Almanac.com Gardening Blog

Be a Critter Detective

Doreen G. Howard — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Blog Name:

Gardening

I’m at constant war with the critters that assault my gardens all year long.

Even in winter, deer will scar fruit tree trunks, scratching their itchy antlers against them, and wild turkeys rut the soil seeking insects.

It doesn’t help that I live in the country where deer, fox, coyotes, raccoons, squirrels and rabbits thrive. I live in a bad neighborhood!

Last year during the drought, things nearly went nuclear. Some gangsters took to gnawing holes in the garden hoses, seeking water. After replacing two hoses, my husband strung one of them in the crabapple tree near the vegetable garden to get if off the ground. Didn’t work.

Holes started appearing in the hose up in the tree. Husband taped the hose to seal it, and I sprayed it with a critter repellent. That worked. But, I never could figure out who was doing the damage. That’s until Joan Casanova of Green Earth Media Group sent me her critter detective guide.

Bunnies may look cuddly and innocent, but they do major damage to vegetable and flower beds. Photo courtesy of Green Earth Media Group

Here are Joan’s clues on how to determine and deter which unwanted animal is the assailant in your garden. She said, “How are you supposed to fight ‘crime’ in your decimated garden if you can’t identify the suspect who’s been devouring your daylilies?”

Deer - Ragged bites, typically a foot or more above the ground indicate deer damage. Deer are notorious for devouring flowers and ornamental plants. Tall, electrified fences work, but they are expensive and make a garden look like a prison yard.

Rabbits - If plant damage is low to the ground, a few inches above the soil, and includes stems clipped cleanly at an angle, the culprits are rabbits. These foragers will eat just about any kind of vegetation, including vegetables, flowers, bushes and other woody plants. If you don't want bunnies nesting and raising families near your garden, remove debris that could provide them with shelter. Also, wire mesh fencing around vegetable gardens deters them, too.

Rabbit fencing around my veggie garden keeps the damage away, but I can't fence flower beds.

Voles - When flower bulbs disappear from the ground or plant roots go missing, chances are you have voles - mouse-like creatures that burrow underground. Exit holes are further indications that voles are tunneling under your garden. Teeth marks around the base of trees, droppings or trails in the grass can also indicate the presence of voles.

Groundhogs - Mounds of dirt beside burrow entrances are a sure sign of groundhogs, a garden villain that eats just about every type of green plant. They live in burrows underground.

Chipmunks - Damage to flower bulbs, plant shoots and leaves, uprooted plants and dug-up roots are all signs you have chipmunks. Their underground burrows may be a challenge to spot since the entrances are usually only about 2 inches in diameter and not surrounded by noticeable dirt mounds. You can foil their activity by removing yard debris where chipmunks hide.

Squirrels - While you might think of them as mostly the enemy of anyone with a bird feeder, squirrels also damage gardens. They live in colonies, digging underground tunnels and mounds in grassy areas and around trees that can lay waste to gardens and landscapes.

Why Use Repellents?

Once you've identified the guilty parties, you'll need the right weapons to fight back.

The first line of defense might be traditional pest-control measures including netting, predator urine, or even human hair strewn around the yard. Fences do the job, but they're expensive and you may live in a community that restricts the type and height of fences you can erect. If you have a bad case of critters and these measures do not work, consider stronger spray repellents and other tactics.

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station tested a number of repellents and found that Bobbex-R worked 100% at repelling rabbits. It worked well as a bulb dip, too, to deter voles, chipmunks and squirrels. You can also spray it at the mouth of burrows to drive critters away. The spray works through smell and taste aversion; it’s made from organic ingredients, too.

Deer a major felons when it comes to critter damage. They can destroy flower beds in an instant, it seems! Photo courtesy of Green Earth Media Group.

Deer repellents were also tested, and Bobbex Deer, an all-natural repellent made from rotten eggs, garlic, fish, clove oil and vinegar, worked 93% of the time. Nine other commercial repellents (including coyote urine) were tested by the AG Station. Bobbex was second only to a fence at 100 percent, in preventing deer damage.

Another product that readers brought to our attention is the Predator Preventor. It's a 24-hour defense system of light and found that keeps wild animals (deer, raccoons, coyotes, and more) away from not just your garden.

It also protects pets, livestock, your garbage cans and property, and people. The Predator Preventor is now stocked in the Almanac General Store. Our readers have reported good feedback.

If you have any effective tips or tools we welcome your posts. We're always on the lookout for new ways to live with our critters—but also reap more of what we sow!

Let Us Bare Roots

Doreen G. Howard — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:13:17 +0000

From Georgia to Quebec to my currently frigid Wisconsin, it’s time to plant bare root roses.

If the ground is thawed and you can dig a hole, plant! April and the first two weeks of May are the perfect time, no matter where you live.

I prefer bare root roses, because there are infinitely more varieties available versus those growing in a nursery can. And, most roses grown on their own roots are only offered as bare root. Grafted roses (varieties or cultivars that are grafted on to a quick-growing, disease-resistant rootstock) die back to that rootstock during my harsh winters. The rootstock sprouts, but it’s not the rose I bought. Some winters even the rootstock will perish when it stays below zero for days. With own-root roses, the rootstock is the rose you buy when there is die-back.

