GARDENING: Secret to lush growth is soil preparation
By DANNY C. FLANDERS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It may be lush and green in Atlanta -- after all, we're known as the "city in the trees" -- but looks can be deceiving.
It takes a lot of time, money and, especially in this town, determination to have a healthy lawn, gorgeous flowers and mouth-watering vegetables, especially with Georgia's rock-hard clay. Don't plant anything without amending the soil.
The good news for newcomers to Georgia gardening is that you have plenty of help.
For starters, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Georgia is divided into two hardiness zones based on their minimum winter temperatures. From metro Atlanta north is zone 7; the rest of the state is zone 8.
In the South, heat can be more of a problem than cold. Some plants are labeled with a heat-zone number, based on the number of days per year temperatures top 86 degrees in a particular area. Georgia falls into four zones, with metro Atlanta in zone 7.
WHERE TO GET HELP
Need some inspiration on designing your landscape? Have a gardening problem you just can't figure out? Here's where to turn:
Gardens and shows. Tour the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Ave. N.E.; the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens; or the Gardens at Callaway in Pine Mountain. Shows and tours include Atlanta's Southeastern Flower Show and the Atlanta Garden & Patio Show, both held in February; Douglas County's Foxhall Flower Show, held in April; and the Connoisseur Garden Tour in May.
In the media. Georgia gardening guru Walter Reeves hosts "Gardening in Georgia" at noon and 7 p.m. Saturdays on Georgia Public Television (GPTV). He also fields questions on his "Lawn and Garden Show" on WSB-AM (750) from 6 to 10 a.m. Saturdays and in the Journal-Constitution's Home & Garden section on Thursdays (visit www.ajc.com/living). HGTV, the Home & Garden Television cable network, offers shows with advice for gardeners in the Southeast.
Books. A few to consider are "The Southern Living Garden Book" (Oxmoor House, $34.95), "Georgia Gardeners" by Laura Martin (Taylor Publishing, $19.95), "The Peachtree Garden Book" by the Peachtree Garden Club (Peachtree Publishers, $7.95), "American Horticultural Society Great Plant Guide" (DK Publishing, $16.95), "Georgia Gardener's Guide" by Walter Reeves and Erica Glasener (Cool Springs Press, $19.99) and "Gardening 'Round Atlanta" by Avis Aronovitz and Brencie Werner (Eldorado, $18).
On the Web: Sites to visit include the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service, www.ces.uga.edu
.edu, and the Weather Channel's regional information on gardening, events, tips and forecasts, www.weather.com/activities/homeandgarden
UNDER RESTRICTION
Here are the local and state watering restrictions:
Metro Atlanta: Mandatory statewide outdoor watering restrictions that were in place during an extended drought ended in January 2003. However, the state Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources has developed a statewide drought plan calling for no outdoor watering by anyone on Friday of each week. Those with odd-numbered addresses would water Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday; even-numbered addresses, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Watering could be carried out during all hours on those specific days unless dry conditions returned. If that happened, hours would be restricted. Environmental officials want Georgians to try this concept voluntarily for a year. The program will then be evaluated to see if it should become mandatory.
On the Web: Georgia Environmental Protection, Department of Natural Resources: www.dnr.state.ga.us/dnr/environ
The official state site for information on the drought: georgiadrought.org
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