Taking A Public Rose Garden Sustainable. An Update

A report on my visit back to the Palace of Gold Rose Garden to check on progress.

As I remark in that post , this garden is a public garden with the insistence of visitors on regular footing . Particularly during the spring . Because of this the garden take to await good to suffer those visitors expectations . free-base on that idea here is what I implemented earlier this year .

First and foremost was a serious feeding course of study .

For the ground .

That ’s correct , for the soil . This garden has been here for thirty positive years and is heavily planted . They mulch every twelvemonth and while that helps the dirt it ’s not same as a secure round of compost and then mulch . This is part of my two layered mulch approach and I talk more about that in a retiring spot you may strive via the link below . We started with a good thick layer of compost and covered that with a ripe thick layer of mulch . Besides prey the soil , this also cut down on weeds , which has been a problem in the yesteryear .

I also put in berth a ratings system by where each mount variety is being score on a regular ground . It ’s a simple one and can be done speedily . We plan to do this several times over this first season . The end of this is to discover which mixed bag can handle being treated sustainably and which ones can not . As much as we ’d care to think they all can I have it away that simply is n’t the truth . Some roses can not be grown this style as it ’s just not in their DNA .

The reason we do this over a season is to give us an documentary scoring system based on a full season and not on how they front on one particular 24-hour interval . It would be well-off to simply go into the garden on one day and make snap decisions but I sense that is n’t bonny to the roses . It ’s only over a season do they reveal if they can handle this . Those that can not will be replaced .

The results surprised even me . So far this year they have only spray four times instead of weekly . That ’s a reducing of about 75 % ! Plus , the garden still seem good . The rose are putting on new increment , flower in the middle of summertime and show little leaf drop . This tells me the grease feeding programme is working .

I ’ll carry on to share observance on the garden in posts to follow , but I wanted to focus on the quick encroachment our soil feeding program is having . While we did our two layered mulching in spring it ’s never too tardy , or a unfit meter , to do your own . If you are thinking of run more sustainable this is the important first step .

Oh yes , they ’ve cut back on weeding by about 80 % as well . Talk about bang for your one dollar bill !

Happy RoseingPaul

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