Photo courtesy of David Astin Roses.

Tips & Tactics

• When you get your bare root rose, take it out of the package and soak it in a bucket of warm water for at least six hours, preferably overnight. Dig a generous hole about a foot wide and deep and create a soil mound about six inches high in the bottom of the hole. Spread the rose roots around the mound and fill in the hole. If you are planting a grafted rose, make sure the graft (knobby spot on the main stem) is at least an inch above the soil line. Otherwise, the rootstock will take over.

The only way I could have antique rose Therse Bugnet is a bareroot plant, grown on its on roots. A grafted one would have froze out during my frigid winters.

• Scatter rabbit food in around the bush and scratch it in. Rabbit food or pellets is popular among rosarians because it’s a cheap source of alfalfa meal, which supplies a hefty dose of slow-release nitrogen and trace elements to plants. Alfalfa also contains a growth stimulant.

• Scratch two tablespoons of Epsom salts into the soil around plants when they are in full leaf; the salts make flower colors more intense. The magnesium in them also helps to promote the formation of basal canes at ground level.

Epsom salts help roses like this Lady Elsie May in my garden to develop rich, deep colors.

• Dump coffee grounds and used tea bags around roses. They both slightly acidify the soil, which roses love. Banana skins can be buried at the base of plants, too, for a dose of magnesium. You can even bury entire, black mushy bananas when they are past the eating stage.

• If deer and gophers are a problem in your garden, confuse them with lavender. Grow plants among the roses to muddy the flowers’ aroma, which attracts deer. When planting rose bushes, throw a handful of dried, crushed lavender into the planting hole to thwart gophers.

Impatient for Impatiens?

Doreen G. Howard — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:53:03 +0000

Are you having trouble finding impatiens in garden centers this spring? Did the ones you planted last year struggle to grow or develop mildew?

The answer to both of these questions is that downy mildew infected the nation’s impatiens rootstock.

Numerous plugs and cuttings growers received last year were infected and those that weren’t soon were. This season, there is only a small stock of impatiens not infected, despite the best efforts of growers.

Downy mildew is a disease affecting annual impatiens (walleriana) and several wild impatiens species. Infected plants drop their leaves and flowers, leaving bare stems that collapse.

The first sign of infection is white webbing on plant leaves. According to a recent article in Bloomberg News, the fungus was first detected in the U.S. in 2004 and is now found in 33 states.

If you see this white webbing on impatiens leaves, act fast and yank the plant and those around it. Photo courtesty of Purdue University.

Other annuals are also susceptible to downy mildew diseases, but not the strain that hits impatiens. However, there is strong evidence that the impatiens downy mildew strain survives in the ground over winter and can affect newly-planted impatiens the next season.

If your impatiens is infected with downy mildew, pull it out of the ground or container immediately. Put it in the trash; DON’T compost infected impatiens. The fungi will live through the heat of composting.

Shade Plant Alternatives

New Guinea impatiens is not susceptible to downy mildew diseases (it’s a different species) and makes a great substitute. Also, consider fibrous begonias and lobelia, both fast-growing annuals for the shade with plenty of colorful flowers.

New Guinea impatiens is not affected by downy mildew disease. Photo courtesty of Proven Winners.

Multicolored leafy annuals like coleus and caladium offer instant color when planted, too, and they love the shade. You can also dig up caladium bulbs in the fall, store them in peat moss in a dark closet and replant the next season.

Consider a colorful leafed alternative to impatiens in the shade, like these coleus. Photo courtesy of Rutgers University.

March is Jam-Packed with New Plants and Ideas

Doreen G. Howard — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:42:04 +0000

Blog Name:

Gardening

I thought I’d seen all the new stuff for 2013. Wrong! Two veteran seed companies have sprung a few delights upon gardeners.

Johnny’s Selected Seed introduces a new Online Cut Flower Catalog. Besides a large array of new flowers, the catalog covers readers’ questions, growing tips, comparison charts and, my favorite, charts of color palettes and lists of flowers to achieve them. Click here to see all the goodies. It’s not too late to get seeds and start plants. Many can be direct-sown while the ground is still cool or when the weather warms.

The online catalog has tons of helpful information for gardeners planning flower beds. Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds.

The 136-year-old Burpee Seed Company has introduced the biggest sauce tomato in the world, SuperSauce, a disease-resistant hybrid. Ripe fruit weigh up to 2 pounds each, is 5-1/2-inches tall and 5 inches wide. The paste tomato is so big it can double as a slicer, great for topping hamburgers. Seedless, it takes only a couple of fruits to make a jar of salsa or tomato sauce. Plants are indeterminate and bear fruit until frost. Seeds and plants are available at www.burpee.com

SuperSauce tomatoes are so big that it takes only two or three to make a jar of marinara or salsa! Photo courtesty of Burpee Seeds.

Potted Corn Patch

Another Burpee exclusive is One Deck Corn, a hybrid sweet corn for containers! It grows 4 to 5-feet tall, and each plant produces two to three bicolored 7 to 8-inch-long ears. Start with a large container, 24-inches or more in diameter, and press in nine or more seeds, spaced six inches apart. Ears are ready to harvest about 60 days later.

