The Garden Buzz

Inspiration for Spring 2012: My Latest Window Box Photos from Charleston!

Who doesn't love a window box? Considering the popularity of last year's post on Charleston window boxes, not many. Charleston is an easy 2-hour trip from Savannah, a hop, skip and a jump to a whole 'nother horticultural paradise. You might remember my first visit there last year and the garden tour photo fiasco.

After that I decided all the window boxes on the street were fair game, and occasionally I poked my camera through the conveniently-spaced bars of a wrought iron gate. This year I followed a similar plan and saved myself those $45 tickets! Sorry Charlie, I mean Charleston, no photography, no tour.

Charleston is known as the Holy City due to the large number churches, and seeing all the majestic spires rising above the historic district, I can see why. But I think it should just be known as the Pretty City. Even the people are pretty. So many of the women walking on King Street have that pulled-together look of Parisian ladies. And the men, well, nobody rocks a bow tie like Charleston men.

Anyway, here it is February and Charleston's spring window boxes are already in fine form.

It may be too early for many of you to start planting window boxes, but it's not to soon to be inspired by these beautiful plantings.

Enjoy....

Love this fresh green/white combination, notice the sedums.          The Garden Buzz

 

Cyclamen, torenia, kale and alyssum; the yellow bloom on the kale sets off the gold lettering so beautifully 

 Ivy, lobelia, violas and some spiky thing in cheerful orange and blue shades

A storefront box with foxtail fern, dragon-wing begonia, is it an animal theme? 

The street was perfumed with this alyssum arrangement, I suspect it's the prolific, new 'Snow Princess' from Proven Winners. 

Viola, rosemary, holly fern and snapdragons along Church Street 

Begonia and ivy just taking off in this box attached to magnificent mansion 

Edible landscape: Window box filled with herbs in another storefront planting      

 These red shutters and scrolled ironwork set off this new planting

 And these green shutters complement the white petunias and and orange violas

 Simple pansies look like little smiling faces.

If you can't get enough of Charleston window boxes, I suggest Southern Living garden writer, Steve Bender's (AKA The Grumpy Gardener) blog post showing more window boxes at their summer peak. I especially like his window box "recipe"..

Fall Floral Arrangement: Better Late Than Never Bouquet

Last year's quick blog on my "autumn equinox bouquet" consistently ranked as one of the popular posts of 2010. ( Click on the link to read the back story). This year I wasn't home for most of September and spent most of October catching up with my shadow. So here in November, the month of no, as in no more garden, I managed to eke out a "Better Late Than Never Bouquet".

These remaining days of cool autumn sun afforded me a pleasant trip around the garden gathering bits of foliage, pods, seed heads and such, enough to cobble together a decent ode to fall.

More somber in color than my traditional end of the season arrangements, I kinda like the deep purple tones and feathery shapes. it didn't photograph as well as last year's, but believe me is just as beautiful.

 Fall Floral Arrangement                                                      The Garden Buzz

For some of you it may be too late to assemble a similar bouquet, but for many of you, the makings are just now taking on that mellow mood of autumn.

This year's ingredients:

• Siberian Kale leaves
• Chokeberry branches
• Sedum "Autumn Joy" flowers
• Hydrangea "Annabelle" dried blossoms
• Rudbeckia "Goldsturm" seed heads
• Baptisia seed pods
• Elderberry stems minus the berries (cool purple spidery shapes)
• Daphne foliage
• Pine sprigs
• Oregano stems
• Feather Reed Grass "Karl Foerster" grass

I was tempted to include fennel seed clusters, the licorice-scent was wafting through the air as I clipped branches, but I try to avoid seed pods that will shatter and make a mess. Instead Greek oregano gave this a distinct spicy scent. What a nice sight every time I come in the back door.

Imagine what you can find in your own garden!

 

The Self-Tending Garden

Have you ever wondered what your garden might do without you? In your absence would it wither and die, turning to dust or would it go rampant and smother your home in vegetation?

I've been wanting to read "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman where he imagines a world without humans, and how soon it takes for our presence and infrastructure to disappear as nature reclaims the planet.

