© Kim Willis - no parts of this newsletter may be used without
permission.
Hi Gardeners
 |
| White Christmas cactus |
I don’t like winter.
There I’ve said it. Yes there’s a
certain kind of beauty in a snow covered landscape, especially when it’s new
and clean. But I still don’t like
winter. Everything is harder, except
curling up somewhere warm and sleeping. But nature knew what she was doing when
she sent snow here to cover up the plants, right before the arctic vortex blows
down on us. Snow is a great
insulator. It also reflects more light
back into my windows for the houseplants so I guess it has its usefulness.
We got about 8 inches of snow here over the last couple
days. That’s not a huge amount but
enough to make it messy and cold. And I
had to get out and shovel. Bah humbug. Last year we had 8 inches of snow
November 22, but it soon melted and much of December was mild. In fact right before Christmas last year
there was a tornado – in Canton, Mi. I believe.
On December 14, 2015 it was 60 degrees here.
I’m hoping this bitter cold spell that’s coming will be
short and we’ll get back to that mild winter the Old Farmer’s Almanac promised
us. At least inside I have bird song,
green plants, and even some flowers. I
have a fuchsia blooming, hibiscus, Christmas cactus, and bouvardia. It’s a slow season for blooms even inside as
the days are short and nights cold.
The wild birds are emptying the feeders almost as fast
as I fill them. I have two seed feeders,
a tray feeder and a suet feeder outside my little home office window. My parakeets can watch and talk to the birds
outside as they jostle and fight over the sunflower seeds.
My chickens are all locked inside now. I am giving them pumpkins to peck at to keep
busy. Egg count has dropped, but that’s normal. By the way, since I get this question all the
time, chickens do not need heat in their coop.
If they have a dry, draft proof place they will do just fine in cold
weather. They will need warm water at
least twice a day or a heated water bowl so they can get enough to drink. And there still has to be adequate air
circulation so moisture and ammonia fumes don’t build up in the coop.
If you have a live Christmas tree make sure you keep it
watered. If you are putting up a live tree that’s been sitting around for a
while make a fresh cut at least an inch thick on the trunk before placing it in
water. If the tree has been cut for a
while and not been kept in water the tree will have plugged the cut xylem tubes
with sap and the tree won’t be able to take in water very well. You don’t need to put anything in the water,
nothing will make the tree take up water better or last longer. It doesn’t need food, like sugar.
It won’t hurt if your pets drink from the tree water,
as long as you haven’t added things to the water. I would keep the kids from drinking the water
though because there could be bacterial contamination and that does bad things
to the digestive system. (Don’t underestimate what a kid might do; I had a
sister who lapped water out of the tree stand because the dog did it.)
When quitting makes sense
At the end of the year, in the dregs of feeble light
left us before the turning of the sun it’s time to examine our gardening
habits. What gardening habits, ideas, and plans do we need to leave behind in
the old year? What plants should we pull
the plug on?
Most of us have been taught that quitting is
weakness. Never give up is the motto we
are drilled into believing. Only
quitters lose we are told. But the wise
person and the wise gardener needs to learn that quitting isn’t always bad and
is sometimes the wisest decision you can make.
Quitting can often bring you happiness and better things.
Now I would never urge you to quit gardening all
together - unless you search your heart and find you really hate gardening. And
who reading this feels that way? But I
am going to urge you to think a little bit about how, why, and what you garden
and see whether it’s time to quit doing some things.
Pull the plug on those plants
Do you have a plant that you have spent years nursing
and babying along only to find it barely alive every time you look at it? It may be time to pull the plug. For some of us it’s very hard to “quit” on a
plant. It may be our pride, our sense of
failure as a “green thumb” and for some of us it’s a sentimental thing; we
actually care about the plant. But there
are so many reasons a plant may not thrive in our care. It may not be the right plant for the
conditions. It may be a naturally weak
specimen or infected with an incurable disease.
And it may be that we don’t know how to care for it or that we don’t
have the time and desire to care for it.
Is that straggling half dead ivy in your office how you
want to represent your gardening skills?
