Heirloombulbgirl

Tag: gardening

  • Breaking a Slimy Stronghold to Set Your Flowers Free

    I don’t mean to brag, but I have a lot of snails in my garden. Even my husband , who notices nothing, commented on the unwanted garden guests, I mean pests.

    ”Wow….You have quite the snail crop growing.”

    Why Yes, yes I do. My snail population is impressively large. So large, in fact, that I am out every morning on snail patrol, picking snails out of their secret slimy snail-hiding places. I have tried many different ways to annihilate snails in my garden. Bowls of beer only produced a drunken party with a bunch of pregnant snails. Squishing snails feels too disgustingly aggressive, and snail guts get on my shoes. Throwing snails onto the hot pavement is quite rewarding, but seems to encourage a slug-like race back to the shade of my Live Oak trees. When I had chickens and ducks, the snail population was greatly diminished, but unfortunately, so were the flowers in the garden. My favorite way is to deal with snails is to simply hand pick snails and put them into plastic sacks with weeds to munch on. The snails eventually die like the gluttons they are, off to snail-hell. I often think of how hungry a person must have been to look upon a snail and think “If I put some butter and garlic on that thing and give it a fancy French name like ‘escargot’, it’d be delicious!”

    Through the daily grind of picking snails, I have discovered that snails are actually one of the garden’s infamous “strongholds”. If you are unfamiliar with strongholds, lucky you. For those of us who have battled strongholds, they are nothing to play around with. If you turn your back on a stronghold, it quickly takes hold and tries to choke out every wonderful thing the Lord is doing in your life. Strongholds are joy-robbers, life-suckers and beauty-extinguishers. Strongholds lie in wait, in their dark and slimy, secret places to eventually “kill, steal and destroy”…..exactly like the snails in the garden.

    Snails are highly attracted to piles of decaying debris in the gardens, hiding quietly in their dark secret places. Snails especially love to feed on bulb foliage, which is necessary for the following year’s flower. Snails reside in the base of the bulbs, especially Iris, right beneath the earth, and come out to feast in moist or dark conditions. Simply water your gardens and watch the snails come out for a dinner party. If left unchecked, snails can devastate your flower bulbs foliage, especially new growth and delicate flowers. Snails also seek out tender, vulnerable plants and veggies, destroying crops of tasty greens and seedlings. Snails will weaken plants to complete distress as they slowly suck the life out of the flower, leaving behind a slimy path of filth. Snails are to flowers what strongholds are to humans, as they slowly and steadily destroy beauty within the garden.
    But, the Lord promises that every stronghold can be overcome, whether it’s an addiction, an unhealthy relationship or lifestyle, or simply snails.

    A gardening stronghold is broken the same way a Spiritual stronghold is broken…..focusing our energy *every single day* in overcoming the obstacles that are set before us. We are to run a race worthy of the finish line, not just one sprint. We are to pick up our full armor and go to battle every day, not allowing a single inch of ourselves to be consumed. One thing I have learned from snail picking is that it is a constant, day by day walk that produces good results, or “fruit”. With each new day, my snail population decreases, my flowers get stronger and my gardens grow more lovely. The Lord doesn’t promise that battling strongholds will be easy, but He does promise that He will make a way where there is no way (Isaiah 43)

    Snail picking, like any other stronghold, can be overwhelming, but let’s face it…. if it were easy, everyone would do it. That’s why God made Gardeners 🙂

    ”The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His Mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness, oh Lord.”

    Happy Gardening, my friends!
    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

    Just fyi….that snail will never make it to my Lavender 🙂

  • A View From the Gardens

    A place of renewal. The gardens at Agape Haus Studio and Gardem, LLC, are a labor of love. This adventure started with a delapitated old farmhouse, a drug house, ratty chain link fences, weeds and stickers, terrible rocky soil and garbage throughout the grounds. In between a full time music studio, an entire drug house was torn down, weeds were pulled, rocks were removed, gardens were planted and thousands of rescued Heirloom Bulbs were planted. The potting shed was made out of the reclaimed wood from the old farmhouse, 150 year old stained glass windows salvaged from a church and the tin was used from the old drug house.
    The Lord’s hand has been ever present in this project. Many days, my hands are so sore from utter exhaustion, but the Lord gently knudges, with a still, small voice…. “Just Keep Digging.”
    So I do.
    Please enjoy a simple picturesque walk-through the beauty of complete land and soul redemption. These gardens are old-fashioned, wild cottage gardens…100% organic. I am always happy to share, so come for a visit.
    Happy Gardening, my friends!
    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • Coming Soon, To a Garden Near You!

