, this tree was perfect for my children's sandbox. So that's where the children played. And as the children got older, the sandbox turned into the rock garden. And then, I just couldn't resist adding on to the garden right and left as my husband traveled, so did the garden. It just kept traveling up and down and--

- [Troy] And turned in eventually to what we see?

- [Mary] That's exactly right.

- [Troy] Today.

- [Mary] Yes.

- [Troy] You have both sun and shade here in this garden.

- [Mary] I do.

- [Troy] You're able to grow a really wide range of plants.

- [Mary] True.

- [Troy] And you have things I notice, really planted tightly. Is there a philosophy behind that?

- [Mary] I think most small English gardens if you see the proper family garden in England, the borders are so condensed with flowers, they don't have many weeds.

- [Troy] Right.

- [Mary] So, the more of the back drop, if you have a back drop of shrubs and your plants, you can eliminate the weeds by kind of cramming it all in.

- [Troy] Right. And then you get such also, wonderful textural variations and things. Even when the garden isn't maybe in full bloom, it still looks great because you have all of that foliage texture.

- Right, it's the different greens.

- [Troy] Mary, I notice you have quite a number of plants in containers. Hanging baskets, containers that just are sitting above ground. Tell me just a little bit about growing things in all these containers and how you manage them and overwinter and all of that.

- [Mary] All these plants are from last year, the baskets. I got them from the high school. Because I trim them back in the fall and put them in the greenhouse and they just have flourished out here.

- They're lush and full. And then you have caster bean?

- [Mary] Well, I call it caster oil.

- [Troy] Caster oil, uh huh.

- [Mary] Which I love.

- [Troy] And...

- [Mary] This is an almond plant. I got it from Low G's greenhouse. When it blooms, the aroma is just wonderful.

- [Troy] And all of these things get carried into the greenhouse for the winter, right?

- [Mary] Into the greenhouse.

- That is a labor of love, I guess.

- It is, we have some help getting them in. This is a bougainvillea. And there's my shrimp. My Justicia.

- [Troy] With the beautiful pink flowers on it. Gorgeous. And then I also notice, you have a really beautiful plumeria blooming over there that is very tropical plant. But pretty easy to grow, I think.

- [Mary] That they are. You just don't need to baby them. They like to be neglected. Put them in a pot and leave them alone.

- [Troy] And a lot of times, you'll even see them being sold at flower shows and places not even potted. Just a stick, just a stalk. And you take that home and pot it up and it grows roots and eventually turns into a flowering shrub or small tree.

- That's exactly right.

- They're completely tropical and has to be indoors for the winter.

- It does.

- [Troy] I've been lucky enough to travel to England a few times and I've noticed in gardens over there that sometimes I see these miniature villages. And you've done the same thing. Tell me about this little village that you've created.

- [Mary] This is like the village where I lived in England. I lived in Kingsley, Birmingham and this here is All Saints Church. This is where my husband I go when we go back home. And this is just a special church. This is my home church in England. And it does have a water feature in England and so I put a little mirror there to mirror--

- [Troy] To reflect and look like water.

- [Mary] Exactly.

- [Troy] And then down here...

- [Mary] This is my village.

- [Troy] Your little village.

- [Mary] And it's called the Maple. That's where I lived. The houses are different. As in a regular community some houses outshine others.

- [Troy] And you've got a little lake.

- [Mary] A little lake.

- [Troy] Made out of a mirror.

- [Mary] That's right.

- And you made all of these little, village buildings, the little houses yourselves, right?

- My husband and I. He built the form and they weigh 60 pounds. They're very heavy.

- Very heavy. So they're not going anywhere and you just decorate the outsides of them with tiles.

- True, and I like to put curtains in mine. And then the thatch, tried to make it look like a thatched cottage.

- [Troy] And the thatch is made out of coco fiber.

- [Mary] That's correct, and the birds love it.

- [Troy] I bet.

- [Mary] So everybody's happy.

- [Troy] Yes, so they can use that as nesting material and if it gets too thin, you can always add a little bit more.

- That's true. And I really want it eventually to become a green roof.

- Okay, so allow little things to grow in it? And maybe moss.

- That's what I'm hoping in time.

- Very good, yes. This is quite a specimen. This is Petra plant, correct?

- [Mary] Correct.

- [Troy] These are native to our bogs and wet places in the southeastern United States. How have you been so successful with them here in the garden?

- [Mary] My son in law who's in Memphis, has a farm of Petra plants and he has them in a plastic bucket full of peat. Drill holes. And they winter over. He gave me this one. And it has wintered over so this is its second journ.

- [Troy] It is really beautiful. You have so many unique features here in the garden but maybe one of the most unique is that you have your own small putting green.