Can it be saved if you give it to someone who can give it what it
needs? Or should you take a deep breath
and toss it in the trash? Maybe you’ll
replace it with a new plant (hopefully), or maybe your office just isn’t the
right place for plants.
Long ago I had a weeping fig in another home that
became a huge and beautiful plant.
Despite the logistics of moving a 6 feet tall, 4 feet wide, heavy plant
to a new house many miles away I had no hesitation. I moved it but it was never the same. For
years I put up with a half dead plant that constantly dropped leaves, needed
dead branches pruned out and shrank to half its original size. I tried everything but the plant sat there
taking up large amounts of window space with its struggling nearly bare
branches. Its 20 years old I reasoned, I
can’t give up on a plant that old.
Finally reason prevailed. I decided despite the huge
effort to move it I would put it outside for the summer in a nice sheltered
spot. If it improved over the summer I
would move it back inside. If it didn’t
– well – that was it. I would like to
say it grew beautiful and full, but it didn’t.
When frost was near in the fall I almost relented and moved it back
inside. But I thought of the new tub
plants I had bought that summer and how that large window the fig formerly
occupied would be so good for them and I left the fig outside and said
farewell.
Look over your plants, inside and outside. Are there some that just don’t thrive despite
all your efforts? How many people do you
know that have a half dead plant somewhere in their home or yard that’s been
there for ages? So many of us can’t give
up on a plant, even when it’s the best thing we could do. Quit spending time and resources on them. Say good bye.
The good news is that now you have room for new plants and a reason to
buy them.
Do you replant the same species over and over because you
really want that species in your garden, even when you know it might not be
right for the conditions? For me it is
the acid loving plants, holly, rhododendrons, and blueberries. My soil is alkaline. I faithfully add acidic soil amendments and
fertilizers but still they struggle. I
know sometimes plants actually adjust the soil conditions around them, but mine
just can’t seem to make it long enough to do so. So next year I quit. No more replacing dead holly and other acidic
loving plants. I’ll continue to care for
those that made it through winter, slipping them their pH lowering potions but
if they die – that’s it.
 |
| Time to pull the plug on this holly. |
Examine your landscape plants and see if there are
areas and plants where quitting is the most reasonable solution. Are you still trying to grow grass under
mature trees? Quit. Are you still trying to grow plants that love
sun in a shady spot? Quit. Does your water garden turn into a scummy
mess by midsummer every year because you don’t have time to care for it? Quit.
When things don’t work well after several attempts it’s
time to quit and to put your time and energy into something different. Put mulch under the trees, or grow moss. Find plants that love shade for the shady
spot. Empty the water garden and do
something low care there.
Do you need to take out overgrown foundation plantings
that take excessive pruning time and never look good anymore? Pull the plug on them. How about that tree that’s lurking menacingly
over the roof, can it be pruned or does it need to go? How about that wisteria that’s pulling down
its arbor and that you neglected to prune so long it’s a tangled disaster? Is it time to cut it off at the base and let
it start over?
Quit bad gardening habits
Sometimes we also need to “quit” gardening that has
become a habit but that is no longer useful or needed. Do you still plant a huge vegetable garden
every year even though the kids are long gone to their own homes and you struggle
with a bad back and knees? Quit. Cut down the garden size to what you can
manage easily. Maybe you just need a few
tomatoes and a row of beans. Let the
rest go back to lawn or plant some perennial flowers there. You can spend more time on other parts of the
landscape or just enjoy the summer.
Do you mow acres of lawn every week in growing season,
spending hours doing so? Maybe it’s time you quit. Mow what you need around the house to keep
insects down and provide a fire break.
Let the rest revert to meadow. Or
use the space you mow to plant trees or perennials.
Do you plant 6 colors of petunias, 3 colors of begonias
and 9 red geraniums every year in the same location? Maybe it’s time to quit. Anytime we get into
a gardening rut, when we garden by rote instead of exploring new ideas and
plants we should examine our gardening practices and see if we need to change
them.