On the website there's an interesting animation,  "Your House Without You", that shows how the process might go.

But where am I going with this train of thought?

I've long been fascinated by self-seeding plants in the garden. And when myself and others write and talk about them, it's usually centered on flowers and grasses. Gardeners concentrate on harnessing the power of these volunteer plants, or eradicating them due their prolific nature.

Not much is said about volunteer vegetables. (UPDATE 10/13 Well, I take that back. I just returned from hearing Diane Ott Whealy of Seed Savers Exchange talking about the origins of their heirloom seed mission. She showed photos of her gardens with self-seeding lettuce and radishes welcomed in her flower beds) Oh yeah, maybe a late-season tomato plant, like the one cropping up in my perennial bed at this late date. But we usually plant our veggies new with each season.

But you gotta love it when a squash decides on its own where and when to grow. 

For the past few years I've been barely tending a small potager, nudging it along while it manages to produces enough veggies, herbs and a little fruit to supplement a few meals every week during the summer. With each year its seed bank increases and so does its yield. 

I didn't start out to make this garden self-sustaining, or an example of permaculture, I don't think it qualifies quite, but I've found that using a gardening style somewhat akin to that old-fashioned parenting style now referred to as benign neglect, it's a satisfying way to reap a few edibles with minimal effort.

With a permanent growing mulch of strawberries, bolted spinach and mesclun now seed themselves, intermingled with self-seeding cilantro in late spring followed with dill and Italian parsley. Nasturtiums, signet marigolds and kale add color, pungency and texture. I'm hoping that the beets will follow the example of the radishes and spring up next year on their own. Wouldn't self-thinning beets be great?

I add a new variety of pole beans each year, and by now there's a succession of "Blue Lake", "Kentucky Wonder" and "Emerite" that germinate and produce at different times.This is simply done by letting some bean pods dry and fall to the ground. Sometimes I move the seedlings closer to the copper tripod at the middle of this patch. This year some beans also ran horizontal along the twig rabbit fence I built. Those seemed the happiest.

The tripod and fence help to give this self-starting garden some design, but otherwise I call it a hot mess by late summer with its tangled abundance. It might be a form of square foot gardening sans any organization. Weeds are few, choked out by the thick plants that grow without rows. All I do is paw around and find goodies to eat. It's like a little treasure hunt each time.

It some ways it doesn't seem right to be rewarded for such slacking in the garden. 

Bob Saget? No, Bog Sage, Really.

Still wit gathering, but you can get a bit of the 'Buzz' over at Herb Companion magazine. I've just added this beautiful herb with the unfortunate name to my herbal wish list. Click and read all about it.

Easy Gardener "Instant Garden" Trial Results

Seems like just last week I was complaining about the cold crappy spring/summer we've been having in Minnesota. And now today the heat index is 110. 

Between the lush, limp growth, the weeds and the soggy cottonwood fluff, my garden is a wreck. Family obligations took me away for another 10 days and while I was gone, Mother Nature started to reclaim the yard. She may be winning.

I have to say the best looking thing is my "Instant Garden" that the folks at Easy Gardener gave me to test this summer. I first saw this at our Garden2Blog event and have to tell you I was a little skeptical.

 Easy Gardener "Instant Garden" planted with herbs and flowers            The Garden Buzz

It looks like a soccer mom chair at first. Using canvas folding chair technology, this planter comes straight from the box and pops out into a raised mini-garden, just like they say, instantly. You just lock in the pins to keep it from folding back up and place the hose to drain in a container or onto the ground below. Mine's on the deck next to the grill and draining freely. Hey, watch out below!

They suggest using 50% organic compost and 50% good native soil along with Jobe's All-Purpose Vegetable and Tomato fertilizer. I just used potting mix and the Jobe's fertilizer they also asked me trial. Then I planted a cheerful combination of "grilling" herbs; rosemary, sage and lemon thyme, along with marigolds and a Gerbera daisy for a little color.

Lemon thyme, marigolds, sage and rosemary.

