The Garden Buzz

Garden Trends: Seeing Double

Oh no, Mama's having one of her spells. It might be a migraine, very possibly that pesky vertigo, but always annoying; Yet I usually live through them to plant and pontificate another day. However, what a great lead-in to a subject I've been thinking about lately. All the dizziness has me thinking about double flowers.

Double Hollyhock (martha stewart)

When plant breeders aren't trying to conjure up square watermelons or blue roses, their fall back position is to just make something double. Snapdragon "Twinny Peach" is one of the latest to come out. Yet double flowers aren't twice the flower, they just have more petals than usual. Ironically, double flowers are often far short of something else. Nectar and pollen.

The slightly scientific explanation is that double flowers occur when there is a genetic "misfire" that causes the sexual structures to mutate and  produce more petals. Plant breeders work to make that happen on purpose for showier flowers. The drawback is that completely double flowers are sterile.

Planting sterile double flowers has its advantages; with more vivid, longer-lasting floral displays. They are a literal lifesaver for those who are allergic to bees, but want to see some color in their backyard scenery. Many sterile flowers are also self-cleaning, just like an oven, meaning no dead heading chores.

Unfortunately with sterile flowers, you get a sterile landscape; no buzz in your garden.

I love the cleome variety "Senorita Rosalita", for its prolific flowers and huge, rounded habit, plus its salsa-rific name. It blooms and blooms and fails to get all rangy and mangy like its old-fashioned, open-pollinated cousin. But watch the butterflies stop to feed and then pass it by, their disappointment almost palpable. OK, I'm being silly, but they won't be thanking you for your hospitality and hanging around your garden.  

Imagine you see a splendid smorgasbord laid out with succulent dishes of food, but upon closer examination, it's all made of plastic; pretty but inedible. That's what mass plantings of double flowers, like Double Wave petunias, can seem like to your local wildlife. Does this mean all double flowers are the work of the devil? No.

Double Wave Petunias   (photo by ndgardengirl)

There is, as mentioned above, a time and a place for double flowers. Moreover, there are different degrees of double flowers, there are semi-double and flowers that have a combination of fertile and sterile inflorescence (that's a fancy name for flowers), hydrangeas being a good example.

Pee Gee Hydrangea has both fertile and sterile flower petals   The Garden Buzz

Many semi-double flowers have merely an extra layers of petals, just enough to make a little petticoat. Some are fairly flouncy, but the nectary is still apparent, in the form a pollen-laden yellow center. Without being a botanist, that is your best bet to noting the wildlife value of a particular plant.

Double Cosmos "BonBon" still offers nectar and pollen to butterflies and bees.  (The Garden Buzz)
 

Double flowers give you a lot of bang for your buck, so place them strategically and sporadically around the garden; maybe in containers or hanging baskets within an otherwise pollinator-friendly garden. Then maybe they can work like those resin replicas on the dessert tray that draw us in for the main entree and the promise of sweet things to come.

Note----It is my personal policy to use my own photos whenever possible, however I don't grow any completely double flowers at this time, and with 10 inches of snow falling, none were available anywhere! Please note that these photos have been credited with their source.

Bits and Bobs from The Garden Buzz

First...

It seems just yesterday that I nervously hit the publish button on my first post. Now after six months and the 50th post, and a few other minor statistical milestones, The Garden Buzz actually has a following, besides my immediate family (although my husband doesn't read it, there are no cars involved, you see)! I really enjoy sharing my perspective and passion for plants and nature with everyone. Thank you for visiting and all the nice compliments.

Second...

I follow another blog called The Perfect Pantry, written by a lovely lady named Lydia. She writes about food and all sorts of fun stuff. She invited her readers to submit a photo of their pantries, perfect or otherwise, for others to see. I had so much fun looking in other people's cabinets, that I offered mine up as well, but I'm afraid it's rather boring in comparison. It's the featured one for today at her site. Oh my.

After seeing the response, I'm tempted to do my own invitation this summer, and ask to see, "Other People's Compost Piles"!

Third...

I have to confess, I've been blogging somewhere else. I recently started a blog with the Star Tribune in the "Your Voices" section online. It's a little different in that I'm supposed to stay local or at least pertinent to the Twin Cities. I'm not very good at this self-promotion thing, in fact, I'm having a little hot flash and turning red just typing this news into the blog template. I promise not to neglect or give short shrift to The Garden Buzz. It is my baby.