Corn in a pot next to the back door. What could be easier? Photo courtesy of Burpee Seeds.

A container corn is great for me, as all the corn I’ve planted in my veggie garden has been stolen by raccoons before ears are ripe. I’ve given up planting corn. Now I can have a couple containers in my kitchen door herb and lettuce garden and laugh at the coons! My cat and the neighbor’s dog chase away all the critters close to the house. I’ve already ordered seeds and can hardly wait for all the snow to melt and temperatures to warm. I’m excited!

Salad from Garbage

Doreen G. Howard — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 01:30:37 +0000

I couldn’t believe what I saw on Facebook a couple weeks ago—lettuce growing in a glass of water. I had to try it.

The instructions specified that one should cut off all lettuce leaves from a fresh head, leaving an inch-or-two stem, and put it in an inch of fresh water in a bright sunny window. This works only with lettuces that form a round head or cone at maturity, not leaf lettuces.

There were three heads in my refrigerator, romaine, red leaf and Bibb. I cut them all in the manner described and refrigerated the leaves in a sealed bag for salads. Then I put an inch of water in various containers and put the stems into them. All were placed under the LED Mini Garden I received to trial in early February from Tucker’s Pride. I set the seven-inch-long garden’s timer for 12 hours of light daily.

I used a LED Mini Garden in my kitchen as the light source under which to grow lettuce stems.

I usually throw stem sections of head lettuce in the compost bin, so I figured even a handful of fresh leaves would be a plus. I got those and much more!

Within three days, there was dramatic growth of fresh, dark green leaves from all stems. The romaine was the tallest, red-leaf almost as vigorous and the Bibb immediately put its growth into curving leaves, forming a lose head. Two days later (which was five days after sitting the stems in water) I cut my first salad! Leaves were crisp, tasty and fresh.

Three days after placing romaine, red leaf and Bibb lettuce stems in water, there was vigorous growth.

The stems started growing more leaves after the first shearing. I used kitchen scissors to harvest, because the cuts were clean, with little damage. I’m anxious to see how many harvests can be made until the stems finally stop putting out new leaves.

Two later, I harvested my first garbage salad!

The water in which stems grow should be changed every day. I use reverse-osmosis water, which is extensively filtered to remove any pesticides, minerals and chlorine from the water supply. My water source is a well, sunk into a limestone glacier. Distilled or bottled water is a good choice, too.

More Garbage

Other salad vegetables that can be grown from their root stems include green onions and celery. They, too, sprout new growth from stem centers rapidly. Click here to see the growth progress one gardener had with celery.

Don’t throw away your lettuce stems; grow more! Let us know about your experiences with various lettuce types.

Seeds and Bees

Doreen G. Howard — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 01:33:12 +0000

Every seed you plant is a GMO (genetically modified organism), including heirloom and organic seeds.

Given the current controversy over GMO seeds, you should be surprised. I was.

The reason seeds are misidentified is that a hastily created label was created for genetically engineered ones—those that are genetically altered like corn, soy and cucumbers seeds that grow into plants unaffected by pesticides, herbicides and other adverse conditions such as drought.

GMO seeds, most people believe, are genetically modified with genes from fish, herbicide-resistant proteins and other chemicals, rather than DNA from another plant.

GMO, in fact, refers to a seed or plant that has different DNA than its parent. Changes can be made by accidental cross-pollination, hybrid breeding or traditional breeding done for centuries by farmers everywhere.

All these seeds are GMOs, heirlooms I've saved from plants in my vegetable gardens.

Charles C. Hart Seed Co., a 120-year-old company, decided to label their seeds as GE Free, to show the distinction between natural and hybrid crosses and those that are genetically engineered. Without true GMO plant crossings, heirlooms like Silver Queen corn or the fragrant Bourbon Rose would not exist, according to the Hart Seed Co.

My eyes were really opened after learning about these differences. I have regularly made crosses between varieties of tomatoes and peppers in my garden to create new and unusual offspring. Little did I know that I was actually creating GMO seeds.

Plant a Pollinator Garden

Honeybees, some butterflies and native bees are disappearing from our gardens, orchards and fields at an alarming rate. Pollinators like these are essential to harvests. That’s why the Home Garden Seed Association asks gardeners to plant more flowers that are the food source for butterflies and bees. Plant flowers in the vegetable garden, among fruit trees, in beds and in containers. Every flower helps. You can click here to go to a site that has more information and to sign a Pollinator Protection Pledge. Do your part and plant flowers in your yard.

Plant pollinator-attracting flowers in large blocks to lure a wide variety of bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

Tips

Plant flowers in clumps of at least four feet in diameter. Large clusters are more attractive to pollinators.

A succession of flowering plants that lasts from spring through fall will support a wide range of bee species.

Flowers of different shapes attract different types of pollinators.

Pesticides are a huge threat to pollinators. Keep your garden organic or use products that don’t harm pollinators.

The Color Purple

Doreen G. Howard — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:59:46 +0000

I love purple, from my favorite plum designer-knockoff handbag to violet pansies in my late winter garden.

