Gardening Update: April 26, 2026

Although we're only a month into spring, it's been feeling more like midsummer whenever I'm out working. With little rain and high clay content, the soil has been rock hard. Last night's rain, while welcome, barely registered — under 0.1" by my gauge.

By the numbers, it's been a genuinely difficult stretch. According to Weather Underground data from Charlotte Douglas Airport, we've received just 5.88" of rain in 2026, against a 14" average through this point in the year. Going back to last September, we're running 15" below normal. The US Drought Monitor currently rates Mecklenburg County as extreme drought (D3) — one step below the most severe category — which has prompted the county to put out voluntary water use restrictions.

So what can you do?

Water less, but deeply. Overwatering is probably the most common issue we see in client gardens. For plants that have been in the ground more than 3 months, our water-retentive clay soils generally mean that once a week is enough — provided you water deeply. Deep watering means wetting the soil 6–12" down, which for most herbaceous plants translates to roughly 1" of water per application. If you're not sure how much water your sprinkler system actually delivers, put a tuna can or wide tupperware in several locations and time how long it takes to accumulate 1".

Trees and shrubs benefit from a slower, deeper soak. My preferred method during establishment: drill a single ⅛" hole near the bottom of a 5-gallon bucket and place it at the base of the plant. After filling, the water drains out over roughly 45 minutes — slow enough to penetrate deeply without running off the surface. Be sure to keep the bucket clear of debris, which can clog the drain hole. Most properly selected trees and shrubs need about 1–2 years of this attention per inch of stem diameter before their root systems are established enough to fend for themselves.

For established gardens, try cutting back — or skipping irrigation entirely. My own herbaceous plantings get no supplemental water after year one. My street-facing full-sun garden hasn't been watered in two years; neither has our shade garden, which is competing with the roots of four large red maples. Neither looks perfect during dry spells, but I've had very little actual plant loss. There are side benefits too: plants under drier conditions tend to stand more upright (less flopping), and dry soil suppresses annual weed and tree seed germination. If you have an irrigation system, consider switching from a set schedule to manual-only — let the garden tell you when it needs water rather than running it by the calendar.

First-year plants need your attention regardless. Newly installed plants have their entire root system in the nursery potting mix, not the surrounding soil. Two things follow from this: first, even if the soil around the plant is moist, if that potting-media root ball dries out, the plant can't access it and will struggle. Second, if the root ball stays consistently wet but surrounding soil is dry, roots won't expand outward — they grow toward favorable conditions, not away from them. The first year is when watering discipline matters most.

Keep your beds mulched. A 2–3" layer of mulch reduces evaporation, moderates soil temperature, and helps rainfall penetrate rather than run off the surface. If your beds are thin on mulch, now is a good time to add some.

Think about more efficient water strategies:

• Rain barrels or cisterns connected to downspouts — limited capacity in a real drought, but useful if restrictions tighten further

• Soaker hoses — a straightforward, inexpensive DIY option; lay them at the base of plants and connect to a standard hose bib or timer. They deliver water slowly directly to the root zone with minimal evaporation

• Drip irrigation — more involved and best installed by your irrigation specialist, but the most efficient option for larger established plantings

• Recycle household water — the water running from your shower while you wait for it to warm up can be enough for one or two new shrubs; the same goes for vegetable-rinsing water

For more on reading drought stress in your plants and knowing when to take action, see last year's post on heat stress.

Recent Blog Posts

The Hidden Carbon Costs of How We Manage Our Gardens

Left alone, your yard would gradually accumulate carbon — in plant roots, woody stems, decomposing leaves, and the soil biology that turns all of that into stable long-term storage. The moment we start managing a landscape, we start making choices that either support that process or work against it. The first two posts in this series covered how plants and soil store carbon. This one gets into the practical side: how our maintenance and design decisions affect the garden's carbon balance, and what we can actually do about it. 

Interesting Gardening Content

North Creek Nurseries: Designing for Life

The best landscapes aren't just planted — they're designed to function. This post from North Creek looks at how ecological thinking (layering, ground cover function, density, and maintenance timing) produces landscapes that genuinely support wildlife and perform better over time. These are the same principles behind how we design and maintain your garden.

