Gardening: 2002-2009 Seasons

[maggiethecat]

From the Select Seeds Antique Flowers Catalogue (www.selectseeds.com): Borage: Borago Officinalis:

"A fovorite flower of the ancients, borage was believed to have powers to gladden the heart. Sky blue star-shaped flowes nod in clusters of open flowersand unopened buds at the top of stout stems. The rough leaves are covered with stiff white hairs. Remove the rough sepals before floating in drinks, adding to salads or candying in egg-white and sugar." I't pretty and self-sows.

Also available in white.

I'm going to contact a supermod to move this to the Gardening, everything about it: thread, if that's all right.

[maggiethecat]

Nick:  You wanna mail me some seeds?

If I'm ever lucky enough to come across some I will. The flowers are so pretty.

Hey, Nick: I have found a source for you for Papaver Somniferum. Select Seed's Antique Flowers catalouge. Just go to selectseeds.com.

Unless you live in West Virginia or Canada. They won't ship there.

[laura]

Cavolo Nero, or Tuscan Kale is an extremely beautiful edible plant. It has dark grey green, crinkled upright

leaves, that are very striking in a mixed border. I haven't grown this myself, but I expect to do so this

year. I always forget about it and then when I see it in someone's garden, I vow that next year I will

include in my planting.

[maggiethecat]

Cavolo Nero, or Tuscan Kale is an extremely beautiful edible plant.  I always forget about it and then when I see it in someone's garden, I vow that next year I will

include in my planting.

Thanks for reminding me, Laura. I too always intend to, and forget.

Actually, gradually, my whole garden is starting to resemble the veritable "cottage garden." I love flowers too much , and my property is too small, to dedicate a lot of room to a veg garden. Tomatoes have their sunny spot. Otherwise, it's live and let live, plant-wise. Heck, make a cheap bamboo tuteur, plant beans, train them upwards...they look darn pretty in with the perennials.

And as I've mentioned before, basil and catnip make pretty underplatings for roses.

[Dave the Cook]

Please explain "tuteur."

[maggiethecat]

Please explain "tuteur."

Tuteur, from the French meaning...hmm... Tutor!

Basically a (usually) pyramidial structure placed in the garden on which to "train"...hence "tuteur" ...climbimg plants. Go to any garden center or fancy-dancy garden catalogue and they are loaded with expensine wooden, or even copper numbers.

And most of those lovely medieval garden paintings (French) usually feature a tuteur or two.

I just grab three long bamboo stakes, set the ends in a vaguely triangular pattern in the ground, and lash the top ends together, about five inches down, with garden twine. I think my version is sometimes called a "Teepee", but, Tuteur has that certain ring!

[Dave the Cook]

Please explain "tuteur."

Tuteur, from the French meaning...hmm... Tutor!

Basically a (usually) pyramidial structure placed in the garden on which to "train"...hence "tuteur" ...climbimg plants. Go to any garden center or fancy-dancy garden catalogue and they are loaded with expensine wooden, or even copper numbers.

And most of those lovely medieval garden paintings (French) usually feature a tuteur or two.

I just grab three long bamboo stakes, set the ends in a vaguely triangular pattern in the ground, and lash the top ends together, about five inches down, with garden twine. I think my version is sometimes called a "Teepee", but, Tuteur has that certain ring!

So, nothing to do with ballet. Good.

[tsquare]

Cavolo Nero, or Tuscan Kale is an extremely beautiful edible plant.  It has dark grey green, crinkled upright

leaves, that are very striking in a mixed border.

And all those crinkles are great for storing aphids! This stuff grew well here in the PNW last summer, but one of the bugiest kales I've tried to grow. Something of a problem with all of them. No problem with chard (or at least only very minor.) Tried Safer Soap, washing well hand removal...maybe we just need a good freeze.

[snowangel]

We put in a nice wood swing/slide/fort thing a few years ago for the kids, and realized one day after it was in that the grass would not survive. Instead of trying to grow grass, I planted some short, lemon thyme. It has filled in completely, withstood countless hours of swinging and sliding, and even withstood creeping charlie. Plus, that wonderful fragrence as their feet brush it under the swings. The bottoms of their shorts smell like lemon all summer long.

[maggiethecat]

and even withstood creeping charlie.  Plus, that wonderful fragrence as their feet brush it under the swings.  The bottoms of their shorts smell like lemon all summer long.     

Snowangel: What an absolutely great idea. Lemon thyme...mmmm.

And it really, truly withstood the evil Creeping Charlie?

BTW, does anyone know the botanical name for Creeping Charlie?

My neighbour has given up. She grows it as an ornamental! I love her style, but unfortunately, Charlie creeps under the fence!

[guajolote]

BTW, does anyone know the botanical name for Creeping Charlie?