All in all, there are 12 plants sitting cheek to jowl in an area measuring only 16" wide by 36" long, 8' deep. They couldn't be happier. I like the easy height at 30" for snipping herbs and deadheading the flowers, especially in this heat when I'm moving pretty slow. For gardeners with actual limited mobility and not just wussiness, it's a fantastic idea.

Granted it's not a look for formal gardens, but for a casual deck or patio, it's a fun solution for limited-space gardening and a great conversation starter. The brown canvas is an attractive shade for complementing foliage and flowers though. I can even imagine a series of them surrounding a deck or patio.

"Instant Garden" earlier this season

I see this innovative planter being just the ticket for folks like my in-laws who head to Florida in the winter. They could grow salad greens and herbs, plus a few flowers, then fold it up for easy storage when they leave for the summer. I bet a few patio tomatoes in this planter would run circles around all those other retirees with their Topsy Turvy tomato thingamajigs.

Halfway into the gardening season this new twist on container gardening might be just the pick-me-up your small-space garden needs.

They're available at garden centers, home improvement stores and other retailers.

 

Happy National Pollinator Week!

Celebrate National Pollinator Week by planting trees, shrubs, flowers, herbs and fruits that attract and support these vital forms of wildlife. It's what puts the buzz in The Garden Buzz!

Check with your local extension office for lists of pollinator-friendly plants for your region, it's easy.

I've posted this article link below recently, however I'll repeat the link since it provides an emphasis on pollinators and their behaviors, along with plant information.

http://www.herbcompanion.com/gardening/attract-pollinators-to-your-garden.aspx

 

 

 

Street Cred: Sidewalk Containers of Savannah

Yes, I'm back in Savannah.

 While my daughter was finishing classes today, I took a walk down some of my favorite Savannah streets for a final photo shoot before summer sends us away. We'll be heading back to Minneapolis, seeing family and familiar places along the way. 

It's fun to find new scenes and revisit others in another season. Here's a selection of sidewalk container gardens, Savannah style. 

 

 Gates are often adorned with these charming baskets

Giant strawberry pots contain ivy and rosemary here 

This ambitious container garden never fails to delight

Eggplants mix with zinnias and salvia

Lots of great foliage for lasting, reliable color in the heat and humidity.

Hydrangeas are popular for urns.

Caladiums glow in the late afternoon

Hot tropical colors make this intense street garden pop

With all the edibles growing right on the sidewalk, these street eats are tempting. Hannah loves to snitch a sweet tart kumquat from this tree. Fortunately her neighbor who grows lemons and rosemary in her front yard and boulevard allows her to pick, guilt-free.

Are We Gardening Yet?

After the lllonnnggest winter and a lackluster spring, I think I might actually plant something this week. Maybe. I'm glad I started all those seedlings; nothing too exotic, you might even say basic, besides the cerinthe, lots of annuals and a few veg just so I had something to tend.

I used to start multiple flats under the lights of this mighty plant stand my husband and father-in-law built. I had to leave it in Kansas when we moved. Actually my MG friend Kae, AKA Josie Montana and the Parsley Princess, took it away. I'm hoping she's still enjoying it. My husband set up another smaller version this year in the garage.

Even more so I miss my greenhouse where I overwintered herbs and citrus and took little mini-therapy breaks from what I thought back then was a long winter. Ha. Little did I know.

I thought you'd appreciate my hardening off method for the little seedlings, well, not so much the method but the location. It's very important to acclimate seedlings gradually to the outdoor weather, starting at first with little bouts in the shade and then cloudy open sites until they are ready to face the harsh world. 

Mini-Cooper plant stand                                          The Garden Buzz

The deer have been more active this year, leaving poop piles, that I read are a sign of feeding areas. Before they have been following established trails and just passing through. This is troubling, since I have my hands full with the rabbits. So I've been out with my Liquid Fence and Shake Away granules doing a double-tier approach.

"Who me?" I think he's eyeing my heuchera.                 The Garden Buzz

 Anyway, I hoped the above-bunny location would work, but then I thought maybe I was just putting out a deer buffet! 

