Bulbils produced along the stem of the tiger lily can be gathered and spread anywhere one wants more tiger lilies. They will take three years or so to blossom, but are worth the wait. TONY P. WRENN

Preparation is probably the most important ingredient in gardening, as it is in other endeavors. By Tony P. Wrenn

Date published: 7/1/2006

THOUGH THERE IS no such thing as an effortless garden, preparation is the first step toward that goal. There are any number of garden plants that can be expected to increase on their own if the gardener has provided the right environment for that increase. Gardens, after all, do not make themselves.

Plants will, however, respond with vigor when the gardener gives them reasons to do so. Basic among those reasons is freedom from competition. Amazingly, desirable plants do not seem to mind the presence of other desirable plants, while they will react with displeasure to competition from undesirables.

For "undesirables," read "weeds," which do not provide pleasant companions, either for the gardener or for plants one wants in the garden. Weeds are survivors and, by their very nature, not fair competitors. They will take what they need, with no idea of fairness. We may think of them as interlopers that the garden looks better without, but the basic reason for eliminating them is that they take far more than their fair share of nutrients, light and moisture. Weeds are garden gluttons that will take any advantage offered them. I have railed in this column before about preparation, about ridding any site one wants to plant of weeds prior to planting. It is particularly important that perennial weeds be banished, for they cannot be easily handled with the hoe and mulch once a garden is established.

Poke may be an attractive plant in the right environment, but that environment is not the ornamental garden. Poke's fibrous root must be dug out and relegated to the trash as part of the making of a garden. The same is true of dandelions, and of wire grass. Anything that has a root which will regenerate itself needs to be eliminated. Violets, as handsome as these may be in the right place, are among the most noxious of weeds if left to run at will in the garden. I have no objection to them in the lawn, but in the garden their roots must be dug out. Some of the perennials, such as plantain, are surface growers and can be controlled without much effort, but deep-rooted weeds are best removed in garden-making or, if spotted later, removed as soon as they are seen.

Larkspur has finished blooming in my garden, and seed-gathering has begun. Given the weather recently, I haven't had to worry about it being dry enough to save seed, though that is always a consideration. When seeds are ripe, it is easy to walk through the garden with a large paper bag, bend the larkspur down over the bag, and shake. The sound of seeds falling into the paper bag will let you know you are doing it right. Seeds can also be easily gathered from hollyhock, bleeding heart, columbine and many others. Labeled, kept dry and stored, they can be reintroduced into the garden this fall, or saved in a frost-free environment for planting next spring.

Date published: 7/1/2006