Glechoma hederacea

Edited January 24, 2003 by guajolote (log)

[Hopleaf]

Hydrangeas.  Assuming that the flower heads are still on them, leave them all winter -- nice winter interest.  Whack these back almost to the ground (leave about 6-10") in the spring when the daffodils are blooming.

cool, merged threads!

So, snowangel, I've been trying to get more information on my hydrangeas and I'm finding that not all hydrangeas get whacked back. Have you heard anything about this? apparently some benefit from a pruning, as you've recommended, but others only bloom from existing flower heads. Right now I'm trying to figure out which variety I have.

[Hopleaf]

anyone doing anything interesting for their gardens yet? or is it still too early. I've noticed buds on one of my as-of-yet-unidentified bushes. Still, it's a good sign.

And I still don't know what to do with those dang hydrangeas. Leaning towards just letting them go for all of this growing season, just to see what I have.

So, how about it? maggiethecat? nick? dave? sparrowgrass? snowangel?

I'm thinking of repotting an indoor plant, just to get some dirt under my fingernails.

[nerissa]

I will have to start getting my seed materials together. this time I swear I will mark the seeds. I keep wanting to buy a crocus that has bloomed yet from the grocery store-- I never got my forcing act together.

BTW, hydrangeas are on of my favorite flowers. One of my favorite gardening websites is: You Grow Girl

Edited February 6, 2003 by nerissa (log)

[snowangel]

anyone doing anything interesting for their gardens yet? or is it still too early. I've noticed buds on one of my as-of-yet-unidentified bushes. Still, it's a good sign.

And I still don't know what to do with those dang hydrangeas. Leaning towards just letting them go for all of this growing season, just to see what I have.

So, how about it? maggiethecat? nick? dave? sparrowgrass? snowangel? 

I'm thinking of repotting an indoor plant, just to get some dirt under my fingernails.

My recent bedtime reading lately has been the seed catalogues! Interesting that I didn't pull them out until we got our 1' blanket of snow (we'd been snow free until early this week). I do take pictures of my various garden areas over the course of the summer (so I can refer back to what it looked like in June, July, August and September), and spend time in the winter looking at them and making plans for summer.

Depending on what is budding, in Minneapolis, I'd be a bit nervous because we are still sub-zero at night, which means I probably won't have to worry about it.

I'd leave the dang hydrangeas in and see what you have, as you said. In fact, since you moved in during the winter, I don't know that I'd make too many concrete plans until you see what comes up where. We moved into our house in August (1986), so I knew that all I had were four ugly potentillas (two on either side of the front door). In the back yard, we had one sorry rose bush and one horrid peony (it had never been cared for), just sort of stuck in the middle of the back yard. So, I pretty much had a blank canvas, and it has really evolved over the years. The tendency is to want to do everything at once, and I know that now that I've adopted a "let's take it slowly" attitude, I'm much happier with how things are progressing.

I remember Christmas of 2001. We went to Berkeley to visit my sister, and the very first thing I did was wander around her back yard and do some weeding. Dirt under my nails and all of the green was a Christmas present in itself.

[maggiethecat]

I did manage to remember to sprinkle some poppy seeds around yesterday. Pushed some snow aside and sowed some red "Legion of Honor" in the tiny front garden. Still undecided about where to sitituate the pink Shirley poppy seeds, but should decide soon, so they can get their nice cold sleep in before spring.

I am recommending an elegant little book called "A Garden from a Hundred Packets of Seeds." The author is James Fenton. It's a mini-rant against giving over to a totally planned, garden- architech, graph paper garden. It's newish, not sure if it's in paperback yet. And it contains descriptions of the said 100 packs of seeds.

In "real" life, Fenton's a poet and critic.

[snowangel]

Maggie, that is a great book.

I have never really planned anything, just decided at times that "oh, this would look better here" and "I really need something blue here."

I'm more in the lines of cottage garden rather than landscaped. I don't have a big veggie garden anymore, so tend to stick those in where appropriate. Before I planted my wisteria, the posts of the pergola had pole beans. Dead plants/things I don't like are often replaced with tomato plants. Adds surprise.

[maggiethecat]

Dead plants/things I don't like are often replaced with tomato plants.  Adds surprise.

Absolutely. Swiss Chard "Bright Lights" was my favorite surprise last summer.

"What the heck is that? A new kind of coleus?"

The longer I garden, the less "serious" I am about planning. Hey, the gardener proposes, God disposes.

[Hopleaf]

So what do you mean by 'cottage garden'? I'm guessing something less deliberate. Are there any typical plants common to a cottage garden? wild flowers?

I find it amazing, maggie, that you're sowing seeds while it's this cold. What's the logic behind the 'cold sleep'?