But, purple is much more than an eye-pleaser. According Consumer’s Report, 2013 is the year of purple produce, because these edibles are packed with potent antioxidants.

Blueberries, blackberries and purple grapes are bursting with these powerful compounds that add years to your life. The purple pigments boost immune systems, thwart inflammation of the arteries and organs and prevent many cancers and other diseases. Why stop with fruit? Purchase and/or grow vegetables full of the same antioxidants.

I’ve found that purple produce has more flavors, too. Blue potatoes (which are really purple) have a sweet nutty taste when roasted that surpasses any white potato.

The same with purple carrots; their skins add a citrusy, nutty taste to sweet orange cores. Both vegetables, by the way, began life purple. Potatoes first grew at high altitudes in Peru in shallow, rocky soil. The purple pigment developed as a defense against the strong sunlight, preventing green spots which are full of toxic solanine. Carrots sprang from the craggy mountains of Afghanistan, where light was also a problem.

Europeans bred the purple colors out of these vegetables, opting for blander colors that people would eat.

Newer Purple Veggies

Plant breeders have developed a number of purple-hued vegetables in the last three decades. And, they’re still working on incorporating purple into vegetables like sugar snap and snow peas. You can find purple cauliflower, sweet potatoes, bush beans, artichokes and radishes in many specialty grocery stores and in seed catalogs.

Kansas State University developed this purple sweet potatoes. Commercial growers have sold them to grocery stores. Look for plants for your garden in seed catalogs.

Some like Purple Royalty beans and Graffiti cauliflower don’t retain the purple color when cooked normally. Nor do purple potatoes. They fade to an unappetizing gray. Steaming the produce or microwaving stops the wash-out effect and most of the purple pigment remains. Roasting cauliflower and potatoes also retains the tint.

As beautiful as Purple Graffiti cauliflower is, it will fade to gray if boiled or simmered. Microwave or roast slices to retain the color and all the antioxidants.

Indigo Rose tomatoes, which I wrote about several weeks ago, also are full of purple pigments with these same antioxidants. Plants are easy to find in seed catalogs and will be in most garden centers this spring. I’m betting that we’ll see the tomatoes in grocery stores towards the end of the summer.

This is an excellent time to order seeds for purple vegetables and incorporate them into your garden. Use our new garden planner app to plan your healthy garden, too. It’s free for 30 days. Go to: http://gardenplanner.almanac.com/ and try it! There’s a short video about how to use the app that will get you started in minutes.

Invasion of the Garden Catalogs--Part 2

Doreen G. Howard — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 19:25:15 +0000

So many gorgeous flowers and too little space! That’s my dilemma as I pore over the seed catalogs.

Some of the outstanding flowers for 2013 I covered in The All-Season Garden Guide, which will be out in March. However, there are plenty more I didn’t have space to write about, like the following gems.

Coneflowers

If you want many perennials like coneflowers, it’s much cheaper to grow them from seed. Why pay $5 for a 4-inch pot when you can have a dozen or more for $5 or less? ‘Cheyenne Spirit” Echinacea, a 2013 All-American Selection winner, makes a vivid landscape impact when planted in mass, and plants are drought-proof, disease-free and draw pollinators.

'Supreme Cantaloupe' is one of many new Echinacea this season. All are perfect for dry, sunny areas and attract pollinators and birds. Photo courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries.

Another Echinacea or coneflower I love is ‘Supreme Cantaloupe’. It’s a creamy orange flower with long petals surrounding a frilly triple head. I grew it last year, and the flowers were dazzling. Hummingbirds and butterflies loved them, too.

Annuals

‘Big Kiss Yellow Flame’ gazania was also a winner in my drought-struck garden last summer. Flowers are 4-1/2-inches in diameter, with stunning color that doesn’t fade. Plants bloomed continually, and they thrived in the heat. These tough plants are excellent for edging, as they are low and spread, and in containers.

Photo courtesy of Fleuroselect.

A Hungarian-bred deep orange celosia, ‘Arrabona’, is a dazzler, especially massed in beds. The 13-inch-high flowers are a 2013 Fleuroselect Gold Medal winner. Seeds are easy to start, plants are drought-proof and the fiery flowers remain in bloom forever! Their unique color and toughness make this flower the perfect no-work landscape element.

Photo courtesy of Ball Horticulture.

A new trend is to fuse different flower seeds together so they sprout and grow as a coordinated package. That’s what ‘Blueberry Lime Jam’ petunias are, deep purple and lime-white petunia seeds in one pellet. Just push two or three pellets into a container and watch them sprout and grow with harmonizing beauty.

Tropics in Miniature

Photo courtesty of Suntory Collection.

Bougainvillea is a tropical “wow” plant with pink, purple and even orange bracts that laughs at the heat. Most of us can’t grow it, but Suntory has bred a tiny 8-inch-high version of bougainvillea that we can enjoy. Sunvillea Dwarf Bougainvillea is great in containers and as annual bedding plants. They won’t survive below 30ºF, but containers can be brought indoors to winter in a sunny window. Look for them at local garden centers.

Invasion of the Garden Catalogs

Doreen G. Howard — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 21:12:01 +0000

The first one arrived in mid-November. My mailbox still overflows daily with garden catalogs.

