Tuesday, February 28, 2017

February 28, 2017, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter


Hi Gardeners

Scented geranium, variety unknown
Well February has passed and I barely complained at all about the weather.  Usually I hate February and I’m glad it’s the shortest month.  Well it was a mild one and now March, meteorological beginning of spring is upon us.  And only 20 days to calendar spring.  My houseplants are starting to put on a burst of new growth, and the wild birds are singing territorial breeding songs outside.  That warm sun has sure felt nice yesterday too.  But I could skip the thunderstorms.

The weather is being very erratic.  All over the country people are worried about how it will affect their plants.  The problem is we can do very little about what happens.  Warm trends get plants growing beyond a stage where they normally would be and then the weather conditions slip back into normal or below normal temperatures and sometimes this does damage plants.  This is probably going to be a feature of climate change for a while.  Hopefully we and /or the plants will adjust.

I remember in 2012 here in Michigan we had very warm weather through almost the entire month of March.  Fruit trees bloomed, and other trees were leafed out. (Normally they bloom at the beginning of May.) Then bam, we had temperatures drop into the 20’s for a couple nights in a row.  Almost the entire fruit crop was lost that year.  Ornamental trees lost their leaves or had severe frost burnt leaves.  Many people lost spring blooming flowers – for example lilacs didn’t bloom as the almost open buds were killed.

While most of us would like spring to come earlier, we’d like it to settle into a dependable time frame.  Frost free time periods are slowly increasing but at this point it’s still a gamble to plant very much earlier than you were used to.  Be patient. Just because its 70 and sunny today doesn’t mean it won’t be 30 and snowing tomorrow.

This year maple syrup producers around the country are experiencing difficulties.  Ideal maple syrup collection times occur when days are sunny and temps are just above freezing in the day, below freezing at night.  The weather isn’t cooperating this year. First we have 70 degrees than 20 degrees.  So if you like real maple syrup expect supplies to be less than usual and probably more expensive.

On my walk with Gizzy each day I am now collecting data on several plant and animal species for science.  (Read more about how you can help with this below.)  I’m going to list some of my observations here each week.  On Monday, February 27th here’s what I found.  I saw crows, goldfinches, doves, Canada geese, tufted titmice, house finches, cardinals, downy woodpeckers, and a red bellied woodpecker on my walk.  The bird feeders have been much less busy than they usually are this time of year.

Common lilac leaf buds are very swollen but not open yet.  Forsythia buds are swollen, amur honeysuckle leaf buds are breaking- showing leaf beginnings, while the trumpet honeysuckle actually had some new leaves- quite surprising.  Snowdrops are still in bloom. Crocus are well above ground and will bloom soon.  Also tulips, hyacinth, daffodils, and Star of Bethlehem have leaves showing.  Bearded Iris, Mums, Chives and Golden Globe are growing. Arum Italicum is putting up new leaves. Dandelions are growing, small rosettes now. Chickweed and ground ivy are growing. Beebalm is growing.  Small red buds on shrub roses.

How you can help science study climate change - The phenology network

Phenology is the study of plants and animals and their relationship to climate conditions.  Plants bloom or leaf out when they receive a certain number of heating degree days, days when average temperatures go above a specific temperature. (The amount of daylight also figures into the equation.) When certain plants bloom we can expect certain insects to hatch or arrive, plants and pollinating insects try to maintain a symbiotic relationship.  Animals also follow climate “hints” to initiate nesting or breeding behavior, migration, coat shedding and so on. 

Bud break on apricot last year
There’s an old farmers saying that one should plant corn when the leaves on an oak are the size of a mouse ear.  There is actually a certain amount of science in that saying because when the oak leaves are that size generally there has been enough growing degree days so that frost is unlikely and the soil has warmed enough for corn planting.  I have used the growth cycle of the common lilac for years to determine when to plant other things.  I plant peas and cold crops when the lilac has green leaves breaking. I plant warm crops when lilacs are in full bloom.  Of course I use the science of weather forecasting to help me too; when the lilacs start blooming, my indicator signal, I look ahead at the 10 day forecast to see if any frost is predicted.

Knowing the relationship of plant and animal growth/behavior to each other and to climate measurements, can help people make decisions about a variety of things.  Farmers and gardeners can determine optimum times to plant and harvest crops or to start looking for certain insect pests so they can be controlled early.  We can determine when people with allergies may need medication, when we can get the boat out or take the storm windows down, when wildfires or flooding might become a problem and many other things if we know the phenology relationships in an area.  Phenology observations also help us understand how the climate is changing.

To understand phenology relationships and more about how the climate is changing researchers need to have lots of data from lots of areas. With lots of data and properly programmed computers and knowledgeable scientists we can detect trends in climate change and help farmers, gardeners and others make good decisions.  If you like citizen science, where citizens help with collecting data for science, you might be interested in this project.

Nature’s Notebook is sponsored by the US Geological Service and the US Phenology Network. (https://www.usanpn.org/) In this on-line program you sign up to observe nature and record your observations.  You choose plants and animals from a list that you would like to observe over the year and enter data from your observations on line.  You choose the location and how often you want to do observations.  In my case I choose my farm as the location, and I picked a rather ambitious list of species to record data on.  You could choose just one species.  You could choose your yard, neighborhood or maybe a park as your observation area.  (It does need to be the same area each time you observe.)

There are lots of tutorials and instructions on line if you are interested and you don’t have to have any experience. Little equipment is needed other than a way to enter your data on-line and there are phone apps for that too.  A pen and paper and maybe binoculars are the only other suggested tools.  Each species has a checklist; you simply observe the species and check off the answers on the list.  For example a plant species will ask about bud break, flowering, leaf appearance, fruiting and so on. You can download and print the checklists if needed and there are explanations for each indicator such as bud break.