- [Mary] Well, there had to be something in this garden for my husband so this is his putting green.

- [Troy] There are three holes in here and you can move the flag stick around and practice putting in different positions.

- That's correct and the children and adults absolutely love this putting green.

- [Troy] Well, you have over a period of almost 40 years, created a lovely garden and we just want to thank you so much for sharing it with all of us.

- [Mary] Well, you're all so very welcome. I've truly enjoyed having you all here.

- [Troy] Thank you.

- [Mary] Thank you.

- I have mixed feelings about this. I'm at the master gardeners demo garden here. I see things I hate. I hate this leaf. I hate this leaf and I hate all these guys here. The only good thing about this is, I see it in their garden and they're amazing gardeners. I see it my garden all the time and I'm beginning to get worried about the winter so I'm talking to David Cook here, our Ag-extension agent about the winter. It was really warm in the past and I don't think my bugs are getting killed, so what am I gonna do about this David?

- I've never seen this side of you come out. But it will bring out. Our warmer weather's brought out an extended season with insects. Insects relate to temperature. It speeds up their life cycle and it's probably gone to see more generations of insects that generally might have a single generation. What you have in your hands right here, these little squash bug eggs, they're going to continue probably later on in the season. So, what we need to do is think about that insect issues are gonna linger on further into the growing season than normally we would expect. Last December we had temperatures in the 70s. Now, what will change that is when the low light conditions come in, days get shorter and a little bit cooler. These annual vegetable plants we're growing for food are gonna start dying out. The food instead of these pests are gonna go away. Will the pests go away? No, no, they're still gonna be in the immediate area.

- Well, uh oh. So, in the fall, what I usually do with my raised beds and my other beds is I take off all the stuff that's died, maybe compost it, and then I throw some leaves on top of the bed and I'm done.

- Well, good point you're doing. Something we can do further. These insects that we're talking about, which eat up our plants, they don't die during the wintertime. They stay as an adult stage. Except for the moths. Moths will actually pupate. They'll crawl down and actually as a caterpillar into the soil in the immediate are they want to fly out from because next year they know they're gonna have food. They will create a pupa case, what I have right here. This will overwinter and just below your feet in the soil. It can do it in a raised bed garden. What you want to do is, after you remove all that plant debris that provides habitat and housing for these other true bugs and beetles that crawl into that dead plant material, remove that. If you want to compost it, that's excellent. But if you want to kill the insects in your compost, you gotta make sure that compost reaches the right temperature. It's really gotta get hot. Or they're going to overwinter in your compost bin. Then you might bring your compost back next year into your garden and relocate those pests for your next season. A good trick to do is, as you put down leaf layer to enhance the fertility of the garden for next year, look at the weather forecast when they're gonna predict a hard frost or a freeze. Then, if you come in with a shovel or rake with your raised beds and move about six inches of soil up, disturb it, turn it over, that cold weather can actually kill the stages that are overwintering because they can't acclimate to a sudden drop in temperature. If you just leave the soil without disturbing it, the insects are still gonna overwinter in it. But if you disturb the soil, bring them up to the top, birds are still looking for food during the wintertime, they'll come down and try to find these. Little creatures might find them too. The weather may kill 'em. So expose them to harsh elements. But these are all cultural and that's what I like to enforce instead of going out and grabbing a pesticide right away. Do what mother nature does. She doesn't spray anything. Work with her, work with the temperatures, watch the weather and you'll reduce pest pressure next year for sure.

- [Julie] I guess there's some really smart things I can do like maybe I don't need all of these squash bug infested squash plants in my compost bin. Maybe those are things I'm just gonna choose to throw away or put in a black plastic bag and let them heat up. Now, what about cover crops though? How do I deal with cover crops while I'm trying to stir up the soil periodically during the winter?

- What I would do for cover crops, before I plant them I would probably do the tilling first. If you get them planted early, you might want to do early spring, late winter tillage when you're letting those cover crops die back, cut the cover crops back. Lets them enhance the fertility of the soil. Right over here, this little plant we call Buckwheat and as cover crop, that actually is a summer cover crop. That will actually bring in beneficial insects. That's another way to manage pests toward the late season. Have a plant that attracts the beneficial insects and predators that will feed on the pests. The last pests of the season. Little more work, in the end it pays off in great dividends.

- It certainly seems like it and I have to say for all of the pests I have been seeing lately. I certainly saw more this year. Especially early in the year as they came out. It sounds like this is greatly worth it for next year. One other thing that I notice, you keep saying that nature intervenes. Early spring, oftentimes, I'll find frogs overwintering in my garden.

