The Garden Buzz

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!

 

 

 

Multiple Garden Blogs: Just More to Love?

Blogs are a lot like children; they're a lot of work, still you seem to find the time and love for all of them. Each one develops and expresses their own personality too. So when I took on yet another blog, I thought long and hard about my capacity to give enough attention to it while not neglecting the others. You don't wany any blog-ling rivalry.

Some garden bloggers slack off during winter, but I keep slogging through. It's tough to find subjects appropos to the moment when the snow is piled high up to your eyeballs. It's tempting to take off for the winter and report from some sunnier clime. I don't rule that out for the future...someday.

Meanwhile I thought you might like to see what's going on at my other blogs. At the Minneapolis Star Tribune "Your Voices", I try to do gardening or wildlife topics with a much more local twist. Every now and then I venture off the gardening path and usually get myself in deep mucky mud. The general gardening audience is nice, even amenable; but the general public can be pretty brutal on bloggers, it's bloodsport at best.

This week in the Star Tribune I blog about my Afternoon at the Orchid Show, in the beautiful, vintage conservatory at Como Park in St. Paul. It's a tropical oasis in the middle of the snowy city where you can go to see and smell plants growing. Think green anti-depressant. Make sure you read to the end before you get all over me about orchids!

 
Graceful Orchid at Como Park Conservatory                   The Garden Buzz

After Herb Companion magazine recently asked to reprint an article of mine from The Herbarist in an upcoming, enlarged issue; they also offered a guest blogging gig. I think it's a great opportunity to get back to my herb gardening roots, while bringing in a bigger audience for The Garden Buzz. I will probably just post twice a month there.

 
The Herb Garden at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum        The Garden Buzz 

With so many people new to gardening and herb gardening too, my first post is Growing Strategies for Beginning Herb Gardeners. It talks about the best ways to propagate herbs for a bigger, better herb garden whether by seed, division or cutting; this helpful list is a good leaping off point.

With all these blogs I try to dig up the same quality of writing you find at the "Buzz. In addition I always supply my own photography 98% of the time.

Speaking of photography, during the winter I received several photography awards; Blue, Red and White Ribbons for three separate photos in the Wild Ones (that's a native plant conservation group, just for the record!) Native Plant Photography Competition and an Honorable Mention in Horticulture Magazine's annual photo competition.

 
Prize-winning photo: Native coneflowers at sunset, Minnehaha Headwaters   The Garden Buzz

Garden writers are supposed to toot their own horns, but self-promotion still makes me uneasy. But there you go. I'm always trying to improve upon my photography skills, so these awards are meaningful in that I'm better communicating the story to my readers through visuals as well as the written word.

Am I getting too big for my gardening britches? I hope not. There's just more to love.

 

 

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day: October 15

This year October 15 is a busy day...Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, Blog Action Day 2010...and National Grouch Day.

However there's nothing to be grouchy about in the garden. I can describe it with lots of other g-words like great, glorious, gorgeous, and gratifying. Can you think of any more?

So here we go..

 
"Greenish Blue" Butterfly visiting Helenium "Mardi Gras"      The Garden Buzz

These little guys surprised me as there have been no other butterflies for at least a week. That's the common name for this tiny butterfly, Plebejus saepilous. Note that Mardi Gras is still partying on.

 

Salvia guaranitica "Black and Blue"     The Garden Buzz
I hope that B & B doesn't let fame go to its pretty head after recently starring in my very first garden video!

 
 Salvia elegans "Honeydew Melon Sage"      The Garden Buzz

This shorter version of pineapple sage blooms earlier, way earlier, than the original. The flavor and scent are not as strong, but it's better than nothing for us 'up north' gardeners.

 
Chalone lyonii "Hot Lips"        The Garden Buzz

Pink Turtlehead is looking forward to her screen debut in my next "Ya Gotta Love This Plant" video series. She's just glowing with excitement.

 
Helianthus "Lemon Queen"               The Garden Buzz

This beautiful cultivar of native sunflower is quite poplar with bees right now. Rumor has it she might be up for a featured role as well. Stay tuned.

 
Single bloom on volunteer nasturtium                               The Garden Buzz

 
Lady beetle inside Cobaea scandens                 The Garden Buzz

Sometimes known as Cathedral Bells, also Cup and Saucer, this vine started blooming late, the partial shady site to blame. But the few blooms have been delightful, as well as the purple tendrils.

 
Rhododendron "Purple Gem"        The Garden Buzz

I'm no expert on rhodies, but I don't think it should be budding out in October. Hmmm.

Thanks to Carol of May Dreams Garden as always for hosting Garden Bloggers Bloom Day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Flower Arrangements: Autumnal Equinox Bouquet

 

Funny, but my favorite flower arrangements are not the fresh firsts of spring or the bright crayon colors of summer. I love fall bouquets.

It started when I used to teach herb classes in fall. I would go around my garden and find as many herbs as possible to show my students the depth and breadth of herbs; parsley and sage for sure, echinacea that's easy, but how about juniper berries and rose hips, and why not willow.

I would assemble them in a large glass jar, and then tote them across town, the combined fragrance of 20-30 herbs filling the car. I loved that by this time of year they had fruited and flowered, but also mellowed and withered a bit. I liked the sense of time and place it conveyed.

Now I go beyond the bounds of simply herbs and try to capture the essence of the season in one enormous arrangement. It's a little tradition all my own. I try to avoid some of the autumnal cliches and don't discount possible candidates for being bug-eaten or tattered. And every year, the results are different.

So don't think your garden is "over", now that frosts and cold temps are in town. Here's what I found interesting this time:

Complex fall bouquet

Fall Bouquet  www.thegardenbuzz.com

The contents...

• Sedum Autumn Joy
• Sweet Autumn Clematis
• Orange Hyssop
• Campanula seedpods
• Japanese Forest Grass
• Karl Forster Feather Reed Grass
• Hardy geranium leaves
• Viburnum branches with red leaves and berries
• Oregano blooming
• Black-eyed Susan seedheads
• African Blue basil
• Blue green baptisia foliage
• Jewels of Opar "beads"
• Signet marigolds
• Fennel seeds
• Rudbeckia "Herbstonne" flowers and seed pods
• Goldenrod

Imagine the herbal scents of licorice (fennel), root beer (agastache-hyssop) anise (basil) and pizza (oregano) all competing at once; it's actually intriguing. Add the pungent marigold too. It's feast for the senses.

Sometimes more is more.

 

The Autumnal Equinox, a time when day and night are equal for a moment, signals a shift in nature's rhythms. Not a time associated with rebirth, yet I watched newly-hatched snapping turtles seeking their first encounter with water as they marched from my flower beds to the pond. What signs of fall have you seen?