© Kim Willis - no
parts of this newsletter may be used without permission.
Hi
Gardeners
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| Salvia |
The leaf
color show seems delayed this year. The weather service says most places are a
week or so behind. I do see some color
around here but it’s not at peak yet.
Colder nights as well as diminishing hours of daylight trigger leaf color. We haven’t had enough nights near freezing
for chlorophyll to stop functioning and disappear, leaving the lovely reds and
yellows behind. Some plants are more
sensitive to just the shortening daylight and do color up despite warm nights. I expect we will see better color next week
through the end of the month.
I still
have tomatoes and peppers alive in the garden.
The tomatoes had almost died from fungal diseases but they have
recovered now and have put out all new growth and have been flowering and
making little green tomatoes. That’s shows
how odd the weather has been.
The gourds
and cukes are just about done, not from cold but from a heavy case of downy
mildew due to warm wet weather. Some
annuals are still blooming, the mums are doing well, my dahlias are still blooming,
and even the water hyacinth is blooming again- in October! My Mina vine (Spanish Flag), finally started
blooming, see an article about them below.
The moon flower is still blooming too.
I had lots
of bulbs arrive this week for planting. I
also have some trout lilies to plant in my shady native plant area. Trout
lilies have an elongated bulb. I got all of this current batch of bulbs from
ColorBlends, a new company for me. The
bulbs are large and nice looking and they have really good prices.
I am hoping
to finish cleaning the vegetable garden up and my chicken coops in the next week.
Then there are the apples to get processed.
I have made a batch of apple butter, next is putting up sliced apples in
the freezer for winter treats. I am getting tired of making pickles but I still
have a lot of cukes to use up. We are supposed to be busy little ants preparing
for winter but I get sidetracked when the fall weather is glorious, wanting to
wander around soaking up the weak sun and capturing color with my camera.
Rooster dilemma
Last week
just before it rained one evening, I went out to the barn to close it up and
there stood a big rooster. I thought it
was one of mine who had come in the wrong part of the barn and closed him up in
there for the night. When I opened the
door the next morning I saw the rooster was red- and I didn’t have any red
roosters. He hung around the yard all
day trying to avoid my roosters. That
night after all the other chickens were shut up he came back in the barn and I
set some feed down for him.
I was
feeding the cats and then I turned around and there were two red roosters
eating. And when I went into the coop to
shut it up there was another red rooster hiding in there. So somebody dumped 3 Rhode Island Red roosters
here. Obviously they don’t know that
resident roosters don’t take kindly to new roosters arriving and I have several
young roosters here that hatched this spring as well as a mature older rooster.
There has been lots of fighting and chasing around here. I don’t have an empty coop to pen the new
roosters in. They come inside each night
after the other birds settle in and are surviving but it’s hard on them.
I despise
people who drop off animals instead of doing the right thing and finding new
homes for them or taking them to a shelter.
In the case of roosters they could also have been butchered, but these
were probably some Easter pets. Now I
have their problem. I am offering these
roosters to anyone for free, they are nice looking. If no one wants them they will eventually be
put in the freezer.
What
to do with those leaves
I think the leaf blower has got to be the worst garden
tool invented. While there may be some need for them in a commercial landscape
setting, to blow slippery leaves off walks for example, there is no need for
them in the home landscape. Not only are
leaf blowers noisy, gas guzzling and a contributor to air pollution but they
are used to sweep away a wonderful gift that nature has given you-fall leaves.
Here’s why leaves should be considered a gift. All summer long the tree has been drawing
nutrients from the soil and creating food from sunlight. While the trees do “recall” some of those nutrients
from the leaves and store them in the roots over winter, there are still many nutrients
in each of those leaves decorating your lawn. You can choose to throw those
nutrients away, spending hours of time raking and bagging them, or worse, using
a leaf blower to move them somewhere else. Or you can choose to keep nature’s
gift and return those valuable nutrients to your soil.
