Harvest Time Already—Well, I’m Thinking About It

Here we are in spring.I have tomatoes and peppers seeded up and sprouting in the greenhouse, snow peas in the ground, need to get lettuce, chard, and other cole crops outside.
I guess this all started with a friend asking me why I am growing 27-28 varieties of tomatoes? What are you going to do with all of them?
What am I going to do with all of them?
First off I am going to treat things naturally, try my best to not use inorganics or harsh chemicals. This started my mind rolling and a conversation with Annie Haven. Annie is known for her Moo Poo tea and her Haven Brand Products— http://www.manuretea.com and how she raises her manure producers. I am comfortable with a no GMO, grass-fed, hormone and antibiotic free cow/steerer making manure I am going to put on something that I will ingest.

My goal is to use the tea while the plants are still juvenile and growing in the greenhouse, then when before I plant them out into the garden I am going to ‘dunk’ them for a little boost, and then I will manure around the plant itself. Simple, sustainable, and where I live it might make a dent in the pile of horse manure. Eighty horses do create one large pile over a year or five.

Back to what am I going to do with all these fruits and vegetables? Eat them of course! But a growing season is too limited and I will be growing more than I can eat so I set a goal for myself this year tha I will learn to can. I know how to freeze things. I could dry them. But canning I have never done. I have watched friends of mine put away Peaches, tomatoes, and pickles, but I have never done it myself.

This basic kit is great for waterbath canning and is a great start to your food preservation future.

Already I am collecting jars. I hit junk shops, and garage sales. I have some great older jars that say Presto, Kerr (which I have even been to the Kerr Mansion in Portland, OR) and I know what Mason jars are. I know I should buy wide mouth jars…but ten, half-gallon size jars for one dollar that are old are cool! Small mouth I will live with.

Alright so the exploration is tomatoes and pickles. What can I do with tomatoes besides just can them? Come on now, I am a tad creative at least.

I am growing peppers both sweet and hot. Salsa is tomatoes and peppers, some cilantro, lemon juice, a bit of vinegar. Salsa.

But what about beyond salsa? Marinara, canned tomatoes, bruschetta, soup base, vinegar sauce, tomato jam. YES, that is correct, I said it. Sweet tomato jam made of golden tomatoes. I can do red, green and purple as well. tomato juice…or bloody mary mix?

Well, if I can make jam from tomatoes I can certainly do that with sweet peppers. I can also pickle the peppers. Peter piper did it, a whole peck.

Pickles, pickling, pickled. Cucumbers are synonymous with the word pickles. Sweet peppers, carrots, onions, garlic scapes, green beans. I could do these. I can! I can do then blood brilliantly. I am also going to try my hand at pickled squash. I know it is not something we are not really familiar with, but whats to say it can’t be grand?

Let us do a quick recap—Canned tomatoes, pickles, salsa, garlic scapes, pickle green beans, pickled onions, onion relish, relish, tomato chutney, bruschetta, marinara, hot vinegar sauce/hot sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato jam, squash pickles, pickled peppers, pickled carrots, tomato soup base, squash soup base, beets, garlic jam, pepper jam, and more ideas than I can shake a stick at.

Buy The seals are meant to be used once and you can never be too safe with food.

Now the great thing about canning is you clean out the jar and reuse it. The sealed lids are what you should buy new every year. With enough preparation one can have everything in place for when that day of days comes and produce is hauled by the box out of the garden! Talk about anticipation, I am so looking forward to this. Explore your best options, and choose those that suit your needs.

It’s early in the season and I do realize this is a strange time to talk about it, but I am doing my best to stay ahead of things and not get sideswiped.

Preservation and people in the know—I am so glad that people like Theresa Loe and Daniel Gasteiger are on the internet sharing what they have learned. My friend Bren is going to delve more into preservation as well, so will also learn together. Don’t forget Daniel has a great new book out Yes, You Can! And Freeze and Dry It Too and Theresa is a trained Master Food Preserver and Associate Producer of Growing a Greener World.

So if you are nice, and not so naughty this year you may receive a basket of choice items for the holidays. Fresh from this years garden, preserved carefully with caring, and given with love.

******************************************************************

If you are canning your own food for the first time you can contact your county extension office and they may have some suggestion, be organizing a class, or have a Master Food Preserver class starting up. You can also talk to people at your local farmers market and they too might be organizing a demonstration or class that you can sign up for. Happy canning!

From Little Seeds Come Great Expectations

It has been said that big things come in little packages. This being said, truly seeds are such packages.
I admittedly am a hortiholic. I have plant lust, can have a plantgasm, and truly am excited to get a new plant in my grubby, dirty, little, fat fingered hand. I am a plant slut!

This year I am committing myself ...oh committing myself to two things. One is to work on display areas at my small plant nursery. The other is to grow a productive home garden so I can preserve and give away as much as I truly want. You thought I should be committed?

Allow me to talk a bit about some small flowers that I have recently become intrigued, or re intrigued by. Three plants, Limnanthes, Nemophila, and Neirembergia.


Limnanthes douglasii or Poached Egg Plant is one of those flowers you would like to grow, but you never really see it around. Annie Annuals offers it, but I need flats of it for my displays. It can grow in poor draining soils, clay, and take a fair amount of heat. I have ample water, clay-like soil and lots of heat. That glare and gleam get going. Talk about a good plant to catch the eye. Wikpedia states "It attracts hoverflies to the garden to beat the aphids and is well loved by bees."