 

 

Field Trip to the Tropics

I can surmise by the tell-tale glow of the timer-lights that my neighbors have all taken off for warmer climes. In need of some heat and humidity I thought I might take a little trip myself. From the photos you're probably thinking Hawaii.

No, I decided on St. Paul.

I'm ashamed to say that after two years and three winters in Minnesota, I had yet to visit the Como Park Conservatory. With all their marketing about poinsettia displays, I just expected a bedding display of annual flowers, albeit in a beautiful glasshouse. I was wrong, it was a Victorian-style plant collector's fantasy. And it was warm.

 Gorgeous orchids from the days previous orchid show  The Garden Buzz

Bird's Nest Fern bigger than you average houseplant-size specimen

Unusual bromeliads     The Garden Buzz

A pineapple grows in St Paul      The Garden Buzz

Umbrella-like leaves of philodendron    The Garden Buzz

Just like the jungle cruise at Disneyland    The Garden Buzz

The requisite koi-pond picture      The Garden Buzz

 
In the Sunken Garden of the Marjorie Mc Neely Conservatory. I couldn't help but appreciate that all the visitors wore red and pink with their dark clothing, it all coordinated perfectly in the picture. What a coincidence!

 

A view of the symmetrical structure of the building and the plantings

Dipping a toe....    

A lovely waterfall in the Tropical Encounters area. It would have been nice if someone had told me that a humongous snake was just around the corner. I didn't stop long enough to take a photo. Just take my word.

2010 Perennial Plant of the Year: Baptisia australis...The True Beauty of Blue False Indigo (and how it reminded me of Stevie Nicks Singing at the Grammy's)

I had been toying with the idea of comparing the 2010 Perennial Plant of the Year to a chubby, pretty girl in the third row of a choir. I meant to imply that while you might not necessarily notice her presence, you sure would be aware if she were to go missing; there would be a hole in the whole and the harmony would go flat. I meant it in the nicest way. But I didn't want to be called a fat-phobe and lose any readers. But, heck, I'm a little chubby and I can't even sing.

Meanwhile I can't get out of my head, that Taylor Swift/Stevie Nicks duet on the Grammys last night. When I should be blogging about Baptisia australis, I keep stopping by google news to read eyewitness accounts of that train wreck. What were they, whoever they are, thinking? Taylor Swift tells a good story, to music, and has really nice hair and cute kind of cat-eyes, but they just weren't singing on the same page. And somehow that got me back to thinking about Baptisia australis.

Baptisia is adaptable and dependable, sort of like Stevie Nicks, but then that makes them sound like a Chevy. And they are both so much more than that.

Baptisia....

• Grows best in full sun, may need staking in partial shade
• Attracts butterflies
• Drought-tolerant once established
• No serious insect or disease problems
• Unappealing to deer
• Combines well with other perennials/bulbs

Also known as blue false indigo or wild indigo, Baptisia is more shrub-like than perennial. Anchoring the back of the border, the native plant matures in a few seasons to grow 3-4 feet in height and width. This should be a consideration when placing it in the perennial border; besides the large taproot that resists dividing and transplanting. But once you settle on a spot, this plant is pretty much care free.

 
Striking seed-pods of Baptisia australis The Garden Buzz

Baptisia blooms for 3-4 weeks in June, with spikes of beautiful, deep violet-blue lupine-like blossoms. The blue-green foliage is attractive throughout the season. After the flowers, a second season of interest comes from large seed pods that are charcoal black and rattle to the touch. Do plant this perennial next to lots of yellow, something sunny, because this combination...sings.

(Apologies in advance to Taylor Swift fans and Chevy-drivers) 

Making Local Eating a Little Easier

Radishes (The Garden Buzz)

Just days after the announcement of Apple's iPad, it's easy to think that all the new ideas are hi-tech, complex and out of our reach. And then an idea comes along that is sweet and simple, and based on sharing. A smart lady with the appropriate last name of Farmer, has started a website called The Farmer's Garden, a place where gardeners, growers and farmers can register to sell, buy and trade surplus produce with other local growers and consumers. In addition, individuals and non-profits, like food pantries can register classified ads for wanted produce. She wants to make it easier for everyone to be a locavore. It seems a win-win for everyone.