I love this season of excess and dreams. Snow covers the ground, my toes are cold and I snuggle next to the fire with a cup of Earl Grey tea (and a cookie or four) to leaf through the new plants and ideas. Warmer days and a fantastic garden are coming, I know, as I peruse plants and seeds.

Many new plants featured in catalogs are ones I’ve seen in the last year at trade shows, conventions and breeder previews. Some were sent to me in spring 2012 to trial. Here are the gems worth a try in my opinion. I’ll start with edibles and next week’s blog will cover flowering plants.

Tomatoes

Indigo Rose is spectacular! I received seeds from the breeder three years ago and have grown the salad-size deep purple and red tomatoes for two seasons. It’s a long-season (80 days) indeterminate that is best started from seed early or bought as a transplant. Fruit is set in clusters, so the plant is productive. As it matures, tomatoes turn a deep purple that it almost black. Areas of the fruit not exposed to the sun turn red. Flesh is red, too, and full-bodied in flavor. There are also nuances of chocolate and lemon.

Indigo Rose tomatoes are packed with flavor and anti-oxidents. The deep purple skin is a storehouse of disease-preventing compounds. These are some I grew last year.

Grafted tomatoes and other vegetables such as peppers and eggplant have been on the market for a couple of years. However, 2013 has unleashed a myriad of varieties on grafted rootstock, including numerous heirlooms. I’ve grown grafted tomatoes for the last two seasons and rave about them, especially last year when my area experienced extreme drought conditions. Plants grow larger, bushier (more leaves and flowers and fruit) and the rootstock gives the plant plenty of disease and drought resistance. Try a grafted tomato this year. You’ll love it!

Lettuce

Johnny’s Selected Seeds is known for developing vegetables that become classics. Their Diva cucumber is a mainstay in my garden due to its crisp taste, small seed cavity and productivity. Salanova, Johnny’s new star, is the result of 20 years of breeding. It grows like head lettuce, but is harvested as leaf lettuce.

Look how huge this Salanova green butter lettuce head is compared to other butterhead lettuces! Photo courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds.

The huge heads are about 40 percent larger than normal; leaves are thicker and grow more upright. Salad greens are easier to wash and keep longer in the refrigerator, up to a month. The seed mix includes multi-leaf versions of Green Butter, Red Butter, Green Oakleaf and Red Oakleaf lettuces. A specially-designed cutter to harvest heads for maximum leaf production is included.

Fancy Cabbage & Beans

I love Kitchen Garden Seeds new baby savoy cabbage, Alcosa, because the average cabbage head is too big for my small family. I want only enough to make cole slaw or to roast with corned beef, not a huge head that will feed ten teenage boys. Savoyed or crinkled leaves are milder than flat cabbage leaves, and they hold dressing or butter better. Alcosa Baby Savoy is also pretty, dusky blue outer leaves and a six-inch lime-green head with a yellow core.

Another pretty newcomer from Kitchen Garden Seeds is Amethyst Purple Filet beans. I have always loved bush beans, since I was a toddler and ate baby beans from the plant in my Dad’s garden. The juicy, crisp flavor rates in the top ten of foods, in my opinion. I favor filet beans for these reasons. You have to pick them young, at about five inches in length, to get the best bean. The new Amethyst Purple adds a beautiful color to the bean patch with its violet color. Blossoms are purple, too. Plants are compact, productive and do well in containers.

Next week, look for the prettiest flowers new this year.

Great Gifts for Gardeners

Doreen G. Howard — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 01:46:00 +0000

My son asked me Thanksgiving night what I wanted for Christmas. Like he had to ask? We gardeners are always thrilled with toys and practical items for the garden, from seeds to shovels. Even novices enjoy plants, herbs to grow indoors and seeds to try next spring.

One item that intrigued me, especially since I have an orchard of miniature apple trees, is the Apple-Tree-From-Seed kit found at the Old Farmers’ Almanac General Store. The gift kit contains everything needed to start and grow an apple tree. An aluminum tag is included to put a personalized inscription on the tree. You could dedicate the tree to a loved one, commemorate a wedding or birth or name the tree. I’d call mine Eve probably, to be cheeky. The kit is in a hydrocarbon-free jute bag and consists of the tree seed, growing medium, germination bag with wafer, coir seedling pot, terra cotta saucer, and directions. The apple is Ralls Janet, a large greenish-yellow colored skin with heavy crimson striping. It’s an antique (one of Fuji’s parents) and an excellent apple for eating out of hand.

Another idea from The General Store, an indoor herb kit, would make the perfect gift for any gardener, from beginner to master. It’s not expensive, either, so the trio of Italian parsley, garlic chives and basil in a pail would make the perfect hostess gift, too. The pail are made of recycled material fits right on your windowsill. Soil, coconut husks for drainage, and instructions are included, too. The website also has plenty of tips on how to grow plants inside during the winter.

Trendy

Fairy gardens have emerged in 2012 as a huge trend. People love to combine tiny plants, creatures and garden tools to create their own piece of magic and beauty. Buy a few petite arbors, benches and gnomes. Place them in a unique shallow planter along with a gift certificate for tiny plants at a local garden center. Even “tweens” would love a fairy garden kit.

