Masses of flowers in front of pavilion
If you’ve been to F.T. Proctor Park this summer, you’ve surely noticed the new, thriving garden beds around the new pavilion. If you’ve ventured to the Lily Pond and walked along the new pathways crossing the plateau, the colorful garden beds there have greeted you to an area transformed. You might not realize the success of these gardens are the culmination of lessons learned from other Olmsted City projects.
In the past couple of years, Olmsted City volunteers have created quite a few new garden beds around F.T. Proctor Park. Each one is contributing to our goals of reducing lawn and increasing habitat for birds, butterflies, and bees, all while beautifying the park for its increasing number of visitors. Each site presented unique difficulties, along with the challenges of working with volunteers and a limited budget, and so each new garden was handled a bit differently. Along the way, we have learned some things about how to make this work easier – easier to prep, install, and maintain over time. If you are considering reducing some lawn this fall and perhaps planting a pollinator bed, or a shrubby bird habitat, we have some tips that might help and inspire you to jump in.
Tip 1: Prep your beds with cardboard or newspaper.
Last fall we created 3 garden beds around the Lily Pond and 4 in front of the new pavilion. All were planted where sod had been growing, and all were approached in much the same manner. To prep the new Lily Pond beds, the City of Utica removed the existing sod with a sod cutter. The open ground was covered with a layer of cardboard or newspaper. Compost was added and the plants were planted through the cardboard or newspaper. These beds were then layered with 3 inches of mulch, with care to keep the mulch away from the
Volunteers laying cardboard and spreading compost
base of the plants and the trunks of the trees or shrubs. In contrast, the pavilion beds were prepped a few weeks before planting. Cardboard was laid directly over the mowed grass and compost was spread on top to hold the cardboard in place. By the time planting day came, the cardboard was soft and easier to plant through, and the grass that had been growing was dead and decomposing underneath. This method improves the soil by leaving the organic material in place instead of removing it and carting it away. It also saves the time and effort of removing the sod. Either way, the cardboard or newspaper prevents the deep rooted weeds, any seeds that have been brought to the soil surface, and the sod itself from regrowing in your new beds. Make sure you use plain brown cardboard and remove any tape or labels, or lay several layers of newspaper. Overlap the pieces to cover any gaps. Wetting everything down well and prepping your areas a few weeks ahead of time will make planting easier, but isn’t absolutely necessary. Long term, the results for us were the same.
These beds have required much less maintenance this first year than other beds we planted without cardboard or newspaper. There were still weeds, but they were fewer and easier to pull. Maintenance has mostly been focused on keeping the edges clean.
Tip 2: Plant closely.
Perennials planted closely in masses
When planting perennials, plant them close together. The less open ground there is between your plants, the less sunlight reaches the soil, and the fewer weed seeds will be able to germinate. Under shrubs, plant low growing perennials or sedges to cover the open ground. The first year or 2, while the plants are maturing, weeding will be necessary. Over time, as the plants fill in and grow together, the weeding burden will lessen and the need to add mulch every year will be reduced.
Tip 3: Plant in the fall!
September planting at the pavilion
While many of us look forward each spring to refreshing our gardens with new plants or planting new gardens, fall is in fact a great time to plant, even if it doesn’t feel quite right! The cooler temperatures allow new plants to get comfortable without struggling through the stressful, hot days of summer. Typically there is more rain, which means less watering for us while the plants get established. This also allows the plant to focus on growing roots, which makes for a more resilient plant ready to thrive the following spring. We saw this first hand this year and were amazed at the results. In less than one year, the beds we planted last fall looked so much happier, fuller, and with more blooms than previous beds we had planted in the spring. We also saved countless hours keeping plants watered through the summer. We watered the plants in the day they were planted in late September and that was it. Nature took care of the rest.
Pavilion beds after planting – Sept 2023
Pavilion beds in July 2024
We have been so pleased by the health of these gardens this year. Each garden is different and should be approached differently according to your goals. But these tips stand out. It turns out, fall is the perfect time for planting. Water plants in well when you plant, and as long as it isn’t a terribly hot and dry fall, the plants should become established well enough to survive and thrive the following year without additional water. Planting over sod with a layer of cardboard or newspaper does work and saves hours of labor in preparation and in follow-on maintenance. We encourage you all to give it a try this fall. Less lawn is so much better for so many reasons. The gardens at F.T. Proctor Park are proving that by bringing smiles to visitors, nourishment to wildlife, and generally improving the environment we live in.
Lily Pond Plateau garden bed Sept 2023
Lily Pond Plateau July 2024
We would be remiss if we didn’t also recommend using native plants that prefer the specific growing conditions of your site when choosing plants for your gardens. This is probably step one in ensuring the success of your project!