Some people worry that if they let leaves lay on the
lawn they will smother the grass. It is true that a heavy, thick layer of wet
leaves can cause some patches of lawn to die. Nature seldom lets this happen
because the leaves get stirred around by fall and winter winds but occasionally
there are heavy build ups on lawns. If
this worries you or you don’t like the “messy” look of leaves on the lawn the
solution is simple. On a dry day get your lawn mower, preferably with a
mulching blade, set it to mow about 3 inches high and make a couple passes over
your lawn. If leaves have gathered
against a fence or building your rake can get some use as you rake them out to
where the mower can chop them up.
Leaves that are cut into small pieces by the mower will
settle into the lawn and soon be decomposed, returning those captured nutrients
to the soil and the trees that shed the leaves. In a very short time you will
never know they were there. You can wait until all the leaves have fallen, or
mow every few days, depending on how many leaves you are given.
There is one good reason to rake leaves and that is to
use them for compost or organic improvement for your vegetable and flower beds.
Better yet, use the bagged leaves your neighbors have spent all that labor on
and just mow yours. Leaves can go directly into compost piles, whole or
shredded. They can also be piled on bare vegetable beds. Leaves can be left in
those plastic bags and stored dry somewhere to add to compost piles in the
spring and summer when dry matter is needed to balance wet matter.
Before using leaves to mulch dormant perennials, most
leaves should be shredded. Oak leaves and leaves that are very small already,
such as honey locust leaves, are an exception. They can be used “as is.” Other
leaves may matt and mold if used whole and in quantity. You can buy leaf
shredders or you can place a layer of leaves in a large trash can, insert a
“weed wacker” and chop them up. Wear safety goggles and keep your face away
from the can opening if you do this in case foreign objects were in the leaves.
Shredded leaves can be used generously to mulch perennial beds.
If you are thinking of building a new flower or
vegetable bed in a turf area next spring the smothering effect of large amounts
of whole leaves can be used to your advantage. Outline your new bed, mow the
existing vegetation as short as possible and pile on the leaves, a foot or more
high. You may want to lay some fence wire or burlap across the leaves and weigh
it down to keep the wind from stealing your leaves over the winter.
You are wise, not lazy when you don’t rake and blow
leaves away. Never throw a gift away.
Nature gave you the leaves so use them wisely.
Caryopteris-
Beautiful In Blue
Blue Mist, Bluebeard, Blue Spirea, or Caryopteris,
whatever you want to call it, this delightful late summer bloomer is a magnet
for butterflies and a big asset in the late summer border. Caryopteris has true
blue flowers and is hardy, tough and easy to grow.
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| Caryopteris flowers |
Caryopteris leaves are generally silvery green,
although variegated and golden leaved varieties exist. The leaves are small and narrow, reminding
one of willow leaves. In some varieties they are serrated at the edges, on
others the edges are smooth and the leaf may be slightly lobed.
The flowers are carried on whorled spikes at the end of
stems. The long stamens stick out of
each flower and the petals of the flowers have tiny extensions, which give the
flower clusters a feathery appearance.
Caryopteris flowers are generally blue, although pink forms exist. Butterflies and bees are very attracted to
Caryopteris flowers. The flowers are
said to have a slight scent, although I have never noticed it.
Growing
Caryopteris
Although it will sometimes re-seed itself in the
garden, seed for Caryopteris is seldom offered to gardeners. Caryopteris is generally purchased as a
plant. Try to buy a named variety rather
than one just labeled Caryopteris or Blue Mist Shrub, as named varieties
usually have better shape and more flowers.
Size of mature Caryopteris plants is about 3 foot by 3 foot.
Caryopteris is one of the few shrubs that will bloom in
light or part shade. They also do well
in full sun. They are hardy from zone 9 to
at least zone 5. In zone 5 Caryopteris
may die back to the ground but will make substantial growth and will bloom by
late summer. Caryopteris blooms on new
wood, so all winter-damaged wood can be safely pruned off in early spring
without losing the flowers. In fact,
Caryopteris often has a better shape and looks fuller if it is cut back to
about half its size each spring, regardless of winter damage. Be a little patient with them in the spring
as they are often slow to leaf out.
Caryopteris should be watered regularly but don’t
fertilize unless your soil is quite poor.
Too much fertilizer makes more leafy growth than flowers. They begin blooming in late summer and
continue blooming until a hard frost.
Keeping dead flowers trimmed off on Caryopteris prolongs the bloom.
Choosing
Varieties
‘Longwood Blue’
is one of the best sky blue flowered varieties.
It also has nice silvery gray foliage.
‘First Choice’ is a deep blue
with a dense, compact growth habit. ‘Sunshine Blue’ has golden leaves and
deep blue flowers. It is a good choice
for warmer zones. ‘Little Miss Sunshine’
is another variety with gold foliage. ‘Summer
Sorbet’ has green leaves edged in gold and deep blue flowers. ‘Pink
Chablis’ is a Caryopteris with pink flowers.
Caryopteris divaricata, ‘Snowflake’ is a species of Caryopteris from the Himalayan
Mountains. It is a compact shrub, with
slightly fuzzy green leaves edged in white.
The flowers are blue, but shaped a bit differently from other
Caryopteris. The leaves of this plant
have an unpleasant smell.
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| Caryopteris Little Miss Sunshine |
Using
Caryopteris
Caryopteris makes a nice low shrub bordering walks and
is excellent in larger mixed borders for late summer color. It is a good plant for butterfly gardens,
especially mixed with pink buddleia and goldenrod. It can also be used as airy blue filler in
floral arrangements.
Spanish
Flag, (Ipomoea lobata),
Mina lobata
I picked up a plant of what I call Mina vine this
spring at a local greenhouse. It had
been many years since I had seen the plant.
My grandmother called it Spanish Flag (not to be confused with Spanish
fly) but I learned the scientific name, Mina lobata before it was re-classified
and re-named to the Ipomoea family. It’s
also called Exotic Love and Firecracker plant in some circles. My grandmother grew them from seed she saved
each year.
If you like vines or just enjoy growing something
different Spanish Flag will be just the thing for you. This cousin of the
morning glory is fast growing but in zones 6 and below you’ll want to get it
started early inside since it takes 12-14 weeks to begin blooming. The attractive vines can grow up to 15 feet
long and you’ll want to plant them along a fence or trellis.
 |
| Spanish Flag |
Around 1960 Spanish Flag began appearing again in American
gardens sporadically. It’s still not a
very common plant, especially in northern gardens, but well worth seeking out
and babying a bit to get it growing in your garden. In zones 9 and above Spanish Flag is a short
lived perennial and readily re-seeds itself.
In zones 7-8 it will be killed by frost but may re-seed itself and bloom
each year. In zones 6 and lower it
really needs to be started inside 2-3 months before your last spring frost so
it will have enough time to bloom before fall frosts.
Description
Spanish Flag gets its common name for its pretty and
unusual flowers. The flowers jut out of
one side of stems that grow on a slant, looking like flags (or maybe wind
socks) flying from a pole. They are in
clusters along reddish stems and are tubular, with only a small opening which
faces downward. The youngest buds are
scarlet red, as they mature they get longer and plumper, like a balloon
inflating, and change from red to yellow-orange and then a finally a creamy
white. They mature from the bottom upward. Each spray of flowers will display individual
flowers in various color stages.
Once Spanish Flag begins bloom it is quite a prolific bloomer
and puts on a good show. Several vines
along a fence or trellis will be very colorful.
Bees and butterflies do visit the flowers although it would seem like
they would have trouble getting to any pollen or nectar rewards through the
narrow opening.
The leaves of Spanish Flag have 3 deep lobes (think ace
of spades). In spring the young leaves
have a bronzy purple look and they later mature into green leaves along a dark
wiry stem. The vines are vigorous once the weather warms and quickly cover a
lot of space. They will climb and
smother other plants so choose your planting site carefully.
Cultural
requirements
Spanish Flag isn’t fussy about soil type although the
soil should drain well. You can put
plants in the ground once it’s warm and all frost danger has passed or keep
them in 2 gallon pots or larger. They
prefer full sun in the north, in zone 8 and above they will do fine in partial
shade. Space plants in the ground about 12 inches apart.
Keep Spanish Flag well-watered but use little or no
fertilizer on the plants or you will end up with lots of vine and few flowers. It can take 12 weeks from the time Spanish
Flag is transplanted into the garden to when it blooms. Even though it is frost tender in the spring
I have found that light frosts in fall may not harm it and it will continue to
bloom until a hard frost.
Once vines wither from frost save a few seeds and pull
the vines out and discard.
Starting
from seeds
If you are lucky you may find Spanish Flag at a local
nursery as starter plants in the spring.
But most gardeners will need to start them from seed. The seeds need similar treatment to other
Ipomea family members. You’ll want to
begin the process 10-12 weeks before your last frost.
First nick the hard round seeds. I use fingernail
clippers to chip a tiny spot out of the side opposite the “scar” or where the
seed attached to the seed pod. Some
people use a file and file a tiny spot through the seed coat. You just need to get through the hard outer
coat a tiny bit. Don’t remove the whole
seed coat and don’t cut deeply into the tissue beneath the outer coat.
Next soak the seed in warm water for a couple
hours. Then plant it in warm 70-80
degree, moist seed starting soil. For
best results you’ll probably need a heated seed starting mat and a warm
room. I would put one or two seeds into
individual 4 inch pots instead of using flats.
Keep pots warm and moist. The seeds of Spanish Flag can take 2-3 weeks
to germinate even in good conditions so be patient.
Once you have the second or third set of leaves you
should thin to one plant per 4 inch pot. If the planting medium did not contain
fertilizer, you should use a water soluble fertilizer now. Put a stake in early and tie the plants to it
so they don’t twine and tangle together. Keep your plants in bright light such
as a southern window or under a plant light.
Transplant outside after all danger of frost has passed. Plants can grow in a two gallon or larger pot
outside if you prefer.
Uses
and cautions
All parts of Ipomoea
lobata are poisonous. It’s not edible.
There are no known herbal uses.
Spanish Flag makes a great vine for a screen or covering ugly fences.
It’s an excellent conversation piece on the patio or porch twining around a
post. It can be planted on a pillar or
trellis in the border.
Cheesy
Corn casserole
Most of you have heard about cheesy potatoes and
probably have eaten them at a potluck dinner.
But cheesy corn is just as delicious and lower in carbs. The whole dish
has about 100 grams of carbs. It’s an excellent side dish on a cold day and
goes well with ham or sausage.
This is a recipe I adapted and modified from one of
those recipes meant to feed a large crowd.
This recipe is more suitable for a family and serves 4-6 people. You
could double or triple it if you want to bring something different to a potluck
dinner.
You’ll need:
1-14-16 oz. bag of frozen whole kernel corn
1-14 oz. can of condensed cream of celery soup
½ c chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons of butter cut in small pieces
2 tablespoons of butter cut in small pieces
2 eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups cheddar-jack finely shredded cheese
Directions
Blend the butter, eggs, and soup together well. Pour into a 9x9 inch or similar casserole
dish.
Add the corn, peppers, onions and cheese, salt
and pepper and toss/stir well. You don’t need to defrost the corn before adding
it.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until the
top is lightly browned and sauce thickened.
Let the dish sit about 10 minutes before serving to
further thicken the sauce and serve.
Variations
To make this a meal you could add diced cooked ham,
chicken, or cooked sausage pieces.
If you like it spicy you can add some chopped jalapeno
peppers.
If you don’t like celery you could use cream of
broccoli, mushroom or chicken soup.
Wooly
Bear Caterpillars
Almost everyone in the Eastern part of the United
States has seen a Wooly Bear, a fuzzy black and rust colored caterpillar,
usually in the fall. They are said to forecast the type of winter we will have
by the amount of rust color they wear but that is a folk tale that doesn’t have
merit. (The wider the rust color band, the milder the winter is supposed to be.) Each wooly (or woolly depending on your
regions spelling), caterpillar in the environment will have slightly different
coloration and there are several species of Tiger Moths, the adult form of the
caterpillar, in most areas and each species may have slightly different
caterpillar coloration. The Isabella Tiger moth (Pyrrharctia Isabella) is the most common and is found all the way
to the artic.
But the wooly bear caterpillar does have a fascinating
life cycle. The ones we see in the fall
may be a second or third generation of tiger moths that year but as the cold
weather comes the fall generation will prepare to hibernate overwinter- not as
a cocoon or pupae as many moths and butterflies do but as a caterpillar in
suspended animation. They are crawling around looking for a layer of leaves or
mulch to hide under in the fall. They may sometimes wander into homes looking
for a place to hibernate, but they will not do any harm.
Wooly bear caterpillars normally have black head and
rear areas with a rust colored band in the middle. The width of the band varies considerably and
some caterpillars can be all black or rust colored also. They are called “wooly” because they are
covered with stiff hairs that make them appear fuzzy. The caterpillars are pretty indiscriminate
feeders and feed on a wide range of vegetation including maples, birches,
thistles, sunflowers and clover. They
rarely do much damage and don’t need control.
The hairs on the caterpillar can cause a mild dermatitis on some people
if handled but the main defense the wooly bear caterpillar has is to play dead.
Isabella tiger moths
fly at night and eat a little nectar if anything at all. The moth only has a few days to mate and
produce eggs. She lays her eggs on a
wide variety of trees and other plants including maples, thistles and
dandelions. The tiny wooly caterpillars
that hatch use a “balloon” made out of a strand of silk to float from plant to
plant at first. Later they simply crawl
from plant to plant. They go through six
changes of skin as they grow to about 2 inches long. With each change of skin the color will also
change. When they are large and full
enough of leaves they will turn into a pupae and start the process over, unless
it is cold.
In the Arctic it can take several years of freezing and
thawing before the wooly caterpillar has grown enough to make a pupae and turn
into a moth. In more southern areas
there can be two or three generations of the moth, with the last one surviving
through winter. So when you find the
wooly caterpillars as you clean your garden in the spring you can marvel at how
the little bugger made it through the winter.
Gilded
end to summer, cerulean sky gone gray, October day
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and
a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
Events, classes, free items and sales
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. You can also
ask me to post garden related events. Kimwillis151@gmail.com
An
interesting Plant Id page you can join on Facebook
Here’s a
seed/plant sharing group you can join on Facebook
Invitation
If you are a gardener
in Michigan close to Lapeer we invite you to join the Lapeer Area Horticultural
Society. The club meets once a month, 6:30 pm, on the third Monday at various
places for a short educational talk, snacks and socializing with fellow
gardeners. No educational or volunteer requirements for membership, all are
welcome. Membership dues are $20 per year. Come and visit us, sit in on a
meeting for free. Contact
susanmklaffer@yahoo.com
Phone 810-664-8912
For sale Muscovy
ducklings, black laced, about 4 months old, you must buy at least 2, unless you
have other ducks. $5 each. Message me at
kimwillis151@gmail.com for more info. Muscovy are flying ducks, large sized and make
good meat ducks. They do not quack- and
are very quiet. I also have 3 and 4 year
old hens for sale, a variety of breeds.
Some are still laying. $3.00 each
I have 5-6 large size,
young roosters I will give away free.
They are Rhode Island Red and some are a cross of Australorp and “Easter
egg” chickens. Shoot me an email for
more information Kimwillis151@gmail.com
Fundamentals of Growing & Caring for Dahlias, Friday, Oct 28, 2016, 10am, Meadow Brook Hall, 350, Mansion Dr., Rochester, MI
Dr. Keith Berven will talk about
growing dahlias. Sponsored by the
Meadowbrook Garden club. Guests welcome,
$5.
For more information please contact 248‑364‑6210, or www.meadowbrookhall.org.
Here’s a facebook page link for
gardeners in the Lapeer area. This link
has a lot of events listed on it.
Here’s a
link to all the nature programs being offered at Seven Ponds Nature center in
Dryden, Michigan. http://www.sevenponds.org/
Here’s a
link to classes being offered at Campbell’s Greenhouse, 4077 Burnside Road,
North Branch.
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 events and classes at Fredrick Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids Mi
http://www.meijergardens.org/learn/ (888) 957-1580, (616) 957-1580
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.
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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