Thank you for following us on our journey to prepare The Joslin Garden for the 2021 season! We began our tasks on January 7th, and it is a process of putting one foot forward. There is a lot to do, and we hope to bring the Garden into full health while also enhancing the visitor’s experience by April. Even then, we won’t be near the point where daily maintenance will be all that is needed. It may take a year to reach that goal, but we are getting there, one Thursday at a time. We hope to have more than one day a week in the coming months.
ENGLISH IVY
Full disclosure, The Joslin Garden has a lot of English ivy, Hedera helix, The ivy is primarily at the street and driveway entrance, and was intentionally planted for erosion control of the steep slope. Over time, the ivy crept further back into the wooded area, so one of our tasks today was to cut it back to the crest of the slope.
Before—taking ivy back to the crest of the hill. It was encroaching into forest bed
We also removed English ivy across street where the English ivy is climbing up the trees in the city park area. Nell Joslin has done this in the past, but we will keep it on our radar since it affects not only The City of Oaks Foundation’s garden but also the surrounding home gardens.
Pulling the ivy to the crest of the slope.
Did you know English ivy will only bloom, berry, and invade if it’s allowed to climb? Former caregivers of The Joslin Garden have been diligent to keep English ivy from vining up trees. So we don’t have babies everywhere, but there are still some, most likely sown by birds from neighboring properties, including the easement across the street.
During the deep ivy dig and cut along the crest, we uncovered a row of sweetbox, Sarcococca spp. They are spread further apart than I would have done if I wanted an impact, and the plants are very small. But given that they do seem to follow the ivy line, they must have been intentionally planted. The ivy was keeping the sweetbox from thriving!
Somewhere along the Garden’s journey, the compost piles were neglected. There is “black gold’ under the latest uncomfortable additions .
Neglected compost pile
After Nell and I removed the sticks, we found more black gold compost that we thought was there. It is already usable. Next week we’ll add some of it to the veggie garden.
Starting a compost pile is as easy as following any recipe. Just the right materials are all mixed. In a matter of months, you’ll have finished black gold to mix into the soil of your flower, herb, and vegetable gardens. Or leave it in the garden beds where the biomass is laid.
MAKING A PILE
To get started, find a place for your compost pile that’s convenient to the garden and has well-drained soil.
Here are seven simple steps for making compost:
Add a Brown Layer—leaves, old grass clippings, shredded paper, hay, and straw for your carbon source. Think brown as in not moist. Lay a 4- to 6-inch-thick layer of brown material on the bottom. Shred the materials before adding them to quicken the decomposition process.
Moisten Layer—Dampen the bottom layer so that it’s moist but not soggy. The moisture will help accelerate the decomposition process by providing the right environment for microbes to break down the material.
Add a Green Layer—Fresh grass clippings, vegetable kitchen wastes, garden biomass such as weeds, small twigs, and herbaceous cuttings snipped into 6-inch pieces or less lengths; disease-free vegetable plants; and cow, horse, or chicken manure.
Add a second Brown Layer.
Moisten Again.
Add a second Green Layer—2- to 4-inch-thick layers of nitrogen-rich green materials, such as fresh grass clippings or vegetable kitchen scraps. If you wish, add a compost enhancer or fertilizer to help jump-start the pile.
Make More Layers—Alternate layers of brown and green material until the pile is 3- to 5-feet high (or container is full). Moisten each layer before adding the next.
Ok, so now you know the secret. You really can’t mess up. Just keep in mind to build the pile with roughly equal amounts of green and brown, and keep moist. Also, it's best not to include large sticks, so break them up into smaller pieces; the green materials should be small as well, to accelerate decomposition.
OUR TRANSPLANTS
While digging out the compost bin, we found three snowdrop bulbs, Galanthus elwesii. What a find indeed! Nell planted it in the driveway bed.
Then we found an American beech, Fagus grandifolia, volunteer to close to a path. We transplanted it into the Beech Copse area. After planting, Nell and I felt a motherly pride. We shall call her, Baby Beech!
Until soon,
Helen Yoest, Horticultural Specialist