Tiny delights abound in the fairy garden section at garden centers. Pick a few that will instantly make a compelling scene and add a gift certificate for petite plants to be chosen by the gift recipient later. Photo by Doreen Howard.

One of my favorite gifts to assemble for gardening friends is a terra cotta cup (it can be used later as a planter for succulents) filled with packets of flower seeds, a pair garden gloves and pruning shears. Substitute a hand trowel for the pruners to keep costs low. No gardener can have too many of those items. I keep an extra cup of goodies, wrapped, under my tree for old friends who stop in unexpectedly or neighbors who treat us with loads for Christmas cookies and cakes. Baking isn’t one of my strong suites during the holidays, and it’s well known!

Assemble interesting flower seed packets, garden gloves and hand trowel or pruning shears and place in a flower pot for a quick gift any gardener will love. Photo by Doreen Howard.

Be sure to order gifts before Dec. 15 so they arrive by Christmas Eve. If you’re willing to pay a premium, most websites ship up to Dec. 21. Meanwhile, treat yourself, too. There are plenty unique gardening dreams out there.

Tips and Treats

Doreen G. Howard — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 01:26:37 +0000

Outdoor gardening has ended for most of us north of an imaginary line drawn from Los Angeles through North Carolina. It’s time to concentrate on indoor plants and plan next year’s horticultural adventures.

That’s what I’m doing, as temperatures are frigid, about 15 degrees below normal, and the wind is howling.

Tips

Are white flies hovering over the houseplants you’ve brought inside for the winter? Is there scale on leaves? I learned two easy and inexpensive fixes about a decade ago. Cover the soil in containers with a ½-inch layer of sand or fine gravel. The gritty texture destroys white fly eggs and none will hatch.

Use baby wipes to kill scale. The sheets are impregnated with alcohol, which kills scale. Wipe every leaf and stem. Repeat in two weeks in case tiny scale escaped your view the first time.

Use baby wipes to rid orchids and other houseplants of scale. Photo by Doreen G. Howard

Don’t cut back chrysanthemums and asters when tidying up flower beds, especially in cold climates. Roots of both plants are susceptible to death during freeze/thaw weather in January. The bushy, dead growth insulates roots. Cut off the dead stuff in April or when you see the first green shoots.

Treats

It’s not too early to think about what you’ll plant next year. The National Garden Bureau, the non-profit organization that promotes gardening, has announced the three crops that will be featured in 2013. In the Vegetable/Edible category, 2013 will be the Year of the Watermelon, the Year of the Gerbera for annuals and in the perennial category, the Year of the Wildflower.

Gerbera come in many colors and petal formations. Photo courtesy of the National Garden Bureau.

Gorgeous, hardy and easy to grow, no wonder the National Garden Bureau named wildflowers the 2013 Perennial of the Year.

There are plenty tasty watermelon varieties to grow, but ‘Harvest Moon’ (one of the 2013 All-America Selection winners) is a hybrid, triploid seedless watermelon, similar to the heirloom variety, ‘Moon and Stars,’ ‘Harvest Moon’ is an improvement in that it features healthy, shorter vines that produce medium-sized fruits and sweet, crisp pinkish-red flesh.

'Harvest Moon' watermelon looks and tastes like 'Moon and Stars', an heirloom that can be difficult to grow for gardeners in some climates. Photo courtesy of the National Garden Bureau.

The melon retains the familiar dark green rind with yellow dots, but is seedless, earlier to ripen, higher yielding and better tasting, according to AAS. I can hardly wait to plant it next spring, as ‘Moon and Stars’ is my favorite heirloom watermelon. Because ‘Harvest Moon’ is a triploid, it’s best to start seeds indoors and grow them until they have several sets of leaves.

Sleeping with Bananas and Other Ways to Overwinter Tropicals

Doreen G. Howard — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 00:52:24 +0000

Yes, I sleep with bananas all winter long. A ‘Super Dwarf Cavendish’ banana plant, that is.

It’s a quiet, green guest that doesn’t snore, unlike my husband! The plant is about four feet tall, in a 14-inch blue ceramic pot that sits in front of the west-facing window in my bedroom.

My Buddha Belly plant (‘Jatropha podagrica’), on the other hand, is extremely noisy. Its seed pods explode to expel ripe seeds, sounding like shotgun blasts as seeds collide with walls, furniture and metal file cabinets. That’s why it overwinters in my office rather than the bedroom.

Treating tender tropical plants as houseguests is one way to preserve the gorgeous flowers, fruits and foliage of plants from hot climates that grace your patio, deck and outdoor living spaces during the summer.

It may look innocent, but my Buddha Belly plant has seed pods that expode with sound of a shotgun blast, hurling seeds 20 feet away.

I was given two tropical hibiscuses by Costa Farms last June (in the spirit of full disclosure) with flowers that are uniquely colored and stunning. We enjoyed them in our outdoor living space, so I brought them inside for the winter. They’re in front of a south-facing window in the family room and thriving.

'Mango Daiquiri' hibiscus is one of two wintering in front of south-facing windows in my family room. It even has buds!