The gardening season is off to a slow start, but the writing season has been busy. Sometimes I hear my own voice so much in my head while writing I kind of get sick of myself.

In case you're not sick of me yet, here's few other places where you can read more Rhonda...

At Herb Companion magazine, Three Reasons to Love Dandelions, for herb lovers

At Your Voices, Highly-Evolved Vultures Circle Wayzata, for wildlife fans

At the Star Tribune, Five Foolproof Veggies to Grow and Garden Math: Divide and Multiply, for gardening how-to

Also this summer look for articles in Northern Gardener magazine, Herb Companion and more columns in the Star Tribune.

Garden2Blog: Hanging Out with P. Allen Smith

It's not everyday I get to hang out with a celebrity. But first, P. Allen Smith would gently correct me; he considers himself foremost a teacher, and shies away from the glossier term, that has indeed made so many of his garden visions a reality. 

I was lucky to have a chance to spend a few days with about two dozen other bloggers for the first of hopefully many Garden2Blog events with the noted garden designer and personality. Here's just a little of what I experienced!

The mighty oak in front of the Garden Home Retreat

I hate to use the phrase "boyish good looks", but can't find a suitable substitute to describe him. In his trademark blue, he presents a disarming southern charm with the smallest touch of weary aloofness. It's forgivable as you see him work, constantly on for the variety of cameras that record his every word and move.

P. Allen Smith talking about water features and garden geometry for Garden2Blog

He delivers his lines with a believable freshness and good timing, as when he relates that his grandmother told him the P in his name stood for "potential". And he's not above poking fun at his fame, when he calls out in a nasal tour guide impression, "New Dawn Rose Alert", as we frequently pass huge masses of the ubiquitous, blushing pink climber that he introduced to Little Rock. 

New Dawn roses at the Arkansas Governor's Mansion in Little Rock

This is no garden variety-type HGTV star, there's a gravitas behind the brand. Coming from generations of nurserymen, he has the hands-on knowledge combined with the historical depth and breadth from his study of classical gardens in England. 

An allee of alliums at P Allen Smith's Garden Home Retreat

As he shows you through the home it becomes quickly obvious that the myriad books artfully placed on round tables are not for looks. Weighty tomes covering garden design, politics, culture and history among others inform his living and gardening. His concept of Garden/Home integrates indoor and outdoor living spaces in such a way to increase your enjoyment of both by blurring the lines.

One of many library tables laden with books at P. Allen Smith's Garden Home Retreat

I found myself thinking while following him through the gardens at his "Garden Home Retreat" on Moss Mountain in Arkansas that is was perhaps a little like being able to peer into the thought process that went into the making of Jefferson's Monticello. In fact, there are nods to the horticultural hero at every turn, like the octagonal pavilions flanking the strolling gardens. His twist being the vegetables and fruit trees sitting upfront with ornamentals.

Looking past the art studio to the pavilion and orchard beyond

I found it especially fascinating to see the holistic approach to design throughout, even the tool sheds were a thing of beauty. Interior and exterior colors, like tinner's red, butter yellow, lichen green with deep dark brown bark all reflect the surrounding environment for a harmonic feeling.

Small kitchen gardens fronting the tool sheds where we sheltered from a few storms

Sustainability is evident in all aspects of his farm and gardens, however it's pragmatic rather than nostalgic. Composting for soil amending is a given. While heirlooms are grown, he feels that hybrid plants that perform well with the least intervention are in keeping with the mission. Even the breed of sheep and poultry that forage picturesquely in the pasture are chosen for production and hardiness.

Buff Orpington poultry sharing the pasture with Dorper sheep

As he looks to the future, the next garden goes back in time and then forward. He is developing a historical rose garden featuring a time line of American roses, from the Charleston legacy of noisette varieties that he cherishes  all the way to new low-care Knockouts. 

P. Allen Smith with rose garden plans

During the entire time we were tested with dangerous to merely annoying bad weather. Allen shepherded us through all the event with a gracious and unflappable ease. We were treated to fabulous food including many of his recipes and even eggs from the farm. His staff, and they are many, were efficient and helpful too.