Your data entered on line helps researchers and when you join you also have access to the collected data of other people so you can observe what’s happening across the country.  There are maps and charts and other ways to access the data, which is quite interesting.  There is no cost to join, and no obligation to continue to collect data, it’s a purely volunteer project.

In this day and age when funding to science, especially climate science, is being cut and government website access to science information and research results is being removed, participating in a citizen science project helps research efforts and allows you access to valuable information.  Ready to help?  Join me and hundreds of your fellow citizens by going to https://www.usanpn.org/natures_notebook and signing up to be an observer.
      
Houseplants- fertilizing and re-potting

It’s time to start fertilizing those houseplants you want to grow or bloom.  (If your houseplants are already too big, don’t fertilize them.) For foliage tropical plants, (pothos, philodendron, sanseveria and so on), use a diluted water solvable fertilizer, about half the dose recommended on the package for container plants.  Blooming houseplants like African violets, streptocarpus, hoya, kalanachoe, abutilon, and so on also need fertilizer if you have not been using it over winter.

For any patio type plants or tender plants you are over wintering, such as hibiscus, brugmansia, miniature roses,  mandevilla, jasmine, begonias, passion vines, citrus trees, geraniums, and so on, and which you’ll soon be moving  to the patio or outside, use the full fertilizer dosage recommended on the package for container plants. 

As the sun gets stronger you may need to move some plants back from south or west windows a little. Plants that get a reddish look to the leaves or have areas that look scorched may be getting too much sun.  Plants that are in a sunny window may need watering more often now, as will any plants that have begun a rapid growth increase.
Maranta and jade plants

Now is the time to examine plants and see if they need re-potting.  Most gardeners get really busy in the spring with outside work and if you wait until then you’ll probably decide to skip it.  It’s also a good thing to give plants several weeks to adjust to new soil and pots before their environment is changed, such as being moved outside for the summer.

Over time soilless potting mixes we use in container plants tend to compact or break down.  You may notice the plant has sunk down in the pot or roots are on the surface.  Your plant may be straining at pot edges because it’s produced many new roots and shoots or has multiplied with new plantlets. Water may be running out the bottom immediately when you water because the plant is so root bound it doesn’t have soil left to absorb water. These are signs re-potting is needed.  And sometimes you may just want to put the plant in a more attractive container. 

Move plants up to a pot that’s only an inch or two wider and/or deeper. Pots that are too large for the plant often don’t get watered correctly.  You may want to divide some plants and start new pots, so get some extra pots ready.  Some plants like jade plants will surely lose some branches in the re-potting process but they root easily so have some pots ready for the broken pieces.

Make sure all containers have drainage holes.  Use a good container potting medium and not garden soil or compost.  Get the soil good and moist before you are ready to re-pot.  Some potting mixes have fertilizer in them.  If they do, you won’t need to fertilize the plants for a few months.

Slide those pot bound plants out of their pots and examine the root system.  If the roots are wrapped around and around at the bottom of the pot trim those roots off straight across the bottom.  Gently wash or shake off most of the old soil on the roots.  If you have a plant that has many crowns or off- shoots divide them after you can see the root system well (if you want to divide them.) 

Put some fresh, moistened potting medium in the bottom of the pot.  Now settle your plant in the pot.  Notice where the old soil level was on the plant, you won’t want the new soil any higher than that.  But you will want an inch or so of space below the pot rim, so you’ll have a place for water.  Adjust the height of the plant by adding or removing soil on the bottom.  Then fill in around the roots with new soil.  Water well to settle the soil and add more if needed. Some plants may need stakes for a brief time until they develop new roots.

Even if the houseplants don’t need re-potting it’s a good time to prune off dead branches or leaves, dust the leaves or give the plants a shower.  Check them carefully for pests too, as warmer weather and new plant growth often brings a pest outbreak.  You can treat blooming plants with contact pesticides 6 weeks or so before they are moved outside and you won’t have to worry about bees being harmed by visiting the flowers once they are outside.  Contact pesticides only last a few weeks on plants.  Some active ingredients in contact pesticides are bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, azadirachtin, and spinosad.  Insecticidal soap, not dish soap, is also a contact pesticide.

Forcing flowers

In many areas of the country winters can be long and gloomy and you may be longing for those first spring flowers.  You can cheat a little and get that spring feeling simply by forcing some flowering branches into bloom early.   They make a delightful bouquet to lift the winter spirits.

By the time March arrives most plants have had enough dormancy chilling so that a spell of warm weather can quickly bring them into bloom.  By bringing branches of flowering plants into warm rooms we can hurry the process along.  Not every plant can be forced into bloom; it’s the branches of woody ornamental plants that bloom in early spring that can give you those perky blooms.


Flowering quince
Good plants to try are forsythia, flowering quince, crabapples, flowering almond, redbud, flowering dogwoods, spirea, and branches from most fruit trees such as apricot, peach, apple, cherry, plum and pears.  Branches of pussy willow can provide fuzzy catkins. You may even want to add some branches that add green (or other colored) leaves to your bouquet.  Maples and willows for example, have many leaf color variations that can be a pleasing touch.  Magnolias and lilacs can be tried, but it takes longer for them to bloom inside and success isn’t a sure thing.

Use nice sharp pruning shears to get pieces of woody plants that are the right size for your vase.  Use care not to destroy the shape of the plant you are cutting from. Get permission to cut branches from the trees or shrubs if they don’t belong to you.