Nemophila menziesii 'Pennie Black' & Nemophila menziesii var. atomaria 'Snowstorm' are from native California, the California Baha and can be found into Southern Oregon. It is considered an herb by the reading I have done.  'Pennie Black' is the opposite of Poached Egg in the the way it recessed instead of jumps forward. Its dark purple-black center quivering in the breeze just makes my heart palpitate. Snow storm is the gleamer. Glistening with its radiant purple markings. There are several varieties of Nemophila, but I am trying to just grow the showier ones.

Nemophila maculata 'Five Spot' & Nemophila maculate 'Baby Blue Eyes' are herbaceous, herb-like plants endemic to California. The wonderful potted markings are to attract bees. The female bee collects the pollen where both male and female bee eat o the nectar.

Yes, I do think about bees and am seriously thinking about having a couple of hives out on the property. I also think about the native Mason bee. And am concerned about all these bee populations dying off suddenly. Nemophila seems to be a good source of food as well as pollen and what more could hope for besides the beauty of this great little plant good for both borders and containers.

Used with kind permission of Harris Seeds

Nierembergia 'White Robe' is a nice front of the border plant as well. It would be happy in a rockery or a container, maybe even a hanging basket.

Cupflower, as it commonly known by, is a member of the nightshade family. That usually mean toxic, but also lets me know it will tolerate high heat.

Grow Nierembergia as annuals in USDA zones 3 to 6 and as perennials in zones 7 to 10.

There are purple shades of this darling little flower.

I am staying true with a more white base theme, yellow highlights, smoky black-purples tones. I like unexpected combinations so I am really trying to think about what I personally will mix these flowers with.

I do know I will use them in containers. 'Penny Black' would be a natural with anything lime colored. Limnanthes could go will with shocking pinks, black foliage. Cupflower being white is a natural mixing plant, looking good with blues, limes, blacks, oranges, purples. Too many combinations at times.



Information Society—What’s On Your Mind?

"I want to know what you're thinking" is the riff we all remember from the song—that and the Leonard Nemoy sample.


This posting isn't about that 80's band at all. It's about the society we live in. We live in the information society.

I was just told by a friend, that some people I respect have recently made comments about bloggers, those on twitter, and people on facebook. It was directed toward the garden community, or I should say the garden social network community.

The gist of the comments was about gardeners who blog are misinformed and misinformants. The implication was that those blogging are putting personal experience out as fact that is really opinion. These tribal elders expressed knowledge shared on social networking sites was unreliable at best and just a din of words. Theses elders went on to say that those blogging about gardening should be citing at least three credible sources for each nuggets of information they impart. All this to put something out into the interverse that is more of an opinion than a cited piece of published work?

I am a gardener. Let me restate that: I have a strong passion in horticulture and enjoy growing everything that I can get my hands on. I have a passion. Or is it I have the passion?

I love to exchange information. I love art, music, seed planting, propagation, selling plants, Victorian homes, cocktails, cooking, growing food, collecting, movies, and good times with friends. Oh, I also forgot I hope for world peace and enjoy riding rollercoasters—just kidding on the last two. I love to exchanging information with other people.

Almost all of us are passionate about one thing or another. If we are on twitter we tweet. On facebook we post. We are looking for those who share our ideas and opinions. We join groups and look for those of like mind. We share, we pontificate, we let others know that we killed that frickin' plant 3 times and yes, oh lord yes, we are going to buy yet another plant to kill!

Back to the center ring of my circus.

I do not see these tribal elders as sitting high upon mount Hortensis, listening to tracks from the latest performance of Chorus of the Goddess Flora and Deadheading Society. I do not see them as noted scholars that dole out dew drops of wisdom from their sanctuaried towers. These demigods are not allowing the seed of sharing to take hold and root deep within the rich loam, that is not their style.

These misguided and misinformed scholars are people who have not thoroughly explored social networking. Yes, they are on facebook. One of them does not know how to add a profile picture. The group as a whole does not post much, if at all.

Let's call this group the old guard. They have rather outdated concepts. Maybe they believe that garden information only comes from books, gleaned from academia, or belonging to an organization? Maybe you have to read about it in magazines...is that why Horticulture magazine is waning? Is that why publishers aren't making deals with noted professionals within the garden community? I hear a few bloggers have some book deals in the making at reputable publishing houses.

What I can't believe is that gardeners attending the lecture actually sat there in the audience and let the tribal elders disparage what is the new movement for the flow of information? My friend commented the talk would have been better with a glass of wine. Does that tell you something? The panel of speakers should have had more than just a glass of wine. Maybe they would have relaxed and sounded less threatened by a world they know not.

I am not going to name names. What I am going to say is that the people on the panel made themselves look outdated. They appeared to have a narrow and limited view of the garden world, and the people who make up this global garden community.

I feel more liberated being part of a social network. I am not judged because I am not wearing the correct outfit or using the $100 pair of garden pruners. I do not feel excluded. Most of us don't.

I commented to my friend who enlightened me about this event. "This is truly amazing, I have probably passed you a few times as you have worked at this nursery or that. I am a type of shopper that likes to left alone and I will ask if I need help. But because of facebook, and learning more what is going on in your mind, what you groove on by what you post in word or picture." I have learned volumes about my friend. I have gone plant shopping with her, I cheer her on. We have discovered we share opinions on things. Something I would have never discovered if not for social networking.

Let me break this down.