Do you water/irrigate large areas every year? Watering when an unusual dry spell hits is
one thing but if the only way you can grow certain types of gardens is to
intensively water all the time, maybe it’s time to quit. Water is a precious resource and watering is time
intensive. Maybe it’s time to grow xeric
plants, (drought tolerant) or grow fewer plants. This is a quitting decision
many of us will be facing in the years to come.
Other things we may need to consider quitting is our
use of pesticides. How bad will your apples get if you go to a low pesticide or
no pesticide care practices? Are you spraying your home with pesticides even
when you see no pests- just in case? Quit doing that.
Maybe you need to quit doing useless garden rituals. Just because grandpa planted his peas on
Valentine’s Day each year doesn’t mean you have to. If it works for you fine, but maybe grandpa
gardened in a different zone, he surely gardened in a different time. If you always planted geraniums on Mother’s
Day but you have moved to Florida you may want to quit planting them, at least
on that day. Don’t be afraid to quit old garden practices if they don’t have
value for you.
Are you using silly homemade remedies that really don’t
work and deep down inside you know it? Quit it. You’ve read all the rebuttals
by experts, studied the research, even tried the remedies and know they don’t
work. The Epsom salt and diatomaceous earth and dawn dish detergent remedies with
their folksy, “natural” appeal keep luring you down what you know is a false
path. You once, before you were educated,
thought they worked and it’s hard to admit you were fooled by cheerful
disinformation and the placebo effect.
But you definitely want to quit using those remedies.
All those grand plans- should you quit
them?
We sometimes need to quit on our plans too. Are you in the midst of developing 5 acres
into formal gardens? And last year, with
less than half that in gardens you went to bed tired and sore every night
trying to keep everything weeded, pruned and watered. And instead of feeling proud of your
accomplishments do you worry constantly about having the money and time to
finish your grand plan? Maybe it’s time to quit and enjoy what you have.
Did you get started on a wonderful rose garden on your
property line last summer only to find that the neighbor kids were constantly
knocking their basketball into the bed and trampling in it to retrieve it? Maybe it’s time to drop that plan, at least
for a while. Did your significant other or a child develop a nasty allergic
reaction to bee stings last year? Maybe
that plan to replace the evergreens by the door with flowering plants should have
the plug pulled on it.
Whenever you find a plan just isn’t working don’t be
afraid to “quit.” Don’t keep spending
time and money on something that just isn’t working. The time and money you have invested already
shouldn’t be your reason to keep going with something that is obviously
wrong. Those spent resources paid for
experience, a lesson learned, and tuition can be expensive.
Inexperienced gardeners often learn how to be great
gardeners when plans fail. You learn by doing and you learn when you are able
to accept a failed plan. Your new plan may be able to recover some of those
spent resources, such as transplanting plants to a new and better
location. Smart people develop new and
better plans and aren’t afraid to give up on unrealistic ones.
For most gardeners we are entering the time of the year
when garden tasks get fewer and we have time to reflect on our past gardening
efforts and what we want to do in the future.
The gardeners I know are always planning something new. In order to have time and resources to do
those new things, to move forward and explore new options, we need to quit
doing other things. Sometimes our health
and personal needs also direct us to quit taking the same old path and try a
new one.
Don’t be afraid to quit. Smart people know when to
quit. Quitting is sometimes in the
gardener’s best interest and will allow you to have more and happier gardening
experiences in the future.
Examining white
I don’t know where you are but the world has turned
white around here. It’s the time of year
when white dominates the landscape. This week’s newsletter discusses the term
white as it’s found in Latin or scientific plant names. In previous newsletters
I listed various other color terms as they appear in Latin. These color names are often used in plant names
and it can be helpful when you are interested in a description of a plant to
know what various words mean. Remember
the descriptive part of the name is usually the second word in a scientific or
Latin name.
We’ve all probably learned that white is not a color
but an absence of color. But anyone who
has gone to pick white paint for the living room knows there are many shades and
tints of white. Since horticultural Latin
is always trying to accurately describe things it stands to reason that there
will be many Latin terms for white. The
most common Latin word used to describe white is albus or alba. Lychnis
alba is White Campion, Melilotus alba
is white clover. But there are many shades
and tints of albus as listed below.
