The holiday season is rushing along with a frenzy. In the world of gardening, the frenzy is over. The bulbs have been planted (well - most of them!), the annuals are done and forgotten, the perennials are dormant, the vegetables from the garden are a pleasant memory or perhaps preserved in the freezer or glass jars. It is time for gardeners to relax for a while. If you have one or more avid gardeners on your list of people to buy a gift for this year, rest assured the choices are many and there is a very wide price range, from a few dollars into the hundreds.
A present that would be right in the holiday spirit would be a living plant to enjoy such as a live Poinsettia or a Rosemary tree. A fresh evergreen wreath or swag would also be a fragrant and lovely gift, as avid gardeners usually prefer natural decorations.
Does your gardener love roses? If so, there are some great things available. A gift certificate for a quality rose company is a welcome gift. Here is a list of some very reputable rose firms – www.heirloomroses.com, www.ashdownroses.com, www.highcountryroses.com, and www.uncommonrose.com. They all sell own root roses, which are superior to the grafted kind – healthier and longer -lived. Then the lucky recipient can choose one or more new roses from the comfort of his/her home and have them delivered ready to plant at the proper time. There is a much wider variety of roses available this way as opposed to buying only locally. I happily shop both ways. There is a wonderful catalog - www.kinsmangarden.com - that sells all sorts of unique gardening things including lovely and sturdy rose pillars. These are supports for tall and climbing roses – I would personally love one or more of these. They could also support clematis, morning glories and other climbers. (Tip – they also have beautiful small watering cans for $5 that would be a great little present for children). Another good gift for someone who tends roses is a good pair of pruners – the best ones are Felco pruners from Switzerland – available locally and by mail order also from Kinsman. Elbow length leather gloves are also another great gift option for a rosarian. I just bought a pair for myself last year and just love them. I purchased those from a rather "high-falutin" garden catalog – www.smith-hawkin.com - but they do have a wonderful selection of garden gloves. Smith & Hawken also has a retail outlet in Cincinnati on Madison Rd. (513-731-3133) that is really fun to visit.
Excellent stocking stuffers that almost any gardener would appreciate are plant markers – permanent metal markers so one does not forget the names of plants. I wish I had used these more, especially for my roses. A good selection of these are also available from Kinsman.
To encourage organic gardening for someone who always uses chemical fertilizers such as Miracle - Gro, how about a bottle of fish emulsion or seaweed fertilizer or bat guano?
Pinetree Garden Seeds (www.superseeds.com) offers The Pinetree Manure Medley – an enriching collection of bat guano, worm castings, and seabird guano in a nice canvas bag with a bar of gardening soap included. A gift only a true gardener would love! My good friend gave me this last year and it was much appreciated. This company also has a big selection of excellent gardening books – many marked down drastically. Pinetree also carries a very cute selection of Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower fairy gift sets – including a polystone Flower Fairy, a book – “Flower Fairies of the Garden,” and a packet of seeds.
A gift certificate to a local gardening center would also be a wonderful gift – I can think of a great one here locally on Greentree Rd. that offers everything from Ash trees to Zinnias. Next week – more gift ideas!
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Amaryllis, etc.
Last week I talked about Paperwhites. This week – Amaryllis! I remember the first time I grew an Amaryllis. I was nineteen, in my own home for the first time. I potted up the bulb and anxiously watched it grow for weeks. Finally large buds appeared and began to open, revealing huge gorgeous flowers. The day after the flower buds finally opened, a two-year-old little girl visited me. She was looking with wonder and curiosity at my “big flower” and then suddenly without warning, she reached out and just snapped off the flowers.
I nearly cried. Since then, I have had Amaryllis some years and some not. This year I will again. They are so easy to grow that anyone can grow them, and they are so welcome in the dark days of winter with their long lasting huge colorful flowers.