Other tender plants that can be treated as houseplants include agapanthus, citrus, croton and mandevilla. Choose a south, east or west facing window. Citrus will flower in strong southern or western light and set fruit if you hand-pollinate blossoms. Three to four hours of sun daily will sustain most plants. Do not repot plants brought indoors, as they will not add roots during the winter months. Extra soil will only encourage root rot.

Other techniques.

Some large tropical plants can be forced to go dormant when stored in a cool, dark area such as a basement or garage where temperatures remain above 35º F. The trick to keeping them alive in a state of suspension is to maintain root moisture. Once roots dry out, they die, and so does the plant. Water every two to three weeks, depending on temperatures. Bougainvillea, brugsmansia, datura, fig, passion flower and plumeria will winter this way.

Cannas, colcassia (elephant ears) and other tropicals grown from bulbs or tubers are easy to store for the next season.

Lift and store tropicals that grow from underground bulbs, corms or tubers, even though they may reach six feet in height. When nights drop into the low 40’s or high 30’s, leaves of these plants will brown and begin to die. That is your cue to dig up them up. Remove dirt from bulbs and set them on newspapers in a shaded area or the garage to cure for a couple of days. Cut off top growth, and pack the bulbs, corms and tubers in a box filled with dry peat moss or vermiculite. Store in a dark area where the temperature is between 40ºF and 60ºF.

When spring arrives, plant again for another year of enjoyment. Bulbous tropicals will increase their numbers and produce bigger bulbs, corms and tubers for larger plants when saved from year to year in this manner. Dig up these to save: amaryllis, caladium, calla lily, canna, dahlia, ginger, tuberous begonia, colcassia and aroids like ‘Titan’ and ‘Konjac’.

Travel Safe Monarchs

Doreen G. Howard — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 21:02:26 +0000

A week ago, I waved goodbye to the last Monarch butterflies that hatched in my garden on the plentiful ascelpia tuberosa, orange milkweed.

They’re flying south to the border regions of Texas and Mexico, where they’ll hibernate for the winter.

I’ve been blessed with plenty of the orange and black pollinators for months, from March until October. The first ones arrived during an unusual March heat wave, usually when the landscape is still dormant. But this year, with four weeks of 90ºF heat, fruit trees bloomed, perennials sprouted and some bloomed. It’s fascinating how the Monarchs in Mexico knew it was time to fly up to the Wisconsin-Illinois border a month early. They were able to produce an additional generation this year, because of the early start.

Monarchs normally produce four generations or life cycles in one calendar year, and they go through four stages during one generation. The four stages of the monarch butterfly life cycle are the egg, the larvae (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis), and the adult butterfly. The four generations are actually four different butterflies going through these four stages during one year until it is time to start over again with stage one and generation one. This year, there was a fifth in my garden.

The arrival of the first Monarch butterflies in the spring heralds a season full of color and interest in gardens. Photo courtesy of the USDA.

How it starts.

In February and March, monarchs come out of hibernation to find a mate. They then migrate north and east in order to find a place to lay their eggs. This starts stage one and generation one. In March and April, the eggs are laid on milkweed plants. They hatch into baby caterpillars, also called the larvae. It takes about four days for the eggs to hatch. Then the baby caterpillar eats milkweed in order to grow. After about two weeks, the caterpillar will be fully-grown and find a place to attach itself so that it can start the transformation process. It attaches itself to a stem or a leaf using silk it spins and transforms into a chrysalis. Within the chrysalis the old body parts of the caterpillar undergo metamorphosis to become a butterfly that will emerge in 10 days and fly away. It feeds on flowers and fruits in gardens for two to six weeks. This first generation monarch butterfly will then die after laying eggs for generation number two.

After eggs hatch Monarch larvae or caterpillars munch on milkweed leaves to grow large. Photo courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden.

The second generation of monarch butterflies is born in May and June, and then the third generation will be born in July and August. These monarch butterflies will go through exactly the same four stage life cycle as the first generation did, dying two to six weeks after it becomes a monarch butterfly. This year, because the process started early, there was a fourth generation in late August.

The final generation (fifth this year) of monarch butterflies is different from the others. It’s born in September and October and goes through exactly the same process as the previous generations except for one part. Butterflies don’t die after two to six weeks. Instead, they migrate to warmer climates like Texas, Mexico and California, where they hibernate for six to eight months until it is time to start the whole process over again.

The right food.

Monarch larvae (caterpillars) eat only milkweed, which contains all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients needed to transform the larvae into a butterfly.

Vivid orange milkweed (ascelpia tuberosa) in my garden is a magnet for Monarchs. The native plant is easy to grow, drought-resistant and a colorful addition to flower beds.

Adult butterflies consume flowers with nectar, water and even liquids from backyard fruits. To attract monarchs, plant milkweed, of course, flowers and a few fruit-bearing trees. They like to drink from mushy slices of banana, oranges and watermelon, too.

Potpourri: from the best annuals to giant cabbages

Doreen G. Howard — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 18:20:45 +0000

As I begin autumn cleanup, it’s productive to observe what grew the best, bloomed the most spectacularly and thrived during the brutal drought of 2012.

