Jr. Gardeners Construct Plant Corsets

The Junior Master Gardener 4-H Club recently met at the garden of Vivian England, one of our 4-H volunteers.  Mrs. Vivian showed the kids the wonders of spring hiding right under the leaves from last fall still in her flower beds.  She explained that she keeps the fall leaves in the beds all winter long on purpose- to provide insulation to her perennial flowers.  The kids gently removed the leaves from a portion of the beds to find small, tender plants waiting for the warmth of spring.  Some of the plants were volunteering back from seeds dropped by last year's annuals.  Others were coming back from perennial rootstocks and bulbs. 

Mrs. Vivian also taught them how to make plant corsets for perennials that will get too tall and will need to be staked up off the ground later in the growing season.  The kids made their supports using crapemyrtle twigs and cotton twine.  I have always liked the look of natural materials in the garden for supporting flowers.  The more natural, the less obtrusive the stakes are to the eye as you take in the beauty of the flowers. 

First, the kids laid the twigs down on the ground in a row, and tied them to each other at the bottom of the corset.

Next, the corset is stood upright and a spiderweb like support system is made near the top.

Now all that is left to do is cut the bottom of the corset with pruners into points so that it can be stuck into the ground over your perennial.  As the plant grows, you simply weave it through your spiderwebbing to keep it upright.