Where can one purchase Amaryllis? Some stores such as Target carry them prepotted, home centers like Lowe’s carry them, and certainly can be found in all good garden centers – usually the loose bulbs. The bulbs are quite large – about three to four inches in diameter. They are also widely available from bulb companies such as Van Engelen or Dutch Gardens (www.dutchgardens.com) or Van Engelen (www.vanengelen.com). I prefer to buy the loose bulbs, as I have plenty of pots around and also always have some potting soil on hand. Any good quality potting mix will do. The pot should be about six inches in diameter – no larger, as the bulb likes to be somewhat crowded – and also fairly heavy, such as a clay or ceramic pot. It also must have drainage holes. A light plastic pot might be too light, as the Amaryllis gets to be about twenty inches tall with several large heavy blooms. Put the bulb in the soil nearly up to its neck, leaving one quarter of the bulb peeping out of the soil. Water with room temperature water initially, and then do not water more often than once a week. A southern window is ideal for an Amaryllis. From potting to bloom should take six to twelve weeks. If you pot one up now, you should be enjoying gorgeous blooms sometime in January, just when you need a little pick me up. As the flowers fade, cut off the individual flowers with a sharp scissors.
After the extended bloom period – what then? If you don’t mind purchasing new bulbs yearly, you may toss it on the compost heap or just somewhere out in a garden bed to decompose. Or, with a bit of care and feeding, one can bring it to bloom again next year.
After the flowers are completely spent and faded, leave the flowering stalk to die back in a natural fashion. Leave the leaves in place and treat it as a houseplant for the rest of the winter. After the last frost date (May 15 here), sink the pot in your garden somewhere partially sunny (at least four hours) to grow its leaves and build energy for its next bloom cycle. Fertilize monthly with fish emulsion and seaweed fertilizer. In mid September, dig up the pot and bring it inside. Put it in a cool place for the next eight to ten weeks. I put mine next to an outer door that is infrequently used. It must be cool and dark, about 55 degrees. Withhold water during this time. After the eight to ten-week wait, bring the potted bulb back in to a warm light area, and begin watering again to begin the cycle all over again.
Try an Amaryllis this winter – you will be glad you did!
I nearly cried. Since then, I have had Amaryllis some years and some not. This year I will again. They are so easy to grow that anyone can grow them, and they are so welcome in the dark days of winter with their long lasting huge colorful flowers.
Where can one purchase Amaryllis? Some stores such as Target carry them prepotted, home centers like Lowe’s carry them, and certainly can be found in all good garden centers – usually the loose bulbs. The bulbs are quite large – about three to four inches in diameter. They are also widely available from bulb companies such as Van Engelen or Dutch Gardens (www.dutchgardens.com) or Van Engelen (www.vanengelen.com). I prefer to buy the loose bulbs, as I have plenty of pots around and also always have some potting soil on hand. Any good quality potting mix will do. The pot should be about six inches in diameter – no larger, as the bulb likes to be somewhat crowded – and also fairly heavy, such as a clay or ceramic pot. It also must have drainage holes. A light plastic pot might be too light, as the Amaryllis gets to be about twenty inches tall with several large heavy blooms. Put the bulb in the soil nearly up to its neck, leaving one quarter of the bulb peeping out of the soil. Water with room temperature water initially, and then do not water more often than once a week. A southern window is ideal for an Amaryllis. From potting to bloom should take six to twelve weeks. If you pot one up now, you should be enjoying gorgeous blooms sometime in January, just when you need a little pick me up. As the flowers fade, cut off the individual flowers with a sharp scissors.
After the extended bloom period – what then? If you don’t mind purchasing new bulbs yearly, you may toss it on the compost heap or just somewhere out in a garden bed to decompose. Or, with a bit of care and feeding, one can bring it to bloom again next year.
After the flowers are completely spent and faded, leave the flowering stalk to die back in a natural fashion. Leave the leaves in place and treat it as a houseplant for the rest of the winter. After the last frost date (May 15 here), sink the pot in your garden somewhere partially sunny (at least four hours) to grow its leaves and build energy for its next bloom cycle. Fertilize monthly with fish emulsion and seaweed fertilizer. In mid September, dig up the pot and bring it inside. Put it in a cool place for the next eight to ten weeks. I put mine next to an outer door that is infrequently used. It must be cool and dark, about 55 degrees. Withhold water during this time. After the eight to ten-week wait, bring the potted bulb back in to a warm light area, and begin watering again to begin the cycle all over again.
Try an Amaryllis this winter – you will be glad you did!
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Fall Chores and Paperwhites
November is halfway over and with Thanksgiving around the corner – December will be here before we know it. Have you finished up all the chores in your garden?