    A few years ago, I saw the cutest plant stand while on vacation in Colorado. I thought the idea of “plants by donation” was totally charming. I had an old picnic table and an old farm door, and with the help of some teenagers, put together my first plant stand. It was blown over within a week. Wind and storms in Texas can get brutal! I nursed the poor little plant stand for a few months until it completely fell apart….then I was on to another project. It has been about five years since the original “plants by donation” idea was pressed upon my heart. Now the idea is back in full force, thanks to my husband.

    My husband and I rebuilt and moved one of the compost piles in front of the studio driveway. I’d actually love to close off the driveway completely, and let it be a shaded picnic area under the large old Live Oaks, but that’s for another day. Anyhow, the ugly compost heap got a nice new face lift with some very old 12 foot long carriage house doors that serve as the backdrop for the compost. I put a potting table on one side of the compost, just because it looks so cool. I stacked a lot of the old terracotta pots on top of the table, and Voila! just like that, I saw my future *unbreakable* plant stand! My children and husband had built a cutting garden last year at the studio. I’m thrilled to get some bouquets available for unsuspecting music students. I’ve also been moving Paperwhites to the cut flower garden, so the entire bed won’t be so lonely when all the flowers die back. This week I plan to seed all the Zinnias and other cut flowers. I will also offer heirloom flower bulbs in adorable vintage china teacups and vintage bowls.


    Our small little town does not have a garden shop. Gardeners have to drive for 45 minutes to get to the nearest organic garden shop. Our grocery store carries seasonal veggies and annuals, but nothing really interesting for the garden. There is a non-profit in the works called Keep Llano Beautiful. The plant stand should serve this noble endeavor well. I’m hoping gardeners from all over will add their extra plant babies as well. Take a bulb, leave a bulb. Pass-Along plants for everyone!

    I’m going to get to work on potting up some Heirloom Iris, Oxblood Lilies, Spiderwort, Texas Naives and other hard to find plants. Hopefully, “if the Lord is willing and the creek doesn’t rise”, the little plant stand will be open by the end of April. I will keep you posted.
    Happy Gardening, my friends!
    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • 50 Shades of Iris

    Few words are needed to describe the sheer enthusiasm Iris brings to the garden. Iris stands tall, announcing loudly to all the world (or at least the rest of the block) that Spring has sprung. Iris come in every color of the rainbow, except gray. Naturally, I am particularly fond of pale or muted shades of Heirloom varieties. My husband’s Grandmother had a beautiful two-toned pale yellows Iris that blooms later in the Spring. I absolutely adore those lovely Iris.

    Iris are extremely tough old gals, surviving natural disasters and neglectful gardeners. I once dug up some Iris, got distracted, and after a few seasons of harsh weather, the Iris bloomed the following year….still in the dug-up clump where I left it. Oops. I’m glad my flowers outlive my stupidity. Maybe that’s why Iris are also known as Cemetery Iris or “Flags” (as the non-Iris collecting commoners call them). True Cemetary Iris are typically white or purple, and can still be found growing in cemeteries throughout the South. All Iris seem to have stories to tell, and many have traveled far and wide to land humbly in my gardens.

    Many of my white Iris are from my In-Law’s farm in East Texas. The Iris are remnants of the German homesteaders that originally lived on the land in the early 1900’s. The only evidence of the old German house is the Iris border in the middle of a horse pasture. Once I discovered the house location, I went on a digging frenzy, locating countless pieces of cool old pieces of china to make mosaics. The beautiful Iris receive no care or attention, except from passing horses or cows. The Iris have bloomed faithfully for over 150 years. White Iris are extremely common, but the stories behind the Iris are unique and dear to my heart….making each plain white Iris a special addition to the garden. I think that every garden should tell a story.