Make your cuts on a slant just above a bud on a branch.  This is so a long bare stub won’t be left on the plant.  You are looking for branches with flower buds, which are generally fatter than leaf buds.  If you are in doubt take a thumbnail and cut a bud open, you should be able to tell whether petals or leaves are hidden inside.  Of course as stated above, some leaves may be desirable additions to the vase.

Bring your cut branches into the house and remove any buds along the branch that will be underwater in your vase.  You may want to crush the bottom of heavier branches so they take up water better.  Place the branches in a vase of warm water.  Put them in a cooler area of the home- 55- 65 degrees F would be ideal - (it will feel warm to them). Put them in good light but not in a sunny window.  Keep the vase full enough that the bottom of the stems are never above the water level.  If any stem is out of water for more than a few minutes it should have a new cut made at the bottom.  If the water begins to smell dump it and add fresh.

When the plants begin blooming you can bring them to a place where you want to display them.  Blooming may take anywhere from a few days to 2 weeks depending on the plant and the conditions.  You should notice the buds swelling and beginning to show color as time progresses.  If after two weeks you notice no swelling or signs of life you may have chosen dead branches or branches from plants that don’t respond to this type of stimulus.   Discard those branches.

The blooms will last about a week.  They will be larger and last longer in cooler temperatures. Taking cuttings every few days can prolong the time you have stems in bloom.   Once warm weather begins to arrive outside, stems may only need a day or two to break into bloom inside.  

Forcing some spring flowering plants into bloom early is a fast track to spring.  It’s quick and easy to do, even though it may mean a trip outside into bitter winter weather.  So bundle up and get rid of that cabin fever by taking a walk outside to get some branches to force into bloom.  You’ll be pleased you did it.

Peacock Orchids

Peacock Orchid
Peacock orchids, Gladiolus acidanthera, or Gladiolus callianthus, (one of those plants whose name has been changed and is sold under both Latin names) are one of the many “minor” bulbs gardeners often overlook. But peacock orchids deserve more attention and should be planted more often.  They can bring a touch of the exotic and make your garden unique.

As the Latin name suggests Peacock orchids are related to gladiolus and the leaves are very similar.  They are long and sword-like and plants grow to be about 2 feet high.  They have a corm “root” system like the common glad.  

The flowers of Peacock orchids may remind you of an orchid.  The beautiful flowers have six white petals, with a purple star in the center.  A spike of flowers appears mid-summer and the flowers have a pleasing fragrance, which is stronger at night. The flowers are “nodders”, facing slightly downward.

Like glads the flowers begin opening at the bottom of the spike and continue opening for many days, moving up the stalk.  Both hummingbirds and bees are attracted to them.  Although I haven’t seen any reference to this or observed it, because the flowers are white and fragrant I suspect they may be attractive to night flying moths and maybe that is what pollinates them in their native habitat.

The Peacock orchid or Abyssinian glad as they are sometimes called is native to South America. They are hardy to zone 8, sometimes zone 7 if heavily mulched. Gardeners in colder zones can use them as annuals as the corms are inexpensive, or they can dig up the bulbs and store them over winter.

I like to pot the smaller, tender bulbs in one gallon pots.  The pots can be situated anywhere in the sunny garden or in an out of the way sunny spot and brought onto the patio or deck when they come into bloom.  After frost kills the leaves I bring the whole pot inside for winter, into cool storage.  In spring I begin watering them and let them get a head start on a sunny windowsill.  They go back outside after danger of frost has passed.  Every other year I re-pot the corms, removing some to prevent overcrowding as they will multiply.

Peacock orchids are generally purchased as corms in the spring and planted outside after danger of frost has passed.  They need full sun and well-drained soil.  Plant about 8 corms per square foot for a good display or about 6 corms in a gallon pot.  Plant about 2 inches deep.  Peacock orchids need regular watering and for best blooming use a slow release granular fertilizer for blooming plants once or twice a season as the label directs.  In zone 8 and above they will go dormant in colder weather and return in the spring.

Peacock orchids are seldom bothered by pests or disease.  Deer and rabbits usually avoid them.  They can be used as accent plants when in bloom or planted in pollinator gardens or in the middle of sunny borders for late summer bloom.  They make good cut flowers too.

Peacock orchids are pleasing little things with their beauty and fragrance.  Gardeners should at least give them a try one year.

Getting a new garden (with a new house)

One of the most exciting and daunting things that can happen to a gardener is to move on to a new piece of property with all the potential of new gardening space and maybe the surprises of what the property holds for you.  I have seen so many posts on garden sites asking other gardeners to identify plants the new homeowner has found or to give suggestions on what plants would be great for the new space, or how to deal with not so garden friendly neighbors. So what’s the best way to proceed with gardening in a new place?

First do some research.  If the area is some distance from your old home, or you haven’t done much gardening find out what planting zone your new garden will be in. This will help you choose plant species.  Look at the soil, actually dig into it.  Is it sandy or heavy clay? Does the property appear to be well drained or are there mucky wet places?  Are there places where the soil is hard packed or very rocky?
The house might not even matter with this garden.
Hodgeson garden in Lapeer Mi.

If the home is a new build – or you are buying vacant land and building on it, you may want to get a soil test done.  This can help you decide whether the soil needs amending before you begin planting.  You may also want to have a soil test done if there isn’t much growing around your new house, or if the landscaping looks sickly. Contact your county Extension office to find out where to send a soil sample.  There’s generally a small fee. 

If you haven’t lived in the area before you may want to check out whether the area is prone to floods, wildfires, hurricanes, and massive snowstorms.  This can help determine what species it’s appropriate to plant.

