Gardening with Gita
Read All About It
By
Jun 11, 2008 - 11:36:44 AM

Ever since I saw a trough full of “hens and chicks” on the patio of a friend’s home, it settled in my mind to somehow incorporate in our garden these enchanting yet carefree plants, along with some of their relatives; so by coincidence, when we built a small rock garden in our back yard this spring, the answer seemed to be right then and there. However, because of their succulent nature, I was so presumptuous of the cultural needs – plenty of sunshine, to add grit to the growing medium so that it drains extra efficiently, and of course, no over-watering – that it never occurred to me to consult any of the gardening books to learn a little more than what was obvious.

All set to pursue the project, my first purchase indeed was a healthy cluster of Sempervivum, commonly known as the hens and chicks; when kept under protection, the plants did quite well until I decided to bring them to the sunny outdoors, when in a matter of days, the leaves began to look somewhat papery. Lo and behold, that’s exactly what the New Gardening Book by Better Homes and Gardens, an old-timer on my bookshelf, points out: to “ease them into sun or open shade gradually, otherwise they will cook in their own juices and turn transparent.”

Books, without doubt, are one of the most irreplaceable resources, even at this age of high technology when the internet seems to have the answer to just about everything; furthermore, as in any other field, gardening books do range from the rather general ones for those who are learning, to the more sophisticated ones for those gardeners who have learnt the tricks of the trade, and contain not only a wealth of information but are fun to browse through, especially during winter-time when not much yard work can be done.

Whereas each has its own merits, it is the regional books that come in most handy when looking for answers pertaining to a specific geographical location where the garden is to be grown. Because of this reason, two of my books have become more dog-eared than the rest as these have been referred to perpetually during the course of time: the first one is none other than the book by Richard Nunnally and Laura Peters (Lone Pine Publishing International Inc., 2006) called Best Garden Plants for Virginia, and other by Jacqueline Heriteau titled Virginia Gardener’s Guide (Cool Springs Press Inc., 1997).

So, though it does sound like stating the obvious, but reading about the cultural needs of a plant prior to planting – before procuring for that matter –  is a sure way to success in addition to saving heartbreak over unnecessary loss of plants when grown at inappropriate locations. And, while I did not get to acquire a trough filled of hens and chicks, I certainly have learnt a valuable lesson: Read all about them first!

gitaagrawal@juno.com | 751-0421


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