Secrets of Southern Gardens: Practical Propagation

A Very Short Chapter on Growing Your Own Plants

Hey Y'all!

Today's a short post for two reasons. The main one is health. I'm super lucky to find out that I'm cancer-free, but one of the tests left me miserable. So, I'm writing this on serious painkillers. (Here's the previous post from Wednesday, where I discussed health issues, link here to Planting Bulbs, and Facing Aging.)

The second reason? Something to do with being deep in this writing zone and disconnected from reality, but the meds have made me forget what I wanted to say. So, let's just talk about something else.

Your Reader Input on My New Garden Book

Y'all liked the idea of including other voices in the new book. Thank you for all the comments – I am paying attention.

I was already working on this propagation chapter when I got your feedback. Since this book is for people who probably don't have a greenhouse and don't want to mess with heat mats, hormones, and grow lights, I've distilled propagation down to my three sure-fire, no-special-equipment techniques.

Here's one example of how I incorporated your input.

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Excerpt from Practical Propagation Chapter

Cottage Garden Flowers for Fall Sowing

Spring-blooming flowers like larkspur need to be started from seed in late October or November. Many require cold to germinate in fall and winter, growing as tiny cover crops before bursting forth in spring.

Direct seeding is the only way to achieve the cottage garden look that birds, pollinators, and people love. It's fast, cheap, and truly a sustainable cycle—if you save your seeds each year.

A few tricks can help you get better germination and the look you're dreaming of:

• Prepare the soil by raking or tilling to break it up so seeds make good contact

• Water the seeds in, ideally by seeding on a rainy day or using a hose

Horticulturist Brie Arthur, who does extensive direct seeding in her Raleigh, NC garden, offers two more rules:

• Sow seeds in order of size, with larger seeds planted deeper. Consider the plants' ultimate heights in spring, sowing tall varieties like poppies last

• Use an underhanded "bowling motion" to distribute seeds so they aren't too close together

Brie, a rock star in the gardening world, has helped thousands incorporate sustainable, fun gardening into typical suburban landscapes. Her spectacular garden is in a typical, early 2000s booming suburb of Raleigh. It’s radical but, for the most part, done in such a beautiful way that not even the most nosey neighbor could object. Just one example; sometimes Brie gardens with grains like oats, wheat, and barley. Where else have you seen big ag crops beautifully integrated into a suburban landscape?

It’s all done with seed.

"It's exactly what farmers do. This type of winter flower seeding is essentially a fancy cover crop," Brie explains. “Not only is it beautiful but it does the soil good. The roots, especially of grains, bring up minerals and till hard soil.”

You can include edibles like daikon, carrots, and turnips for their tilling effect and spring display, not to eat. Plants like arugula and parsley are pollinator magnets. Amazingly, others, such as tilling radish and mustard, release gases into the soil that actually ward off some microscopic soil pests.

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Writing and Floating

I feel like Pink Floyd in the "The Wall" scene, floating around a hotel room with crazy words and cartoons nudging me on. No worries, y’all; Tom’s taking great care of me, and I'm sure this will be dealt with quickly, but it means I'll have a dreary January to work on the book since physical work will be limited.

Honestly, it's not the worst time for me to write, and it may even make me more candid than normal. It is probably the worst time to think about book titles, though. The working title is "Secrets of Southern Landscapes: Unvarnished Truths from Jenks Farmer and Friends" – which is simply bland. I added "friends" after y'all said you wanted more voices. I really want to call it "My Middle Finger to Instagram Gardens: Southern Pros Share Hard Truths About Landscaper’s Myths."

But that's the drugs talking. So I’m going to stop and crank up my best distraction thing — another episode of Silent Witness. It’s a Brit crime show that takes place in a forensic morgue, not too gory— given the subject, that’s a great title, isn’t it?

Y'all be thinking about that title and type them in the notes.

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Brie shared lots of tips, like sowing things with size in mind, and some spectacular photos of her garden that will be in the book. Photo by Brie Arthur.