August 4,
2015, Kim’s Weekly Garden Newsletter © Kim
Willis
Hi Gardeners
 |
| My first flower from an unnamed Cajun Hibiscus. |
I was
checking back over the weather records for the last 2 years and it seems that
the start of August is prime time for big storms and wet weather. We got 2 inches plus rain on Sunday evening
and had to clean up lots of small branches downed by the wind. We also lost power in our barn, although the
house has power and we can see no damage to the lines going to the barn and no
signs of a lightning strike.
I have
finally seen a few monarch butterflies - I’m glad they managed to get this far
this year. The Giant Swallowtails have
been around also. Birds are again
flocking to my feeders, the babies are out and trying to feed their selves. Frogs and toads are everywhere this year.
Lots of my
tall lilies have been toppled by the wind and rain. The garden phlox is also very tall this
season and it’s falling over too. In the fall I’m going to dig a lot of the
phlox out- they take over large areas and smother everything else out. Right now I’m wishing I had dug them out in
the spring. Some plants just get way too
carried away with reproducing and need planned parenthood.
My lettuce is
going to seed and getting bitter. I’ll
be planting the fall crop any day now. I
made sure to but extra seed this spring because it’s hard to find in the late
summer. Our popcorn is starting to make
ears. I planted Japanese hull-less to
try as I love popcorn but don’t like the hulls in my teeth. We now have baby pumpkins and melons. They are a bit later this year and I hope
they make it to maturity.
I have garden
mums showing color right now – guess what that means? And the hardy hibiscus and sweet autumn
clematis are just about ready to bloom too.
I had a new “Cajun” hibiscus bloom for the first time- see photo. These aren’t hardy but over winter inside
well. I bought a special from Logee’s
where they had some unlabeled varieties and you took a chance on what you
got. I’m really pleased with the one I
got. I wish I could collect more of
these but my inside space is limited.
Here’s a tip
for those who live in the Marlette - North Branch area. Ben’s
Superstore in Marlette has 5 pound bags of organic, slow release fertilizer on
sale for $1.25 each. I have never tried the brand but the price is right.
Book Review- Fastest Things on Wings- Rescuing Hummingbirds in Hollywood by
Terry Masear- Published
June 2015- $16.95 print edition, $11.95 kindle edition.
I loved this
book about a woman who rescues hummingbirds in California. She spends 4 months a year feeding baby
hummingbirds every 30 minutes, healing adults and releasing them and rescuing
trapped hummingbirds. California has 4
types of hummingbirds and she handles hundreds of hummers in her rehab center
every summer. Here in Michigan with our
1 species of hummingbird rehab places rarely get 50 birds in a season.
The book was
an enjoyable, easy read. You’ll learn a lot about these tiny birds. What it takes to rehab hummers will amaze you
and the efforts of a few people to care for these birds is truly heart-warming. How Terry Masear finds time to write with her
teaching career and work as a hummer rehabber in the summer is hard to imagine
but the book is well worth reading.
August Almanac
This August
2015 an event determined by mathematical odds will occur. The month has 5 Saturdays, 5 Sundays and 5
Mondays. But it doesn’t happen every 800
years or so as some internet urban legend wants you to believe. Rather the same set of 5 days happens every
6- 11 years per month depending on where the leap year occurs in the
sequence. Any month that has 31 days will
have a string of 3 sets of 5 weekdays in a month. For example May 2015 had 5 Fridays,
Saturdays, and Sundays. And last month
had 5 Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
October will have 5 Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. December will have 5 Tuesdays, Wednesdays and
Thursdays. But next year in 2016 each of
those months will have a different string of 5 weekdays in a month. And those days are not called “moneybags” in
China either- all of that blarney is internet rumor.
The Great
Lakes Native Americans called this month's full moon (August 29th )
Sturgeon moon, because that was when these large tasty fish were easily caught
in the Great Lakes. In other places this
month’s full moon is known as the Green Corn moon or the blueberry moon.
August‘s full moon is also a super moon, being 30% brighter than normal moons
and looking larger and closer.
The Perseid
Meteor showers peak will be August 12th and 13th and the
moon barely visible so viewing should be good providing the weather
cooperates. At the peak you should be
able to see 100 or so “falling stars” an hour.
The meteor showers continue to be visible until August 26th. Look straight up and give your eyes a
chance to adjust to the dark when watching for meteors. At the peak you can see meteors at any time
of the night but pre-dawn viewing will be the time for maximum sightings.
If you are
thinking of planting a fall vegetable garden and plant by the moon phase,
August 20-22 are good days to plant above ground crops.
