Lifestyle Expert Mar Jennings' Best Gardening Tips
Few understand gardening better than Luxist Awards Panelist Mar Jennings. Mar is the in-house lifestyle expert and correspondent for Better TV and is the home expert for the Fine Living Network. Mar also appears on the Today Show, ABC, Fox, CNN, and many other national and local networks across the country. He is also the author of Life on Mar's: A Four Season Garden (S&J Publishing, $39.95).
In an exclusive interview with Luxist, Mar shares some of his best gardening tips. According to Mar, it is not too late to roll up your sleeves and get to work in your garden.
Luxist: It is already late June. What can someone plant now?
MAR: You might be surprised---and I meet many gardeners who think they're too late.
I recommend focusing on accent pieces where the garden seems bare. Ground cover plants and plants that come in small containers are the best options for getting you in and out of the garden quickly when it's so hot out. Any plant that blooms early in the Spring and has spent flowers is perfect for planting in summer because they will be focusing their energy on growing and not on flowering-plus most will be on sale. Another great bet is succulents.
What can be planted now for full sun and what do you recommend for partial sun? How about no sun?
MAR: Your local garden center can further advise you of things that are particularly good for your area, but here are some sure-fie items that I make use of:
Full sun: Decorative vines such as wisteria or trumpet vines, anchors for your garden such as dwarf boxwoods, and ornamental grasses.
Partial sun: Hydrangeas, hydrangeas and more hydrangeas are ideal. (Not that I'm biased or anything.)
No sun: When God gives you lemons, make lemonade. A full-shade garden can be as wonderful as a full-sun garden. Discover the endless varieties of ferns and hostas, intertwined in any shady area. These create height, texture and interest in an otherwise overlooked place. Introduce moss onto garden structures and stone walkways as an added feature that will increase in charm over the years.
Is it too late to plant vegetable plants?
MAR: For some things, yes. But don't give up! Lettuces, tomatoes, peppers and herbs can be started now---but not from seeds, but by planting the small plants already started. Another reason I love to encourage people to plant vegetables in the summer is because children are out of school and can be involved in the process---a learning experience for them and a family activity for you.
Tell us about why it is important to prune?
MAR: Many gardeners I meet are so happy to have things growing healthily that the thought of trimming or pruning seems like a step backwards. Pruning and deadheading helps promote new growth. So every year after you prune your plant blooms and grows bigger and better. I recommend pruning in the Spring and Fall, Summer is the best time for dead-heading.
Your hydrangeas are magnificent. What is your secret?
MAR: Thanks so much! The secret is that I deadhead every hydrangea each Fall (I remove every last flower), and prune them in late summer. Prior to fall is the best time to reshape, prior to them going to rest. I trim off enough to reshape the plant. If the plant is over 5 years old, I take about 25% off---this keeps the plant vibrant come spring. Since the goal is to get your Hydrangea to bloom the most it can, if you are pruning in the Spring you might easily prune the growth-to-come without realizing it. So after pruning in Fall I then patiently wait until June, allowing the plants to tell me where I should prune next. I take off only areas of dead wood that are clearly dead and do not have a sign of new growth or buds. While some single stems could have several feet of healthy new growth their top portion may have none. I remove this by making a clean cut at a slight angle just above the new growth---removing any stem pieces that offer no signs of life. By waiting till June you will guarantee that you are not removing any of the flowers waiting to emerge in the upcoming season.
Do you use fertilizer?
MAR: Yes. Mother Nature has enough to worry about---I have no problem giving her a little help along the way. Scott's Osmocote every Spring (to promote growing throughout the season), and Espoma's Holly Tone every Fall (to give the plants an extra, light feeding before they go to rest.)
Is it true that a rusty nail will make the color (blue, especially) of your hydrangeas more vibrant? Why so?
MAR: Ah, the good old question! You can change the color of their blossoms by changing the acidity of the soil in which they are growing. The color is actually determined by the availability of the aluminum in the soil to the plant. If the pH is low (pH 5-6, acidic) the blooms will be blue. If the pH is high (pH 6.8-7.2, alkaline) the blooms will be pink. If your hydrangea has both pink and blue flowers at the same time, the soil is at, or near neutral. So the iron in the rusty nail does help lower the pH. But here's my take: I don't want nails in my yard! I wander through it, and I have a pet who gets places I don't go. Why not just be happy with what grows? Since it's the soil that matters, chances are another area of your yard will give you a different color-so just buy another hydrangea and try out a new spot, and then enjoy them both!
What do you have in your garden? Why did you choose these varieties?
