The Garden Buzz

A New Gardener, or Becoming Your Mother

Spring has sprung early everywhere, but especially in Minnesota where it has caught me with a backlog of "down south" stories still to be told, before I can even start on planning and planting up here...

...There is that moment, somewhere in your forties usually, where you catch sight of your mother in a shop window reflection, maybe a photo and then you realize, oh, that's me. Sometimes it's when you catch yourself repeating some familiar saying of hers, at other times it's a certain expression set on your increasingly lined face.

It's way before her time, but watching (and guiding) my daughter create her first garden was like a backward progression of this phenomenon.

It all started last year at the GWA conference when she accompanied me there on our way to visit her brother at his new school. As a budding food writer she found lots of helpful info and parallels at this garden writers gathering. And to my surprise she was right up there when they were handing out the sample plants.

So last fall I helped her plant up a large pot with all her swag, the centerpiece being the cute new Colocasia Bikini-Tini elephant ears. I gave her my sample as well since she's in zone 8. Lucky gal.

A green lizard looking for bugs or bead of water in her elephant ears.

The adorable elephant ears are thriving in her mild climate in Savannah, although I had to scold her for letting them dry out and water them a few times for her this winter when she got busy. Though I will admit, part of her being busy was my extended stay, which necessitated many trips to Tybee Island, countless cooking experiments, forays for cupcakes at our favorite bakery and general larking around. It's a wonder she's getting her thesis done and that I finished several articles while I was there.

One of our expeditions took us to Herb Creek Nursery in nearby Sandfly where I took a few surreptitious shots of their gorgeous succulents to complete my upcoming article in Northern Gardener. She fell hard for the succulents and before I knew it we were trekking around finding inexpensive containers for all of them.

Echeveria, Senecio and Sedum succulents                            The Garden Buzz

She learned some hard realities of container gardening; potting soil costs money and so do pots. I told her to keep an eye out for other items that could be re-purposed for pots. The next day at Target she did one of those SNL-style "Tuurrrget Lady" turns when she spied the cheap enamel Easter tins and said will these work? Next she was onto galvanized buckets at Home Depot.

More Senecio or chalk fingers in a simple bucket                    The Garden Buzz

She got our her handy-dandy drill to make holes for drainage and started planting. Soon we were back to the nursery for herbs. After all you can only purchase so much thyme at the grocery store for her favorite Ina Garten chicken recipes before it gets ridiculous.

Hannah's new garden, on her carriage house patio. That's an old horse mounting block, great for staging pots.

Such a sight in her pink apron and red wellies, bent over a pot with her hands all dirty, a new gardener is born, following many generations before her. Her grandmother's Bakelite bracelets clicking on her wrist as she wrestled those succulents into the soil made me want to cry. 

Familiar sights and sounds

I always assumed she would start gardening, but not this soon. Now our phone calls include her pressing plant issues along with Savannah gossip and cooking questions.

It all gives me hope. Does this mean there's a possibility my son might feel the need to plant something, someday too? 

Enjoying her new garden. Yes, she added a whiskey barrel with tomatoes and basil too!

 

 

 

Gifts for Gardeners: What We Don't Need

 Here we go with Part Two of my holiday gift suggestions for the gardeners in your life. And what a gift they are to you, by the way.

A few days ago I talked about all the great practical and appreciated gifts that gardeners would love to receive. Today I'm all about the things we don't need. 

Some people just love thingamajigs and inventions "sure to make your life easier", and if that's the case, you can leave quietly and go sip egg nog in another room until I get to Part Three in a few more days.

However, just as many accomplished chefs believe you can make good food with simply a pan, knife and spoon, I think that gardening doesn't have to be complicated by lots of specialized tools,widgets and what-nots.

Thus a short and succinct list of things we'd rather you didn't get us. 

