April 13, 2021 happy hyacinths

 Hi Gardeners

We have been having some excellent weather, except for the wind some days. Most of the rain has come at night here and we have escaped any serious storms. However the prediction is for some snow flurries or a mix of snow and rain on Thursday. Bah!

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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