Ms Farmer states that you can "trade your banner crop of one thing for your neighbor's bountiful crop of something else". I would think fruit tree owners might find this especially helpful when an entire crop comes at once, or even the everyday gardener with a zillion zucchini, and all kinds of good food in between. Delicious, unusual or rare varieties might be found growing not in your own backyard but mighty close. She encourages people to consider that even in winter there are still certain crops available.

It's not necessary to register to search the database. You can search with options for zip code, travel radius, transaction type and produce category. Always use common sense when using any online source.

This community resource can connect consumers and growers, create community, support better nutrition, and reduce waste. I bet you can think of more. Check it out at The Farmer's Garden. 

Alpine Strawberries: Perfect Fruit for Small Garden Spaces

The other day I was singing the praises of Alpine strawberries across the table at the Master Gardener luncheon, when I thought I might as well shout across the blog about them too. I think they are about as near perfect a plant as you can get. For gardeners expanding their edible landscapes or new kitchen gardeners, this red berry should be on your radar.

Alpine Strawberries (The Garden Buzz) 

Alpine strawberries have a taste that's hard to pin down. It has been described as perfumed, yet I think that gives a bad connotation. It's not the soapy type of perfume taste. It's complex without the tartness of a cultivated berry but with a certain 'je ne sais quoi'. No sugar needed.

You can't even use my "can I grow it better than the grocery store" rule. You'll never see an alpine strawberry in the store; they are simply too delicate to make the trip. They go from green to ripe to too ripe, too quickly for the marvels of modern food marketing. Yet the berries are in a perpetual state of production, so the supply never runs out until frost.

These delicious little gems rarely make it to the kitchen, I eat them in hand every time I pass the plant. So prolific, there always seems to be more as I rifle through the foliage. They can give your Cheerios a sense of European sophistication if you gather them early in the morning. A few times I have combined them with other berries, like regular strawberries, blueberries and  even mulberries on lemon cheese tarts. They combine well with other berries for more depth in taste.

I did have one problem last year; my new puppy watched me picking them and before I knew it he was nipping them off the plant to eat as well. As far as I know there are no ill effect besides the unwanted competition. 

Alpine strawberries, or Fraises des Bois, come from the wild woodland strawberry, Fragaria vesca, in fact you can can grow the wild version, or any number of cultivated versions. Compared to when I started my first ones from seed, there are many varieties available. They differ from domesticated strawberries in that they produce small, pointed, almost conical berries on clumping plants. Without runners, the benefit is that these plants can be used in the perennial landscape and put in permanent positions without the need to constantly rejuvenate the patch.

The bright green leaves are attractive in their own right with deep serrated texture. The rounded shape is great for edging or spotting throughout the border. The dainty little flowers are adorable. The plant is easy to grow with good soil and adequate moisture, mine have seldom been bothered by pests. They'll even tolerate a little shade. These little jewels make it possible to grow fruit in small spaces.

Do be warned, there are impostors. In my haste one year I ordered plants from one of those iffy mail order places; the berries were rounder and bland, and then the runners started running and ruined my bed. Pay attention to the fruit shape and description if possible when buying seeds or plants.

Alpine strawberry plants are now available from a number of sources, and sometimes appear in nurseries. That can only improve as everyone learns about the flavor and versatility of this fruit. I've listed some sources for seeds and plants with the different varieties noted.

Seeds

Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants  Fragaria vesca

Renee's Garden Seeds  "Mignonette"

Thompson and Morgan "Mignonette"

Kitchen Garden Seeds "Red Wonder" and "Yellow Wonder" (The yellow not preferred by birds? The berries hide in the foliage so I don't know if this is truly an  issue)

Richter's Herbs "Ruegens"

Select Seeds "Alexandria"

Plants

Bluestone Perennials "Ruegens Improved"

White Flower Farm "Fraises des Bois"

And if you don't believe me when I tell you how great Alpine strawberries are in the garden and your tummy, take it from Henry-dog. Would he lead you astray?