1. Whimsical Watering Cans: Watering cans shaped like elephants with silly spouts or any other shapes that made you say, "Oh, isn't that cute", probably aren't worth a fig. It's funny how good design suddenly makes sense once you've hauled a few hundred pounds of water around in a container that hurts your hand and sloshes liquid all over your feet. Classic watering cans are classic because that's the shape that works. 
2. Bulb Planters: I'm talking about that device with the small cone-like piece on the bottom of a long handle that you supposedly insert into rich, loamy, crumbly soil (because less than ideal soil like most of us have compacts in the little cone and has to be scraped out, each time), twist and pull to reveal the perfect little pocket-sized hole to nestle your daffodil bulb. Really? Real gardeners don't plant 2 or 3 bulbs. We go for quantity. All you need for planting bulbs is a sharp shovel to excavate big kidney-shaped indentations to house large platoons of tulips that will bloom in natural drifts. Think of all the money you'll save avoiding carpal-tunnel surgery too.
3. Garden-Themed Gift Baskets: They look tempting, but step away from the ribboned and cellophaned ready-made gift basket. More often than not they contain cheap and flimsy gardening tools, weedy seeds and some smelly hand lotion. If you genuinely want to encourage or support a gardener, cobble together your own basket, referring to the previous blog post for better ideas.
4. Butterfly House: You've all seen these charming little houses, painted in pretty colors with coin-width slots arranged on the front. They look like a little butterfly Motel 6; you can just imagine them, wings folded, all tucked in for the night. Leave it to science-based research to poop that party. It's been found that butterflies won't use them. Plant a few sheltering evergreens though and they'll thank you. If you insist, they can still be used as decorative elements. 
5. Potted Plant-of-the-Month: Don't get me wrong, we love to get plants, but those catalog offerings are "hothouse darlings" that look good for a week or two and then send us into throes of guilt because even we intermediate to advanced gardeners have a hard time keeping them alive until spring to plant outside. (This entry not applicable for gardeners living in California and other perpetually sunny places. Just plant, plant away)
6. Cute Little Containers with Herb Seed Packets: You know what I'm talking about. They masquerade in all form and fashion purporting to be an instant and endearing little windowsill/kitchen counter herb garden. They are not. Even if you faithfully water the diminutive pot that dries out every few hours in your heated home, chances are the light conditions in your home will not support growth beyond a few measly sprigs. See # 5 re:guilt. See # 2 re:quantity

If I sound a little surly with this list it's because I want everyone to have successful, happy gardening experiences. I want things to grow and flourish and bring joy to the person that tended them. A lot of the gimmicks and gadgets aimed at gardeners bring about guilt and disappointment. Many are just another marketing ploy that reinforces the faulty notion that you don't have a green thumb.

Everyone has green thumb potential. It's all about the right plant in the right place. Simple as that.

Attending classes and presentations put on throughout the year and throughout the country by Extension Master Gardeners who give the latest and most accurate information on gardening practices might be the best gift you can give yourself or suggest to others.

Stay tuned for Part Three:  Silly, extravagant and ridiculous gifts for the gardener who has everything.

 

 

Tidy Up or Let It Be: Where Do You Fall on Fall Garden Cleanup?

No matter where you fall on the issue of fall garden cleanup, you have to appreciate a recent tweet by Benjamin Vogt. He's a poet, gardener and author of Sleep, Creep, Leap, which recounts his adventures in prairie gardening.

"Just prepped my garden for winter by glancing out the office window and sighing. Seriously, why do people do fall clean-up? Nature doesn't."

I guess I fall somewhere close to this 140-characters or less, garden-maintenance manifesto. I don't do much. But I do a little.

I would venture that fall clean up routines are dependent upon gardening styles, weather and peer pressure. The more naturalistic setting can get away with less. While manicured and groomed gardens, like women of the same sort, demand more intense seasonal intervention.

Of course, those of us up north know that good snow cover hides a multitude of sins.

Raking leaves in the crisp autumn air is as much psychological marker as seasonal chore. In neighborhoods where pride of place is present, it's just what you do. I've been known to simply rearrange the leaves to cover the beds for what's known as "lazy (wo)man's mulch". However leaves can get matted and deprive soil of moisture and they create unhealthy conditions when left on lawns.