    Some of my favorite purple Iris (not yet in bloom) came to Texas from England in the 1880’s. Few cherished items were allowed on the long journey overseas. Mrs. Franklin chose a corset, a few homemaking necessities and a purple Iris. Their Texas homestead was extremely rough terrain, drastically different from the gardens of England. In fact, the last Comanche Indian raid in Texas was not far from their homestead. My dear friend, the Great-Granddaughter of the Franklins (of the Franklin ranch) gave me a few Iris from the original Franklin ranch house. It is mind boggling to imagine all that the little Iris survived through….droughts, floods, Indian raids, World Wars and The Great Depression. Somehow, surviving it all. The Franklin Iris are bold annd strappy, multiplying readily. These Iris are the “alpha” of my collection, eating small plants and other pests that get in their way.

    I have beautiful yellow, blue and magenta Iris gifted to me from flower friends, some who I’ve never even met. My daughters and their friends began to also have a love affair with Iris, trading my flowers for their own Iris collection. My daughter Hollie once received an Apricot -shaded Iris that she stuck in my garden with rocks around it, keeping *her Iris* segregated from the rest of the rabble that I grew. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed old-fashioned flower swaps with these true “pass-along” flowers. Many Iris come from house tear-downs that I chronicled through the years on my original website blog, which unfortunately is having some technical issues. Hopefully, the stories of these great old gardens will someday be readable again. Until then, I close my eyes and still see the century old beauty. Treasured gardens of Miss Margaret and Eugenia are now long gone, existing only in my mind and in all their flower bulbs that were salvaged.

    I am always happy to share these old flowers with you. The best part of preserving heirloom bulbs is getting these old gals into the hands of gardeners who will love them. Sharing and trading flowers is such a joy, keeping the spirit of Old-Fashioned gardening with Pass-Along plants close to the heart. It’s exactly what Miss Margaret and Eugenia would’ve done. Happy Gardening, my friends!
    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • The Garden of Givers

    They say it takes thirteen years to establish a garden. Yes, you read that correct…..thirteen years. Establishing a garden isn’t just the fun purchase of your favorite new flower. To establish something is purposeful, hoping for permanence. The established garden is not a man-made forced moment of flower-perfection, but a beautiful habitat for all natural things, blooming for generations to come. These old gardens are givers. The heirloom plants are in it for the long haul. Many of the Heirloom bulbs I salvage are from homesteads that date back to the mid 1800’s. Can you imagine tearing down and ripping out those old gardens?!
    Tasha Tudor’s gardens are beautiful examples of an established garden. I long to see a day when my young little fledgling-of-a-garden begins to take off and fly on its own. I love to visit old homesteads that are preserved, and I marvel at the old rose varieties and the heirloom beauty that keeps on giving.


    Established plants within those old gardens behave differently than modern store-bought varieties. Take, for instance, the “Queen’s Wreath” Coral Vine, an old Southern favorite. Many gardeners (including my Mother-in-Law) have tried to get this beautiful vine to establish, with little to no success. This particular vine comes to mind because I recently relocated a very old clump that I salvaged years ago. The vine was easily 50 years old. While I dug, I discovered bulbs attached to the roots. I had no idea that Coral Vine was a bulb! After researching, I discovered that in order for a Coral Vine to establish, a bulb is necessary for the vine to survive. The bulb becomes the life line to the old vine….a giver. I find this extremely fascinating. Unfortunately, many old varieties of plants, including Queen’s Wreath, are lost with the modern “progress” of house tear-downs.
    *Side-note*……I’m curious to know if the vine can be split with multiple bulbs, but I’m not brave enough to try. If any of you know the answer, please let me know. 🙂