MAR: I'm happy to host a wide variety of plants---from ground cover like Creeping Jenny, to flowering plants of all size and shape and color, to decorative trees. I always say that if something is going to take up valuable space in my garden it has to be blooming and hopefully fragrant, have interest when it's not blooming (leaf pattern, provides shade, able to be shaped, etc.), and not complicated to care for-I don't like high-maintenance people or plants! They are chosen for multi-layer and multi-season appeal. No matter where you live, creating an interesting garden throughout the seasons is all about texture, color, and architectural details. When I wrote my book, Life on Mar's: A Four Season Garden (which documents the four seasons of Mar's spectacular gardens in Westport, Ct., complete with stunning photographs), I set out to explain how and why I did it. Spring is the most powerful, as you'd imagine, but then my garden goes into a continuous blooming cycle, and does not stop until late fall. A shortcut for you? Visit your garden center monthly, and add something new---that's currently blooming, of course.
What are the best flowers to plant if you want cuttings?
MAR: For springtime: roses, lilac, peonies, hyacinths, lupen and tulips. For summer: hydrangeas, astilbes, dahlias, delphiniums and Butterfly Bush For fall: hydrangeas (as they turn their autumn colors you get another go!), astors, sedum, and large daisy-like flowers (Montauk daisy, Black Eye Susans, etc.)
Do you water every day? Even if it rains?
MAR: If it rains more than 5 to 10 minutes then you are off the hook. Otherwise, you should water every day---about 10 seconds for each container, moving the nozzle so you are not wearing away at any one area of a plant. How to tell if you have overwatered? If, before watering, you stick your finger in the soil and it comes out moist, then you've overwatered. So simply skip a day.
Too much to remember? Consider installing a sprinkler system---they even have rain detectors that halt the watering if there has been rain. This is an investment, so rather than save and save to do your entire property, I recommend starting your system with only a few sprinkler heads---whatever you can afford. That way the network is installed, and you can add more heads as the years go on.
What tip would you consider your most valuable one?
MAR: For existing gardeners, it's a toss-up between these: "If I can carry it I can plant it," and "Why get therapy if your garden needs tending?" For those still considering taking the plunge into the world of gardening, here's my best tip: "Explore the world of containers---smaller footprint means a smaller investment and risk. Your successes will encourage you to expand beyond the container!"
And for everyone, get inspiration from other gardens and nurseries-take the opportunities to walk through gardens and see how plants are working together and how much space they occupy ones they're established. Also, just like you would in an art gallery, take note of what you like and don't like. Gardening is not about recreating someone else's garden on your property---it's about expressing Mother Nature's gifts in your own space. (Whoops-more than one tip!)
How much time do you spend in your garden every week?
MAR: Most people get into their gardens near the first day of Spring, but I say "Why wait for Spring when you have MARch?" I don't have a staff, I do everything myself. I do allow myself two luxuries: someone to cut my grass and someone to trim my trees. I spend several hours a day preparing my garden to go into its full splendor come June. That's when I rest---I'm more on a maintenance schedule then, rather than on an aggressive planting mode. Of course, I still do pop in a few new things here and there. Come Fall I am back to a few hours, three times a week, to start deadheading and trimming, helping the garden go to rest.
How big is your garden?
MAR: It is less than a quarter acre. But most people are amazed by that because the landscaping and arrangement of the beds maximizes the space in ways people wouldn't have imagined.
How many varieties of plants do you have?
MAR: Hundreds. I've actually lost count.
Where is your place in Connecticut?
MAR: Rosebrook Gardens is located in the heart of Westport, CT. It's about two miles from the ocean, and on a lovely brook.
For more tips from Mar on gardening, as well as outdoor entertaining and just about everything else you might need to know this summer, be sure to visit Mar's website.
MAR: Many gardeners I meet are so happy to have things growing healthily that the thought of trimming or pruning seems like a step backwards. Pruning and deadheading helps promote new growth. So every year after you prune your plant blooms and grows bigger and better. I recommend pruning in the Spring and Fall, Summer is the best time for dead-heading.
Your hydrangeas are magnificent. What is your secret?
MAR: Thanks so much! The secret is that I deadhead every hydrangea each Fall (I remove every last flower), and prune them in late summer. Prior to fall is the best time to reshape, prior to them going to rest. I trim off enough to reshape the plant. If the plant is over 5 years old, I take about 25% off---this keeps the plant vibrant come spring. Since the goal is to get your Hydrangea to bloom the most it can, if you are pruning in the Spring you might easily prune the growth-to-come without realizing it. So after pruning in Fall I then patiently wait until June, allowing the plants to tell me where I should prune next. I take off only areas of dead wood that are clearly dead and do not have a sign of new growth or buds. While some single stems could have several feet of healthy new growth their top portion may have none. I remove this by making a clean cut at a slight angle just above the new growth---removing any stem pieces that offer no signs of life. By waiting till June you will guarantee that you are not removing any of the flowers waiting to emerge in the upcoming season.
Do you use fertilizer?
