Last week, we asked readers to share any notable stories, projects, or accomplishments from their past year in gardening activities. We received some great submissions. We will feature a portion of the submissions in this post and more in the future.

It’s hard to contain our excitement about this container garden

Reader “FDelventhal” from PG County writes:

What a different year it was in the container garden on our deck. Lockdown created the obstacle and scramble to find potting mix. That began a journey of new ways to do things differently than we had every other year for the past 20 years. A few of the things we have learned this year that kept our garden productive:

• Coconut Coir helped us expand the small amount of potting mix we had. 
• We found a great 5 tier, 2-sided planter online that ended up being too good in that we had more herbs and flowers than we could use or give away. 
• How beautiful sages are and how attractive they are to bees and hummingbirds. 
• There are lettuces that can be grown in the heat of our summers, such as Ice Queen, Jericho,  and Crisp Mint. 
• We discovered Joyce Browning’s videos on the UMDHGIC YouTube channel and we check daily for new videos. 
• One Papalo plant is plenty. Love it, but one can only use so much of it. 

Home and Garden Information Center comments:

Great uses of alternative growing media (coconut coir) and growing the cilantro alternative, papalo. All of the pollinator activity in your garden is great for the environment!

Time’s up for turf

Betsy Kingery from Montgomery County writes:

This is section one of a 4-section, 2-year plan to transform about 1/3 of my front yard into a woodland garden. The area is heavily shaded by existing oak trees and has been planted with redbuds and helesias, a katsura, and two Cedar deodors.  We started in the spring of 2020 by placing cardboard and newspaper over existing turf and covering with 2″ of mulch with a goal to begin planting in the fall. In October, the mulch and cardboard were degraded such that we could dig it in along with the degraded turf and supplemented the soil with Leafgro. 

The planting was heavily weighted to native plants with some exceptions. We repurposed plants from other parts of the yard that were under renovation.  The plants listed on the plans are not the final choices. After planting section 1 in the fall, we papered and mulched section 2 to get ready for Spring 2021.

Home and Garden Information Center comments:

Wow! We love efforts to reduce lawn, as they cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, support pollinators, and reduce runoff.

Susan touts the trombocino

Susan Levi-Goerlich writes:

The highlight of my 2020 garden season was my tromboncino squash. It’s an Italian heirloom that does double duty: its fruit can be used like summer squash (it’s firmer and tastier than zucchini) or, if allowed to fully mature, winter squash. The only challenges I face with this plant were (1) providing strong enough support for this vigorous grower, (2) reining in its enthusiastic sprawl to avoid overtaking my neighbor’s plot in the community garden, and (3) finding refrigerator space for the prodigious amount of squash it produced.

Home and Garden Information Center comments:

Wow! What a haul! Kudos to your effort here; it looks like you employed some structural engineering to go along with your horticulture activities. (Search “tromboncino” in the search box for more articles on this cool squash!)