    As I dug the Coral Vine, I stumbled upon a little clump of bulbs near the Coral Vine. When bulbs are damaged during a house teardown, I stick them in any open spot in the garden, and simply hope for the best. If an Oxblood Lily is damaged, the bulb will actually revive itself through creating baby bulbs in it’s place. The parent bulb becomes “a giver” to preserve the bulb’s heritage. In this case, 15 tiny little baby Oxbloods. I love it. I love the fact that even plants take care of their own. I love the fact that old heritage bulbs will outlive you and I, and the beauty of the established flower garden keeps on giving. I love the fact that the preservation of these heirloom beauties is never in vain. When I’m long gone, these flower bulbs will remain, blooming happily for generations to come.
    Deep down, I think that most gardeners are givers, just like the Oxblood Lily, pouring themselves into the next generation of flower lovers. What a great legacy you are leaving. Keep on giving and sowing seeds of beauty.
    Happy Gardening, my friends.

    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • Snowflakes in the Garden


    A few days ago, the delicate blooms of Summer Snowflakes began to appear. A nice part about present is the ability to see subtle changes throughout the garden. Bulb gardens are one of God’s little ways to keep our eyes fixed and focused on things that truly matter. If we get too busy in day-to-day life, we might miss a flower bulb that blooms just once a year. Imagine if you miss it! This moment by moment journey of a bulb gardener resembles what God desires from each one of us…..to be truly present, with our eyes fixed on Him. What a beautiful allegory.

    I received my first Summer Snowflake bulbs from a dear friend. Mia lived down the street from our family in a cozy little “Leave it to Beaver” kind of neighborhood. Our children grew up together, playing endlessly. The kids ran back and forth between houses, enjoying the natural world of a lovely tree-lined street with beautiful gardens everywhere. Mia was from Sweden and our parenting styles were very similar….natural. We had many bulb swaps and old-fashioned pass-along plant exchanges. Our little street was filled with elderly couples who raised their own children in the small 1950s cottages. It was a quaint and humble street. Mia and I were privileged to get to know the older generations on the block, and we enjoyed learning life wisdom from their unique perspectives. We sadly watched our cherished neighbors pass on, and the little cottages turn into McMansions. I truly cherish my memory-filled Summer Snowflakes from Mia, and think of those early-childhood days each time the Snowflakes bloom.

    My second batch of Snowflakes came from a much different set of circumstances. A moment of sheer motivation and determination to salvage beautiful bulbs from their unfortunate ratty existence. I think the thought in my brain was “Omygosh! I *NEED those bulbs!” and I quickly flipped a quick U-turn on the highway. My husband says that my “super-human power” is to be able to spot bulb foliage in random places while driving 80 mph. Yet, most days I can’t even find my car keys. Go figure!
    The bulbs were on the side of the highway, in front of a junky old fence. The owner was thrilled to give me a shovel and a bag to remove “the weeds” from his yard.

    ”Sir, those aren’t weeds. Those are bulbs.”
    “Whatever they are, just dig ‘em up!”

    So I did. Quite happily. It’s always nice to help someone out….AND salvage some Heirloom Bulbs!

    The Summer Snowflake bulbs happily resided in the gardens at the flooded house, nestled comfortably under large pecan trees. After the flood, all bulbs came to the studio, being dumped anywhere an open space existed. The poor Snowflakes ended up in a full-sun, barren piece of yuk. Needless to say, I had been too busy in my own frantic world to notice (or nurture anything) in the garden. I tried to be present, but I was still on “salvage mode”, a necessary place to be but not a good place to stay. We all have those “salvage” moments, whether by a rescued flower bulb or stray dog, a time-consuming casserole that burnt to a crisp (or in my case, blew up), a failed exam, or a family situation that is simply falling apart. We turn our brains into “salvage mode”, to save what we can.
    After a salvage, nurturing begins….and boy did my little Snowflake Bulbs need some love. A few weeks back, I dug up all the Snowflakes and relocated the bulbs to their “forever hone”. The bulbs now have morning sun with afternoon shade, avoiding the full heat of summer. The ground also has nice, rich soil that I have tended to for quite a while. A beautiful spot for Snowflakes in the garden.