Albidus is any form of white that is dirty or muddled
Albescens is a term for something turning white from
another color
Niveus, nivalis, is snow white or the purest form of
white. Galanthus nivalis is the
Snowdrop.
Candidus, canadidum, candidissimus, is a slightly less
pure form of white, “shining” white, example Cypripedium
canididum or White Lady’s Slipper.
Note: The word Canadensis
in a plant name generally refers to it being from Canada or the north, rather
than to it being white flowered, although some plants with this name do have
white flowers. The word Canada actually
comes from an Iroquois word for village.
Eburneus, eborinus refers to cream white or ivory,
white with a slight yellow tinge
Cremeus, cremicolor refer to a more yellow type of
white
Papyraceus refers to paper white, a rather ambiguous
term
Lacteus, lacticolor, galacto, galacticolor, galactites, galachrous
is the color of milk, white with a blue tinge
Cretaceus, calcareus, cerussatus, gypseus all refer to
chalk white, white with a hint of gray.
Argenteus is silvery white, white with blue-gray hints
and a metallic sheen
Dealbatus describes something with a white cast over a
different color
Albastrinus is white streaked with another color.
Holly for Happy Holidays and beyond
One of the plants long associated with winter holidays
is holly, said to bring good luck to a home. You may picture holly as having
thick, dark green, glossy leaves that remain green all winter. Others of you may know hollies that you call
winterberry or possumhaw, which lose their leaves in the winter to display
branches lined with beautiful berries.
There are over 600 species of holly, from many parts of
the world. Hollies may be widely divided into groups, English hollies, Ilex aquifolium, American hollies, Ilex opaca, Blue holly, Ilex meservae, Chinese holly, Ilex cornuta, Japanese holly, Ilex crenata, possumhaw, Ilex decidua and winterberry holly, Ilex verticillata. There are other
species grown for ornamental use and each of the above species has numerous
named varieties. Hollies species are
also crossed to provide some ornamental hybrids.
American and English hollies make excellent landscape
trees. Blue hollies and others are used
as landscape shrubs and specimen plants.
English hollies are often trimmed into hedges. The deciduous hollies are excellent as shrubs
for winter color and for naturalizing.
Winterberries will grow in wetter areas such as rain gardens and pond
side plantings. Hollies are deer resistant.
Most evergreen holly leaves are thick and glossy
green. Many evergreen species have
toothed leaves, with a spine at the end of each tooth. Some however, have smooth, nearly oval
leaves. There are some variegated
varieties. Hollies that drop their
leaves in winter generally have long, oval leaves with smooth margins.
All hollies have one interesting feature. Male and female flowers are born on separate
plants. To get those beautiful berries
you will need at least one male plant for every 10 or so females. Only female plants have berries. The holly flowers are small and
whitish. They have a sweet scent that
attracts bees and other insects to do the pollinating. You can tell male flowers if you look inside
the flower and see yellow pollen. Female
flowers already have a round, green swelling at the base of the pistil that
becomes the berry.
Holly plants may not flower for several years after
planting so it’s important to label the males so you will know if a male dies
and you need to replace it. Pay attention to catalog descriptions or label
information, which tells you what type of male plant you need for each female
you buy. Blue hollies are needed to
pollinate blue hollies and possumhaws are needed to pollinate possumhaws and so
on. Even within a group some plants will
be better mates for each other.
Most holly berries will be red or black, but there are
orange, yellow, coral, pink, blue and white berried varieties on the
market. Some people are not interested
in the berries, only the evergreen foliage and for them there is no need to
worry about male and female plants.
There are a few varieties of hollies that will produce berries without a
male.
Birds like holly berries later in the winter, after
they have been frozen several times.
This allows you to get a good winter show and still feed the birds. Birds also like to shelter in evergreen
hollies during the winter.
Holly culture
Both deciduous and evergreen hollies prefer slightly
acidic soil but can be grown in more alkaline soils with the right
fertilizers. They like rich, well-drained
soil in full sun. The winterberry group
will tolerate damp areas, although it will also do well in average garden
conditions. Evergreen hollies like some
protection from winter winds, at least while they are young.