I know I said that I usually leave all my perennials and annuals in place, but I do make a few exceptions. I always cut off my peony foliage (if I hadn’t done so earlier) because they sometimes have botrytis blight. If you have chrysanthemums – cut those off to three or four inches after a hard frost.
The big thing now is also what to do with all those leaves. I have noticed people raking them out to the street like in the past. The city of Middletown does not pick up leaves at curbside any longer. If you wish you can bag them and put them out for the trash – but STOP! Why waste such a valuable resource? In nature nothing goes to waste – dead leaves, dead plants, and dead trees even are all recycled back into the soil to provide nutrients for the next generations of plants. Many people now take their cue from nature and recycle all those leaves back into extremely beneficial soil conditioner/fertilizer. If you don’t have too many leaves, just mow over them and leave them on your lawn. Over winter they will decompose and benefit your grass. For lots of leaves, you may also either run over them with a lawnmower (here a mulching mower with a bag comes in handy) or shred them with a shredder. Then move all the shredded leaves to your garden beds with the help of a rake. The shredded leaves will readily break down over winter. If you do this for two or three years you will notice your soil has really improved. Our clay soil here needs all the organic material you can add to it. Keep adding your kitchen scraps to the soil too – I merely sprinkle them over my beds in different places – potato peels, coffee grounds, eggshells, etc. If you have a heavy layer of mulch, stir them into the mulch with a trowel. I have been doing this for years and have noticed my soil get richer and easier to dig in every year.
Gather up all the garden tools lying around (OK, maybe you are organized and don’t have them lying around like I do). However, this is a good time to clean them and store them. Remove heavy rust with Naval Jelly and then coat with mineral oil. For a good way to store garden tools, fill a bucket with sand, add some mineral oil and mix well. Stick your tools down in here for the winter. Get rid of worn out tools or tools you didn’t use and take advantage of winter sales to get new ones or – ask for new ones for Christmas!
Don’t forget to bring in your hose for the winter. This is something I have forgotten in the past until the snow melts.
And now for something completely different…
Every year I read articles about forcing bulbs. I have tried it in the past without much success. It seems like an awful lot of trouble for a little bit of color. There are bulbs to force that are so easy a child can do it. I am talking about Paperwhites and Amaryllis bulbs. They need no chilling – just plant and water. Specifically – Paperwhites are in the Narcissus family, originally from the Mediterranean area. They have creamy white blooms that are extremely fragrant. You need a container that is at least four inches or more deep with no drain holes. You can use soil, but you certainly don’t need to, as gravel or small stones will do nicely. Put an inch or two of your planting medium in the bottom of the container, place your bulbs in, and then add more planting medium (soil, pebbles, gravel) up to the neck or top of the bulbs – leave a little bulb peeking out. Then add some water – not too much – the bulbs should not be sitting in water. Keep adding some water regularly and in 4 to 6 weeks they will bloom. Until then, it is fun to watch them grow. You may start some every few weeks all winter for continual bloom. Now is a good time to start a batch for Christmas to have bloom and fragrance in your house. After they show green growth move to a cool sunny window. You may pot some up in pretty ceramic containers and give them as gifts for Christmas along with instructions for care. Paperwhites can be purchased locally in garden shops or ordered from bulb companies.
Next week I will talk about the care and culture of Amaryllis bulbs.
I know I said that I usually leave all my perennials and annuals in place, but I do make a few exceptions. I always cut off my peony foliage (if I hadn’t done so earlier) because they sometimes have botrytis blight. If you have chrysanthemums – cut those off to three or four inches after a hard frost.
The big thing now is also what to do with all those leaves. I have noticed people raking them out to the street like in the past. The city of Middletown does not pick up leaves at curbside any longer. If you wish you can bag them and put them out for the trash – but STOP! Why waste such a valuable resource? In nature nothing goes to waste – dead leaves, dead plants, and dead trees even are all recycled back into the soil to provide nutrients for the next generations of plants. Many people now take their cue from nature and recycle all those leaves back into extremely beneficial soil conditioner/fertilizer. If you don’t have too many leaves, just mow over them and leave them on your lawn. Over winter they will decompose and benefit your grass. For lots of leaves, you may also either run over them with a lawnmower (here a mulching mower with a bag comes in handy) or shred them with a shredder. Then move all the shredded leaves to your garden beds with the help of a rake. The shredded leaves will readily break down over winter. If you do this for two or three years you will notice your soil has really improved. Our clay soil here needs all the organic material you can add to it. Keep adding your kitchen scraps to the soil too – I merely sprinkle them over my beds in different places – potato peels, coffee grounds, eggshells, etc. If you have a heavy layer of mulch, stir them into the mulch with a trowel. I have been doing this for years and have noticed my soil get richer and easier to dig in every year.