It's probably most important to remove leaves and other dead material from plants and trees suffering from any fungal issues. Disposing of that debris will help to stop the cycle of reinfection from year to year. Keep it out of your compost too.

Leaving some debris provides beneficial insects and other animals overwintering sites. However it gives all insects, some undesirable, a place too. There is never an easy answer.

Pulling up spent annuals even presents a dilemna. While some people welcome re-seeding plants, others will regret the thousands of descendants that pop up the following year. I compromise and deadhead the ones that are the most notorious propagators like fennel, nicotiana, jewels of Opar, and even then there will still be quite a few survivors. 

I choose to leave perennials up over the winter unless they are already flopping before the first snow. I hate the cutting back in spring but find it a fair trade for feeding birds and critters. In addition to lovely seed heads like these...

Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum) provides statuesque beauty and food for the birds.

Culver's Root (Veronicastrum virginicum) seed heads cut an interesting silhouette in the garden.

Yesterday at the post office I came upon the prefect illustration of the fall cleanup quandary.

Witness the carnage!

Across the street the parks crew were cutting down the Annabelle hydrangeas that flank the entry to a local park. I spoke with the head guy and he told me he would like to leave them up but just doesn't have the staff hours to deal with them come spring. 

I leave all my Annabelles standing over winter. The chore of trimming them back is still waiting for me when the snow melts, but worth it for this sight.

 

Dried panicles of Hydrangea arborescens "Annabelle", note the lovely leaf pattern too.

And that's probably where the fall cleanup question splits; do we do it in fall so we can settle down into winter guilt free or do we leave it till spring when we are ready to get out and tackle anything, just to be outside.

 

 

September 11, Serendipity and Sea Turtles

The tales of September 11 often speak of timing, split-second decisions and the life-altering consequences that follow. Everyday we are at the mercy of traffic signals and small choices that put us at points on the map at random moments. Mostly they are without tragic results.

This week I'm taking a break from gardening and writing about gardening. I'm spending some time in Savannah GA where my daughter's starting her fall classes of grad school. Today as I went to meet her for breakfast I passed the fire station on Liberty Street and noticed a gathering of firefighters and family observing the solemn anniversary. 

Here I thought, I had been too busy this month delivering kids to colleges across the country to think of doing something in remembrance. I do think, probably too much about how things can change quickly in life. it's probably why I go the trouble of making sure these kids settle in and feel comfortable returning to school and their other lives.

Writers with their vivid imaginations always ruminate on morbid possibilities. I want my kids to know how much I love them. Just in case.

On a gentler note, the timing of traffic lights and our dinner choices resulted in a life-affirming experience we didn't expect to encounter this evening. 

The day before we'd stopped by the Pig and Shrimp, an outdoor cafe that's only open 4 days a week, usually not the ones when we pass by. A colorful character named Gerald runs this unique venue that warns its customers that friends don't let friends eat imported shrimp. His delicious shrimp po-boy reiterates this fact.

Tending BBQ at The Pig and Shrimp

We got to talking with Gerald and told him we might come back the next night to try his BBQ. But when we got there, after a string of red lights and a few minutes before closing time he was flustered and turning away customers because his help had failed to show up. We took our food to go so he could close up and then headed to the beach.

Sea oats on Tybee Island at sunset

Sticky and gritty with sauce and sand we took our limeades (he makes a killer limeade too) for a walk down the beach. and saw a group of people gathering. It was hard to tell what it was all about; a prayer service,a beach wedding? 

Rescuing sea turtle hatchlings

Turns out we were lucky enough to happen upon a Loggerhead sea turtle hatching and rescue. Daily volunteer patrols at dawn monitor sea turtle nests and often reolocate them to the slope closer to the dunes since the first slope of the beach puts them in danger. From May to October, 60 days from egg-laying they hatch and make their way to the sea.

This little guy didn't make it

They face predation from animals, habitat disruption from sea wall construction, confusion from lights on shore, fishing nets and a host of other obstacles to survival. 

