Springtime Solutions

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Until a tall, hardy crabapple tree can soften this large expanse of stucco wall, a trellis planted with a hops vine will fill in the blanks.

Raise your vegetation faster

Simple, natural-looking trellises can help provide structure and a vertical perspective in a newly landscaped area. These can be made from willow prunings or any other small pruned limb or branch. Lashed together with a bit of copper wire and stick them directly into the ground. Plant a fast-growing vine at the base, and this trellis will be covered in just weeks, allowing your landscape to have tall greenery without waiting the years it takes a tree to mature.

Here are some suggestions for fast growing vines that don’t require extensive watering:

Scarlet Runner Bean (Phaseolus spp.)
Hyacinth Bean (Dolichos lablab)
Morning Glory (Ipomoea spp.)
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
Kiwi (Actinidia chinensis)
Honeysuckle (Lonicera spp.)
Hops (Humulus lupulus)

Compact Distraction

Here is a simple, low-impact method for keeping birds out of your garden: Use obsolete data CDs as little reflective “scare crows.” Birds (as well as other avian and mammal foragers) don’t like the bright, scattered light from these highly reflective surfaces. Hang a few around your garden and unwanted guests will quickly find another place to do lunch. (Birds can be remarkably quick learners, so hang these out for a few days just as you lay down new seed or when ripe fruit is at its most tempting in order to gain maximum impact.)

Having a Ball

Here’s a great little idea that gives new meaning to the word biosphere. Seed balls—compact packages composed of seeds and dense, fertile compost wrapped in a hard shell of mineral-rich clay. These inventive growing solutions were first envisioned by natural farmer Masanobu Fukuoka. He envisioned way to reclaim fallow earth with tiny ecosystems contained within an efficient and effective delivery system. The clay protects the seeds from being blown away, eaten by a bird, or dried out in the sun. The spring rains melt the clay, allowing the seeds to germinate in their tiny patch of compost. The seed balls can be sown directly on top of unworked soil, meaning no complex preparation or planting required.