Gather up all the garden tools lying around (OK, maybe you are organized and don’t have them lying around like I do). However, this is a good time to clean them and store them. Remove heavy rust with Naval Jelly and then coat with mineral oil. For a good way to store garden tools, fill a bucket with sand, add some mineral oil and mix well. Stick your tools down in here for the winter. Get rid of worn out tools or tools you didn’t use and take advantage of winter sales to get new ones or – ask for new ones for Christmas!
Don’t forget to bring in your hose for the winter. This is something I have forgotten in the past until the snow melts.
And now for something completely different…
Every year I read articles about forcing bulbs. I have tried it in the past without much success. It seems like an awful lot of trouble for a little bit of color. There are bulbs to force that are so easy a child can do it. I am talking about Paperwhites and Amaryllis bulbs. They need no chilling – just plant and water. Specifically – Paperwhites are in the Narcissus family, originally from the Mediterranean area. They have creamy white blooms that are extremely fragrant. You need a container that is at least four inches or more deep with no drain holes. You can use soil, but you certainly don’t need to, as gravel or small stones will do nicely. Put an inch or two of your planting medium in the bottom of the container, place your bulbs in, and then add more planting medium (soil, pebbles, gravel) up to the neck or top of the bulbs – leave a little bulb peeking out. Then add some water – not too much – the bulbs should not be sitting in water. Keep adding some water regularly and in 4 to 6 weeks they will bloom. Until then, it is fun to watch them grow. You may start some every few weeks all winter for continual bloom. Now is a good time to start a batch for Christmas to have bloom and fragrance in your house. After they show green growth move to a cool sunny window. You may pot some up in pretty ceramic containers and give them as gifts for Christmas along with instructions for care. Paperwhites can be purchased locally in garden shops or ordered from bulb companies.
Next week I will talk about the care and culture of Amaryllis bulbs.
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Rose Hips
If you have roses, you have probably noticed that they produce rose hips in the fall, or anytime after the rose blooms and fades and is not cut off. Rose hips are the “fruit” of the rose. Roses are very closely botanically related to apples, so one can think of rose hips as tiny “rose apples.” If you garden organically, that is, if you did not spray your roses with any fungicides, pesticides, or any other “–cides,” you can harvest your “crop” of rose hips and make good things from them.
Rose hips are very high in nutrients, especially Vitamin C. They also contain iron, Vitamin A, bioflavanoids, pectin, Vitamin E, selenium, manganese, magnesium, potassium, sulfur, and silicon. You can simply pick them and eat them raw, if you like. They are hard and a bit bitter, a little like crabapples. One can also pick them and use them in recipes and to make tea. They are ripe when brightly colored, usually orange or red.
If you don’t have roses in your yard, you may be able to find them out in the meadows or woods where wild roses grow. The rose hips may be used fresh or dried. To dry rose hips, examine them and discard any with discoloration. Wash them in cold water, dry with paper towels, and place them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. When they are partially dried, probably in a week or so, cut them in half and remove the seeds. A week or so later they will look wrinkly and darker and be ready to store in a glass jar in the refrigerator or freezer. Be sure to rub or cut off any stems or blossom ends. You may snack on these any time you want some energy, or use them in recipes. Anytime you use rose hips, it is recommended that you remove the seeds - whether fresh or dried. They are not poisonous, but may be irritating to some people's digestive systems.
The easiest way to use rose hips is for delicious and nutritious rose hip tea. For tea, hips may be used fresh or dried. Most of the nutrition of the rose hip is contained in the skin and just under the skin.
To make tea from fresh rose hips, steep two tablespoons of fresh cleaned hips in a cup of boiling water for ten minutes. To use dried hips, use two teaspoons of hips and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes in a cup of boiling water. Sweeten to taste with honey and enjoy your vitamin rich and fragrant tea!