North Creek Nurseries: Planting Density

There's a real tension in garden design: do you space plants for how they look on day one, or how they perform in year three? Planting density is really a design decision — one that has long-term consequences for weed pressure, plant health, and how quickly a garden settles in. Dense planting suppresses weeds, builds resilience faster, and reduces long-term maintenance, but done carelessly it can create airflow problems and overcrowding. North Creek walks through how to think about spacing for year three, not week three. 

A Way to Garden: Cultivars — The Straight Talk, with Mt. Cuba's Sam Hoadley

When you're shopping for plants, do you know the difference between a straight species (Echinacea purpurea), a wild selection (Phlox paniculata 'Jeana'), and a heavily bred hybrid? Sam Hoadley, who heads up the trial garden research program at Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware, walks Margaret Roach through the full spectrum — and more importantly, how to read plant labels and cultivar names for clues about how close to the wild type a plant actually is. Worth a listen if you've ever wondered whether the cultivar you're buying is ecologically equivalent to the species. 

Journey North: Eastern Monarch Population Update

Good news from Mexico: the eastern monarch population at overwintering sites increased 64% over last year — the second consecutive year of growth, and slightly above the decade average. The population is still a small fraction of what it was in the 1990s, and experts are cautiously optimistic rather than celebratory. But it's a genuinely encouraging trend, and conditions during the 2025 breeding season appear to have played a meaningful role.

Upcoming Events

Less Lawn More Life Challenge — May 7 for 12 weeks - A free 12-week program that sends you one doable challenge per week to make your yard more hospitable to birds, bees, and other wildlife. You start with a free 5-minute yard health quiz (the Wildr Score) and retake it at the end to measure your progress. Expert content from ecologists and ecological designers is woven in throughout, including Robin Wall Kimmerer. Prizes and badges for finishing. Worth signing up even if you only do a few of the challenges.

UNCC Botanical Garden: Basic Ecology — June 12–21, 4 sessions Four sessions of 3 hours each covering ecological concepts — how plants, animals, and their physical environment interact. Prerequisite reading from Doug Tallamy is suggested. I'm signed up; hope to see some of you there.

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden: Spring Plant Sale — May 2–3 Saturday 10AM–2PM, Sunday 10AM–4PM. Their horticulturists will be on hand for live demos and questions.

Plant of the Month

Blue Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium)

This is a fantastic plant — tough, tidy, and showy, and a great reminder that common names can mislead you. Despite what it's called, blue-eyed grass is not a grass at all; it's a member of the iris family (Iridaceae). Look closely at the leaf bases and you'll see the characteristic fan arrangement that all irises share. It just happens to grow in grassier, more open habitats than most of its relatives, which is where the name comes from.

It forms tidy clumps 8–12" tall (occasionally reaching 18" in good conditions) and blooms for 3–6 weeks in mid-spring, covered in violet-blue flowers with bright yellow centers. The flowers are sun-tracking — they open fully in direct light and close on cloudy days or at night, so don't be surprised if they look less showy on an overcast morning. It self-seeds readily in good conditions, gradually filling in an area over time.

Good color pairings: Golden Alexander (Zizia aurea) or Mouse-Ear Coreopsis (Coreopsis auriculata 'Nana') for a violet-blue and gold combination; Allium 'Millennium' for violet-blue and rosy-purple. Works beautifully in clumps or as an edging along a path. Generally deer resistant, low maintenance, no significant pest or disease issues. Small native bees — particularly sweat bees — are among its primary visitors.

What We're Up To

Over the next few weeks, we're focused on finishing our last two spring installations. As a matter of policy, we don't take on summer planting unless the client is a hands-on gardener who fully understands and accepts the higher risk. Once those wrap up, we shift into design work for the fall through spring 2027 season.

That timeline might sound premature, but late May is actually exactly the right time to start planning. If your yard contains bermudagrass (and most Charlotte yards have at least some), the only effective window to suppress it is during its active summer growing season — that typically means targeted herbicide applications while it's actively growing. That work needs to happen before we can plant, which is why designs that should be installed this fall or spring 2027 need to start taking shape now.

If you're thinking about a new garden for this coming fall or spring 2027, now is a good time to reach out.