- Yeah, if you can provide housing even for reptiles and amphibians. A little clay pot turned over with a little area cut out of it, that will provide habitat for frogs and lizards and skinks that are basically insect feeders. If you provide habitat, that's what creatures look for first. If they're comfortable in there, then they look for food. Food with insects is all around us on this planet. Also, another good idea is to build a little perch so birds can rest and look at your garden. Mockingbirds are going to be nesting in shrubs and trees but bluebirds, get a bluebird house, they're insect feeders. Sole diet of insects. They will work your garden. In our demo garden here for the master gardeners we have trellises and things and if I come out here during the week, I can see mockingbirds and bluebirds, they're watching that, and they can spot movement of something we wouldn't even see. Use again, frogs, lizards and birds to enhance your garden. Pest control, mother nature's way.

- [Julie] It sounds like a lot of work on our part but well worth it. Certainly in the fall and early winter, it's nice and cool. It's time to be out in the garden. We're really happy to stay in the garden as long as we can so with some of your tips, and with mother natures help, it sounds like this winter we have a plan to get rid of the bugs in our garden hopefully, for the spring.

- [Annette] What is it about us that makes us want to collect things? When I'm finished to talking to Mike Garner here in Paris Tennessee, I think you're gonna know why he likes to collect Japanese maples.

- Yes.

- Thank you Mike for allowing us to come.

- You're just welcome.

- Give us why you collect.

- 20 years ago, I started collecting some fairly common bloodgoods and so forth, Japanese maples, and I got into the palmate leaf and then the dissectum leaf and then the miniatures or yaks. So we moved here 20 years ago, built this house and about three acres at that time. Now we have five acres. I had a lot of room to, I wanted to collect Japanese maples varieties.

- That's the necessary element, room.

- Yes. Maples are going to, most people think of the small dwarf, weeping type but then you get some that 10, 15, 20 feet tall. So, room that they can add some character and see the full structure of them. I love to bring the canopy up so you can see the limb structures and so forth like that. We travel quite a bit and when I see a different maple...

- You just got to have it.

- I like to have it. This one here, you can see it is 10-12 foot wide but look, it's no taller than three foot.

- [Annette] That's amazing.

- [Mike] But the structure under it, it's not pruned that way, it grows that way.

- [Annette] And what's that variety?

- [Mike] Kiyohime.

- [Annette] So, this is older?

- [Mike] Yes, this one is the oldest maple I have. If you didn't have a lot of room, you couldn't utilize this once it gets mature.

- [Annette] And it's sort of tucked away as an understory for you.

- [Mike] It is. This one is called Corallinium and initially it's almost a shrimpish pink color. Very striking on that. But one of the other things I love on maples, you can see they put out seed heads here.

- Oh yeah.

- This variety is Sekimori. It is a weeping green leaf dissectum. It's just a beautiful tree, but as you can see, on several on the trees, the bloom pods are still on there so to me, they add a lot of character to Japanese maples. This plant, I've got up visiting Don Shadow's nursery a couple years ago. He's into all things ACER. This is one of the few weeping palmate leaves. Full leafed maple.

- [Annette] When you say palmate leaf.

- [Mike] It looks like a palm. Normally it's five lobes and they stand, most of them, if you see all these others are upright. This is one of the few weeping ones.

- [Annette] Right behind here, this is an unusual structure and leaf color.

- [Mike] It is a Red Twombly's Sentinel. Small, palmate leaves but look how brighter it is in compared to some of the other colors around you here. It to me adds a bit to the structure. Right behind that is an upright Coral bark. Grown primarily for the winter effect.

- [Annette] I know that one.

- [Mike] Coral color on that. And another dawn shadow one, Bihou. You're used to seeing the Coral bark but this is grown for the structure, the color of the...

- [Annette] Does this bark stay this color year round?

- [Mike] Yes it will. It will stay that color year round.

- [Annette] Almost yellow.

- [Mike] Yes, it's a very unusual plant.

- [Annette] That's new for me. You said showy and I think I see it.

- [Mike] This is called Butterfly. It's an ACER palmatum. They small raw leaves but the shrimpish pink cast as I told you, it was very twiggy, you could see that, but in the spring time, if you walk down through there, your eye's gonna be drawn to this.

- [Annette] Absolutely.

- [Mike] It is just, if we had a little sunshine, you could see how beautiful it is.

- [Annette] Even with drops of rain it's beautiful.

- [Mike] It is.

- [Annette] I like the spotlight over here.

- [Mike] Yes, this is Summer Ghost, I believe is what it's called. There are some others maybe in this series but to me, the light color in a dark over shaded area like this, it is so striking and it's a beautiful little plant. This is an ACER japonicum. We're moving from the ACER palmatums and this is called Melgetsu. If you look a close shot at the leaves, it is so attractive, I think, there are some in the family call then dancing peacocks. I could see where they would get the name of that.