National Pie Day - January 23 (Pear Tree Pie Recipe)

Let me be the first to wish you a Happy National Pie Day! Who knew? The American Pie Council (nothing to do silly song lyrics or naughty boy movies) designates January 23 for this auspicious occasion to help in "preserving America's pie heritage and promoting American's love affair with pies". Their aim is to "raise awareness, enjoyment and consumption of pies". Heck, I'm there.

 
Pumpkin Pie     The Garden Buzz

What, you say? Is The Garden Buzz going all foodie? Occasionally. In this case, I don't think it's that far from the pie pan to the garden, or vice versa. Name a pie that doesn't need produce to produce its filling. Cherry, berry, or kumquats, it all starts in the dirt. Chocolate cream? Little cocoa groves in West Africa. Rum raisin? Vineyards and cane fields. Chess pie? Maybe you got me there, but I like mine with a little lemon zest.

And lest we forget. Bees make pies. Every bite is just buzzing with bee-power. Without pollination, what could we look forward to; wheat pie, corn pie?

I love pie. I love how it is all contained in a crust, sort of like the perfect packaging of an egg. I love making pies; the fluting of the crust, paring apples, peeling peaches, or whisking the filling in a big bowl, and finally the finished piece. I love how it looks in the kitchen, the ultimate symbol of domesticity. I love slicing it in eight perfect portions and feeding it to people to watch them swoon. If I had one of those wide windowsills like in the cartoons, I would make pies just to see them sit there.

I remember some pies better than people; that purple raspberry/rhubarb/custard from last year that still elicits sighs and haunts us with its elusive qualities, the sweet-tart gooseberry pie at Kansas family reunions, the sweet potato pie when I grew my own, the dainty lemon meringue my mother-in-law makes. Yet my mom never made proper pies, but rather these messy, misshapen fried apricot pies, greasy and good, eaten with your hands, and even better cold.

Any day with pie would be a little bit happier. But here's a pie to honor the spirit of the American Pie Council's special day. It was inspired by the pear tree that grew by our old limestone house in Kansas. It provided shade, honey-scented blossoms and voluminous quantities of lumpy little green pears every other year. I miss it, now, every year.

Pear Tree Pie  

Use your favorite crust recipe or buy a ready-made frozen one, I wont' tell, it's only for the bottom.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

6-8 Bartlett Pears (or whatever kind is available) peeled and sliced

3 T. Lemon juice

1/2 C. Sugar

2 T. Flour

1-2 T. Chopped crystallized ginger (this is what makes it good, I think more is better)

Combine fruit and other ingredients in a bowl, then spoon into pie crust. Sprinkle with crumble topping.

Crumble Topping

1/2 C. Flour

1/2 C. Sugar

1/2 t. ginger and 1/2 t. cinnamon and 1/4 t. nutmeg

You can add oats or chopped nuts for more flavor

Combine and then cut in 1/4 C. Butter

Bake in oven for about 45 minutes.

Serve  with vanilla ice cream if desired.

PS: You can double this recipe in a 9X13 baking dish without a crust for a delicious fruit crumble, but then that wouldn't be pie. SHHH..Don't tell the pie council.

 

 

 

 

 

Is it too late for a calendar giveaway?

Cleaning off my desk when lo and behold I found some more of those 2010 North American Native Bee Calendars (retail value $14.95) I ordered for gifts and giveaways a few months ago! Lots of gorgeous bee photos and tons of useful info. Pin up this calendar and you'll be a beeologist before you know it. I know January is almost over, but hey...there's still 11 more months...and it's free. As always to avoid spam, please include in the text of your email a little something about what you like at The Garden Buzz. Title the subject line as "calendar giveaway". Giveaway contest ends on midnight (central time) Monday, January 25. I'll pick three random winners. I'll have it to you by the first of February! Good luck.

Tall Perennials: Go Big for the Birds

I usually consider the cute little junco a harbinger of doom when he first arrives in late fall. The dark-eyed junco is a winter bird, a sign there's no turning back. But as winter settles in, my attitude softens. Small birds with that sweet-little-bird silhouette, the junco is nattily attired in charcoal gray with a white breast. They seem to be perpetually puffed up against the cold, giving them that slightly rounded shape.

