Frost Surprises

31 October, 2011 Reply

I was shocked to see my geraniums still alive after several days of below freezing temperatures.

The last three days we’ve had killing frosts. Frosts hard enough to create ice on the tops of standing water. However, when I looked out in my yard I was surprised to find some plants still standing tall and blooming. So, here a list of plants that I found are frost tolerant. Of course this doesn’t mean that if you get into the low-20s or teens that they’ll still keep going, but with our recent upper-20s and low-30s they’re still blooming.

Flowers

  • Strawflowers
  • Cosmos
  • Signet Marigold ‘Starfire’
  • Snapdragons
  • Petunias
  • Dianthus
  • Carnations
  • Cleome
  • Sweet Mace
  • Pansy
  • Gaillardia
  • Pincushion Flower
  • Geranium
  • Coreopsis
  • Rose
  • Salvia (Victoria varieties)

Vegetables

  • Peppers growing up against the house
  • Chard
  • Fennel
  • Carrots

Some of the items are not a surprise, because they are known to flourish in cooler weather, but many of these were a huge surprise. I expected to wake up to black slime throughout my garden after the first frost. I colorized those items I didn’t expect to make it through.

A Different Sort Of Green

28 October, 2011 Reply

When people think of green in relation to gardening they usually think about foliage. Whether a plant is evergreen or deciduous. What is the color of the foliage? How will it complement or set off the plants around it? And so forth.

A beautiful sunny patio, making energy while you relax.

There is a different kind of green coming to our landscapes, green energy. Now when you think about landscaping your yard, you should also thing about how to use solar energy. I’m not talking about the little solar powered yard ornaments, either. Including solar in your design is only sensible if you live in a sunny climate. You could be heating your pool or greenhouse with solar; heating hot water for the house or even providing part, if not all, of your electrical needs. Because solar panels have certain requirements it is always a good idea to plan for them before you put any gardens in. It makes more work if you plant and then decide to go solar, only to find out that you’ve planted right where the panels need to go. There are new developments, though, where they are creating solar panels that let the light through, so that you can, in fact plant under them, but they are a fairly new technology and not applicable in all instances.

If you live in California photovoltaics should not be an option, but a requirement when planning your landscape design. With so much sun there it is easy to meet your needs in many areas. Residential Solar Power Orange County is very inviting right now, because there are rebates and tax credits still available. During the cooler winter months you can bring a little more sun into your life, in the form of energy saving PV electricity. It could be the best holiday gift ever, as it keeps giving back in the form of savings for years to come.

What’s In A Name?

25 October, 2011 Reply

Shakespeare’s famous line is so true. A rose by any other name would still be a rose. Yet, somehow some names are really descriptive. For instance, my favorite flower of this season has to be the strawflowers. If you’ve never seen them, they may conjure up strange images, since most of us associate straw with something you feed animals.

Just a few of the dozens of strawflowers I've harvested.

However I don’t think you’d ever feed a strawflower to an animal, they are just too pretty. Just like their common name implies, though, the flower, even just picked from the plant, feel stiff and straw-like. The really cool thing about these flowers is that they are called everlastings. This means that after you let them dry, they will stay looking like a just picked flower forever, or until they fade from too much sunlight. There are lots of everlastings, but I like strawflowers the best. I think this is because of the vivid colors they come in. Of course there’s the typical white, but this year I’ve got hot pink, orange, yellow, burgundy, pink with a white center, and what I’m calling tiger striped. That one is yellow and a rusty color in little stripes on each petal, quite unusual.

One thing about strawflowers (Rhodanthe chlorocephala), is that they are extremely pricey at garden centers. They are usually sold as individual plants and can cost as much as $5 for one plant. I decided to try my hand at growing them from seed. The first year I didn’t have much luck, but this last year I managed to have about a dozen plants make it through horrible seed starting conditions. I was so excited when I got to put them out. So, I would recommend growing them yourself. For around $3 you can get a packet of seeds and have lots of plants, as you aren’t going to be happy with just one. I can guarantee that.

So, now I have a table full of strawflowers, drying (yes even an everlasting has a drying period) and then I need to figure out what to do with them all. I’ll show you some of what I create, once I’ve figure it out.

The Mad Frost Dance!

21 October, 2011 Reply

First killing frost is on its way.

Yesterday I had to do the mad frost dance. They were predicting that we might get our first frost and I hadn’t finished harvesting the basil. So, out I run, cut down the lemon basil, bring it in, pick the leaves and put them on the dehydrator sheet, and start them dehydrating. Mad dash number two is for licorice basil. Now the dehydrator is full.

Then I go out and cut down most of the sweet basil and bring it in to put in a bowl of water. Sweet basil will hold in water for several days without wilting, however lemon basil just droops as soon it’s cut.