Gardening generally isn’t a zoning ordinance concern but if you have specific gardening ideas in mind such as a wildflower/ natural area, a vegetable garden in the front yard, ponds or keeping chickens you may want to see if there are any rules and regulations regarding gardening and landscaping you are required to follow.  Places with homeowners associations can be very picky in what type of gardening and or landscaping is allowed.  And even many towns and cities have laws regarding weeds, watering, fences, and other aspects of gardening.  You don’t want to be surprised by having to rip out a garden or getting tickets for violations.

Second, give it some time.  Don’t be in too big of a rush to get things planted that first year.  This is especially true if you move into the new place during the dormant season.  If there’s established landscaping and gardens you’ll want to see what’s there. Ideally you’ll observe through a whole growing season to see what develops and where you want to make changes. Where are the shady and sunny areas on the property? These will change through the seasons in many cases.  Are there lots of deer or other animals that cause damage?  Are there things that need to be ripped out or could you be happy with a few tweaks and additions?

How about neighbors? In the first season you’ll learn a lot about your neighbors.  Do they have a basketball court close to the lot line?  Do people use the yard for a short cut?  When I moved into my first house I was dismayed to find that people used my lot to get to a party store and a bar one street over.  I wanted to put a vegetable garden right where the path was and eventually I had to add a chain link fence across the back of the lot, which caused some hard feelings for a bit.  Someone I knew moved into a house where the neighbor kids had always used the lot for baseball games. Needless to say her garden had to be protected with a fence too.

Neighbors may also object to things like “natural habitats” or wildflower gardens.  I had a client once whose neighbor did not want anything planted on the lot line and she wanted a hedge.  It became a heated battle with plants being doused with weed killers and actual physical fighting. People may not like fruiting trees or trees at all planted close to them.  And be very careful if you are going to block a picturesque view, which also has caused lawsuits.  If you are in a neighborhood with lots of small children you need to think carefully before adding a pond or water feature. These are very attractive to small kids and you don’t want a bad accident to happen, or a bad lawsuit.

In situations where you are starting with a blank slate- a new lot carved out of an old cornfield without trees for example, you have more reason to proceed quickly, but even here there are some things to consider.  If money is limited get the larger things, trees and shrubs started first.  Carefully study the property and decide over that first year whether you need windbreaks, hedges, paths, fences and so on.  If you are on a septic system find it and mark it so you won’t plant the wrong things over it.  Decide where you might want a barn or garage in the future and plan so you don’t block access to the structures.

On a new site you may want to take a year to let the soil settle if it was disturbed, you may want to amend or build up the soil, remove weeds or grass from planting areas, and generally do a good prepping job for the next full season of planting. You may want to get lawns established, paths laid out, decks built or other things accomplished that would be easier without plants nearby or that could ruin new plantings while being worked on.

You don’t have to skip all gardening the first season as you observe the property.  You can plant annuals, small vegetable gardens and container gardens as you decide what your more permanent changes will be and learn how things grow in your new area. 

Identifying what’s there

Waiting a full gardening year before making any major changes to established gardens can help you identify what’s growing where. For example in early spring you may realize there are peonies in a corner of the yard.  Last year when you moved there in July the lawn had gotten out of control and the real estate agent had someone mow the whole thing down, removing the peony top growth.  You may see that scrawny tree you were thinking of cutting down is a beautiful flowering magnolia. Under those big old trees is a whole carpet of ethereal spring wild flowers that disappear by mid-summer. ( And you were going to pile mulch there.)  In the fall that plain green, unattractive shrub from summer may be loaded with berries or blaze with beautiful fall color. 

Even experienced gardeners can misidentify plants if they aren’t used to a new planting zone or area. Before you start pulling out and cutting down things, make sure you ID the plants.  They may turn out to be plants you’ll want to pull out anyway or they could be something rare and unusual. Sometimes a plant you would never have planned to put in a certain place looks so good there you’ll change your mind.  And sometimes what you thought was a nice perennial is a big messy weed.
Hodgeson garden in Lapeer Mi.

If you have the chance, ask the previous owners to give you a list of what’s planted on the property.  Ask the sellers to walk the property with you if it’s gardening season and point out what plants are growing where.  Ask them what plants are problematic or need specific care. Take notes! Take pictures! Ask to see garden pictures the sellers have, most gardeners love to share pictures of their gardens. 

Many times however, there’s no chance to ask the previous owners what was planted on the property.  If you have trouble identifying plants perhaps you can find an experienced gardener nearby.  You may be able to have plants identified at your county Extension service, if they have a horticulturist. I did thousands of plant Id’s when I worked for Extension. 

Some greenhouses and nurseries have experienced help that might ID plants for you.  You might consider paying a professional gardening service or tree care service for their time helping you identify and label plants.  Beware of using landscaping companies; many of those workers really don’t know a lot about plants.

There are reference books that help new gardeners ID plants.  Alan Armitage has a series of books; Manual of Herbaceous Perennials, Annuals Half Hardy Perennials and Biennials, Native Plants, Ornamental Bedding Plants, and so on.  Dirr’s Manual of Woody Landscape Plants is a good start for  tree and shrub ID.  My go to book for weed ID is Weeds of the Northeast by Uva, Neal, and DiTomaso, there are similar books for other areas of the country.

Don’t count on plant ID apps for your phone to correctly ID plants.  Most of these have a high error rate. On line sites for plant ID abound. Try   When you use them make sure you follow the guidelines for submitting a picture.  Make sure you get good, clear pictures to submit.  Mature plants and plants in flower are the easiest to ID. Don’t be surprised if you can’t always get a cultivar or variety name for a plant.  For example there are hundreds of varieties of plants like iris, daylilies, roses and hosta.  An expert collector of that type of plant might be able to help, but sometimes the best answer you’ll get is that it’s a tea rose.