    Spring is a time for renewal, and I pray that your eyes may stay focused on what truly matters. If you are in “salvage mode”, I pray that you may see the beauty that awaits on the other side.
    “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad…” -Psalm 16:8

    Happy Gardening, my friends!
    Love, Keenan @heirloombulbgirl

  • The First Daffodil of Spring

    New life.
    New beginnings.

    I love Spring.

    Last year, Spring was engulfed by hard, late freezes that froze everything back, plunging the gardens into triple digit temperatures. The plants and bulbs had little time to recover from the stress of the freeze, and immediately were taxed by the extreme early heat of summer. The heat was enough to do the gardens in, but then came the drought. I think I complained daily…..just ask my husband.
    Every Single Day… “Why do we have to live in a desert where nothing grows?!” (Human nature is to play a blame game the minute life gets hard, and boy did I play it! Why is it so easy to forget about the wonderfully beautiful moments in life when we are in a drought?)

    But, as always, the rain did finally come, and the Oxblood Lilies bloomed. The promise of the cooler temperatures of Fall makes every gardener ecstatic….kind of like way we all feel when Spring finally arrives.

    I don’t know about you, but every day I’m out on my hands and knees looking for new life. Yesterday I spotted blooms of Golden Crocus, Grape Hyacinth, Oxalis and the first purple bloom of Spiderwort. Foliage of countless bulbs are hinting that this Spring will be spectacular. Three years is a long time to wait for anything, let alone Spring blooms!

    A wonderful part of this year’s Spring is the undergrowth of weeds. I know that sounds bizarre, and it probably is, but stay with me. Non-seeding weeds are actually a benefit to your soil. Pull them up and simply create piles of rotting goodness where the weeds used to be. The nutrient-rich piles will deter future weeds from taking over, while the rotting process will encourage microorganisms to find a nice habitat to live in. Worms in the soil will enjoy the incredible benefits of the entire process, while your soil is kept insulated and protected from the elements. Last year, there was no undergrowth due to the drought. My gardens started off the drought with bare soil. I was scraping together any organic material I could find to pile on the earth….Live Oak branches from neighbors’ brush piles, hay, newspaper and cardboard and leaves from empty lots. I even went as far as taking my little lawn mower to an open field with Live Oaks, and mowing to collect the fallen leaf debris. Like I’ve said many times, the soil at my studio is AWFUL….but this Spring, I have hope in all new beginnings. I have found earthworms for the first time in some places, and the mere fact that I have an undergrowth of healthy, non-thorny stickers is a huge step into the land of a healthy garden.
    They say it takes 13 years to establish a garden. In some parts of my garden, I am on year two. But then, combine that with the lack of good soil and mathematically, I am x=13-2ps+kw(5th). That is, 13 years-2 years, subtract the years of poor soil, but adding Keenan’s work to the 5th power. In other words, I have a lot to do.

    Spring.
    New Beginnings. New blooms. Every single new beautiful day is worthy of rejoicing.
    Happy Gardening, my garden friends!

    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • An Oxblood Lily from Miss Margaret’s Garden

    I spent the last few days moving Oxblood Lilies. Typically when I salvage bulbs from a tear-down, I stick them anywhere I can find an open spot in the garden. Later, I might go back to “decorate” the garden landscape with the bulbs in their “forever homes” (or at least, their home until I get bored). Each clump of Oxbloods is unique due to the age of the bulb or the growing conditions. One particular clump of Oxbloods caught my eye. The original parent bulb was in the middle, warmly surrounded by a beautiful family of healthy bulbs….nine offshoot bulbs, to be exact. Some clumps look like the bulbs are being suffocated….but not this clump. It looked perfectly happy to share its life with the offshoots, and all 10 bulbs were happy and healthy.