Back outside. Executive decision time. I don’t know how well licorice basil will hold in the water. So, do I cut it and chance it wilting and being a total mess or, leave it outside and chance it being ruined by the frost. I opt for the first, as if it wilts it is still edible, just hard to harvest and put on the trays to complete the dehydration process. If it did frost it would be a black, slimy, inedible mess.

Now I have two huge bowls filled with sweet and licorice basil. I can breathe a sigh of relief. We’ll have enough basil to last us through another winter and spring, until I can start the cycle all over again.

This morning I stored the lemon basil. It was a good harvest this year. We won’t have to scrimp. I’ll be able to add lemon basil to all the sauces and dressing I want. It’s so satisfying. Having grown my own food and put a little of it away to remind me through the bleak, cold months, what next years garden is going to bring.

Oh, by the way. It didn’t frost, but it did get down to 36˙, so it’s only a matter of a few more days for us to see the first killing frost.

I Think I Must Be Part Fish

17 October, 2011 Reply

Every child should have a pool to play in.

Or at least as a kid I must have been. From the first day that the local community pool opened to the last day when it closed for the season, I would spend every possible waking hour swimming.

It started in the early morning with swim lesson or swim team, once I’d learn to swim well enough. Then it was home for breakfast. Yes, I was up swimming before breakfast, sometimes dragging my towel behind me with very sleepy eyes, but I loved it so much I didn’t care.

As soon as the pool opened for public swim I was back up there until lunchtime. Then the torturous wait of one hour after eating, since back then it was felt you’d get stomach cramps and die if you didn’t wait an hour. Then it was back up to spend the whole afternoon playing dolphins, Marco Polo, pretending to be mermaids, or seeing who could swim the farthest under the water.  Sometimes we would snitch the pool filters plastic leaf catchers and play games with them, then try to sneak them back in without getting caught.

Of course if we got tired of all that, then there was the low and high dives to jump off of. I’d go home every night, after swimming with the pool lights on, smelling like a chlorine bottle from the pool chemicals, but I didn’t care. It was pure bliss to me. Luckily the use of pool chemicals has gotten less smelly over the years.

Nowadays I see our neighbors with their yard-sized pools. I hear the screams of laughter and see pool toys bobbing around. It always takes me back to those wonderful summer swims. Every child should have a pool at their disposal. I think we’re all part fish at heart.

Designing Gardens

14 October, 2011 Reply

Anytime is a good time to design new gardens. Even in the dead of winter you can be deciding where to put a garden once the ground can be worked. In some parts of the country fall and winter are excellent times to prepare a bed. Then let it sit and “mellow” a little before planting it in the spring, especially if you need to add amendments to correct soil pH.

Let a sprinkler system do the work for you.

Nowadays, even in areas that get ample rain most of the time, putting in a drip irrigation system is being recommended. There are several reasons for this. First it uses less water, which conserves what we have, and costs less money for those on municipal systems. It gets the water to the plants and not the weed seeds, so there is less germination of unwanted weeds. That means less manual weeding, which is a plus for any gardener, as we’d all like to be planting, nurturing, and harvesting, rather than getting rid of unwanted plants.

You can give different amounts of water to plants in the same beds. That means a plant that needs a drier soil can be planted near one that needs more water. By using different emitters you can give one of them ½ gallon of water, another 1 gallon in the same time frame. Also, if you travel you can rest assured that your plants are getting the water they need, as long as you had the system in long enough to make sure all the plants are getting watered.  Just add an electronic timer to your system.

If you have a large lawn include lawn sprinklers in the design. Again this saves water and gets the job done without having to drag hoses and sprinklers all over.

When considering the irrigation supplies you’ll need, make sure you look at the add-ons and see if they’ll be useful. I spoke of electronic timers. This means that the gardens get watered on schedule and you don’t have to do a thing, except change the batteries as needed. There are also water gauges that can be added to some systems. If it rains enough that the plants don’t need any water it doesn’t turn on until they do. This can really save on overwatering during a rainy period.

Also, consider whether you need drippers for each plant, or if you an area that will need emitters that will water several plants at once. Larger shrubs and trees usually need their own dripper, but flower gardens can sometimes be watered with emitters that work like miniature sprinklers, with various patterns to make sure you cover the entire garden.

Speaking with someone who can guide you to buy just the system you need can really help, especially if you’re looking to do a combination of different types of plantings. That way you’ll know that your investment of both time and money will be well taken care of.