A new place to garden is exciting.  Don’t be afraid to modify an existing garden to suit your tastes and the time you have to care for a garden.  Your garden should always reflect what you like and are comfortable with.  Keep in mind future uses you might have for the property as you begin planting or modifying that new garden.   Things won’t always come together that first year or even after two or three years, but patience, planning and faith will eventually get you the garden of your dreams.

Baked Nacho’s

Want a good, satisfying meal for a day between winter and spring?  This nacho casserole isn’t hard to prepare and you’ll get a good serving of vegetables in it.

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion diced
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
½ cup water
1 can or 2 cups of southwestern style petite diced tomatoes, well drained
1 cup of frozen sweet corn, thawed and drained
¾ cup Miracle whip type dressing or mayonnaise
2 cups crushed tortilla chips
2 cups shredded cheese, (Mexican 4 cheese, taco blend or Colby/Monterey jack blend are good choices)
Shredded lettuce- about 2 cups
Optional- tomato slices or halved cherry tomatoes

( If you don’t like really spicy dishes use mild taco seasoning mix and plain petite diced tomatoes)

Directions

Brown the meat and onion in a skillet, drain off grease.

Add the taco mix with water.  Stir and cook until well blended.

In a bowl blend together the meat, diced tomatoes, Miracle Whip, and corn.

Put half of the meat mixture in a 2 quart casserole dish, sprinkle ½ the cheese and ½ the crushed chips on top evenly.

Put the rest of the meat then the chips and cheese over that.

Bake at 350 degrees 20 minutes. 

Top with shredded lettuce and garnish with fresh tomato if desired.
Serves 4-6 people, depending on appetites.


This week’s question – can I use eggshells to start seeds?
Don, from Michigan

Despite many cute pictures on line showing tiny plants in an eggshell, eggshells do not make good seed starters.  They are just too small to be a good choice and drainage is non-existent.  The calcium from eggshells does not dissolve easily to aid plants as some sources claim.  And eggshells planted into the soil do not break down quickly so the plant can get its roots established in the ground.  In fact eggshells may take more than a year to break down.

There are many more appropriate seed starting “pots” that one can use.  If you need to re-cycle eggshells crumble them up and add them to the compost pile.  Check out the seed starting page to the right of this blog post for tips on starting seeds and recycled material you can use.

Breaking bud and singing bird, oh I’m so glad that Spring’s the word

Kim Willis
 “He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero

© Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may be used without permission.

And So On….
Do you have plants or seeds you would like to swap or share?  Post them here by emailing me. You can also ask me to post garden related events. Kimwillis151@gmail.com

Find Michigan garden events/classes here:

An interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook

Here’s a seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook

Newsletter/blog information

If you would like to pass along a notice about an educational event or a volunteer opportunity please send me an email before Tuesday of each week and I will print it. Also if you have a comment or opinion you’d like to share, send it to me or you can comment directly on the blog. Please state that you want to have the item published in my weekly note if you email me. You must give your full name and what you say must be polite and not attack any individual. I am very open to ideas and opinions that don’t match mine but I do reserve the right to publish what I want. Contact me at KimWillis151@gmail.com

I write this because I love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my research each week. It keeps me engaged with people and horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If you are on my mailing list and at any time you don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you know anyone who would like to receive a notification by email when a new blog is published have them send their email address to me.  KimWillis151@gmail.com

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Tuesday, February 21, 2017

February 21, 2017, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter

Hi Gardeners
The shy but beautiful snowdrop flower.

This weather really makes me want to get outside and work.  We have had sun and temperatures in the upper 50’s, low 60’s.  Today we had some light rain but it’s still warm.  I putz around outside, doing a little pruning and cleanup but knowing it’s too soon to do much else.  And Gizzy and I are going for walks around the pond again.  It’s not unfrozen all the way, but the ducks have a narrow edge to swim in.  If you have kids please tell them to stay off any ice covered ponds or lakes. Watch your pets too. The ice is not stable this year because of the numerous thawing cycles.  There’s been a number of kid and pet rescues from icy water around here.

Maple syrup is being collected around here.  It’s an odd season.  I suspect after this weekends predicted colder weather the syrup makers will get another chance to collect sap.

My snowdrops are blooming a full week ahead of last year. I wanted to write about these little beauties this week and found I didn’t have a good picture.  My snowdrop patch is out in the front, close to the road, under the dripline of some cedars.  Snowdrops dangle their flowers downward so pictures from overhead just don’t do them justice.  So there I am laying on the cold ground yesterday with my camera in full view of the neighbors driving by.  I left my red gloves on because I think they were a better backdrop than pale fleshy fingers.  I had to hold the flower with one hand and shoot with the other but I think I got some good shots of their pretty inner side.  Gizzy was a bit baffled at me being on the ground though.

I participated in the Great Back Yard Bird count Sunday, observing birds and recording them on the site.  However my feeders were virtually without birds.  Last year during the bird count we had cold snowy weather and the feeders were swarming with birds.  I had a whole yard covered with juncos and tree sparrows.  There was odd weather all across the country.  It will be interesting to see how that affected the bird count.  I saw that in Michigan people had recorded red winged blackbirds, killdeer, robins, and other birds we normally don’t see this soon.

Presidents and Plants

On the day after Presidents day what’s a better topic than what Presidents were farmers, gardeners or otherwise involved with plants.  Our country was basically founded on the idea of agrarian democracy.  In this utopian idea every man has a small farm and is self-sufficient, master of his own destiny, and tied to his country by the land.  Therefore this person will always support the government, as long it minimally interferes with the way he wants to live his life.