The August
birth flower is the gladiolus. When
glads are given to someone they signify remembrance and integrity, perhaps that
is why gladiolus are frequently found in funeral arrangements. The August birthstone is the peridot- a
beautiful green gem.
August is
National Peach month, National Picnic month, Family Fun month and National
Catfish month. The 9th is National Book
Lovers day and the 10th is National Lazy Day.
The 13th is Left Handers day, the 14th is Creamsicle day and the 26th is
National Dog day. The 29th is More Herbs
day. August 31st is International Bacon day.
Finding salad dressings without soy
oil
Soy oil isn’t
good for you- that’s been pretty well proven in a number of medical research
trials. It’s implicated in obesity,
metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and higher incidences of several cancers. Almost all soybean oil is produced from
genetically modified soybeans, and that may also have health implications for
humans as well as for pollinators and other animals. So why is it found in so many foods? Salad dressings are a good example- search
any store shelves and try to find a salad dressing made without soy oil. You need some sort of fat to best absorb the
nutrients from the vegetables in your salad.
But pouring soy oil based dressing on your salad, especially if it has high
fructose corn syrup added as many do, is negating all the good a salad can do
you.
I found one
dressing locally Olde Cape Cod vinaigrette that was made with olive oil. An on-line search turned up only a few
others, very expensive and often made with canola – which is almost as bad as
soy oil for your health. Soy oil is
cheap and abundant and pushed hard by the soybean producers many promotion
groups. Don’t be fooled by dressings
that say “with olive oil” – check the label and you will find they are mostly
soybean oil with a little
added olive oil.
Even “real” mayonnaise is made with soy oil.
 |
| Why spoil it with soy oil? |
Here’s what
you can do to dress your salads with some healthy fats, make your own
dressings. Yes it’s not convenient, but
it’s not that hard and you can use much healthier ingredients. Most Italian style dressings use 1 part
vinegar to 3 parts oil with some seasonings.
You can even buy packaged salad seasonings, just use a healthy oil to
mix with them. The best oils to use are
olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, peanut oil, walnut oil, hemp oil, (hard to
find), sesame oil and grapeseed oil.
Some of these are very expensive and may also flavor your salad
dressing. Olive oil, extra virgin or
cold pressed, is probably your best bet.
Besides soy oil, avoid canola- a very nasty oil that’s produced with
lots of chemicals, and corn oil.
Sunflower and safflower oils can be used sparingly as they aren’t
properly balanced in the “omega acids”.
Homemade Italian
Dressing
½ cup
balsamic (or other) vinegar
1 ½ cups
olive oil
½ teaspoon
salt – or to taste
1 teaspoon
Italian seasoning (find in the spice department
of any store)
(Additions
can include a bit of dry or wet mustard, a small amount of sugar or honey, lemon
juice, onion powder or minced onion, tomato juice, sundried tomatoes finely chopped,
black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, chili pepper, bacon bits, garlic juice
or finely minced garlic or other spices and herbs you enjoy. Experiment.)
Put this in a
jar with a tight lid and shake until mixed or whisk together or use a blender. After mixing store tightly covered in the
refrigerator for up to a week.
In dressings
like ranch, mayonnaise and other creamy dressings you can even use butter or
bacon grease, which is quite good in some dressings. The small amount of saturated fat you consume
in these dressings will hurt you far less than soy or canola oil. Ranch dressing uses buttermilk or sour cream
also.
A problem
with homemade mayonnaise type dressings is the safety of the raw eggs, which
could cause salmonellosis if not handled and stored properly. Usually the acids and salt in the dish will
make the raw egg yolk safe as long as it’s kept cold but you may want to use
pasteurized eggs which can be found in some stores. People with poor immune systems or children
should not use dressings made with raw eggs that aren’t pasteurized.
Basic Mayonnaise recipe
2 egg yolks,
pasteurized
1 ½ cups of olive
oil or use 1 cup olive oil and ½ cup bacon grease
1 teaspoon of
lemon juice
¼ teaspoon salt
You can add your
own seasonings such as a bit of mustard, pepper, garlic or onion. Some people prefer to use vinegar in place of
lemon juice but you must use an acidic ingredient for food safety.
You place all
of this in a food processor and blend until creamy. It makes about 1 ½ cups. Keep it refrigerated. Keep dishes made with homemade mayo
refrigerated too.
