www.MichiganGardener.com | April 2013 | Michigan Gardener
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Rita Cohen’s Gardening Tips
Their living moon gate, as Rita calls it, flowers most of the year with several vines: Akebia or chocolate vine (Akebia quinata), silver lace vine (Polygonum aubertii), and reseeded morning glories.
This driveway garden was planted to block the view of the house. Variegated maiden grass (Miscanthus) was added first, the clay tiles add a contemporary interest, succulents make watering less of a chore, lowgrowing junipers stay green, and a Scotch pine was added and trimmed for an Asian look.
Fences aren’t allowed in their subdivision, so Rita Cohen borrows the view from her neighbor for a seemingly larger garden. The blue weeping spruce (Picea pungens ‘Pendula’) was added recently and drapes nicely over the waterfall from a structure her husband Larry built. houseplants. “It was a great hobby. One of my hair customers gave me a philodendron and that started me off. I researched and learned how to divide plants, air layer, and start seeds indoors. I built terrariums, had plant parties, and lectured about houseplants to my friends.” The Cohens purchased their 1960s-style house in 1977. “We liked the fact that it sat high off the street. It had an open floor plan
and we could fix it up to our taste. I have always been an indoor gardener and having 1/3 of an acre gave us the opportunity to create a wonderful outdoor garden,” recalled Cohen. Several classes from the Michigan School of Gardening, garden lectures, the Waterford Garden Club, HGTV programs, and many visits to botanical gardens provided ideas for the Cohen’s garden over the years.
The outside garden started with neighbors giving the Cohens plants. Rita remembered, “Then we bought a small pond liner. Larry built a box I designed to elevate the liner. The following year I was taking classes and our septic field needed replacement. Larry asked me if we should seed the area or start a garden. I scribbled a plan on a piece of paper and that got us started. We added a walkway with slag
• Rita believes that “soil is a living organism and has to be nourished every season.” Every two years, they spread a combination of three inches of leaf mold and mulch over the whole garden. Their property doesn’t have enough leaves, so they purchase the mulch to create enough mix. For azaleas, rhododendrons, and lilies they use bone meal and Epsom salts turned into the soil. • Sometimes the Cohens will wait for a tree to grow and sometimes not. The weeping white pine in the front garden was bought full-sized, but the redbud and a willow tree were grown from branch cuttings. Both have survived and thrived; the willow is now over 15 feet tall. Rita soaks the branches in water and fertilizer until she sees new growth. She pots them up in clay pots and buries them in a protected area outside through winter. In spring they are removed from the pots and transplanted to their permanent locations, with a few prayers for survival. • Critters are a constant source of wonderment and annoyance for the Cohens. “Our biggest challenges are the wildlife that feed on things we obviously don’t want eaten. I have found that human hair helps some. Since I am a hairdresser, I use the hair from haircuts, tucking it around the plants. Groundhogs are tough to get rid of. I have used a mixture of cayenne pepper with soapy water, but it washes off when it rains,” Cohen lamented. sand because I saw it in a botanical garden and liked it. Larry loves creating the gardens and ponds for me. Each year we have added more. We will keep adding because our love of gardening has grown to be a wonderful hobby.” Rita talked about what her gardens mean to her. “The gardens are very healing to me. Larry and I try to incorporate the simplicity of Asian garden themes. I am a hairdresser and one of my clients is an 85-year-old Japanese woman. I love her dearly and she has had a great influence on Larry and me over the years she has been my client.” Cohen continued, “During my recuperation from two recent surgeries, the best medicine for me was watching nature and the sounds of the waterfall.” Asian elements that the Cohens have incorporated in their design include crooked rock paths (which block evil spirits because they get lost in the turns), water and stones (the yinyang of the garden to complement and complete each other), and a red bridge over water that represents a path to paradise and immortality. Painting it red is borrowed from tradicontinued on next page