Jefferson’s Agrarian philosophy  

Our first five presidents were farmers, fairly large landowners, since land was wealth in those times. Thomas Jefferson, our third president, was also very involved in the drafting of the constitution and founding of this country. His ideas shaped our early democracy. Jefferson thought that farmers were the most noble of men, and the best suited to running a country.  His idea that all men are equal was basically tied to the idea that as long as men had access to land, and they worked hard on it, they were able to achieve equality in a democratic country.

Jefferson’s purchase of the Louisiana Territory, which doubled the size of the country, brought millions of acres of fertile land to an expanding population, which Jefferson believed was vital to keeping the US growing and independent of Europe.  He bought the territory with farming in mind, so to speak.  Men who had land were content, and devoted to the welfare of the country where their land lay.

Thomas Jefferson had a brilliant mind and an interest in everything from botany and zoology to architecture, languages, cooking, writing, art, you name it, he tried to master the task.  He was a farmer, builder, architect (designing the Virginia State Capitol and the University of Virginia) inventor, writer and of course a president.  To this day the list of his accomplishments is amazing.

Jefferson grew up on a large tobacco plantation in Albemarle County, Virginia.  When his father died he inherited the plantation and thousands of acres of land surrounding it.  He decided to build the farm of his dreams on a small mountain on this property.  Jefferson designed Monticello, his plantation, himself and decided that the home and out buildings would be built from the surrounding property.  Bricks were made from the clay on the property, stones dug from the mountain, and timber harvested for beams and furniture. He even had the nails manufactured on site.
Monticello

Jefferson was interested in plants of all types, from garden vegetables to flowers and trees and Monticello had intensively planted vegetable gardens as well as extensive landscaping.  He grew his own grain and tried to grow his own wine grapes.  (That wasn’t an astounding success). He not only designed the gardens but often worked in them.  He sought out and bought plants from all around the world. People brought him exotic and unusual plants as gifts.  He had a greenhouse on the side of his home where he grew exotic tropical plants.  He was also interested in farming techniques and mechanical inventions that aided farming and tried out many new ideas on his farm.

Jefferson kept detailed records of his plantings, both crops and landscaping/flowers throughout his life.  In a book called the Garden Book he described varieties grown, experiments, crop yields, the weather, and various other aspects of gardening and farming.  (Amazon carries copies of this book, but they are quite expensive.)  From this book the gardens of Monticello, including the food gardens, have been restored with varieties and a lay out as close to the original as possible. You can browse a bit of the book at https://www.masshist.org/thomasjeffersonpapers/garden/
And of course you can visit Monticello, which is now a park/museum.

Alexander von Humboldt, another brilliant mind and father of modern ecological ideas, visited Jefferson after returning from a long exploration of South America.  The two spent some intense weeks together discussing plants and nature and theories of agrarian equality.  Jefferson had just purchased the Louisiana Territory and pumped Humboldt for information on its southern neighbor, Mexico, which Humboldt was happy to provide.  Humboldt mentioned in his journals that Jefferson’s office in the White House had pots of geraniums and other plants on the windowsills and the office was filled with dried and preserved specimens of plants and animals, ancient artifacts, inventions, books and maps. 

Humboldt also mentioned watching Jefferson play with his kids on the floor.  Were some of those children from a slave? Humboldt detested and frequently spoke against slavery.  Here was something about Jefferson he could not understand, the man spoke of equality of men on one hand and yet he held 160 slaves at one point.  Jefferson seems to be of two minds on this subject.  He was known to say that Negroes were not quite as “advanced” as white men.  Yet he talked about freeing all his slaves and bringing in German immigrants to work his land because he admired their farming practices. 

Side note: From genetic testing we know that Jefferson probably took a slave woman, Sally Hemings, as his mistress after the death of his wife.  She was biracial and said to be very beautiful.  It was said that the children from this union were treated as his other children were.  When they reached adulthood Beverly, Harriet, Madison, and Eston, were freed. These were the only slaves that Jefferson was known to have freed while he was living, 5 were freed in his will.  The story of Sally Hemings is fascinating but too long to go into here.

Interesting note: this week it was announced that Sally’s room in the Monticello mansion, which is now a museum, was going to be restored.  In the 40’s it had been turned into a restroom. Now the original flooring and walls are being restored and it will be furnished according to historical record. The room was close to Jefferson’s bedroom.

Jefferson had such wide ranging and ambitious interests, and such a huge amount of land that without slaves it would have probably been impossible for him to have kept up with everything. I believe he was probably torn between his desires to do the things he wanted to do and freeing his slaves, which he probably knew was the right thing to do. He took the selfish route in the end. He treated his slaves fairly well, even training them in various skilled occupations, and probably believed his benevolent “keeping” of them was to their best interest. (I am strongly against slavery but I often wish I had some strong arms and legs to carry out my garden plans.)

Both Jefferson and Humboldt were of the opinion that commodity or trade crops such as tobacco, cotton, sugar cane and so on were the causes of poverty, inequality, slavery and environmental destruction.  The residents of a country were forced to spend their time and labor on crops that would not feed them, that generally enriched only an elite few and needed slave labor to be profitable.  These monocrops deleted the soil and clearing new land for them destroyed the forests, caused erosion and the loss of plant and animal species.  Jefferson was, however, of the opinion that Americans should grow food crops that could be exported to Europe, because farming there was not keeping up with food needs.
 