I ducked out of dinner for a moment to look over the bluff to the Arkansas River after the storm

Putting faces to names of all these talented bloggers was a great experience. So many backgrounds and so many different angles! .

Anxious to increase his exposure and presence with social media, I like to think that he's making an effort to partner with and harness the power of bloggers. In fact, he's now blogging too. I didn't feel any pressure to put a face on anything I didn't agree with. I felt comfortable with the information I was given and will be sharing in the future. It's not going to be all P Allen all the time of course, but I'll be posting more pics and tips from the event.

Let me know if you have any questions about or for P. Allen, post them in the comments section and I'll do my best to answer!

Careful partnering with sponsors like Corona, Proven Winners, Garden Safe, Bonnie Plants, Stihl, Berry Nurseries, Jobe's Organics and Laguna Pond Pumps has made the construction of this Garden Home Retreat possible, only proving that he is an astute businessman in addition to artist, interior designer and chef.

P Allen Smith with the Berry (yes, that's their name)representative offering blueberry tips and treats

Meanwhile I didn't so much drink the Kool-Aid as the blueberry lemonade. I've tried hard not to gush, but it's hard not to admire P. Allen Smith for the Renaissance man that he is. 

 

 

Just in Time: P. Allen Smith's Seasonal Recipes from the Garden

Every time I see more snowflakes falling from the sky I have to turn my head to the heavens and ask, "Really?"

So when P. Allen Smith's Seasonal Recipes from the Garden showed up, it was not a minute too soon. If I can't be gardening, cooking and reading are next on the list; better yet when the two are put together. But be warned, don't read this while you're hungry, you'll stop mid-book and start rattling some pans.

 

Just in time for spring, and for some of you that will be sooner, way sooner than for me, this book is plum-packed with delicious ways to prepare dishes from all the great produce in your garden. Cooking from the garden is such a joy; instead of asking yourself what's for dinner, the garden tells you what to make. Having P. Allen as a guide only makes it nicer.

Mr. Smith and my family come from the same neck of the woods. Like the family photos at the front of his book, mules loom large in mine as well. I may have been a California kid, but I was raised on beans and cornbread. My mama made sure I knew the pleasure of shelling peas on the porch and picking blackberries in the sticker patch. So I don't so much as read the recipes, but hear them in a familiar voice. Don't think you have to be a southerner though to enjoy it.

I love how the book isn't just about vegetables, but includes recipes for the meat, eggs, fruits, herbs and flowers he raises at his new home, The Garden Home Retreat. I was able to visit there with fellow Master Gardeners as it was being built  and I can tell you it is a gorgeous fantasy homestead brought to life.

I've been using his recipes for some time via his online Garden Home newsletter, so I know they're straightforward and not the least bit fussy. I have a knack for being able to taste a recipe as I read it, and let me tell you, I can't wait to try these.

Divided into four seasons, I'm anxious to make the Crawfish Etouffee, Broccoli with Lemon and Hazelnuts, and Radish Top Pasta for spring. I'm defintely curious about his Speckled Strawberry Ice that uses lots of cracked black pepper!

Summer includes among others: Grilled Summer Salad, Savory Grit Cakes with Oven-Smoked Tomatoes, and Peach Moon Tart. Fall features Allen's Favorite Sweet Potato Pie, Killer Apple Cake and White Cheddar Parsnips. And while I'm so over winter, the Winter recipes for  slow-cooker lamb, roasted quail and duck gumbo seem like a tasty culinary distraction from all the white stuff outside.

And like the good boy that he is, he includes his mother's cinnamon rolls, even though they don't have a garden conection at all.

More importantly, the recipe for Cornbread Dressing, not 'stuffing' y'all, sounds the same as the lost recipe for my mother's version...could this be the holy grail of cornbread dressing I can now pass onto my daughter? Let's hope.

Besides the inspiring recipes, the beautiful photographs along with gardening and cooking tips make this book one I would have bought anyway, but thanks again to P. Allen and his people. It's a winner!