Twitter to me is like a stream of consciousness, 17 layers of conversation with links to blog posting, articles, ideas, pictures and more.

Facebook is a tad slower, but you can say more. It isn't static like my website, just slower. There is improvement with groups now. I am connecting with micro communities and special interest groups.

Both social networks are multilayered and have strong undercurrents. Both are global.

I feel great that I am there to say hello to someone in England one second, a friend in the Eastern United States the next and read a posting by another person in Australia, France, or Japan. Could you do this 5 years ago? 10 years ago?

I have a strong feeling that the people on the panel will not read my blog. They don't really blog. They will not see this as I post a link onto twitter waiting for individuals such as @Mr.BrownThumb, @DirtandMartinis, @Arcadia1, @oregonclematis, @GreenSoil, @BG_garden to respond or retweet the link.

The tribal elders need to change with times. Gardeners are going forward into the bloggisphere. This is not about academia but about conversation. It's about swapping stories over the virtual fencepost.

Tomatoes—Fried, Green, or Otherwise

I have to admit I am having trouble picking tomatoes. No, not the fruit, but the seed. Which tomatoes shall I grow? I am not only growing for myself, but for other people to buy tomato starts.

I have been researching flavor, how many days till fruit bearing, acidity vs. non-acidic. Heirlooms vs. contemporary. Its just so mind boggling and the next thing I know I am wanting to order forty or more varieties of the summer flavor favorites. I lied, I just checked my shopping cart at one source and I have 62 varieties in my shopping cart. OMG! I need to choose wisely. I need to get all the lists down to 40 or less.

So I am breaking it down to this. I need to order at least 3 varieties that most people will grow. I need to order the seed in bulk. Beefsteak, Brandywine, Roma. People want fresh eating tomatoes, but they want something for sandwiches and salads. Folks also want a tomato they can sauce.

Canning tomatoes are another story—I have a few of those too. I am going to use Jersey Giant myself.

The varieties are endless, and sources are varied. I am trying to find more organically grown seeds than just commercial seeds.

Heirlooms are fashionable, but I don't think they are trend. I think because of the foodie society we are becoming, or at least those reading this posting are becoming, that we look at food as artistic, something to savor, and something we enjoy. I think with all the GMO information going around a lot more people are going to be trying their darnedest to save heirlooms or save their heirloom seeds. Its about quality of life sometimes, something corporate America understands little about.

I know during the summer one thing I truly enjoy is bruschetta. I use several types of tomatoes, I like colorful. I always try to have more than enough basil in the garden and am a fan of using white vinegar. I don't like to darken the color of the tomatoes. I could eat this for dinner almost every night during the summer—it's something I get drunk on. With a nice glass of wine and a few friends it can make quite a spontaneous dinner party. Ananas Noir, Gold Medal, Pink Acordian, Black Krim and Ingegnoli Gigante Liscio will be wonderful additions to bruschetta making. Ready for summer flavor now!

Salads I am thinking small tomatoes, ox hearts, cherries, small plums. Placero, Red Fig, Gold Pear, Plum Lemon and Black Cherry.

Think of the colors and the tastes. That's where I am really going.

Roasting tomatoes or drying them with rosemary, olive oil and a touch of sea salt. Flavor, flavor flavor.

So choice—guess I better stay to topic. I am having choice problems because I having to many choices offered to me. THAT is a good thing.

Some other great  tomato offerings are—Balck From Tula, Amish Paste,Green Sausage, Japanese Trifele Black, Striped Cavern, Ukrainian Purple, Kellogg's Breakfast, Dr. Wyches Yellow, Black Sea Man,Tasty Evergreen, and Great White. Funny how a picture can influence you or reading another persons blog or article.

I guess I have developed my list in this blog, or cut it down to size. It's truly interesting how one comes to a decision. I am needing to start these in the greenhouse this coming month. I would recommend when you transplant your starts to use a manure tea such as http://www.manuretea.com/

This manure tea is from organic, grass fed beef raised on native grass pastures. This is also an independent cottage industry that is worth supporting.

So in conclusion, I would say choose what you like. Think about how a tomato is going to taste or how you are going to use it. Use your garden space wisely and support farmers markets if you don't have the space to grow what you need.

Enjoy!

Acknoledgements— I would like to thank Benda Haas of BGgarden and Annie Haven of Manure Tea for their contributions to this posting. Brenda was kind enough to send me some fantastic pictures and Annie allowed me to use her link as well as sending me the scanned document of her Family's historical seed company. GOSH! Just look at the varieties listed for the 1916 season!

"The New Victorian"—Please allow me to introduce myself

I admit it, I am affected. My style at its best pays homage to the Victorian and Edwardian influences around me. I gravitate. I was born 100 years too late. It is sad, but very true, and for some of my friends it is the same story.

In current magazines I read about the "New Victorian", "Victorian Style", even a style where "Marie Antoinette meets Out of Africa". I am boggled by what these magazines are trying to tell the public. Yes, the term Steampunk arises, but so does Gothic. GOTHIC? Steampunk, at least, references a world of steam power. How does Gothic fall into this style? Victoriana had Gothic influences—maybe, but Gothic as the defining the era? Never. I think these writers have seen one too many Harry Potter film, and decided Serious Black's family home is the epitome of a Victorian-Gothic fusion. Black was a popular color during the period, granted, but to define it only as Gothic? I think not. Have these writers studied design history at all? How does a television set become Victorian?