On this late September morning, 2012, it's 31°F, one of the earliest freezes here along the Illinois-Wisconsin border. The earliest, September 10, 2000, preceded a record-breaking snow season. Our normal freeze date is October 10.

The superstar of my garden was ‘Senorita Blanca’ cleome, a Proven Winner’s annual that will be everywhere in 2013. Four tiny plants exploded with growth, filled 20 square feet with non-stop white-lavender blooms and stood up to oppressive heat with little water. Plants grew nearly four-feet high, so it’s an annual for impact or back of the border.

American All-Stars

For that last four years, All-America Selections has asked gardeners across the country to pick the top three new flower varieties they love the most. You can view and vote for your favorites at 28 botanical gardens across the country or vote online at the contest’s website.

2012 American Garden Award winners are (in order of votes) ‘Santa Cruz Sunset begonia, ‘Big Kiss’ White Flame gazania and ‘Surfina Deep Red’ petunia. All three are tough survivors that offer unique color and form.

Grand Prize Winner 'Santa Cruz™ Sunset' begonia is smothered with orange blooms that cascade from hanging baskets, urns or in mass plantings. Heat, drought and rain tolerant, the begonia thrives in any location from full sun to shade. Mark Dwyer, director of horticulture at Rotary Botanical Gardens, one of the display gardens, said that the begonia flourished in the extreme-drought area where Rotary is located in Wisconsin.

Second Place Winner Gazania 'Big Kiss™ White Flame' F1 has huge white and rose striped flowers that cover full, bushy plants. This heat-lover thrives in tough conditions. The uniquely-colored huge flowers are high impact displays in beds and containers.

Third Place Winner Petunia® 'Surfina Deep Red' is the first true deep red petunia gardeners have been seeking for years. No pinching or pruning is needed to keep plants spreading and flowering.

Giant heads for 9-year-olds!

Third-graders across the country can now grow their own humongous cabbage in the National Bonnie 3^rd Grade Cabbage Program. It’s free to any third grade classroom in the country and teachers can register now at: http://bonniecabbageprogram.com/ Plants will be trucked to classrooms in early spring. Over a million are delivered annually.

The plants donated are ‘O.S. Cross’ cabbage; the O.S. is short for oversized. The cabbages grow upwards of 40 pounds, appealing to the adventuresome side of nine-year-olds! The biggest, so far, weighed in at 65 pounds.

Jael Clark, Washington state 2012 winner, proudly displays his gigantic cabbage head. Photo courtesy of Bonnie Plants.

Each child in the program receives a 2-inch cabbage plant, plus an instruction sheet, to take home and grow. At the end of the season, teachers select a class winner, based on size, maturity and appearance. The winner is entered in a state scholarship drawing. State winners are randomly selected by the state’s Director of Agriculture. Then Bonnie Plants awards a $1,000 scholarship for education to each state winner.

My third-grade neighbor, Amy, has already asked for a sack of cow manure for Christmas to prepare a garden spot for her cabbage plant!

Healing Power Grows in the Garden

Doreen G. Howard — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 00:52:30 +0000

Gardeners take for granted their ability to plant, rake, weed and deadhead. However, when sudden medical problems rob them of the ability to stand, their world turns upside down.

That’s what happened to my 59-year-old cousin Russ Wolters of Mundelein, Illinois. Gout, infection and a broken hip put him in a wheel chair for the last six months, as doctors treat his problems in preparation for a hip implant.

This sudden and colossal change wasn’t going to stop him from gardening. He’s spent his life growing peaches, apples, cherries, grapes, a wide assortment of vegetables and flowers. Gardening is a large part of who Russ is. He gathered containers, gallon milk jugs and hanging baskets to plant a vegetable and flower garden on his deck.

Russ started small with a few pots and hanging baskets. Soon his entire deck was a jungle of plant serenity.

He can wheel himself out to the deck through the kitchen door to water and tend his plants. The living walls of green give him serenity and positive energy. No wonder he spends most of the day and evening on the deck among his plants, relaxing with music, reading the newspaper and just soaking in the positive, green energy.

The most difficult part of wheelchair gardening, Russ says, is hauling all those milk jugs filled with water through the kitchen to the deck garden. Container plants, even ones in big pots, drink gallons of water in the summer heat. He’s doing a good job, though, as his plants are large, lush and produce plenty of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and more. He even has a Money (Lunaria) plant blooming, petunias and geraniums.

Notice all the plastic milk jugs? Russ fills them with water in the kitchen and wheels them out to the deck to water. It takes a couple of hours daily.

History of Healing Gardens

What my cousin Russ created is an excellent example of healing gardens, which have been around for centuries. The Greeks incorporated them into green spaces. Medieval monks grew healing plants in cloistered gardens where their patients flourished just as the plants did.

In the last 30 years, the healthcare industry has begun to integrate healing gardens into their facilities and use them as therapy for patients. They range from AIDS patients to burn victims, recovering addicts, dementia patients, children with cancer and those with life-altering medical problems, permanent or temporary.

Russ Wolters relaxing in his healing garden after picking ripe tomatoes.

Healing gardens are therapeutic sanctuaries that soothe the mind and body and comfort the soul. That’s what my cousin created on his deck, a place of comfort, therapy and delicious tomatoes!