An unhatched sea turtle egg

This particular group of hatchlings were affected by the wave actions of Hurricane Irene. Unfortunately the marine biologist was only able to find two babies alive. She pulled out lifeless little turtles suspecting that fire ants in the nest might be an issue as well. An unhatched egg resembling a leathery ping pong ball was pulled from the sand too.

The two survivors

The two babies were taken to the water's edge, enabling them to imprint the area and physical action of crawling. From there they have a two day swim to reach the warm currents of the Sargasso Sea. If they were females, and if they survive, 35 years from now, they will return to lay their own eggs within miles of this very spot.

Assisting the baby sea turtles on their incredible voyage

Assisted by the voulnteers they were set upon the wet sand, then washed up and down the sand by the waves, one step forward and two back over and over until they disappeared into the surf at sunset.

Maybe there's some sort of symbolism there. 

Mexican Sunflowers: Carrying a Torch for Tithonia

I'm always stumped when asked to name a favorite flower. It's usually whatever is blooming at the moment. Of course, it's kind of like being asked to name a favorite child. And just for the record, I love both of mine equally for their equally different charms.

Mexican Sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, "Torch" with bee       The Garden Buzz

However this year, my choice is simple. The Mexican Sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, wins hands down, for ease, color, form, foliage and wildlife value. This bright beauty is a member of the daisy family, but it's more bodacious, with flaming orange flowers and striking green foliage. Depending upon your height preference there are three varieties from which to choose; "Torch", the tallest at 4-5 feet, "Sundance" at 3-4 and finally "Fiesta del Sol" at 2-3 feet. There's even a yellow Torch available now.

Potato-leaf shaped foliage is attractive too.

Tithonia is an annual flower that's easy to start from seed, growing best in full sun. It makes a great cut flower or container specimen as well. 

Artsy image of black swallowtail and tithonia                The Garden Buzz

Beyond it's dramatic beauty and statuesque shape, the greatest thing about Tithonia is what it brings to the garden...butterflies, bees and hummingbirds! Not many flowers draw all three in such numbers. And don't forget the goldfinches that perch on its sturdy branches to munch on the attractive seedheads.

Sturdy stems with raindrops

Plant Tithonia and I guarantee you will have a garden buzzing with lively visitors.

Another swallowtail visitor on Tithonia "Torch"         The Garden Buzz

 

Welcoming wildlife into your garden is so rewarding, you might want to check out my latest Star Tribune article, Planting for Pollinators, for more tips toward making a wildlife haven. 

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: August 15, 2011

I'm going to go off the garden path this Garden Bloggers Bloom Day and do it a little differently. Usually I'm guilty of the same game the garden catalogs play, lots of colorful closeups and no full length views of the subject at hand. It's tempting to go in tight for the beauty shot. Maybe get out the macro.

I thought you might appreciate it a little less edited this time. I won't show all the warts and weeds, but you'll get a better idea of this garden I'm trying to make my own out here in the water, woods and wetlands.

My "office chair" on the porch

Across from the porch, I watch butterflies and hummingbirds on these zinnias

 Pee Gee Hydrangea blooming with courtyard beds in the background

Oops, I couldn't resist, Zinnia "Cool Crayon Colors"

Looking back towards the porch, Nodding Onion blooms attract bees and butterflies

Alliums along the path looking out to docks

Pole bean tower in the "hot mess" garden; a freeform, oft self-seeded veggie potager including Italian parsley, nasturtiums, signet marigolds, kale, beets and strawberries.

Beyond the beans, Joe-Pye weed blooming

Over the fence, the blooms of aquatic Duck Potatoes

Purple elderberries on the path by the pond

Further along Rudbeckia "Herbstsonne", phlox, and fading blooms of Invincibelle Spirit hydrangea

 Hang in there, we're halfway through!
Lots of bees browsing native Culver's Root

Reliable beauties, Annabelle hydrangeas with Nepeta Souvenir D'Andre Chaudon

Clethra "Ruby Spice" smells sweet

Swallowtail on lily

 

Black swallowtail on Mexican Sunflower, "Torch"

Rudbeckia "Cappuccino" started from seed with ornamental millet

 Warm sunset colors 

Out front, the blank canvas where my pine trees stood before a violent windstorm felled them. Check out my funky new stone wall. I'm studying the spot while I wait for it to "speak" to me and tell me what to plant. Any ideas?