I myself am a student of art history and design. I am avid reader and make notes on notes in books and on post-its that hang from pages. Televisions are not Victorian by the way.

Movies such as Sherlock Homes (the nice new one with Robert Downey, Jr.—I hear a sequel is in the works), The Young Victoria (hint hint), Howard's End, A Room with a View (Edwardian), and Age of Innocence inspire by their beauty and attention to detail. Merchant Ivory Productions are great for those who are gaga about details—and look at the era. They have adapted authors or stories from the period. The Victorian era was when???? That's right, during the reign of Queen Victoria.

Now honestly, I have more of a Steampunk/Victorian aesthetic myself. I like the ideas that H.G. Wells, Jules Verne and others wrote about in their world of the future. Even Mary Shelley had some ideas. I am tossed between homage and reinvention—this is a typically Victorian attribute. I am a gardener; I enjoy antiques and object d'art; preparing fine meal and presenting it. Paintings, rugs, books and many lamps are displayed throughout. I like things that recall a bygone era, but I also enjoy functionality. In trying to replicate an era I may sometimes mimic it. I like using the feel of it and translating that into small projects and the design of my home—or rather the redesign of my home. I like indulgences such as the Opium Den, Neoclassicism, romantic motifs of the rococo style, the age of Empire, and the eye of the intrepid Victorian global traveler.

Victorian style is about acquisition, about being au courant (be the first in your county to own a Cattleya orchid!), about bringing the world into your home—be it through art, books, evocative objects, plants, and souvenirs. Gardeners understand about acquisition. The Victorians were just more skilled at the presentation of it.

Victorians loved natural things. They worshipped nature. They collected it. Plants—ferns, tropicals, flowers—the plant explorer's next Wardian caseful of treasures. Wall papers from the era can look more like a lepidopterist's text book than something that might grace the walls of a home. And when it came to decorating, they wanted the interiors to reflect this affinity for nature as well. Homes were decorated in natural shades and hues. A variety of greens from deep forest to moss and lichen. Browns were used, a wide variety of them. Rusty reds, sienna, and earthy ochre were standards. Reds that were bright were often used. Yes, there was the frill and the high compliment colors. Draperies of olive and pink, lilac and mustard with hints of baby blue. And trim, if you couldn't afford fancy hardwoods you painted them to either mimic woodgrain texture or color —mahogany was the rage. Let us also keep in mind while I describe these colors, the lighting in homes was much different—gas, oil lamp, maybe a bare bulb with an amber filament. It was the fashion and meant to look good. We often look back at other eras and wonder what designers were thinking, but in the Victorian age one surrounded oneself with the things one loved most, and designed rooms to make collections look their best.

Now how do we, as a consumer-based culture, reflect this new "Victorian Style'"? Are we being guided by someone who lives is an apartment and has a friend with a begonia in the kitchen window? That writer writes about what they see, what they assume quickly, without research. Has this new mania for old Victorian been a long time coming, but has important, useful information been left in some editor's trashcan, in favor of printing articles that read like ads? As far as I know the Victorian Style never left. I grew up in a house where my mother would paint or refinish her finds—mainly Grand Rapids oak pieces; they were all over our home. Old lamps, taxidermy from my father's college hunting exploits, arrangements, house plants, walls covered in old plates, a hall lined in hand tinted photos, bird cages, spittoons, antique flat irons, oriental rugs, knickknacks, baskets, fossils, and other details too numerous to mention. My mother had the Victorian Style down even with her big hair, Oleg Cassini outfits, and Pucci print scarfs. I have my own interpretation—maybe it is lighter, maybe more romantic, maybe I like too much? That is the Victorian way.

Monrovia's Demise May Be a Sign That Corporate Owned Nurseries Just Don't Grow

I keep reading these articles and blog postings about Monrovia. 'The Death of Monrovia', 'Goodbye to Brand Names'- I have a few thoughts about that and I feel comfortable sharing with you. I know you may, or may not agree.

Poor, poor Monrovia.
I really want to say that some people are only half informed. Sometimes even me.
Monrovia may have to sell their product to the box stores. If they do decide to go this route then they should choose to strip off all the Monrovia taggage and Monrovia pots should be replaced with basic black.
This quick sell is the fast way the banks are seeing that Monrovia can save itself, but maybe the bank just doesn't look at reality.
The reality is most box stores do not have to pay for the plant until it is purchased. They have that much buying power. The box store will not take care of the plant. Box stores tend to put their "garden center" on the sunny end of the building where plants can sit and bake on the concrete. Sales associates, which are basically cashiers, do not have to water plants. I have been to Home Depot and watched as a lonely cashier just sat in their "toll-booth" style cash-wrap and watched the plants droop, wither, and expire.
A friend of mine who happens to work at Lowe's, and sometimes works for me when she wants plants, told me one day, "If a plant is wilting, or even a group of them, we are not allowed to water them. We are not allowed to get out a hose and fill a bucket and drench a plant we can see is struggling." This is exactly how box store management sees things. So this may turn out be a loss for Monrovia, not a real benefit.

Many have written Monrovia products give IGCs an edge. I say yes and no.
They have a beefy minimum to open an account with, and they sell to places such as ACE Hardware giving them a percentage off because they are a buying group. All this, while people who work at most ACE Hardware stores are comparable to those working in the box stores. Admittedly there are a few ACE stores that take a garden center approach and commit staff to it. I worked in one myself, so I know what I am speaking about in this instance.
That percentage off which Monrovia offers buying groups allows places like ACE Hardware to undersell IGCs. They do not offer the percentage off to small Mom & Pop retailers.