- I see the variation in this one for sure of the seeds and the leaf. That is beautiful.

- This I think it used to be an acer japonicum but they changed it to acer shirasawanum. It's a full moon maple and it's just putting out so you can see the areas pubescens. This will be an aerium, a very golden maple. It's a highly desirable one.

- [Annette] Obviously, you recommend that it be in a container.

- I have trouble with this variety and I've lost several and I'm gonna try to at least get it to some size in this.

- This red one right here, is this a variety we've seen?

- [Mike] This is in the dwarf class. It is called Aratama. A very small palmatum leaf, but again, something in a container. And the color again, is so striking on it.

- [Annette] It is. Mike, before we go, tell us, this is beautiful.

- Unfortunately, I'm not sure what the name of this one was. I'm not good at keeping them properly labeled.

- [Annette] It's okay.

- [Mike] But it looks a lot like Peaches and Cream. It's a very light colored one. The structure of it I think looks so good and appropriate pot and the color is just amazing. When people come to visit, it's one of the first things they see is a maple like this.

- [Annette] Thank you, Mike. This has been wonderful and you've shown us and given us interesting new varieties of plants in the world of Japanese maple. Thank you.

- [Mike] Thank you for coming and looking and hope some others you can come back another day in a more appropriate setting--

- [Annette] This is fine.

- [Mike] And see some other maples that we didn't get to take a look at.

- [Annette] Thank you.

- [Mike] Thank you.

- [Jeff] Have you ever been bean disappointed? Excessive rainfall in June and July. Which rarely occurs here in Tennessee contributed to a bumper crop of potatoes and onions and other early crops. But beans act funny with too much rain. Everything looked fine. We dutifully hoed them out and the vines grew great and then they began blooming. They just didn't make any beans. The same thing often happens with tomatoes. If you over fertilize them, they make vine after vine but don't make much fruit. We have to be careful with nitrogen when we fertilize. That's why we use compost. Why do plants make seeds? To further propagate their species. Every time it rains, nitrogen is released in the soil. If the nitrogen keeps flowing, the plants just keep growing and see no reason to make their fruit. What happened this spring is that, we had all this rain, the vines looked great, they were blooming. But they just didn't make very many beans. Well, I knew from past experience that when there's too much rain in the spring, that rain soaks into our soils and allows for planting a fall crop of beans. Which is what this is over here. In late July, we cleaned up the potato field and got them all put away and I decided I would use this field to plant the fall beans. We made some furrows. Of course, I do this with a tractor but in the garden we'll just use a hoe. We simply make a furrow, in some good soil. The soil has to be in good heart. Good tilth and all. And then I take the seeds and I drop them two to every foot and step on them. I love to firm the seed into the soil. That way I get a good contact and that seed will swell up because it's got the soil right up against it. Then we simply cover them up a little bit. With some dry soil. And then they'll sprout up and we'll keep them hoed out. After the beans came up, we cultivated them about four times. Which in a garden you would do with a hoe. And after the last pass with the cultivator, we went through it and we pulled up all these pig weeds that escaped our cultivator. The way we tell when we can plant a fall crop is we go to when the last frost date is. Which, around here, is on the average about October 15th. I know if I plant at the end of July, I have the 60 days it will take to make the beans plus another couple of weeks that will allow us to have a good crop of beans. If it had gotten much later into August, I wouldn't have time to have planted this crop of beans. This variety is Taylor's Dwarf Horticultural bean. We eat them as green beans when they're at this young stage. Five, to six inches long. And then, in about two or three weeks, they'll ripen up. And all these pods will turn yellow with red streaks and they'll be leathery. That's when we harvest them and we shell them out to get what we call Shelly beans or October beans. These I take and put into bags and put in the freezer. And that's what we have during the wintertime. You can also leave them on the vine to dry and then just have them as dry beans. We have found that they store better as dry beans just left on the vine thrown up in the loft of the barn. One year, I did that with some of them. I took some others on the porch, we shelled them out. I put them into jars, kept them inside and they got buggy. So, I think they're actually better stored just outside where it's freezing and it's cold, that way, the bugs and stuff don't seem to get into them so bad. Gardening is full of joys and it's also full of disappointments. I always guarantee my customers that we will have a crop failure every year. But it will be different from year to year. Some year it will be tomatoes or beans or sweet corn but there's always going to be bumper crops too. It all depends on the weather. We're gonna have a really good crop of fall cabbages. These are Chinese cabbages and bok choys. And our fall beans have not been disappointing at all.

- [Narrator] For inspiring garden tours, growing tips and garden projects, visit our website at volunteergardener.org or on YouTube at the Volunteer Gardener channel. And like us on Facebook.