Here’s a homemade way to
pasteurize egg yolks. It may not be
quite as safe as buying commercially pasteurized eggs. Place 2 egg yolks- or the amount for 1
recipe- in a small metal pan with a bit of water. Try to slide the yolks into the pan and don’t
break them. Place that pan inside
another pan filled half way with cold water. (Double boiler) Put a candy or
other food thermometer in the pan with the water. Slowly heat the water to 140 degrees and hold
it at 140 degrees for 5 minutes. It
takes careful watching. This should not
cook the yolks, but if they do cook just a bit it won’t hurt. Use the eggs in your recipe right away.
Ranch dressing
½ cup homemade
mayonnaise
½ cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 tablespoon
finely chopped onion
½ teaspoon dry mustard
½ teaspoon
minced garlic or amount to your taste
2 tablespoons
finely chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon
finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon
finely chopped fresh dill
¼ teaspoon
black pepper
Salt to your
taste and diet needs
You can shake
this up in a large jar with a tight lid, use a blender in short pulses or whisk
it together. It makes about a cup of
dressing. Keep refrigerated.
Recording your garden in pictures
When I look
around my garden in August, when most plants are mature and full sized I often
think about how crowded it is and what I need to move or remove. But in May when things are young and small
there I am, plugging the “gaps” with new plants. I started recording my garden in pictures
every week late last year. Before that I
had sporadic pictures I could review but I sometimes wondered why I had planted
something in a certain spot, or even where I had planted something, my memory
being somewhat “older” now. In winter I
was trying to remember what colors were prominent at a certain time or where
and when I needed color. This year, every
week or so, I have been taking a picture of each garden bed from several
angles. I also photograph pot
groupings. I download the pictures to a
file on my computer. I can review the
progression of my garden beds and it really helps me make decisions on where I
need color at a particular time, what gets overpowering late in the season or
looks ratty and where I could place new plants.
 |
| Deck potted collection July 30, 2015 |
From my
pictures last fall I knew I didn’t need any more hostas in the bed in front of
the handicap ramp, even though it looked bare when the hostas were first
leafing out. From my pictures this
spring I could see where I need some more tulips or other spring bulbs. I probably wouldn’t have been able to visualize
where to place them this fall with all the huge hostas and other plants at full
maturity. Now I will sneak them in under
the hostas at the west end of the handicap ramp bed.
With weekly
pictures you can see when things bloom and compare them to when they bloomed
last year, to see if the season is earlier or later than normal. Most cameras date stamp the picture in the
file label, if yours doesn’t and you want to do this, simply re-name your file
with a date. You can even open the
picture with a program such as “paint” and add notes to your pictures. I sort my pictures by the flower bed, such as
“triangle bed” or “birdhouse bed” and then put them in order by date. I’ve included older pictures I found in my
computer from previous years. If you do
this you could even print the pictures so you can have them at hand when
shopping garden catalogs this winter.
 |
| I call this the handicap ramp bed, July 11, 2015 |
Your pictures
don’t have to be great artistic things, and you don’t have to show them to
anyone if you don’t want to. Just make
sure to snap them at regular intervals. With
today’s digital cameras and everyone having a cell phone or some other device
that takes pictures this is easy to do. I
have found that the pictures help me immensely in planning and they are great
to show off when the week’s pictures are unusually good. Gardens change so fast through the season,
one day your beds are blazing with color, the next rather dull and drab. How many times have you told someone; “You
should have been here last week when my peonies, roses, tulips or whatever were
in bloom”? Photo’s help you capture the
great moments.
Buddleia or Butterfly Bush
For late
summer color and fragrance, and a beautiful feeding station for butterflies,
nothing beats the Butterfly Bush. Even
smaller gardens can now enjoy this easy to care for plant, as dwarf varieties
have been developed. Hummingbirds and
bees also appreciate the buddleias and they add color and structure to the
garden as well.
Buddleia is
also known by the common name of Summer Lilac.
Butterfly Bush is a much better name because it truly draws a circus of
colorful butterfly species. Some books
may spell the Latin name of Butterfly Bush as Buddleja.
Most
buddleias are native to China and Japan, although there are a few from other
semi-tropical areas of the world, including the southern United States. Most Butterfly Bushes on the market are
selections of Buddleia davidii, but
there are a few other species on the market. The plants form woody stems in
warm climates but die to the ground in most of Michigan. Butterfly bush is classified as a
semi-shrub, or semi- woody, and most varieties get quite large and tall, 3 foot
wide by 6 foot or higher, in one growing season.
The leaves of
buddleia are long and narrow and range from deep green to silvery green. There are some varieties with variegated
leaves. Smaller varieties have been
developed that suit small spaces better.
Buddleia has
numerous plumes of tiny colorful flowers, which begin opening at the bottom and
continue to open for several days to the tip. The flowers are tube shaped with
4 or 5 petals. Colors ranges from white
to nearly black, many flowers have orange or yellow throats. Many varieties of
buddleia are fragrant, but it is not an over-powering scent.