    The sheer vigor and fortitude of the Heiloom Oxblood Lily is truly untouchable by other lily bulbs. Scott Ogden once said that the Oxblood is the hardiest of all Southern Bulbs, and I absolutely agree with him. I’ve seen Oxbloods grow through cement rubble of house tear-downs, compacted earth from bulldozer tracks, drought-stricken land, and the list goes on and on. Oxblood Lilies are survivors. Let’s face it….we all need survivors in our life. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot from the Oxblood Lily. Through seasons of drought, gardeners throughout the South are reminded of the redemptive beauty found after the first rain of Fall.

    Oxblood Lilies originally traveled to the United States by way of their German immigrants. These lilies can still be found growing alongside old homesteads throughout the South.
    It is simply incredible to see a flower bulb survive throughout the 1900’s. Old gardens become a direct link to the past…to the days of pass-along plants and quiet cups of tea shared among garden friends.

    This lovely Oxblood was one of the bulbs rescued from Miss Margaret’s former home in Rockdale, Texas. Years ago, I wrote an article about the house in Heirloom Gardener Magazine entitled Saving the Gardens for Miss Margaret. If I knew how to link the article, I would….but Sorry, folks. This is about as tech-savvy as I get. Needless to say, Miss Margaret’s lovely gardens are now a parking lot for the police station. The beautiful historic three story house was torn down to make way for the police station. The original stained-glass filled house was built in the 1800’s. After Miss Margaret passed, the house deteriorated beyond repair. Before the tear down, I dug countless times. I was able to preserve thousands of her treasured Heirloom Bulbs. It makes me almost physically ill to watch century old flowers like this end their beauty, trapped under cement lots. Unfortunately, that happens frequently through the modern progress of rural development. I’ve been determined to save as many Heirloom Bulbs from old homestead tear-downs as I can.

    Each Heirloom Oxblood gives redemption to the garden. If you would like to have an Oxblood Lily from Miss Margaret’s garden, please let me know. I’m happy to share with you. Or you can order flower bulbs from Heirloombulbgirl on Etsy. All proceeds go directly back into the gardens. 
    Happy Gardening, my friends!
    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • Bloom in the Freeze

    Another hard freeze came our way…just in time to wipe out all the Paperwhites that are in bloom. Nature is funny that way. If I had a dollar for every time a flower bulb was *just about to bloom* but nature stepped in and wiped it all out, I’d be rich. It’s hard to watch precious flower bulbs have set backs. It’s hard to watch people have set backs too. I suppose we all have moments in our lives when life’s uncontrollable events hinder our instinct to bloom. I read once that people are like stained glass. It is easy to be beautiful when the sun is out and everything is shining. It’s hard to actually shine in the darkness.

    For the last three years, Winter has delivered hard freezes at the exact same time my Paperwhites bloom. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that nature is trying to teach me something. This year, I got wise and covered many of the blooming bulbs with large plastic flower pots. Two days ago, I removed the covering pots to find the bulbs were happy and snuggly….blooms perfectly healthy. What I didn’t realize was that another hard freeze was scheduled that night. The freeze proceeded to wipe all the bulbs out. Nature is funny. Although the heirloom bulbs won’t die from a freeze, I lose the beautiful bloom that happens only once a year. What exactly is the moral of this story? Dig up the Paperwhites and throw them in the compost heap? Give up? Be like dingy stained glass, refusing to bloom in the freezing darkness?

    I don’t think gardeners plant flowers for the moments of perfection. I think most of us like to watch things grow. We learn about ourselves through nurturing our gardens. Our hearts delight in watching a prized cabbage rose bloom for the first time after a long battle with thrips, and our hearts break in the loss of a cherished heirloom bulb, eaten by gophers. Gardeners stay the course, for better or for worse and against all odds, simply to bring natural beauty to dark, technology-driven world. Gardeners are stained glass folks who *choose* to bloom in the darkness. Maybe that’s why I grow flower bulbs….I need to be reminded each and every day to bloom in spite of my circumstances.

    ”The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
    His mercies never come to an end.
    They are new every morning.
    Great is Thy faithfulness, oh Lord.”