Monrovia is facing what a lot of large production nurseries are having to face. When the times were good they expanded and expanded. They over-expanded like so many. More land, more plants in production, more personnel to take care of the plants. This also results in more fuel, more pest and weed control labor, and more chemicals being used- all at greater costs.
So, Monrovia needs to cut personnel-which they did- but not the high cost executives and administration. Lots of the little guys went- mid management as well. Popagation people, nursery labor, people who tend the plants and make the nursery facilities look neat and clean.

Suggestions.
Liquidate some plant materials-maybe large items or decorative/ornamental perennial lines which may have royalty cost associated with them. Keep items such as basic perennials- day lilies and such.
Liquidate some of the land. Yes, they bought it high. They can also pay the bank some of the money and keep their doors open while taking a smaller loss.

Now don't think me a hard ass.

Yes, Monrovia is a name brand recognized nationwide. The name a lot of people equate with quality- that is what they have going for them.

In reality, the market has cut back. Plants are luxury goods.
Housing has slowed and people are not working on their homes as much.
The financial resources are not there as banks are not lending for home building or many improvements.
Most home owners have already planted trees and basic shrubs and they have moved on to inexpensive, quick seasonal color. They may add a few special items to their landscape, but the key word is few.

I feel sorry if a trusted name like Monrovia goes to the wayside (no pun intended). They have helped to build what America views as a reliable name in nursery products. The bank will not get their money back if Monrovia closes entirely. Liquidators will be sent in and blocks of plants auctioned off for pennies on the dollar.

Other large nursery growers struggle at the moment Iseli Nursery has filed for Chapter 11 as of October 5, 2010. America's largest suppliers of roses Weeks Wholesale, and Jackson and Perkins have joined the ranks of  troubled nurseries. An article on todaysgardencenter.com, an anonymous reader know as Hort Guy commented. "The rose business is on the edge and the 'National Flower' could be without growers."
Who will grow these roses for Americans? I say the small growers will. Breeders will have to pick up and do the production work themselves. We will return to what our roots in the nursery business have always been- small nurseries, in house production, local suppliers.
Perhaps mail order will rise like a phoenix?

Maybe these unfortunate events will create a movement in localized nurseries with more of a personal and hands on approach to what they sell. Can this be the catalyst that moves the the nursery business away from corporate America?
So many of us have taken this stance with the farmer. We try so hard to support local farming, farmers markets, food co-ops. Should we ask this of the nursery trade and our gardening communities?

Support local nurseries, local tree growers, small greenhouses growers.

Thinking a bit more GREEN (an article on living the way I do)

Alright, something dawned on me as I was pondering what I could do to live more "green".

I thought I could just be using food tat I have grown, well, I do that and it's a bit limited because of the season. So I need to start canning, just not freezing things.

Then I had another revelation. I have been living the concept for years. I mean way back when I got my drivers license kind of years.

Getting my drivers license was like personal freedom. I could go to garage sales. I could gather and amass whatever I could get into my vehicle. I gathered yearly in the beginning and had sales of my own. I learned to take what I had and make a profit with it in one feel swoop.

Think about it, garage sales are sort of like selective recycling. I look around my house and try to find new furniture- well, it's new to me. Dishes? Found in a thrift shop. Glasses? Goodwill and other thrift shops. Tables, lamps, chairs, bed frames, more lamps, benches, vases, mirrors, objects and plant stands. Trash baskets, book cases, end tables. They all are used and I am reusing them.

I seem to have new kitchen things as I don't care for used spatulas and wooden spoons. I have pans that I have purchased, but all my cast iron is second hand.

Bedding and towels I buy new as well. I am not into used towels.

Books, most of them are second hand as well. DVDs- used. CDs- used.

I do not subscribe to newspapers, I borrow magazines or check them out of the library- for a treat from time to time I 'treat' myself to some publication. I am not big on paper towels, the one role I own is maybe 5 years old and kept in a drawer. Napkins are cloth, dish and bar towels are aplenty.

Even the house- I am wanting to move in a small Victorian cottage- think about it. When it comes time to fix the old girl up, yeah, I will use low VOC paints. I will look at more sustainable material. I will not feel bad that I slaughtered hundreds of trees to build my house. I will try to save as much of the material that I can. I will restore the floors. They are wood on both levels.

Tiles, vintage light fixtures, wool carpets and things to hang on the wall.

I will not stop buying things the way I have. I can always have my own garage sale and let someone else enjoy that I have used and no longer wish to live with.

Old Reliable has Been Updated Again!

I know the title sounds like it should be a car add, but it's not.
I am speaking about tall garden phlox, Plox paniculata. There are many, many hybrids now and some of the old standards still exist. I must rub it in that I do not particularly have a rust or mildew problem in my area so sometimes I don't watch for those that are resistant to such things, but most varieties on the market are.

I like most tall phlox, I do. They are dependable plants. I have had in my gardens such wonderful varieties as 'Mt. Fuji', 'Prince of Orange', 'David', 'Franz Schubert', and the wonderful variegated forms- Love the display of 'Becky Towe'.
For the nursery I have had at times 'Orange Perfection', 'Blue Paradise', 'Goldmine', 'Starfire'. This year I am going to be growing a subtle beauty named 'Jade'. Now when we hear the name 'Jade' we think green. Though these are not solid green flowers they do have an edge of pale celadon on crisp white petals making them very attractive to combine with other phlox and silvery plants.

