May, 4, 2008
HOME & GARDEN
Bellingham gardener designed landscape with Lake Whatcom in mind
DANNY GAWLOWSKI THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
Myron Wlaznak stands in the garden surrounding his Bellingham home with his black labrador, Sasha. Wlaznak is a certified master gardener, beach master and watershed master. “This is my empire,” Wlaznak said, referring to his garden. “I do this for fun.”
Myron Wlaznak has spent the past 15 years gardening with the Lake Whatcom watershed in mind. Here are some of his tips for creating a watershed-friendly garden.
- Put annuals and other high-maintenance plants that require more water in pots so they can be watered individually without having to soak the whole garden.
- Dog poop and leaking septic systems contribute to the phosphorus that runs off into the lake, so make sure septic tanks are in working order. And it seems small, but clean up after Rex.
- Put the right plant in the right place. Wlaznak puts drought-resistant plants on top of the hill in his backyard where it tends to be drier, and he puts water-loving plants where stormwater tends to collect.
- Use fertilizer sparingly, if at all. "A lot of gardeners think, ‘If a little fertilizer is good, a lot will be better,' " he says. But the opposite is true. "If a little fertilizer is good, then a little less is better."
- Don't be afraid to get creative and experiment. If plants you like don't flourish in one spot, try moving them to another.
- Start out with a plan on paper to get an idea fully worked out and minimize the yardwork.
- Take classes at a local nursery or with a master gardener to get personal advice about your area.
Advertisement
ZOE FRALEY
THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
*Beta
|
*Beta
|
BELLINGHAM -- Myron Wlaznak is particular about the water that makes its way onto his property. Once it's on his land, he makes sure it goes through quite the obstacle course before it gets out.
"We're taking the water that runs, stopping it here, giving it a chance to clean itself and then letting it go," says Wlaznak, 59, a retired writer and avid landscaper who lives with his wife, Paula, in Bellingham.
As a resident of the watershed area above Lake Whatcom, he sees it as a duty and a pleasure to manage the stormwater that flows through his property, minimizing the presence of nutrients such as phosphorus that are harmful to the lake.
"This is a fun thing to do; it's a fun project," he says of the yard he's been building up for nearly 15 years. "I designed it with the watershed in mind. I just did some things that made common sense to me."
What made the most sense to Wlaznak was to arrange his yard so it would act like a sponge for the stormwater that flows through his downhill-sloping property.
At the top of the hill in his backyard, Wlaznak has planted drought-resistant species that soak up water when they can, and he's put in drain tile, which is basically a tube to help move and distribute stormwater through the yard and into the stormwater control basin in the front of his yard. His front yard and the beds beside his driveway have French drains underneath, which filter the water through gravel.
"Stormwater is a tough, tough thing to deal with," he says. "What you want to do is treat it in the most natural way you can. That's the most effective way. It's a tough problem, it really is, but it's everybody's problem."
To address his stormwater, Wlaznak made his stormwater control basin by adding sand, weed fabric and river rock to a hole at the bottom of his front yard. This basin and the thirsty-rooted trees around it helps draw phosphorus out of the water and slow down its flow downhill into Lake Whatcom.
"Everybody contributes to the deterioration of Lake Whatcom," he says. "What we want to do is limit that contribution to the maximum that we can. It's a frame of mind."