Cultivation of Buddleias
There are
varieties of butterfly bush that are hardy in zone 5, but before purchasing
check the zone hardiness, as some varieties may not be hardy in Michigan. Those
in the far southern Michigan counties may be able to grow varieties rated to
zone 6, particularly in protected areas.
Although some of what was formerly Zone 5 has been re-classified as zone
6, be careful as our last few winters have killed a lot of buddleias. Buddleia is usually purchased as a plant and
starts blooming at a very young age. It
can be started easily from seed however, and will bloom the first year if started
early in the year.
 |
| Pink buddleia or butterfly bush |
Buddleia is
slow to get growing in the spring so mark the plant location and give it
time. Once it starts growing it grows
very quickly and makes a large shrub in one season. Make sure you allow plenty of room for the
plant when it is at its largest in late summer.
In zones 5
and 6, Butterfly Bush usually dies to the ground each year. Since buddleia forms its blooms on this
year’s wood, cutting the plants back to a foot above the ground each fall is a
good idea. This encourages the plant to
put out more stems, and that means more blooms. The stubs will mark the spot so
you won’t damage the roots before the plant begins growing in early
summer. Buddleia alternifolia, or Fountain Butterfly Bush, is an exception
to this. It blooms on old wood and only
winterkilled wood should be removed in late spring. If Fountain Butterfly Bush needs pruning to
shape or control growth, it should be done immediately after flowering.
When buddleia
begins to grow in the spring, fertilize with a slow release fertilizer for
flowers. The Butterfly Bush needs full
sun and well-drained soil. It is
somewhat drought tolerant, but appreciates some watering during lengthy dry
spells. Buddleia blooms over a long
period from late summer to late fall or the first hard frost. Be careful working around buddleia as it is
often full of bees.
When each
truss of flowers has finished blooming cut it off. This conserves the plants energy, keeps them
blooming longer, and keeps the plants from spreading vigorously from seed. In areas where it is happy, Buddleia can
become invasive, with seedlings popping up everywhere. Politically correct gardeners will take care
that Butterfly bush doesn’t spread into natural areas, although the butterflies
and bees might argue for its proliferation.
Some varieties of buddleia
Selections of
the common Butterfly Bush, Buddleia davidii include ‘Black Knight’, a deep purple, ‘White
Ball‘, ‘Pink Delight’, ‘Santana’, which has variegated foliage and
red-purple flowers, ‘Silver Anniversary’
which has silver foliage and white flowers, ‘Ellen’s Blue’, which is true blue, ‘Attraction’, which is magenta red, and “Adonis Blue’ which is only around 3-4 foot tall. There are dozens of other varieties. Butterfly bushes with yellow colors such as ‘Honeycomb’ and ‘Sungold’, [ball-shaped flower clusters], are selections of
Buddleia weyeriana. ‘Nanho Blue’ about 4 foot tall and ‘Petite Purple’ only 2 foot tall, are
selections of B. nanhoensis. Many new,
compact buddleias are on the market, many of these are hybrids of several
species.
Buddleia alternifolia, Fountain Butterfly Bush, is a shrub
with weeping branches covered with tiny lavender flowers in late spring. It blooms on old wood, and should not be
pruned to the ground each fall.
No garden is
complete without a butterfly way station like buddleia. Even those who garden in containers can now
enjoy this plant in its compact versions.
Do the bees and butterflies a favor and plant lots of Butterfly bushes.
Why don’t I have any squash,
cucumbers, melons etc?
Every year
new gardeners ask this question when it seems like their vining crops are
blooming and blooming but they aren’t getting any “fruits”. Most vining plants like squash, pumpkins,
melons and cucumbers need a long growing season and warmth to do their best. They also need full sun. But by August they should be flowering and
here is where the confusion begins. All
of these plants produce two types of flowers, male and female. They look similar except that the female
flowers have a baby “bump” at the stem end.
This looks like a tiny quash, pumpkin and so on.
 |
| Winter squash - female bud. Credit; commons.wikipedia.org |
Male flowers
usually begin blooming first on a plant.
They will bloom and die, because they can’t produce a fruit. But if conditions are right female flowers
will soon start appearing along with the male and if there are pollinators
around, the baby bumps will begin growing.
The withered blossom often hangs on the developing fruit for a short
time. Most of the vining crops grow their
fruit at a fast rate. Some like
cucumbers and summer squash will be ready to eat in just a couple weeks, as
these crops need to be picked when they are still small for the best eating.