I just can't imagine a perennial boarder without late summer beauties such as Phlox paniculata. Some are deliciously fragrant and others are just shocking in color. Some are so fade proof in my hot desert sun that I love to design with them as well. They are hardy, rapid growers that will grow into a divisible clump within three years. And though the tag may say 18-22 inches, with a good spring mulching they should jump up to a good two feet or more by the end of the season.

To stake or not to stake? I should be staking mine, the winds we have out here are just disastrous at times, and if you get a good rain they could just turn into a heap of blooms flopping in all directions. So I might suggest creating some form of support for them by the end of the summer. When I say support it does not have to be some wire basket contraption, it could be something as easy as some twigs and garden twine. Subtle and organic is most often times less detectable as dark green wire hoops on rod-like legs.

If you like the cottage look- either English cottage or the Victorian American- these are highly recommended plants for your garden. Plant them behind daylilies (Hemerocallis) and along side Echinaceas to create a soft and colorful look. I think about using Orange Perfection with Silvermound Artemisia or Santolina in the foreground to give it a more electric look.

Geranium 'Orkney Cherry'

I have had a lot of success with this beauty here in Eastern Washington. Placed along driveways, sidewalks, gravel paths, and rockeries it has been very prolific. The color was described to me as burgundy chocolate but I find it to be more of a burgundy/violet foliage with hues of copper. There is almost this strange otherworldly feel to the color. I know this could be the result of both heat and soil, but it's simple marvelous.
This foliage is exceptional at creating a mood and then the violet pink flowers, small blossom but with a big punch add a sparkle to the overall effect. Just imagine the use of this with other bold and shocking colors, splashing through your perennial border and frolicking among the grasses.

This hardy geranium is one of my three favorites. Seriously, the foliage alone is worth everything. Tight mounds up to 10 inches high and maybe the plant gets 24 inches wide. I think this and Geranium Rozanne are the top two that I use and grow here at the nursery.

Hardy geraniums are excellent filler plants and add so much to both the residential and commercial landscape. Such versatile and useful plants.

Other suggestions that I read about was to use them in containers, baskets and window boxes. I think this would be great if you were in Western Washington, but this may not really be suited for the east side of the state. Well, let me rephrase that. They would last the growing season but being strong enough to be perennial in an unprotected container is something else altogether.


This is a Plant Haven introduction.

Hydragea quercifolia 'Amethyst'

Alright, just when I thought I was running out of quercifolia Hydrangea forms along comes this beauty.
Now the sales people are telling me this shrub is smaller and more compact, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Yeah, sure.
This shrub is medium sized at 6' x 6'. The blossoms are like 'Snow Queen' as they are held aloft and upright. They are creamy white and appear to have a nice shape to small sized heads.
What I feel is the real selling point is the fact that the flower heads turn such a dark and glowing shade of cherry amethyst when they age and dry. I am continually reassured that they hold their color, and that the rich burgundy and purple leaves set everything off.
Useful in shade plantings or as a spectacular foundation plant. I would recommend planting this somewhere where it might be noticed.
Attributed to Dr. Michael A. Dirr

Paint that desert!

Fallugia paradoxa, what a name! I sometimes can't resist a plant because of it's Latin name and how it roles off the tongue. Apache Plume, Turpentine Bush are a couple of common names this plant has.

This is fantastic and fascinating plant for a garden that is on the dry side. A a small to medium sized bush that has ghostly stems, fine foliage and glaring white flowers with sometimes a hint of pink in them. Now, yeah, it is a blooming machine once you establish it, but the most remarkable thing about this shrub is the when it goes to seed. This is where is earns the name of 'plume.' This shrub is all about the seed heads. I would liken them to the seed head of the Clematis, or that of Geum triflorum. Feathery and pink, wisping in the wind they create a glorious multi season interest to this once overlooked plant.

The leaves have a fine textural quality, or as I like to tell people quillity, as they are dark and small and lace-like. And when I say small I mean just that. This plant knows how to conserve it's own resources.

This is a glorious native of the American Southwest. Xeric, and grows 4-6 feet high and just as wide.

the ideas behind my madness- steampunk driven and a need to fuse with the the past

Alright already.
I have been asked a few questions and some of them are-
What is Steampunk? I consider the whole genre to be an aesthetic of taking a contemporary object such a computer monitor and keyboard and making it have a more 'Victorian' or 'Edwardian' but it can also be the revers of taking an object from the 19Th century and updating it as I have seen done with old victrolas and radio cabinets.
I have this compulsion to collect older things, vintage items, antiques. I also have a compulsion with plants. Bringing these things together is not really that hard. What has been had is setting the stage, but I have sort of rectified that situation. Recently I acquired an older home-1880s very small Victorian. I need to move this house to its new setting.