 

 Uncommon annual, Cerinthe with blue-green foliage and dangling blue-purple buds

Not blooms but a beautiful combo, maidenhair fern and coleus

(Note the large mosquitos on wall above the container, it is Minnesota after all)

And finally, the blooms of Persicaria "Firetail", Joe-Pye Weed and Rudbeckia planted just outside my son's bedroom so that he might glance up from his laptop and perhaps see a hummingbird or butterfly. What a nice mama he has.

Hope you enjoyed the tour!!!

State of the Garden Address

"Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are"...Alfred Austin; British scholar, politican and "plein air" poet.

Weedy and a bit overwhelmed.

Every week I tell people how to garden. However my own garden is having a bit of an existential crisis. I'm not sure I know how to garden anymore. At least for myself. 

In Kansas I was on the cutting edge with my front yard kitchen garden. And now I feel like I'm running behind all the exciting horticultural trends while living in this conventional, often snow-covered, cul de sac somewhere in the suburbs of Minneapolis.

It was more than weather and climate that changed my gardening goals when we moved to Minnesota. Our famiy was changing. And those all-important family dinners from the garden that I orchestrated with such aplumb are now just delicious memories.

With a short season and shade, not to mention the curse of the cottonwood tree, I struggle to harvest a tiny increment of what I did before. And even when what seems like a thousand cherry tomatoes ripen before my eyes, I wonder why I even planted them. Hopefully I'll make my favorite roasted cherry tomato pasta. (Click to read the recipe in the post Do You Suffer From Cherry Tomato Guilt?)

But will anyone be home to eat it? 

My son's schedule is mercurial at best, fluid with the whims of the latest text. Then two weeks from now he'll be moving to his new school, excited to be transferring to Case Western Reserve University in Ohio where he hopes to have a more fulfilling experience after "feeling like a number" at the U of MN just across the river. No more impromptu Sunday dinners at home for awhile.

My husband's schedule is frequently set in stone by the powers that be six months ago. But more often than not he just wants to go out, that same need for novelty and adventure that makes him so successful in business makes dinner at home for too many days, not so appealing.

During summers home from grad school, my daughter, an enthusiastic cook and food blogger, loves fresh produce; radishes to rhubarb and all things in between. Lately she's the one who rattles pans and rustles up dinner, that is, when we can get everyone on board. We come back from the farmers market with bags bigger than our ambitions. 

Yet there's something about walking out the door and having that hand-picked moment. So I keep planting.

Meanwhile the trees, shrubs and perennials are overgrown and weighed down with bindweed and "morning not-so-glorious". The weeds are Jurassic this summer after the tropical heat and torrential rain. I realize the garden is too big and too hilly to remain sustainable in my gardening future. I long for a smaller, flatter lot in a real neighborhood where people walk by and stop to chat about what's blooming. 

Too bad that faint whistling is the sound of Minnesota home prices dropping and not a benevolent breeze. After so many moves that weren't my idea, I can't move when it is.

Cul de sacs are coveted for their quiet and privacy but I should have taken note of the other terms used for such an arrangement. Dead end. Impasse. 

Thank goodness the turkeys and other critters pass through, at least I can still feed someone by planting wildlife habitat.

This blog is one way I'm able to continue sharing my garden in spite of the non-existent traffic in front of my home. On this two year blog-aversary, thanks for turning around in my cul de sac, even if only online.

 

 

 

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: July 15, 2011

Whoosh! That's me shifting gears right now for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. From foliage to flowers, that is. I just spent the morning interviewing a talented landscape consultant and scouting photos in her incredibly clever garden. Rather than relying on bursts of bloom to carry her design through the season, she employs a wide variety of foliage from perennials, grasses, shrubs and even veggies that exert a steady and beautiful influence on her yard.