The evergreen hollies are slow growing, the deciduous
much faster. In the spring both benefit from some acidic fertilizer. You can use a slow release acidic fertilizer
that is formulated for holly, rhododendrons and so on that is commonly found in
garden stores. Cottonseed meal, pine
needles and other acidic organic mulches are good. Keep holly watered during
dry spells.
Hollies vary as to hardiness; the winterberries and
American holly are probably the cold hardiest.
Check the zone hardiness of any variety that you buy. Some forms of holly are considered to be
invasive, spreading by the berries. All parts of the holly plant are poisonous
so keep that in mind when you select a planting location.
Holly is not just for winter decorations, it’s an
excellent landscape plant for all seasons.
Salvia divinorum, Diviners sage, Sally D
Those of you interested in exotic herbs may find this
one interesting. It’s sometimes used in solstice celebrations. This unusual
member of the Salvia family is native to a small area of the northeast corner
of Oaxaca, Mexico. Mazatec Indian
healers have used the plant for centuries. They chew a wad of leaves or make a
drink from crushed fresh leaves to induce a trance-like state and “visions.”
The visions were used to find out what was wrong with a patient or to try and
find lost objects or settle disputes. The
plant was never used as a recreational drug.
Plant explorers in this century re-discovered the plant
and did several studies on it to find out if it had medicinal qualities.
Medical uses are still being explored for the active chemicals in the
plant. The plant caused a sensation in
the recreational drug world because it was still a legal hallucinogen. It’s still grown and used for that purpose
but because some of its effects are not pleasant it’s not widely used now as a
recreational drug, but rather in shamanistic or religious ways.
 |
| Diviners sage, credit zh.wikipedia |
Some states and countries have banned the sale and
possession of the plants so before you seek this out, check your local laws. Delaware,
Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North
Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Virginia have regulations
on the plant.
Because it doesn’t reproduce successfully from seed,
and exists only where it is protected and cultivated, botanists believe Diviners
sage is a hybrid of two unknown Salvia species or an odd mutation. Diviners sage is a semi-tropical perennial
plant and is not cold hardy.
The stems are sturdy, square and hollow. Leaves are large, up to 9 inches long, oval
in shape with lightly serrated edges.
They are dark green and covered with fine hairs that give them a satiny
appearance. Outside, in natural light,
the plant will often flower. The flowers
are typical of the salvia family, with a light purple calyxes, and white petals. The plant has a light minty odor.
Growing Diviners Sage
Salvia
divinorum is easy to grow outside in the summer or as a house
plant. If you want to try it start with a
cutting or rooted plant. It is almost impossible to grow from seed, although a
few people have gotten seeds to form with hand pollination. Those people found that the seeds germinated
poorly and produced weak plants. Many
seeds sold as Diviners sage aren’t from Salvia
divinorum but other species of salvia.
Diviners sage is very easy to start from cuttings,
however. Cuttings will root readily in
soil or water. The plant prefers a
light, humus rich soil, like a good potting soil. It needs to be kept moist at all times, but
never water logged. Inside the plant
needs to be in a sunny window. Outside
it prefers semi-shade. It grows quickly,
up to six feet or more in height. To
keep it healthy the plant needs to be fertilized with a balanced, slow release
fertilizer several times a year. Plants are for sale in herb catalogs and on
the internet. Here are a few places you
can try.
Uses of Salvia
divinorum
The active ingredient in Salvia divinorum is called Salvinorium A. It is similar in composition to opiate drugs,
but it does not contain nitrogen. It
acts on different opiate receptors in the brain than other drugs. Medical research has proven Salvinorium A
does not cause addiction and is toxic only in very high doses.
 |
| Salvia divinorum flower. en.wikipedia |
What Salvia
divinorum does do is produce hallucinations, or altered consciousness. When consumed in the traditional way, by
chewing leaves, or consuming tea, the herb produces mild but vivid experiences
that are relatively short in duration- 20 minutes or so. The flavor is very bitter and unpleasant and leaves
should be held in the mouth for a long time to achieve the best effect.