[stellabella]

my husband just planted purple garlic from mexico. he also propagated some clippings from our prize climbing rose tree [we've never id'd it--it came with the house--beautiful lush showy pale pink blossoms climbing up the side of our shed] and has the tray in his office windowsill.

it's been an unusually cold winter in GA. if all goes well, we will START the summer garden mid to late april.

note: dr. science ordered more seeds from seeds of change catalog--they have great products but he says that once again he's experienced very poor service. he ordered hops and checked a box designating that they hold delivery--which they didn't--and he says they've done this to him before.

[maggiethecat]

So what do you mean by 'cottage garden'? I'm guessing something less deliberate. Are there any typical plants common to a cottage garden? wild flowers?

I find it amazing, maggie, that you're sowing seeds while it's this cold. What's the logic behind the 'cold sleep'?

A cottage garden refers to the tiny plots that the "lower classes" in England had attached to their, well, cottages!

In gardening style, it implies a kind of unplanned, old-fashioned profusion of flowers, vines, vegetables all grown higgeldty-piggelty together.

Poppies seeds need to experience real cold in order to germinate and bloom. I could have planted them last fall, even here in Zone 5. (I have learned this from oh-so-bitter experience!)

Edited February 7, 2003 by maggiethecat (log)

[sparrowgrass]

I am going into my second summer in my house, and last summer was pretty wasted, in terms of flowerbeds, what with remodeling the bathroom and building a chicken house.

The weeds got ahead of me early, and while I could pass off some of those weeds as wild flowers, most of them were just weeds. Good thing I live out in the country and don't have any disapproving neighbors worrying about my Queen Anne's Lace and fleabane.

Going slow is a theory I need to embrace. I bought 80 tree seedlings last spring, and asparagus and peach trees and rhubarb and bulbs and perennials. I mowed over many of the seedlings because I was in too big a rush to mark them properly. I just feel like I have waited so long to have this home, I want it right and I want it right now. (The seedlings came from the conservation dept., and only cost me about $30, BTW.)

I bought poppy seeds last week, but I haven't sprinkled them yet. We had snow here too, and I was waiting for it to melt--maybe tomorrow. Also put in an order for grape vines--two each of 3 different types--rose of sharon, butterfly bush, and lord knows what else.

Next month will begin garden time--the very first day it is dry enough to run the tiller, I will be out there with the potato eyes and the peas and spinach and lettuce.

I am much more of a veggie gardener than a posie gardener. I need to plant "thugs" in my flower beds--those things that just take over and you have to mow around the edge of the bed to keep them from over-running everything. And lots of bulbs and peonies, that don't need anything more than an admiring glance once in a while.

I do plant a row of flowers and sunflowers. I buy those cheap seed packets at Walmart, mix 'em all up and let 'em fight it out between the veggies. I have admired the Swiss Chard in the seed catalogs, Maggie--maybe I will do some of that. Recipes will be requested.

[suzilightning]

anyone doing anything interesting for their gardens yet? or is it still too early. I've noticed buds on one of my as-of-yet-unidentified bushes. Still, it's a good sign.

And I still don't know what to do with those dang hydrangeas. Leaning towards just letting them go for all of this growing season, just to see what I have.

So, how about it? maggiethecat? nick? dave? sparrowgrass? snowangel? 

I'm thinking of repotting an indoor plant, just to get some dirt under my fingernails.

all of our gardens are now buried under 7" of new snow up here in nw nj

we get so little sun, and that in only certain areas, we have had to adapt to be able to grow anything. in front we have a postage stamp lawn with dianthus and begonias interspersed with the main annual i have to have - white new guinea impatents. there is a round barrel where we do get sun and in that we have a tiny evergreen and ivy. on one side we have groundcover, under the evergreens, of the flowers from my wedding boquet - lily of the valley, white, blue and grandmother violets - they seem to like the acidity of the soil there. out the kitchendoor we get good sun so all of the herbs we use go into miscellaneous pots so we can bring them in if we get an unexpected cold spell. tarragon, rosemary, basil, flat leaf parsley, chamomile, thyme, oregano in a hanging basket, and catnip for the Oopster.

forsythia lines the fence down to the lake where we have a 1/2 whiskey barrel where we grow tomatoes, daylilies, daffodils and irises. the pet memorial garden has astibile, argeratum, violets and lily of the valley. scattered all over the front and back yards are daffodils, tulips, crocuses, star of bethlehem and snowdrops.

we have some seeds left over from last year that have been in the freezer for our herbs and will start them later in the month i think. we are studying the catalogs and i am coveting some hostas for the memorial garden and on the east side of the house.

will it ever be colorful(other than white) around here again?

[JSD]

anyone doing anything interesting for their gardens yet? or is it still too early.

Last week we started pruning our fruit trees and grape vines.

[snowangel]

Last week we started pruning our fruit trees and grape vines.

You must live somewhere south of Minneapolis! I'd need hip waders to get to my vines...