Vegetable gardens at Monticello restored per Jefferson's notes.
Wikimedia commons
Besides the first 5 presidents there were other presidents who were farmers and ranchers. Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Polk, Roosevelt, Truman, Johnson, Carter, Clinton, and George W. Bush are listed as having an occupation before their presidency as a farmer/rancher. Harry S. Truman was raised on a farm, left to go to business school, opened a store but then returned home to Missouri to work the farm until he became a senator. (Here’s where there was obvious voter fraud, history books say Truman won because the ballot boxes were “stuffed”.) 

Carter is well known as the “peanut farmer”, but Bill Clinton was raised on a farm and worked farm labor jobs on his relative’s farms before becoming a lawyer.  George W. Bush had oil money but listed his occupation as cattle rancher.

Gardens on the White House Grounds

Our second president, John Adams actually began the process of gardening on the White House site. Thomas Jefferson added many fruit trees and unusual trees and shrubs. He was mainly concerned with stabilizing and building up the marshy land the White House sat on.  To help with this he built a wall around the immediate White House grounds.  It was removed a few decades later.

Many other presidents or their wives added on to the gardens, Grant had the two round ponds on the ground built. During WW1 Woodrow Wilson added sheep to graze the White House lawns. 

President Kennedy was responsible for having the Rose Garden at the White House designed and installed. (There had been an earlier rose garden that had largely disappeared.)  He had been on a trip to Europe and had visited several botanical gardens and wanted the sort of beautiful, formal gardens he saw there on the White House grounds for entertaining guests.

Lady Bird Johnson started a committee to beautify not just the White House grounds but many other areas around D.C. In four years she and her committee planted 2 million daffodil bulbs along the Potomac River and in several other places in the Capital. As a farewell gift to the White House she had the Children’s Garden built on the South Lawn.

There are a few houseplants in the White House.  In the Oval office there has been a Swedish Ivy on the mantle since President Kennedy was given it by the Irish ambassador.  It appears in many photos taken of the presidents over the years. The plant has been propagated numerous times (or replaced) to keep it looking nice.  Just before the Inauguration this winter it was noted that the ivy now appears to be grape ivy. There was a report that President Obama ordered a number of plants in self-watering pots to grace the White House.

The White House had a greenhouse attached to it before it was demolished in 1902 to build the West Wing.  Many early presidents had vegetable gardens or added to the flower gardens on the grounds, but since the Roosevelt victory garden vegetable gardens were not planted.  Did you know Bill Clinton had a small vegetable garden on the White House roof?  When he first proposed a vegetable garden on the lawn he was told it was not appropriate and he settled for the roof garden.

Times did change and Michelle Obama had her organic vegetable garden planted in 2009. Over 55 types of food plants are grown in the garden and used for cooking in the White House kitchen. Excess produce is donated to food banks. The garden was an important part of the Obama presidency, besides the promotion of growing your own food, President Obama sometimes gave seeds from the garden to visiting dignitaries and many important visitors asked to see it. 

Last year some changes were made to make the vegetable garden more permanent and harder to remove.  Stone paths, metal benches, and other hardscape touches were installed.  An agreement was made with the National Park Service to oversee maintenance of the garden, which includes fruit trees and herbs, and funding to keep it going was established.

Currently there are 13 regular garden/grounds employees.  The chief horticulturist is part of the executive staff; the others are National Park Service employees. Hopefully the vegetable garden will be allowed to remain. Of course, our current President may just decide to rip it out and install a golf course.

Snowdrops, a shy and secretive beauty

Snowdrops
Every northern garden needs some snowdrops.  These tiny flowers shyly hide their beauty but they are the very first flowers to bloom in the spring, bringing hope for the season ahead.  Here in my zone 5, borderline 6 garden, they bloom at the end of February if the snow isn’t deep.  That’s generally a couple weeks before the crocus and winter aconite blooms. Snowdrops can be planted anywhere there is at least a small period of cold weather, from zones 2-8.  They need a cold rest period to keep them healthy and blooming.

Snowdrops, Galanthus nivalis are native to Eastern Europe and northern Asia but have naturalized in many areas of the world.  Another similar species Galanthus elwesii (giant snowdrop) is native to Yugoslavia, Romania and Western Turkey.  It has slightly larger flowers than regular Snowdrops and blooms a bit later. Galanthus woronwii is another native species very similar to G. nivalis and has been used medicinally. All species are on the Cites list and can no longer be collected from the wild.

When snowdrops were introduced to English gardeners in the 1500’s they quickly developed several cultivars from odd sports and sub species that occurred in wild plants.  There was 'Flore Pleno', a double flowered variety, some light yellow cultivars developed from a wild sub-species G. nivalis var. sandersii and some cultivars that had more of the green coloration developed from another sub species G.nivalis var. Viridapicus.

‘Sam Arnott’ is an older cultivar one can sometimes still find in specialty catalogs which has larger flowers with more heart shaped markings.  'Ray Cobb' and 'Savill Gold'  are yellow flowered cultivars that can sometimes be found.  However many Snowdrop varieties have been lost to time and most gardeners will only find the species G.nivalis offered.

The cold journey to bloom

Snowdrop plants are tiny but tough.  Each long narrow leaf has a tough layer of cells at its tip to help them push through partially frozen ground. The two leaves appear first, then a tube shaped stalk appears in the center and a white bud facing upward emerges from the side of it.  The tube shaped stalk protects the bud as it pushes through the cold ground.

Over the course of a day or two, depending on weather the bud curves out away from the stalk and dangles downward.  The stalk elongates beyond the flower and appears like a curved hook at the top.  The bud opens downward, into a 6 petal flower, 3 of which are observed from above.

You have to tip an open snowdrop flower up to see the delicate beauty inside this shy maiden.  There is a swollen green base, 3 longer white petals on the outside and 3 shorter, broader petals on the inside.  Each inner petal has a notch in the center, making them appear heart shaped.  The petals are delicately marked with a flush of emerald green.