Most users report it gives them a deep, retrospective
and calming experience, although some report frightening hallucinations. It does, however, alter your mental and
physical control over your body, slow reaction time and otherwise impair your
ability to drive and perform other tasks.
Do not drive after using the plant.
As of yet there are no cases in medical literature of overdoses or
lingering side effects, such as flashbacks.
Modern drug users tried drying and smoking the herb,
which produces only very mild, fleeting effects. Then they began to extract the active
chemical and concentrate it. These
extracts are then added to the dried herb to be smoked or used in other ways. This increases the intensity and length of
the “experience.” Most herbal product
that is being sold are enhanced with
salvinorium A extract. The herb
is still legal in most states and is sold in
“head”shops, herbal stores and through the internet.
After using it however, many people fail to keep using
it, proof it’s not addictive. It’s not
really a party drug. It doesn’t make you
feel happy and giggly. Those who seek to
use the drug should also be aware that little is known about how the drug
reacts with other medications, or if the drug has long term effects on the
body, especially with concentrated potency and frequent use.
You may be interested in the plant because it is an odd
horticultural specimen or you think it may be valuable in your own religious or
spiritual beliefs but please grow the plant responsibly, making sure that it
doesn’t fall into the hands of someone who could be hurt by it.
Festive, Fool proof Fudge
This fudge recipe is easy, quick and almost
foolproof. The best thing about it,
however, is how good it tastes. You’ll
get a product that’s great for gift giving but you’ll want to keep some for
yourself too. Most people remark that
this fudge is not as sweet as some fudge and many people who don’t like regular
fudge will be won over by this recipe.
This fudge can be made in dozens of flavors. Some recipe variations will be given and you
can experiment with varieties of your own.
Just keep the same proportions of baking chips to the other ingredients
and become the fudge expert.
This fudge is made using a microwave. You could also make it in a double boiler,
constantly stirring until the baking chips are melted. Make sure your bowl and utensils are completely
dry and the microwave is wiped dry inside before beginning. Any trace of water in the bowl or microwave
may make the fudge set too soon (called “seizing” ) or it will be grainy. Don’t overcook the fudge. Microwaves vary in how fast they work. Stop cooking as soon as the ingredients can
be blended together without lumps. An
electric mixer on low speed can be used for blending.
Chocolate
fudge
Makes about 2 pounds of fudge
3 cups of semi-sweet chocolate baking chips, use milk
chocolate chips if you like less intense chocolate flavor. (This is about 1 and a half, 12 oz. packages
of baking chips.)
1 can (14 oz.)
sweetened condensed milk- (not evaporated milk)
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Place all of the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl.
Heat on high for 3 minutes.
Remove and try to stir fudge, if the chips lose their
shape and the chocolate appears smooth and creamy you are finished. If not put the bowl back in the microwave and
microwave on high for another minute.
Stir the fudge until it’s well blended and creamy.
Pour into an 8x8 or 9 x9 inch round or square pan lined
with parchment paper or sprayed with cooking spray while the fudge is hot.
Let the fudge cool completely before cutting. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Stores best in the refrigerator.
Fudge
variations
Add chopped nuts or dried fruit (about 1 cup) after the
fudge is removed from the microwave.
For peanut butter fudge use Reese’s peanut butter
flavored chips and omit the butter. After removing the fudge from the
microwave stir in 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Add chopped peanuts if you like.
Use vanilla chips and chopped dried cherries for great
cherry fudge. Note: vanilla chips can
take longer than other chips to melt.
Blend in 1 teaspoon of vanilla (or cherry flavor) extract after you take
the fudge out of the microwave.
Butterscotch chips make great butterscotch fudge. Also try cinnamon flavored chips with chopped
toasted pecans for a great flavor.
You can make a mint flavored fudge with mint flavored
chocolate chips or add a cup of crushed peppermint candy to a vanilla fudge
base after removing it from the microwave.
A pretty plate of various fudges will be a welcome
gift. You may want to wrap flavors
separately though to avoid the flavors mixing.
Give
me the will to change things I cannot accept.
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and
a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
And
So On….
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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
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