If you have a lot of rose hips, you can make rose hip syrup. Wash the rose hips and put them in a non-reactive pot. (not aluminum) Just cover them with water and bring them to a boil. Then lower your heat and simmer for fifteen minutes. Strain off the resulting liquid, pressing the hips lightly with a spoon. The liquid can now be used immediately or frozen for later use. To make the syrup, add one part honey to two parts of the rose hip liquid. Dissolve the honey by stirring. The syrup can be stored for up to two weeks and may be served on pancakes, waffles, or vanilla ice cream. Tastes best if warmed.
In Sweden, they use lots of rose hips and consume them by the tons every year. They probably learned to use rose hips to have Vitamin C in the cold long winter they have in that northern country. One of their favorite recipes is Rose Hip Soup.
To make four servings of soup use the following:
3 cups of rose hip liquid (as above) fresh or frozen
2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Teaspoons cornstarch
In a saucepan, heat rose hip liquid and add honey and lemon juice. Remove ½ cup of the mixture and whisk cornstarch into this until smooth. Return thickened cornstarch mixture into the pan. Cook and stir until mixture bubbles and thickens. It is now ready to serve. Add a spoonful of sour cream or plain yogurt to each bowlful with a sprig of mint, if desired.
Some adventurous people even make rose hip wine.
If you are one of these people I would be glad to come and sample some of your product!
Rose hips are very high in nutrients, especially Vitamin C. They also contain iron, Vitamin A, bioflavanoids, pectin, Vitamin E, selenium, manganese, magnesium, potassium, sulfur, and silicon. You can simply pick them and eat them raw, if you like. They are hard and a bit bitter, a little like crabapples. One can also pick them and use them in recipes and to make tea. They are ripe when brightly colored, usually orange or red.
If you don’t have roses in your yard, you may be able to find them out in the meadows or woods where wild roses grow. The rose hips may be used fresh or dried. To dry rose hips, examine them and discard any with discoloration. Wash them in cold water, dry with paper towels, and place them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. When they are partially dried, probably in a week or so, cut them in half and remove the seeds. A week or so later they will look wrinkly and darker and be ready to store in a glass jar in the refrigerator or freezer. Be sure to rub or cut off any stems or blossom ends. You may snack on these any time you want some energy, or use them in recipes. Anytime you use rose hips, it is recommended that you remove the seeds - whether fresh or dried. They are not poisonous, but may be irritating to some people's digestive systems.
The easiest way to use rose hips is for delicious and nutritious rose hip tea. For tea, hips may be used fresh or dried. Most of the nutrition of the rose hip is contained in the skin and just under the skin.
To make tea from fresh rose hips, steep two tablespoons of fresh cleaned hips in a cup of boiling water for ten minutes. To use dried hips, use two teaspoons of hips and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes in a cup of boiling water. Sweeten to taste with honey and enjoy your vitamin rich and fragrant tea!
If you have a lot of rose hips, you can make rose hip syrup. Wash the rose hips and put them in a non-reactive pot. (not aluminum) Just cover them with water and bring them to a boil. Then lower your heat and simmer for fifteen minutes. Strain off the resulting liquid, pressing the hips lightly with a spoon. The liquid can now be used immediately or frozen for later use. To make the syrup, add one part honey to two parts of the rose hip liquid. Dissolve the honey by stirring. The syrup can be stored for up to two weeks and may be served on pancakes, waffles, or vanilla ice cream. Tastes best if warmed.
In Sweden, they use lots of rose hips and consume them by the tons every year. They probably learned to use rose hips to have Vitamin C in the cold long winter they have in that northern country. One of their favorite recipes is Rose Hip Soup.
To make four servings of soup use the following:
3 cups of rose hip liquid (as above) fresh or frozen
2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Teaspoons cornstarch
In a saucepan, heat rose hip liquid and add honey and lemon juice. Remove ½ cup of the mixture and whisk cornstarch into this until smooth. Return thickened cornstarch mixture into the pan. Cook and stir until mixture bubbles and thickens. It is now ready to serve. Add a spoonful of sour cream or plain yogurt to each bowlful with a sprig of mint, if desired.
Some adventurous people even make rose hip wine.
If you are one of these people I would be glad to come and sample some of your product!
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