But back to blooms.

Bouncing between heat waves and thunderstorms, my garden is both suffering and thriving. Here's a smattering of what's happening...

Zinnias, the essence of summer bloom, with the frothy seedheads of Deschampsia "Hair Grass" in the background. Having fun with my iPhone camera for this shot.                    The Garden Buzz

Marigolds, old summer standbys, look fresh and new next to lemon thyme  The Garden Buzz

A little Martagon Lily peeking from out of the hydrangeas

Insects on False Spirea shrub.                   The Garden Buzz

Trial plant: Campanula "Viking", compact, non-invasive and hummingbird-friendly

Trial plant: Rose "Candy, Oh", a sweet rose bred by a sweet guy, Dr. David Zlesak       The Garden Buzz

A different sort of catmint, Nepeta "Souvenir D'Andre Chaubord with bigger, looser flower spikes that draw hummingbirds        The Garden Buzz

Hydrangea "Let's Dance Starlight" blooming big this year!

Bumblebee in the background of Asclepias incarnata, Swamp Milkweed, milkweeds are the sole larval plant of the Monarch butterfly

Alien pod, or macro shot of a blueberry?

A thick carpet of Chameleon Plant, Hottuynia cordata, attractive but aggressive to somewhat invasive in my garden.

Trial plant: Proven Winners Leucanthemum "Daisy May" emerging from where the mesclun bed is bolting. I'm a sucker for a good daisy.

On the other hand, invasive Oxeye daisies, that I allow to bloom on a limited basis in my garden, love the high meadow look.

Another macro shot, a painterly image of Dahlia "Mystic something or other"

And finally my little green visitor...

Summer Window Box Recipe with Coralberry Punch

Coralberry Punch sounds like just the refreshing beverage I need during these dog days of summer...but more about that in a bit.

I'm always on the lookout for lovely window box combinations. I see them in magazines and vow to remember and repeat them in my own creations. I even photographed bunches of them for future reference in Charleston while I visited that charming city.

But I seem to forget them once spring arrives and I'm at the garden center. So many choices, am I the only one who gets overwhelmed by them all?

My window boxes are a nice shade of terra cotta that contrasts well with the taupe-y stucco and stone trim of my home. That is, until you go to plant them. Any pretty shade of pink acquires the characteristics of a plastic flower next to the oranges tones of the box.

I learned this the hard way. Yellow doesn't do much better. Last year I played it safe and stuck in a melange of coleus that blended better but not great.

I knew I wanted to try a wine/lime color scheme; using various foliage shapes and colors. I needed a filler flower with prolific small blooms to bring it all together. Wandering through the nursery I spied the new Proven Winners Superbells "Coralberry Punch" that turned out to be just the ticket.

This Calibrachoa hybrid sports peachy color petals with a dark red flare and yellow eye, offering lots of shades to play off of when combining plants. This new plant doesn't need deadheading which works for me, since I don't need to climb up into these beds for that chore on a regular basis.

They've filled in even more since I took this quick iPhone photo.

Best of all, it doesn't clash with my window boxes. And as a bonus, hummingbirds love the tubular blossoms. They were buzzing within inches the moment I started planting them. As Miley, would say, "Pretty cool".

Window Box Recipe 

Superbells "Coralberry Punch" (Calibrachoa hybrid)

Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra) "Aureola"

Big Leaf Ivy

Beets "Bull's Blood"

Coleus "Red Wizard"

Golden Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia) "Aurea"

 

Don't limit your window boxes and containers to just annuals. Look around your own garden and see what perennials and even small shrubs can be used to perk up your pots. I dug up and divided the forest grass and creeping Jenny from areas of my yard. The big leaf ivy was mostly from last year's containers that I overwintered as houseplants. When fall comes I'll replant the first two and once again overwinter the ivies, making this a more economical and interesting solution to filling my window boxes every year.

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