Now comes the steampunk staging. I have this idea to gut this house from the inside. Insulate, rewire, re-plumb, and add in some things that would not detract from the aesthetic of the house. Restore the porch, add on a new kitchen, but make the house feel more like it was when it was built. Find papers that are to period, add in a strong use of color, create an eclectic sense of style.
Now the outside of the house should also reflect the feeling of the inside. I am not just talking paint and trim, I am talking gardens as well.
The gardens should be colorful, have multiple seasons of interest, species, old world plants and some great containers. There should be an area for walking through or a circuit. A few places to sit and take pleasure in the view from the seat.
I can see a fountain, a pergola, an alle', and maybe a bowling green.
The garden should also draw in birds, butterflies, and be comfortable enough for my dogs to run about.
Antique apple and other fruit trees should be mingled as well as almond, walnut, filbert. Berries should be in hedgerows and grapes, paw paw, and other vines.
Cutting garden, vegetable garden and a smoke house should be considered as well.
The house should be a sanctuary, a place to entertain friends, a crown jewel among the garden as well as a bold statement. The house should be Grenadier Red, trimmed in charcoal and gray. Shutters should be chartreuse and the doors should be a dark English green. If I were to use dog-eared shingles I would create a decorative boarder on the roof otherwise I will use metal roofing as I like the durability.
The original door is still hanging, and most of the origian trim remains.
The front porch was removed and I thought destroyed when I first looked at the house, but I found out it was removed and stored in a nearby building. How nice for me.
Inside the house most all of the original woodwork is still intact and most unpainted. Original doors with the steal knobs are intact. The staircase, banister, rails and newel posts aslo remain intact.
The floors are straight fir and are intact on both levels of the house. My only major change to the flooring will to be replace the flooring in the entry hall. I am thinking that stone would be a good choice though if I could find something that looks like Minton tile I would pick that up in a heartbeat.

Rooms on the main floor should be color filled, even dramatic. Papers and wallcoverings should be representative of the era and not dominate, but set the tone for the room. Light fixtures should be refective of the time of the houses construction as well. TBC...

Amsonia hubrichtii

OK, this is not your normal perennial. In fact it will be the 2011 PPA Plant of the Year.
I started using Amsonia about 8 or 9 years ago. It was an odd thing then, considered more of a native plant than anything else and a few of my designer friends were unsure how to deal with it. I too thought it was an odd duck of a plant as it wasn't in bloom when I purchased it and it wasn't in its fall color stage.
So here I am with this rangy looking plant and putting it into a client's garden asking them to trust me as it will be quite a show in the future, even near future. Rangy, and a plant without shape when its young is a tough sell sometimes.

The 'willow-like' foliage is upright, but wispy, and adds softness to the more rigid looking panicums. I thought it would have a couple seasons of interest but my client is one to trim her garden back in the spring (they do listen from time to time) and she was amazed at how it added a texture to her wintry landscape.
Late spring blossoms are blue to blueish white, and fall the foliage becomes intense and bright mustard yellow.

I would say to keep it in an area where the soil is slightly moist, but not soaked all the time. I figure it naturally goes through periods of drought as it is.
It will be exciting how we as garden writers, nursery people, garden designers, and gardeners will help to promote this plant this coming year.

That isn't a Lilac, it just can't be.

Syringa pekinensis is a true master of deception.
So many of us are so used to the lovey French bred Syringas that we don't seem to stop and look at species forms. This lovely shrub, or small tree as it may tun out to be has some unique seasonal interest.Commonly called Peking Tree Lilac, or China Snow Lilac, this beauty has some added surprises that give it a multi seasonal interest. The foremost of these interests to is the unique cherry like bark,copper-colored and exfoliating, it reminds one of Acer griseum. This 'tree' has an upright habit with large pinnacles of white flowers in June. So think of it blooming a month later than your 'Frenchies.'

A strong point that really helps sell this lilac is that it is drought tolerant once you establish it. This can take up to five years, but will be so worth it in the long run.
For those of you in more Northern climates you should also know that it will tolerate some things like de-icing salt, but not poor drainage. Hardy USDA zone 4-7.

Cuphea- that's Koo Fee A, Cuff ee Ay, I am not sure any more

OK, charmers, intriguing, and bewildering.

Here is a plant that has some of the most interesting range of blooms in a wide selection of colors.
The past couple of years I have noticed them more, bought them more, and watched the people I have planted for ask more often- 'What is this?'

Now, I can openly admit, in the past I have bought Cuphea as just an accent in a pot or as an occasional oddity. This year it seems like I can't keep one around. I have bought Cuphea llavea Tiny Mice, Cuphea ignea, Cuphea David Verity , Cuphea 'Ballistic'. I like that they have variety in their growth pattern, shape of the blossom. Plus with common names like cigar plant, firecracker plant, batface, Mexican heather how can you go wrong?

Tough as nails they seem to be fast growing and blooming fools.
Cuphea llavea is native to Mexico, and forms small mound that is a perennial subshrub.
Attractive to hummingbirds, bees and other insects.
Drought tolerant and needing good drainage this stunner will bloom from spring till late in the fall when temps will drop into the 20's.

I did not realize till recently that there are test being done on the oil production from the seed??? Wow, looks like some place is going to have beautiful fields of one color or another!

dianthus, pinks, carnations, and gillyflowers

I have a dear friend who has developed over the past two years a lust with dianthus. Her pots, containers of all sorts and planting beds are filled with them.
I, myself, have fallen for a few. I like the old fashioned sweetness, the clove scent, and putting them into small bedside arrangements.

One of my favorites is Charles Musgrave. It is a white (shocking for those who know me as you know I am not a white flower fan, but I have something up my sleeve for that.) This variety with its single white blooms has a mysterious green eye. I can groove on that. It, when not wind blown, blooms in stems 10-12 inches long. I think this may be one of the sweetest 'glaring' flowers I truly enjoy.