    This morning, the weather is in the teens. All Paperwhites have frozen back, but my heart is not defeated. My thoughts are already planning to rearrange the areas with Paperwhites, to make the covering-process more accessible. I am also gearing up for the Spring Bloom, hoping to order some more daffodils from Southern Bulb Company, and some heirloom dahlias from Old House Gardens. Life continues on and next year, I won’t be caught off guard for the surprise freeze.

    Happy Gardening. my friends! Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • To Pull or Not To Pull….That is the Question

    I’ve gone back and forth for years, trying every new and hip way to deal with spent plants and weeds. Do I pull? Do I trim? Do I cut? Do I yank? Do I compost? Do I throw it down?
    Do I pull or not pull…..That is the question.

    All these nonsensical time-sucking thoughts about weeds have brought me back, full circle, to the heart of the matter….Soil. Different garden conditions require different gardening techniques. There is not a “one size fits all” concept in gardening. English Cottage Gardens grow and behave differently than the Desert Native Gardens of the Southwest. I didn’t want to accept this truth for a long time. I grew up in Montana with lush, rich soil and Peonies.Now I’m in the Texas Hill Country….gardening in 112 degree granite gravel, sand and rock. The idea that my flower bulbs were forced to live in nutrient-depleted rocky soil was a horrible reality that I didn’t want to accept. Even the previous owner of the studio property told me truth. “Gardens? Here?” (He laughed) “You won’t be able to grow anything here. The soil is TERRIBLE!”
    I felt that the soil comment was a direct challenge to my gardening pride. Now I *had* to grow things at the studio. After the 2018 flood, all the flower bulbs had to relocate to the studio grounds and I was *forced* to put my money where my mouth was….plant gardens in terrible soil.

    So how does soil relate to whether or not to pull, cut, compost or ignore the weeds in your garden? Because my friends, soil is life. Anything that grows in the ground becomes potential nutrients for your flowers. Some soils are rich enough that it’s ok to pull up a weed or spent plant, and toss it in the compost. But other soils need as much help as they can get. Some soils, like mine, are desperate for the rotting process, allowing the earthworms and other microorganisms to do their job…bring life back to the soil.
    Over the past few years, I’ve shifted my focus from forcing gardens to grow, to growing beautiful soil. The change in my garden speaks for itself…..although I still have rocky soil, I now have earthworms. A beautiful first step into a land flowing with milk and honey (and flower bulbs). Here are a few natural techniques that have helped improve my soil. 

    First, I have started to cut the spent annuals and wildflowers down to the ground and leave the root ball to rot under the earth. I read that the number one problem with modern American gardens (besides the obsession with Miracle Gro) is the lack of decay that is allowed in the garden. Decay is a natural process, and as far as I’m concerned, nature does it way better than I could ever dream of. The cool part about letting the root-ball rot is that it prohibits other weeds to take over the area. The roots can’t compete with what is already there, even if it’s rotting under ground. I started this technique during the hard summer droughts, and so far, I really like the result.

    Second, seed-free weeds are pulled and simply thrown down into the garden using a piling method. Piling weeds and other debris creates mulch for the garden and a natural composting habitat around your plants. The garden debris also inhibits other weeds from popping up in that location. Disclaimer… I don’t not pile during the summer. The clippings dry out too fast, and the overall process creates too much heat, which is not good for your soil or plants. The idea of piling is to protect the soil from the elements, not create an oven environment, hot enough to fry an egg.

    Third, I cut the seeds and either collect, or throw them in the trash. There is misinformation out there that the seeds won’t germinate in compost….False. I’m not a composting expert, but when I get lazy and throw seeds into the compost, they ALWAYS germinate. Now,I simply walk around with a bucket and a pair of scissors.
    A lot of these techniques can be found in the gardening classic Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza. This book changed my life. Lately, I’ve been reading Grow your Soil by Diane Miessler. I love her philosophy about nurturing the soil. My flower bulbs seem to really appreciate the benefits.

    To cut or not to cut…..That is the question. I hope you find your own techniques that help your gardens flourish. Remember, one size doesn’t fit all. There’s no right and wrong if your soil and plants are reaping the benefits of your labor.
    Happy Gardening, my friends! Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl