Rejected by Solarize, but undaunted......

Category: Perennial gardening | Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 12:28 pm

My husband & I recently contacted a company to explore purchasing solar panels for our roof. Here is their response:
"Thank you for your interest in the Solarize program. Since the program beginning we have conducted a lot of site visits...we found that about 60% were suitable for solar. So now we are refining our criteria for site evaluations. If the house is amid tall trees, particularly pine trees, as Google Earth seems to indicate (about your site), we have found that the site is not ideal for solar.....
Therefore we would recommend not visiting the site. We can tell you it would be unsuitable for solar panels."

Sigh...The response from Solarize says it all. My garden is an island of yard floating in a mixed pine and deciduous woods on a north facing hill. It is ringed by tall white pines which tower over the yard and pool. In short, the sunniest parts of the garden get, at the very most, 5 hours of sun per day. This, per force, limits what I can grow. Veggies should be out, but I can't resist planting a few tomatoes every year. They limp along, producing a few fruits just before the frost does them in. Although what I harvest probably doen't cover the cost of the plant seedlings, there is nothing like having one's own tomotoes! Herbs do well, surprisingly. Perennials that can take 1/2 day sun also do very well.

So, while I can't change the light in my garden, I can choose plants wisely. I can resist the gorgeous heleniums and their ilk which love all day sun. I can read brochures carefully and select roses that can tolerate some shade (Rosa Zepherine Drouhin) or peonies that can deal with intermittent sun and shade (Paeonia obovata-Perennial Woodland Peony).

I can also be careful to match the plant to my soil and light conditions. Erythronium americanum (dog tooth violet) appreciates shade, but also needs a moist soil rich in organics. Planting it in clay-sand soil which gets baked in late afternoon sun is not a good idea. Armeria (sea thrift) loves the dry sandy soil of the garden around the pool. Trying to enrich the soil there is a mistake.

Each garden has its own microcosms and I am gradually discovering mine. (Is the bed on the south facing wall of our home actually a zone 6 not 5? Maybe I can grow that Paeonia obovata-Perennial Woodland Peony). Iris borers do not seem to like hot sites, hense irises do well in the bed along the hardtop driveway. Maybe that is the place for sedum as well.

I find discovering these microcosms is a process of trial and error. Some are obvious, others not so much. It has been helpful seeing other Garden Stew gardens. Seeing that solid patch of Monarda in someone's garden (Netty's?) has made me realize that I just do not have the right conditions for Monarda, much as I love the unique blooms. And I am gradually learning to give up on the plants that just cannot deal with intermittent sun. Well, almost...I have stopped buying monarda but haven't quite yet yanked out what I have, sparse though it is.

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