Time to refresh the places where my visitors and I put our feet in the dark, rainy months ahead. Make sure we are comfortable and safe in the evening garden.
I especially make sure feet and furniture don’t punch through decaying decking boards and steps; seems like today’s pressure treated wood, even when coated in water repellent stains, doesn’t last like the environmentally iffy “good stuff” from yesteryear. No matter, I am gradually, a set of steps or a deck at a time, easing into flagstone, chipped slate or limestone, and other long-lasting materials.
But when I do replace old parts, I faithfully follow an old trick to help the boards last longer, by making sure the boards are placed with the right side facing the sun and rain. Look at the growth rings at the end of a board and you can easily see if they go up and back down like a rainbow, which is what savvy lumber folks call “bark side up” and will repel water better. If the rings go down and back up, like a smile, the boards will absorb water and cup and splinter.
No matter, I always let the new boards dry a few days or more in the sun, then slather on wood preservative tinted with a little color stain, which adds a nice touch. The color I go with, which I learned about from my color-conscious landscape architect friend Rick Griffin, is a pale hue of teal which is a bit more blue-gray than green; rather than pop visually it blends in and complements the natural foliage and flower colors in my garden.
Every fall I also pressure wash everything flat. Because my back garden is shaded and kinda damp, there is always algae and moss on the flagstone. Plus, a neighbor’s large hackberry tree drops seemingly gallons of sticky “honeydew” from aphids feeding on its leaves, on which a black “sooty mold” forms and blackens even my bottle trees and other yard art.
Because I’m a cheapskate without much storage room in my little tool shed, I rent for half a day a more powerful pressure washer that is in good condition, which works better and is actually a lot cheaper than owning and storing an affordable smaller one. To avoid peeling away the wood on my decks or damaging tender bark on tree trunks I switch the nozzles according to the jobs I need doing.
I also double check to make sure my night lighting is up to par. The inexpensive low-voltage system was super easy to install myself, by just attaching outdoor wiring to the small programmable transformer by my porch. I ran the wire wherever I want light and covered it with mulch, then simply clipped on attractive light features with very efficient LED bulbs wherever I need them.
I don’t have “runway lights” going up my drive or walks; instead, I use spot lights on interesting tree trunks and carefully place ornate fixtures so they create shadows around steps. Important: Make sure lights are not shining in anyone’s eyes lest they miss a step, especially when visitors leave the bright lights of indoors.
So that’s my routine every fall. After raking and blowing fallen foliage into my composting leaf pile, I pressure wash flagstone, landscape boulders, garden furniture, large pots, and yard art to help everything all but glow even at night. Then I replace old boards, staining and what is left with wood preservative, and adjust my night lighting.
Ready to enjoy the cool, dark evenings by the fire pit without worrying about missteps and mishaps.
Felder Rushing is a Mississippi author, columnist, and host of the “Gestalt Gardener” on MPB Think Radio. Email gardening questions to rushingfelder@yahoo.com.