Inside the flower are 6 yellow cone like stamens (male parts), surrounding the rod like pistil (female part) in the center.  The pistil extends beyond the cone stamens.  The green streaked area of the flower exudes sweet nectar that will hopefully attract early flying bees, which act as pollinators.

Snowdrop in the sun
If the flowers get pollinated a round seed cone develops with tiny brown seeds inside.  Each seed has an elaiosome, a sticky curved appendage that is attractive to ants. The ants carry the seeds underground to eat the elaiosomes and effectively plant the seeds.

If the plant doesn’t develop seeds it can also spread by multiplying its bulbous roots.  Snowdrops will slowly spread by bulb offshoots and seeds to form colonies when they are in good conditions.

A few weeks after flowering the leaves of the plant will disappear and the plant goes into dormancy until the following year. 

Growing Snowdrops

Gardeners will want to start with bulbs. They are offered for sale in the fall.  Since these small bulbs dry out rapidly plant them as soon as you receive them.  Plant them in a partly shaded area or under deciduous trees in a rich loamy soil.  They can be naturalized in lawns if you are willing to let the foliage yellow and die back naturally before mowing.

Plant the bulbs about an inch apart in clusters, about 2 inches deep.  It will take about 150 snowdrop bulbs to make a good show in a square yard of space.  I recommend planting snowdrops where you are likely to see and enjoy them in early spring, along a path, near a doorway or steps. They are good subjects for early bloom in rock gardens.  Plant them between hosta crowns for an early spring show before the hosta leaves enlarge.

Snowdrops need even moisture, and a well-drained area. A light sprinkling of a granular, slow release all-purpose garden fertilizer around then in early spring helps them multiply.  Deer and other animals do not eat the plants or bulbs.

Make sure you mark your snowdrop planting.  I find I forget about them and dig up the bulbs when planting other things.  It’s easy to miss the bulbs and rebury them in odd positions or too deeply, or leave them exposed.  If you do want to move or divide the bulbs do so right after the leaves die back and immediately re-plant them in their new location.  Keep 2-3 bulbs together in each division.
Snowdrop side view

Medicinal uses

All parts of the snowdrop plant are poisonous.  When eaten they can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea.  They are also an abortifacient (cause abortion).  That said there were a few older herbal remedies using them.  Crushed plant parts were rubbed on the forehead for headaches and some experienced herbalists used concoctions of the plant to help with neurological problems.

Observations of herbalists using the plants to treat polio resulted in scientific studies of the plant and several chemicals have been extracted from snowdrops and used in modern medicines.  Galantamine, a substance extracted from the plants is used in Alzheimer medications and for myasthenia, myopathy, sensory and motor dysfunction. The US army has a patent on a galantamine product that is used to treat organophosphate poisoning.

Snowdrop lectin is being experimented with as an insecticide. The product proved effective against most types of insects.  It may soon be used in genetically modified crops.  However some studies show animals fed snowdrop lectin genetically modified food products had intestinal damage.  

Question of the week- Are coffee grounds or coffee good for plants?  I am working in an office where there are lots of coffee grounds left over each week.  I’ve heard they are good fertilizer.  Should I save them for the garden?  Should we dump cold coffee in the office plants?
Mary, from Pennsylvania

Coffee grounds can be used in the garden to improve soil structure (because they are organic material) but they don’t add much in the way of fertilizer when directly applied to the soil.  While they have some nitrogen content that amount is countered by the use of nitrogen by microbes in the soil to break down the grounds. There are minimal amounts of other nutrients in coffee grounds.

Small amounts of coffee grounds can successfully be worked into the soil around plants and won’t harm anything.  Coffee grounds are better added to the compost pile, where they do help provide nitrogen content.  You can add paper coffee filters to the compost pile too.

Coffee grounds will not make your soil acidic.  After brewing they have a pretty neutral pH  composition. And there is no scientific evidence that coffee grounds repel slugs and snails.

Pouring cold coffee into potted plants probably isn’t a good idea.  Potted plants don’t have a good way to rid the soil of excess nutrients.  There is some magnesium and potassium as well as nitrogen in coffee.  An infrequent use of cold coffee diluted to a light brown color wouldn’t hurt most plants and might give them a boost.  But frequently using coffee on potted plants would probably result in nutrient burned roots.  And don’t use any coffee with cream or sugar on plants.

Spring fried radish and green onion special

Radishes and green onions are some of the earliest garden vegetables produced.  I don’t have any yet, but I know some of you do.  And when I do have some of them here’s a dish I like to make with them.  This will satisfy the urge for fried potatoes and it has far less calories and carbs than fried potatoes.

Wash and thinly slice several radishes.  Mild flavored, smaller radishes are best.  You’ll want about a cup of sliced radishes for 2 small servings.

Wash and thinly slice 6-8 green onions, including most of the leaf portion.  If you don’t have green onions thinly slice or dice a small sweet onion.

Fry 2 strips of bacon until crispy.  Remove and crumble, set aside.  Save the pan with the bacon grease. 

If you don’t have enough bacon grease to cover the pan bottom, add a little cooking oil.  I like peanut oil.  Olive oil may smoke.

Heat the oil until it’s quite hot and then add the radishes and onions slowly in a single layer.  Fry until crisp and lightly browned, stirring occasionally. 

Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with crumbled bacon and serve hot.

Radishes don’t get as crisp as fried potatoes, but the taste will be remarkably similar.


Seek out beauty in the smallest things

Kim Willis
 “He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero

© Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may be used without permission.

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