Feb 25 2009
Planning Your Outdoor Garden Railroad - Part 9
Planning Your Outdoor Garden Railroad - Part 9
It’s time to look at the “garden” side of of your Outdoor Garden Railroad plan. Start by thinking like a plan. Yes, you read correctly. Plants need light, water, air, space, and good soil.
Most important are sunlight and soil conditions. Some plants thrive in bight sun. Some plants do better in partial sun or shade. Evaluate your outdoor garden railroad space. Observe where sunlight falls and how long it’s there. Fences, trees, and tall shrubs can cast significant shadows. Look at the grass and other plants that have been in this space for a while, If the lawn is NOT fertilized, cut, weeded, seeded, and fumigated to an unnatural monoculture of living green carpeting. If it has been left to its own devices and cut relatively infrequently, you may see the plants are different in some areas. The natural preference for sunlight and shade will be evident. If you’ve gone to extraordinary lengths to have a picture perfect lawn. You’ve completely changed these conditions and it is very difficult to see any changes among the plants. in either situation you can calculate the relative amount of of sun (average hours per day) by observing sun and shade and adding it to your detailed three dimensional plan. Remember to make adjustments for changes of the sun’s angle and the length of daylight through the year. There are charts available to establish winter solstice, winter equinox, summer solstice, and summer equinox. These charts will give you the angles of the two extremes of light and the middle of the sun travel. These will be sufficient to create accurate shading diagrams for your outdoor model railroad.
The next major consideration is soil type and chemistry. Soil type can be divided into sandy, clay, and loam. Soil that is sandy drain well but lacks nutrients for the plants. It may drain so well that it is unable to hold moisture for long and the roots of the plants will need frequent gentle watering. Clay soil is made up of very tiny particles that swell up when wet. It has more nutrients, and holds water better than sand, but it compresses so much that it can force out the air that is needed near plant roots. Loam has plenty of nutrients and drains well. It has little structure and may not hold the plants well. The ideal situation is to have a mix of all three. Potting soil that is sold in bags at garden centers may be too rich and may need some sand and fiberous compost added to make it well rounded for your plants. Some plants like more drainage or roots and should have a soil mix that is made especially for the plants. When it is time for railroad construction figure on using on-site soil and mixing it to get the most desired combination for your plants.
Soil chemistry can have a dramatic effect on the plants. Soil chemistry is complex but the most important feature is called “pH”. “pH” refers to the acidity or alkalinity (sweetness) of the soil. “pH” runs on a scale with acid at one end, neutral in the middle, and acid on the other end of the scale. You can test your soil by mixing a small quantity of soil in distilled water and using a “pH” meter, “soil test kit”, or “litmus” paper strips to check the “pH”of the soil. You can change the “pH” of your soil by adding lime or used coffee grounds to the soil. Talk to your garden center about which one is best for your soil.
Some plants are also sensitive to their neighbors. The positive version of this is called “companion planting”. Plants that get along with each other can enhance each other this is possible for a variety of reasons. Plants planted close to each other can effect each other. By the same principle plants that are not compatible can effect each other and negatively effect each other.
Take this information about your site and then plan your plants accordingly. Check with local specialty nurseries for native plants. Native plants that grow historically in your local area. Those species of plants have adapted to survive and even thrive in local conditions. Although their is enormous temptation to fill the garden railroad with exotic, imported, specialty plants, or hybrids. Try to avoid exotic plants, foreign species, and specialty hybrids. They may escape through natural reseeding and choke off plants in your local area. Most are poorly adapted to your area and may not survive from one season to the next. Check with your organic garden center or a national native plant society. Many universities, master gardeners, extension services, and big box garden centers have been slow to address and adopt these concerns. There are notable exceptions, but you still have to do some extra homework. If you do consult these sources, be very specific about your requests and cross check all recommendations with a native plant society.
Go back to your original wish list. Are you planting for scale plants and model realism or planting for garden color and textures? TIP: You can mix and match. The best results are achieved by keeping all the plants in an individual scene related in size and purpose. Map out your plant, garden, landscape plan on your scale diagram. You can even model the planting plan on your three dimensional model. Make sure to consider projected plant growth or plan on annual trimming and maintenance. Unlike your track and trains, plants change through the year. Make a chart showing which are blooming when. Anticipate color groupings changing through the seasons.
Have fun!
Trainguy