Mom & Dad

11 October, 2011 Reply

Thanks for the post from Kirk Wood

I got DIRECT TV for a Christmas gift for my parents. I knew that they would like it. I ordered the hunting channel package for my Dad. My mom jokes and says that she wishes that I hadn’t gotten them those. She said she has been forced to watch animal calling and tracking all of the time. Dad has even invited his friends over to watch and practice their animal calls. When my Dad is not at home and watching the hunting channels, my mom has found something that she loves to watch of her own. She loves Project Runway. She has started watching the current season. She watched all of the old episodes that were available and caught up to the current one. I watch the show too, so we love to call each other and chat about the show’s weekly drama. The funny thing is that we usually have the same taste in clothes and like the same contestants. We differ in so many areas, but this one we are right on track!

Planting Fall Bulbs

10 October, 2011 Reply

Bulbs are often a very underused, misunderstood plant. I think part of the reason is that you usually buy them when they are dormant and not very interesting. However, taking the time to plant some bulbs now, will bring you a wealth of color in the early spring.

There are plants that bloom almost any time of the growing season, but they are best known for spring because they are usually some of the very first color after the bleakness of winter.

Just like any plant, give them a good start and they’ll continue to produce for you for years to come. Of course the first thing is to make sure the bulbs do well in your climate. You need to know what zone you live in. For instance, tulips don’t do as well when there are fewer chill hours. They will only bloom for a season or two and then die.

Snowdrops are one of the first flowers of spring.

The second thing is to place them well. Early spring blooming bulbs can be planted almost anywhere, since they’ll receive sunshine before the trees and shrubs leaf out. However, as spring advances you need to make sure the plant will get enough light to flower nicely, but also enough light so that the leaves can bring in the energy to the bulb, to store for the next years bloom.

Giving them the right start is important, and there are specialty blends of organic fertilizers just for your bulbs.

Last you need to plant them at the correct depth. A rule of thumb is that you plant them 3 times their height. So, a 2” tall bulb would be planted 6” deep. A chart is handy to have on hand, so that you can know at a glance.

I’ve found a planting auger to be great to get lots of bulbs planted fast. I use a pretty high-powered drill, since we have hard clay soil here. So keep in mind that you need to have a drill that is powerful enough to break through your soil.

I’m always so excited to see the first harbingers of spring, as crocuses, daffodils, and tulips change my drab winter garden into a bright patchwork of color.

One hint. If you have critters that like to eat your bulbs you can do one of two things. First you can put them in a wire cage with holes small enough that the critter can’t get in, or you can plant daffodil bulbs around the tasty treats. Daffodils are poisonous and most critters won’t go any farther than them. Once they find a daffodil they hightail it out of the area.

A Special Thank You For Your Gardening Helpers

10 October, 2011 Reply

A perfect way to say thank you.

Now that we’re coming to the end of the growing season and the holidays are coming up fast, it is time to start thinking about who you want to thank for their help with your garden this past season. Maybe it was the extension agent who helped you pick out just the right fruit trees for your property; or the nurseryman that ordered in the special variegated holly you wanted. Maybe it was a friend who took really good care of your garden when you went on vacation. Of course a gift of their weight in gold would be appropriate, but most of us can’t afford that.

One especially nice way to say thanks is with a gift basket, or hamper. Gift baskets are thought to date all the way back to Biblical times. They are timeless and as popular as ever. There is something for everyone. Many can be customized with special extras, such as balloons, vases, or candy. Most gardeners work very hard outside so a nice basket full of all kinds of luxurious bath goodies would be especially appreciated. Sometimes they are even packaged creatively with miniature tools for indoor plants and a pot or two holding the bath items. There are baskets with a selection of teas for the upcoming cold night by the fire, or gourmet cheeses, fruits, or sweets. It is a great way to say thanks a million for your help. You almost can’t go wrong.

Focus Plant: Autumn Blooming Sedum

7 October, 2011 Reply

Sedum 'Neon'

I never was much inclined toward sedum. They were cute little ground covers and easy to start from just a piece that had fallen off, but there were so many more stunning plants.

Then I saw a stonecrop sedum called ‘Neon’ (Sedum spectabile ‘Neon’). Wow, I was hooked. I bought it full price and scurried home to plant it. I’ve not been disappointed either. In early fall, every year, it has bloomed fantastic vibrant pink clusters of blooms that look fluffy.

It’s extremely easy to grow. It doesn’t need fancy soil, although it can’t tolerate wet feet. It thrives in full sun, even in the humid mid-Atlantic. It is also heat and drought tolerant, although mine is planted where it gets regular watering and it likes that as well.

It is a butterfly and bee attractor, as well. When I bought mine they were covered with honeybees. With bees still struggling, giving them something they like to drink is on my important list. That and some other great plantings have meant I’ve had honeybees in my yard all summer this year. I’m finally getting a balance that they like!

One cool thing is that you can just take a leaf from it, set it on the soil and it could very well sprout roots for a new plant. This is not the preferred way to propagate, but it does work.

It grows about 18” tall and spreads about the same, so it won’t take over your garden. If you want an early fall vibrant splash of color check it out.

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