MAR: Yes. Mother Nature has enough to worry about---I have no problem giving her a little help along the way. Scott's Osmocote every Spring (to promote growing throughout the season), and Espoma's Holly Tone every Fall (to give the plants an extra, light feeding before they go to rest.)
Is it true that a rusty nail will make the color (blue, especially) of your hydrangeas more vibrant? Why so?
MAR: Ah, the good old question! You can change the color of their blossoms by changing the acidity of the soil in which they are growing. The color is actually determined by the availability of the aluminum in the soil to the plant. If the pH is low (pH 5-6, acidic) the blooms will be blue. If the pH is high (pH 6.8-7.2, alkaline) the blooms will be pink. If your hydrangea has both pink and blue flowers at the same time, the soil is at, or near neutral. So the iron in the rusty nail does help lower the pH. But here's my take: I don't want nails in my yard! I wander through it, and I have a pet who gets places I don't go. Why not just be happy with what grows? Since it's the soil that matters, chances are another area of your yard will give you a different color-so just buy another hydrangea and try out a new spot, and then enjoy them both!
What do you have in your garden? Why did you choose these varieties?
MAR: I'm happy to host a wide variety of plants---from ground cover like Creeping Jenny, to flowering plants of all size and shape and color, to decorative trees. I always say that if something is going to take up valuable space in my garden it has to be blooming and hopefully fragrant, have interest when it's not blooming (leaf pattern, provides shade, able to be shaped, etc.), and not complicated to care for-I don't like high-maintenance people or plants! They are chosen for multi-layer and multi-season appeal. No matter where you live, creating an interesting garden throughout the seasons is all about texture, color, and architectural details. When I wrote my book, Life on Mar's: A Four Season Garden (which documents the four seasons of Mar's spectacular gardens in Westport, Ct., complete with stunning photographs), I set out to explain how and why I did it. Spring is the most powerful, as you'd imagine, but then my garden goes into a continuous blooming cycle, and does not stop until late fall. A shortcut for you? Visit your garden center monthly, and add something new---that's currently blooming, of course.
What are the best flowers to plant if you want cuttings?
MAR: For springtime: roses, lilac, peonies, hyacinths, lupen and tulips. For summer: hydrangeas, astilbes, dahlias, delphiniums and Butterfly Bush For fall: hydrangeas (as they turn their autumn colors you get another go!), astors, sedum, and large daisy-like flowers (Montauk daisy, Black Eye Susans, etc.)
Do you water every day? Even if it rains?
MAR: If it rains more than 5 to 10 minutes then you are off the hook. Otherwise, you should water every day---about 10 seconds for each container, moving the nozzle so you are not wearing away at any one area of a plant. How to tell if you have overwatered? If, before watering, you stick your finger in the soil and it comes out moist, then you've overwatered. So simply skip a day.
Too much to remember? Consider installing a sprinkler system---they even have rain detectors that halt the watering if there has been rain. This is an investment, so rather than save and save to do your entire property, I recommend starting your system with only a few sprinkler heads---whatever you can afford. That way the network is installed, and you can add more heads as the years go on.
What tip would you consider your most valuable one?
MAR: For existing gardeners, it's a toss-up between these: "If I can carry it I can plant it," and "Why get therapy if your garden needs tending?" For those still considering taking the plunge into the world of gardening, here's my best tip: "Explore the world of containers---smaller footprint means a smaller investment and risk. Your successes will encourage you to expand beyond the container!"
And for everyone, get inspiration from other gardens and nurseries-take the opportunities to walk through gardens and see how plants are working together and how much space they occupy ones they're established. Also, just like you would in an art gallery, take note of what you like and don't like. Gardening is not about recreating someone else's garden on your property---it's about expressing Mother Nature's gifts in your own space. (Whoops-more than one tip!)
How much time do you spend in your garden every week?
MAR: Most people get into their gardens near the first day of Spring, but I say "Why wait for Spring when you have MARch?" I don't have a staff, I do everything myself. I do allow myself two luxuries: someone to cut my grass and someone to trim my trees. I spend several hours a day preparing my garden to go into its full splendor come June. That's when I rest---I'm more on a maintenance schedule then, rather than on an aggressive planting mode. Of course, I still do pop in a few new things here and there. Come Fall I am back to a few hours, three times a week, to start deadheading and trimming, helping the garden go to rest.
How big is your garden?
MAR: It is less than a quarter acre. But most people are amazed by that because the landscaping and arrangement of the beds maximizes the space in ways people wouldn't have imagined.
How many varieties of plants do you have?
MAR: Hundreds. I've actually lost count.
Where is your place in Connecticut?
MAR: Rosebrook Gardens is located in the heart of Westport, CT. It's about two miles from the ocean, and on a lovely brook.
For more tips from Mar on gardening, as well as outdoor entertaining and just about everything else you might need to know this summer, be sure to visit Mar's website.