(I made an exception to providing photos other than my own, just this once)
  

They flit about and flash their white striped tail as they fly from feeder to ground. They are birds of the ground; woodland birds that prefer the forest floor. However yesterday I saw them causing a ruckus in the joe-pye weed. Later when I stepped out I saw they had shattered the withered flower heads and scattered the seeds over the snow. Their little tracks marked the icy crust from where they fed.

Seed-heads of Joe Pye Weed (The Garden Buzz)

You see, the snow is deep. And there's still more winter to come. The snow cover makes it difficult for all animals to find food. The other day we watched a red fox lope and sink through the snow when not supported by the ice-stiffened surface. The going is hard. While the juncos are not endangered birds, they and all birds this time of year, still struggle to find seeds not hidden by the snow. By now most gardeners with a nod to the birds leave up seedheads over winter, indeed it is now you see the value in this practice.

Black-eyed Susan's in the snow (The Garden Buzz)

This stand of black-eyed Susan's could be covered with just a few more snowfalls. So maybe it's time to think about planting some taller perennials for next year's late winter habitat. Tall perennials lend architecture and variety as well as wildlife support to herbaceous plantings; think Russian sage, bee balm, Rudbeckia "Herbstsonne", Baptisia (false indigo), New England aster, boltonia, coneflowers and globe thistle. For shadier spots, use cimicifugia (snakeroot), meadow rue, ligularia and larger astilbes.

As a side note, I'm not a bird-watcher but I watch birds. In doing a little research I found this great site. Maybe you know about it already and I'm just now finding it. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has beautiful photos, concise information and best of all birdsong! A recording of each bird is available with all the other facts about habitat, migration patterns and concern status. I encourage you to visit it for a little color and flutter while we wait for spring.

Do Bloggers Get Sick Days?

Today's post has little to do with gardening or nature, but rather the nature of blogging. Apparently there is a phenomenon called blogger's guilt; the act of feeling bad when you can't blog. Although there are many who start blogs and after one way-too-lengthy post and a few half-hearted ones realize they haven't really got that much to say or don't have the self-discipline, and subsequently leave their blogs to languish in the web dust.

Then there's me. I have been described at times as "too responsible". I usually don't commit to what I can't do. I could have been blogging at the big-bang beginning of blogging and be way down the road with this garden blog. But I waited until I knew I could follow through. And it might sound a little egotistical if I think a missing post or two would matter, but there is a tiny growing number of readers who seem to actually like reading my little musings about Mother Nature and all her wonders. And 5% live in Australia, what's with that? But anyway, thanks, mates.

The day is not often when I can't come up with something to say, I only need look out the window to find a topic. But today, I have to say I was leaning toward... I got nothin'. I don't feel so good.

The past few days I've had a scratchy throat and a gunky cough. No big deal. I was running errands yesterday and my husband called. He was home, where was I? He had gone home sick, and since this rarely happens, I was concerned. He was nauseous, could I bring home some 7-Up? So I rushed over to the store and rushed home with the bubbly anti-dote to most of my hubby's infrequent ills. He took three sips and went to sleep, for the next  12 hours. I proceeded to make chicken soup, which he never ate. He got up this morning and pronounced himself cured and left for work. At least I have some soup.

But me. I don't feel so good. I prefer pain over nausea. And I already was sick, I don't want his sickness too. I feel kind of fuzzy like the frozen fog outside today. I may read this later and regret it. I don't think it's too far up on the clever-meter. But I felt like I had to write something.

Maybe I am imagining this eeghh feeling. I saw he had touched my laptop this morning, so I sprayed it with Lysol. And then I was thinking about going to see that Avatar film, and even thinking about a 3D movie makes me woozy. I have kind of gotten intrigued about it, even though it may be like my daughter describes all fantasy movies of that ilk; "just Star Wars in a forest". But I digress.

Last week when I was busy getting everyone in the family off to their own disparate destinations of Missouri, Colorado and Russia, I failed to post my blog a couple times. It made me anxious and a bit cranky. My mother-in-law called to see if I was ok, because she hadn't seen The Garden Buzz. That was very sweet since I am usually the worrier and not the subject of worry. So I posted three times the next week as self-imposed makeup work.

I love blogging. I love the immediacy. I like how I pitch the story to myself, then write it, photograph it, post it and own it. It suits me to a T. Maybe I can get a sick note from myself?