The fruit of
vining crops may not look like what you expect when they first begin developing
but don’t panic. Cantaloupe develop the
netting on their skins later in development.
Many squash, melons, gourds and pumpkins have a different color from
when they are mature- melons and gourds may develop spots later for
example. Pumpkins start out green like
many squash and then they develop color later.
Cucumbers should be green when picked unless you are growing one of the
rare white or lemon varieties. They will
change color to orange, yellow or brown when mature but those mature fruits don’t
make the best eating.
It’s not
unusual for plants you thought were one type of squash or melon to turn out to
be something else. Plants that look
similar like pumpkins and squash sometimes get mislabeled in nurseries. Also pumpkin, squash, and gourds can
hybridize and the saved seeds may produce something unusual. Different melons may also hybridize. You may
get one of these seeds in a seed packet.
When you are growing them close
together in a garden the fruit they produce this season should be as expected,(
unless you got that odd seed), pumpkins
or hubbard squash or cantaloupe but if you save the seeds next year’s offspring
could surprise you.
 |
| Young muskmelon August 2 |
 |
| Mature muskmelon August 30. |
So when you
see both types of flowers on a vining plant you should expect to see the fruit
begin developing soon. Some melons,
squash, gourds and pumpkins can take a long time to begin blooming – they need
long seasons to make fruit. So check the
maturity dates on these types of plants when you buy them or seeds for them and
in Zones 5 and 6 stick to those that say 120 days or less to maturity.
Have you gone swimming yet this
summer?
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and
a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
Events, classes and other offerings
Please let me know if there is any event or class that
you would like to share with other gardeners.
These events are primarily in Michigan but if you are a reader from
outside of Michigan and want to post an event I’ll be glad to do it.
Do you have plants or
seeds you would like to swap or share?
Post them here by emailing me.
An
interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook
Here’s a
seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/875574275841637/
Here’s a facebook page link for
gardeners in the Lapeer area
Here’s a
link to classes being offered at Campbell’s Greenhouse, 4077 Burnside Road,
North Branch. Now open.
Here’s a
link to classes and events at Nichols Arboretum, Ann Arbor
Here’s a
link to programs being offered at English Gardens, several locations in
Michigan.
Here’s a
link to classes at Telly’s Greenhouse in Troy and Shelby Twsp. MI, and now
combined with Goldner Walsh in Pontiac MI.
Here’s a
link to classes and events at Bordines, Rochester Hills, Grand Blanc, Clarkston
and Brighton locations
Here’s a
link to events at the Leslie Science and Nature Center, 1831 Traver Road Ann
Arbor, Michigan | Phone 734-997-1553 |
http://www.lesliesnc.org/
Here’s a link to events at Hidden Lake Gardens, 6214
Monroe Rd, Tipton, MI
Here’s a
link to all the spring programs being offered at Seven Ponds Nature center in
Dryden, Michigan. http://www.sevenponds.org/education/progs/springprograms/
Here’s a
link to events and classes at Fredrick Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids Mi
http://www.meijergardens.org/learn/ (888) 957-1580, (616) 957-1580
Wild Summer Tea Party with Cassey
Mieslik and Jeanette Farley,
Saturday, August 8, 2015, 10am - 12pm
and 1pm to 3pm
The day begins
taking a walk to harvest teas followed by trying out teas made from wild mint,
bee balm and having a few sips of Sumac lemonade. Also learn how to infuse
Queens Ann Lace into Apple Jelly. Yum!
At 1pm there
are salve and lotion demonstrations and each person will receive a sample of
both the salve and lotion. Bring a sack lunch too.
Enter the
driveway at 4107 Columbiiaville Road, Columbiaville Michigan. Dress for the
weather. $5.00 donation.
Change of the Season – A Guided
Nature Walk, Monday,
August 17, 2015 9:30AM to
11:30AM
Take a tour of the Hilton and Marjorie Tibbits Nature
Sanctuary, a Lapeer Land Conservancy property. Entrance and parking is located
directly across from 4090 Columbiaville Road, Columbiaville, Michigan.
Bring water
bottle, binoculars, camera and field guides. Dress for the weather. Donations
accepted. Please call 810-969-1023 at least 1 day prior to the event date to
reserve your spot! For all programs children 17 and younger must be accompanied
by a registered adult. Please park in the designated parking areas! Thank You!
Newsletter
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. Please state that you want to have the item published in my weekly notes.
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.
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 local people and
horticulture. It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If at any time you
don’t wish to receive these emails just let me know. If you know anyone who
would like to receive these emails have them send their email address to
me. KimWillis151@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment