Hi Gardeners
The garden is moving along nicely. Early tulips are starting
to bloom, the apricots and cherries are blooming. The redbud is showing lots of
pink and will bloom soon. I have a beautiful showing of hyacinths from the
bulbs I bought from Color Blends last fall. All sorts of pretty colors in the
mix. I think I will buy the same mix
next year and expand the places I have them. Deer don’t eat hyacinths and they
smell good too.
I have a yellow fritillaria in bloom and the orange will
bloom soon. The daffodils are nearing full bloom. Grape hyacinths and tiny pink
species tulips are blooming. Anemones (windflowers) are blooming as are violas
and the common violet. Honeyberry and forsythia are in bloom. My clematis and
roses are leafing out.
Blood root is in bloom, and the trilliums are budding out.
The willows and maples are shedding their pollen and all around a light haze of
green and red is coming to the trees. Pussy willows have their catkins.
Dandelions, chickweed, and self-heal are blooming. Mayapple is emerging from the ground.
My hosta are up enough that I can locate the big one I want
to move. It gets too much sun where it’s at and is usually hidden by ferns by mid-summer,
even though it’s a tall hosta. That will
be a project for this week, weather permitting. The local greenhouses are open,
and I want to get out and buy some pansies. Also on the agenda, potting up my
dahlias to get them growing. Maybe I’ll do that when it’s snowing Thursday.
I’ve been cleaning out garden areas and moving stuff around. By stuff I mean bird baths and garden art. A new bird bath is causing me to shuffle things around but it’s all good. Among all the problems in the world, where to put a new bird bath is certainly a “good” problem.
Hummingbird
and oriole feeders
This week I hung up a new hummingbird feeder. I bought one early because last year it
became hard to find them later in the season. This one was inexpensive, yet it
had a moat around the hanging hook to keep ants from getting to the nectar
ports. It also had white plastic flowers around the openings, no yellow rings
in the center. Yellow center rings or flowers are known to attract wasps and bees.
And no, we don’t want to feed the bees, the feeders are for birds.
Since I saw that hummingbirds were getting close, moving up
from the south, I put out a feeder. With colder weather coming later this week
they may be delayed a little, but I am prepared if an early visitor shows up. As soon as I see a hummer, I’ll put out the
rest of my feeders. I also hung a jelly
feeder for the orioles, who generally arrive at about the same time as the
hummers.
There are nectar feeders for orioles too. If your
hummingbird feeder has perches, orioles can use the same feeder. But grape jelly
in a feeder and halved oranges are a big draw for orioles. You can use other
flavors of jelly but grape jelly is usually the cheapest and orioles love it.
My current jelly feeder is simply a glass bowl that sits in a hanger. It has a stick
across it for the birds to land on.
I place a half orange on the end of the hook holding the jelly
feeder. I cut a little x in the bottom of the orange half to make it easy to push
it down over the hook end. You can also drive nails through a piece of wood and
skewer the orange halves to it, cut side up. Then hang the wood.
Don’t buy hummingbird or oriole nectar, it’s simple to make.
They don’t need red colored nectar to be attracted and it’s best to avoid the
dyes. Simply bring some water to a boil and stir in common white sugar. The ratio
is one cup sugar to 4 cups water. Some people use a 3 cups water to 1 cup sugar
ratio. It doesn’t seem to make much
difference. Fill your feeder after the nectar cools down.
Never use anything but plain white table sugar when making
nectar. Do not use any artificial sweeteners, brown sugar or honey. Don’t use
juice or flavorings either. These things can harm hummers and orioles.
You can make a lot of nectar at one time and freeze some in plastic bags. A quick minute or two in the microwave and you have more nectar ready to go.
 |
| Oriole at a jelly feeder |
If you haven’t fed the hummingbirds or orioles in the past
be patient, it can take a while for them to find your feeders. If you have fed
them in the past, try to put the feeders close to the same spot you had them
last year. The birds do remember where the feeders were last year. Both
hummingbirds and orioles tend to return to the same areas they nested in last season.
Hummers are attracted to red- but only a small amount of red
around the feeder is needed. The nectar doesn’t need to be red. Orioles are
attracted to red and orange. My jelly feeder is green glass, the jelly is purple,
but after I hang a cut orange nearby a few times, they have no trouble finding
it.
Other birds may eat some nectar or jelly too. That should be
fine. But beware that deer, bear, squirrels
and raccoons are also attracted to these feeders. Make sure you hang feeders
high enough to discourage these critters. Squirrels don’t seem quite as
interested in nectar feeders but do like jelly. If you have a lot of wildlife
attacking your feeders, you may want to bring them in at night.
Someone I knew used to put their feeders in a large cage
with openings big enough for birds, but that kept out animals. The cage can be
hung or put on a pole with the feeders inside.
Ants and bees/wasps/hornets can also be a problem when you
hang nectar and jelly feeders. They climb right into the port holes in nectar
feeders and drown inside, making a nasty mess. Bees, wasps and hornets may also
chase hummers away from feeders. You don’t want bees, wasps and hornets
attacking you when you walk by or try to refill feeders either.
Try to eliminate any yellow around nectar ports by painting
the yellow a red or green color to discourage flying critters. The feeders with
moats you fill with water are good to discourage ants. Ants will climb all the way up a pole and
down the hook to the feeder. Various types of moats you fill with water can help.
They only need to be about 3 inches wide to stop ants.
You can tape an inverted cone on a feeder pole to discourage
ants. You’ll need to coat the inside
only of the cone with a sticky substance like petroleum jelly or use a
sticky trap for white fly or even mice to make the cone. The outside or any
place a bird can touch must not be sticky! A hummingbird is light and
can be caught by such a trap or have its feathers pulled out. Even orioles and
heavier birds can have their feathers damaged.
Put sticky cones near the bottom of poles. Make them small,
they only need to extend 2 or 3 inches from the pole. Check them often and
remove if they get dirty, full or collapse from dampness.
If you don't have any hummingbird or oriole feeders its time to get some. You'll enjoy watching these beauties.
Chiondoxia- Glory of the Snow
If you like the color blue and love early blooming flowers
you may want to consider planting some Chiondoxia or Glory of the Snow.
Blooming just after crocus in the spring, Glory of the Snow contrasts
beautifully with early blooming daffodils. Bees appreciate the early blooms
too. And best of all Glory of the Snow is deer resistant.
Glory of the Snow is actually one of six species native to Turkey, Cyprus and Crete. Which of the six species is the one common in cultivation is debated. Chionodoxa siehei, C. forbesii or C. luciliae are the species most often mentioned as garden bulbs and there may be hybrids of the species. Glory of the Snow has become naturalized in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.
Glory of the Snow is one of the so-called minor bulbs that
can be planted in the fall for spring bloom. You may have to search a bit
harder for them than crocus, but many bulb companies carry them. They look best planted in a mass, so buy at
least 25 bulbs. Glory of the Snow is hardy in zones 4-7. Warmer zones may be
able to pre-chill the bulbs for spring bloom.
Bulbs are planted in the fall, about 3 inches deep and 3
inches apart, pointed end up. Informal groupings of the small bulbs are best. They
aren’t fussy about soil type, but the area must be well drained. They like at
least moderate rainfall in spring. Summers can be drier, but they thrive in
average garden conditions.
Glory of the Snow prefers full sun but will grow under
deciduous trees as they come up and bloom before the trees provide much shade. The
foliage dies back quickly after bloom. Make sure to leave the foliage and not
remove it until it has yellowed and died.
Each Glory of the Snow bulb produces 2 long blade shaped
leaves, which are narrower at the base. Each bulb produces a bloom stalk with
several flowers. The six petaled (technically 6 tepals) flowers are a soft,
lilac blue fading to white in the center. The stamens form a cone shaped
structure in the center with the yellow anthers peeking out at the top. The
pistil is hidden inside the anther cone.
There are cultivars of Glory of the Snow with pink or white
flowers. Some cultivars have a deeper
blue color. There are also cultivars with larger flowers. These are harder to
find in catalogs.
Glory of the Snow will spread by bulblets and by seed to
produce a lovely blue carpet for you in a few years. Ants like the seeds of
Glory of the Snow and carry them to other places in the garden. Some gardeners
consider them a bit aggressive in spreading but many gardeners welcome that
habit. After all the plant is only
present for a few weeks each spring.
Unlike other bulbs Glory of the Snow is seldom bothered by
rodents and deer. I have been unable to find any information on whether the
bulbs are poisonous, but they are closely related to Scillia, which do contain
toxic compounds. Most references suggest they are toxic. I would not consume
any parts of the plant and would not let pets or livestock eat them.
Growing radishes
In zones 5 and higher radishes are a crop that can be planted in April. If the forsythia is in bloom, radishes can be planted. One of the easiest and fastest root vegetables to grow, radishes are excellent choices for beginning gardeners and for children to grow. They can be grown in containers and take up little space in the garden. Because they reach eating size quickly, several crops can be grown in the same place over a season.
Radishes, Raphanus
sativus, are an old crop, grown for thousands of years. Different cultures
developed different types of radishes. Asian radishes are usually long and hot
and spicy while European varieties are round and not as piquant. The root is
the part of the radish most often eaten, although the seed pods are edible and
eaten in some places.
There are many colors of radish roots from the familiar red
outside, white inside commonly seen in salad bars, to those with white on the
outside and fuchsia centers, solid white, purple, and black radishes. Roots can
be small and round, long and club shaped or long and tapered like a
carrot.
A special kind of radish – daikon- gets quite large and
takes several months to mature. It can
be eaten like other radishes when young.
The seeds of daikon radish can be pressed into oil which is used as a
biofuel. It’s sometimes used as livestock feed or as a weed suppressing cover
crop.
Radishes have short leafy tops. The leaves have a rough
feel. Leaves have been used as a pot green.
The flowers have 4 petals and are white or lavender. They will mature
quickly to long pods filled with black seeds.
Immature pods are quite tasty and can be used in salads or stir fry. The
Rat Tail radish has a long, curled pod and the pods are often pickled.
Culture
Radishes are a cool weather crop and should be sown as soon
as the soil can be worked. Sow several small batches a few weeks apart to
extend the harvest. They will go to seed quickly or become tough and woody in
hot weather so use the garden space for other crops in the heat of summer. You can then begin sowing radishes again in
late summer, as the weather cools. Frost
won’t bother them much. Hard freezes
will make the roots soft however.
Radishes, being a root crop, prefer sandy light soil. If
your soil is heavy clay you may want to grow radishes in containers of light
weight potting soil. Containers should
be 6 inches deep for round root varieties, or a foot deep for long tapered root
types. You generally won’t need fertilizer, unless you are using a potting mix,
or your soil is very poor. You can add a
garden fertilizer when you prepare the soil if needed.
Radishes should be grown in full sun. They need even, consistent moisture. Dry conditions tend to make them pithy and
very hot tasting. Too much moisture may
make them crack, but they are still edible.
Sow radish seed about a ½ inch deep and ½ apart. They usually germinate quickly if the soil is
moist, within a week. Thin to 1 or 2 inches apart, depending on the size of the
varieties mature root. And they grow
very quickly; you can usually begin harvesting them in a month. Harvest the roots as soon as they are big
enough for you. Don’t let them get too
big or they will become woody and tough.
Store radishes with the tops on or off, in the refrigerator,
loosely wrapped in a damp paper towel and they will last a couple weeks. Radish
pods should also be stored refrigerated.
Radishes are excellent container plants
If you have problems with root maggots or flea beetles in
your radish patch, grow them in containers. Flea beetles are small black
beetles that make the radish leaves holey and make plants less vigorous. Root
maggots come from flies that lay eggs on the soil next to radishes. They eat
the root part of the radish and make them very unappealing.
Cover your radish crop containers with a lightweight, spun
row cover, well anchored down on the soil in the containers. You should get
perfect radish crops. Make sure to use a little fertilizer in the container if
you grow successive crops of radishes.
Containers should be about 10 inches deep for round radishes
and 12-14 inches deep for “icicle” types. Daikon types are best grown in the
ground.
If you move your containers to a partly shaded location when
the weather gets hotter, you may be able to grow another crop. Generally, salad
type radishes are ready to eat in 6 weeks from planting. You could get 2 crops
in spring and summer and another in the fall.
If you want to grow
radishes in the ground and have trouble with root maggots or flea beetles make
sure to rotate where you grow your radishes each time you plant them. Covering
the crop with row cover, just like with containers, can help prevent the pests.
Radishes are a fine crop for both beginning gardeners and
experienced ones. Try some this spring.
Daffodils blossom and tulips jostle to the front of the
stage in April. I love these early perennials: they may be more modest but they
nearly all have that one special quality that a plant needs to transform your
affections from admiration to affection - charm.
- Monty Don
Kim Willis
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And So On….
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