Chop and Drop versus Golf Course Look

While most of us have been taught to have a perfectly clean golf course look when getting your flower beds ready for spring, another option is what they call Chop and Drop. The video below shows how they do this at Lurie Garden in Chicago. The only problem with this is that it looks quite messy.

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In a city subdivision you might want to try a modified chop and drop which is what I do at the Whitecliff Garden. In the front which is visible to the public, I have a clean look which I cover with new mulch. But a couple of feet back I take out the large pieces of dead material, but leave the smaller leaves and twigs on the ground. This provides organic material to help feed the garden during the year.

Ideally your garden might look like this later in the year.

Rain Garden Extremes

As I was driving around I noticed two rain gardens which are at the maintenance extremes .

In the first case at Nipher Middle School, there is no maintenance and the garden is mainly filled with ten foot tall weeds. While there is a bit of Goldenrod and New England Aster, most of it is ragweed and some smart weed.

In the second rain garden, the management of this pizza joint apparently only saw a bunch of weeds and ordered everything cut down.

This goes to prove the importance of planning for regular skilled maintenance on any garden. Especially in schools and businesses, the leaders need to make an effort to sign-up or hire a skilled gardener to take care of the garden.

It’s a shame that so much money and effort is spent in the setup of new gardens, but eventually the garden dissolves and either Mother Nature takes over or the maintenance crew nukes everything.