Another Dianthus I seem to like the looks of is a variegated bloomer named Chomley Farran. This oddity with its smokey mauve purple blossoms striped and splashed with a hot cherry pink, or is it more like some sort of Barbified blossom of couture fashion?

There are many great hardy Dianthus out there, many great hardy annual varieties as well. I think we all have favorites. I still enjoy the darkness of Dianthus barbatus nigrescens 'Sooty' and some the great new introductions with their silver blue foliage.

Finding the one that is right for you is the important part. We have colors we like that is true, but ones that are good for your garden without having to reconstruct bed and tear into established plantings.

I must say one of the things I find admirable about my friend is that she has so many containerized. She can move them at whim, enjoy them at table, smell them on her patio or front step. I guess I have been too busy stuffing containers with annuals and tropicals that I missed this little idea to make something you enjoy more accessible.

whose hat did you say that was?

I wrote a post on roses a while back and then a friend asked me to send her a list. I send a list of woody ornamentals and roses. I can't tell what I will end up getting in the department of perennials, but roses I sort of have an idea.
I sent my friend this list and on it she was amazed to see this one rose- Chapeau de Napoleon.
A crested moss rose, having been discovered growing on a convent wall in Fribourg, Switzerland in 1820 from my understanding. So is this actually a found rose? Interesting.

R. centifolia cristata

I would grown this rose for it's odd sepals alone. It is also very fragrant and has a spicy almost damask like fragrance- so a double whammy.
Fully double blooms are a cabbage like and I have heard the color described as deep silvery-pink? What is DEEP silvery-pink? I would say it is a nice strong, pure pink with some deep tones to it, but also a sheen, that might be the silvery-pink in reference?
The rose shrub itself is not as full as other antique varieties like bourbons, but it does grow to five feet tall and do I need to rehash about the blossoms? I would suggest using this rose in mixed borders as it gives that old world/English look so many desire.
The moral of the story is that I went out and took more cuttings of it, it might be just the unique rose some gardener needs, wants, lusts for?

The Japanese maple you should rely on.

Often I am asked to plant a Japanese maple ,Acer palmatum,by a client. Seldom do they think of the care this special tree needs. Just because we live in Washington doesn't mean it will grow. We live in Eastern Washington, the ever brown side of the state and sometimes plants don't look the same as they do on the Puget Sound side of the state.

I have seen many maples burn during the summer. I have seen them burnt after the winter. I have watched as the buds swell and leaves start to emerge only to see them wither up and have to leaf out again.

Here are a few tips.

Water your Japanese maple later into the fall. I recommend this with all trees really. We are a drought area, high desert, and winter is even dryer with freezing winds. Remember- If the ground isn't frozen them maybe you need to water it.

What one needs to remember about maples and spring. Maples tend to start drawing up moisture in late February and early March. If the moisture is not there then its not going to be good. (And please remember how much you paid for that little tree!) The other spring thing to be aware of is that maple leaves are tender and can freeze in the frost. It's a fact, and one has to deal with it and take that chance.
The other thing I highly recommend here is that you do not plant your Japanese maple out in the open. I would protect it from a couple of things. Direct burning summer sun and drying winds. So plant it somewhere in the easterly side, north or south, but not on the hot west side of your house where it will get twice the heat because it is being reflected off of your house.
N
ow I do have a secret tree I like to use. This was the point of this blog wasn't it?
Yes, I like Acer p. 'Shaina', and have recommended Acer p. 'Twombly's Red Sentinel'. The tree you should look at for many reasons is Acer palmatum 'Emperor I'.

Now here is why- It has excellent color. Everyone loves those burgundy leave! and the second is a strange reason, but it leafs out 2-3 weeks later than most varieties? I don't know why, but it does. This offers a few more weeks of protection because it is not leafing out during the frosty times. I am not saying that it can't get bit by the frost, it just has an advantage because it it a few weeks later then all cousins.

Quercus robur 'Concordia'

Quercus robur 'Concordia' is such a lovely, golden thing. Bright acid-like, sulphur colored leaves shine all season. I have not seen any burning on the leaves as of yet. We get hot summer sun here and the heat to go with it as well. It might be regular watering that helps maintain the leaves. The leaves will green up just a shade or two in mid-summer. But the overall look is one of golden magnificence.

It was introduced during the 19th century it was originally raised in Van Geert's nursery at Ghent, Belgium in 1843. A moderate grower though I have have ready that some folks this its extremely fast, it will reach 30-35 feet in 15-20 years. (Annual growth rate is 12-18 inches.) I have seen a second flush of leaves come on later in the season.

Being this in and 'English' oak it should tolerate highly alkaline soils and hardy to zone 4! Folks leaving in Eastern Washington and the Idaho Panhandle should be happy about this one!

so mighty the oak...tickled with a feather

Quercus dentata 'Pinnatifida' also know as the Cutleaf Daimyo Oak or Japanese Emperor Oak, is an unusual specimen tree that would grace any home landscape. The deeply incised leaves are eye catching and seem to generate questions from the casual passerby. They almost look like feathers!

Slow to get started(roots are essential to trees,)but a moderate grower in my zone 5, this will be a tree enjoyed for generations.

It has been related to me that this tree will get 40-60 feet high and 30-40 feet wide but I cannot find out if that is actually a 15, 20, or 50 year growth? I would figure the lack of photosynthetic surface really is a factor in how a tree may actually grow and what shape it may achieve.