Re: Improving the Soil--a BUNCH of questions!
Cindy Johnson wrote:
> Would you, and others too, address the subject of re-working perennial borders vs shrub borders? (since I like to mix my shrubs, trees, and perennials). Why do perennial beds need to be re-worked over the years, and shrub borders don't?
I am certainly not an expert in any of this, having only recently been
able to try some serious gardening. I think I still have lazy habits
left over from suburban gardening which I tried to find time for, back
when I was still working full time. My gardening areas now have not
been in long enough to have needed much reworking. But from what I know
of perennials, they are basically different from shrubs, in that the
perennials divide, spread, then get overcrowded, and have to be renewed
to get good results. I personally dont know exactly how often mine will
have to be divided, but I guess one can usually tell when the time
comes, by looking at their performance, and how cramped they look. And
by reading about the individual plant? I think many people put shrubs
and other things in together, so perhaps it is not so much re-working a
whole bed then, but treating different areas of one bed according to
their different needs?
Anelle
