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Gardening

Tom Karwin, On Gardening | Happiness from thinking about gardening – Santa Cruz Sentinel

February 2, 2023 by Staff Reporter

Today’s column continues our exploration of ways to achieve happiness through gardening.

Our previous column focused on hands-on gardening experiences: weeding, adding plants and managing the garden. That column is available for review at https://tinyurl.com/2vwhmv56/.

Many gardeners enjoy having their hands in the soil, but today’s topic involves gaining happiness in gardening with clean hands.

First, note that columns in the “Gardening for Happiness” series include photos, with captions, that exemplify a category of garden plants. You are invited to identify this week’s category. The answer will be provided at the end of the column. Just for fun, before looking at the answer, decide on your idea of the category.

Cut Leaf Daisy (Brachyscome multifida) is a perennial herb found in the grassy understories of woodlands and open forests. A member of the Aster plant family (Asteraceae), it grows best in a full sun position but can tolerate part shade and a range of soil types including heavy clays and light-sandy loams. (Courtesy Bill Bishoff)

Let’s begin thinking about gardening.

A gardener’s thoughts about gardening can occur at different levels.

The lowest energy level could involve simply enjoying the garden’s shapes, colors, fragrances, and the sounds and movements caused by breezes. A healthy garden’s birds and insects also provide sensory delights from their songs and ceaseless searches for food. The gardener’s experiences might involve relaxing on a garden seat, perhaps with a pleasant drink in hand.

The thought process rises to require a little more energy as the gardener recalls a missing plant or a previous garden, or reminisces about childhood experiences in the garden. Nostalgia is usually a positive experience when we suppress any negative memories.

Another elevation of the energy level occurs when the gardener becomes a critic of the garden, generating a mental catalog of plant selection winners and losers, design successes and weaknesses, and a schedule of garden tasks.

The highest notch of thinking energy is achieved while planning garden development. This creative exercise includes envisioning a new landscape, drawing on a mental inventory of desired plants and garden structures, projecting the time required to achieve the results, and estimating investments of dollars.

Tar Bush (Eremophila glabra Tar Bush (Eremophila glabra “Kalbarri Carpet”) is a lovely ground cover shrub, with dense soft grey foliage and beautifully contrasting yellow-gold flowers loved by birds and other nectar feeders. It grows quite low, and can spread up to two yards. A member of the Figwort plant family (Scrophulariaceae).(Courtesy Bill Bishoff)

Thinking about gardening relates well to the experts’ summary of contributors to your personal form of happiness. The first is a sense of control and autonomy over one’s life. That could be an elusive goal in our challenging lives, but the gardener has sole control over his or her garden.

The second contributor to happiness, as cited by experts, is being guided by meaning and purpose. As you think about developing your garden, consider your ideas for the garden’s meaning and purpose.

An effort to determine the meaning of the garden opens the door to a philosophical inquiry, along the lines of “what is the meaning of life.” That might be interesting for you, but I propose instead working on a set of goals for garden development.

While you might have a single goal, you’re more likely to have several intentions or purposes for your garden. If you put them in order, you could focus on the top three.

Here are some examples of goals for garden development:

• A resource for meditating or reducing the pressures of daily life;

• A “blank canvas” for creating garden vignettes or beautiful landscapes;

• A showcase to charm visitors or compete for awards, or both;

• A setting for recreation, including gardening, exercising, or engaging in backyard sports;

• Conforming to the aesthetic standards of the neighborhood or homeowner association;

• Gaining financial benefits from growing edibles for personal use, growing ornamentals for sale, or raising property value.

Spider Net Grevillea (Grevillia preissii subsp. Glabrilimba) is an attractive small shrub that grows between 13 ft. high, although prostrate forms do occur. Produces a profusion of bright red pendulous flowers occurs in large clusters. Like most Grevilleas, the flowers attract honey-eating birds. Good variety for coastal gardens or sandy soil. (Courtesy Bill Bishoff)Spider Net Grevillea (Grevillia preissii subsp. Glabrilimba) is an attractive small shrub that grows between 1–3 ft. high, although prostrate forms do occur. Produces a profusion of bright red pendulous flowers occurs in large clusters. Like most Grevilleas, the flowers attract honey-eating birds. Good variety for coastal gardens or sandy soil. (Courtesy Bill Bishoff)

Some homeowners will express their garden development objective as “minimal maintenance.” This might be an understandable goal for the garden, especially for someone who lacks the time, energy, interest, or resources to develop and maintain a garden.

Three reactions:

First, this objective constitutes avoidance behavior and not a purpose for the garden. Again, while it might be an appropriate direction for some individuals, it misses the opportunity to gain happiness through gardening.

Second, if garden development and maintenance seem burdensome or even overwhelming, a responsive strategy would be to limit the size of the garden to a manageable size: a small bed, a deck, or a balcony.

The strategy should include plans for areas that support plant life. Possibilities include developing low-maintenance native grasses or installing hardscape. A large property could have space for a tennis court or swimming pool.

Third, if that strategy doesn’t satisfy, the gardener should consider moving to a home without a garden area, and turning the property over to a gardener.

Next week’s column will bookend today’s topic, “Thinking About Gardening.” We’ll move on to another clean-hands activity, “Learning About Gardening.”

By the way, the third contribution to happiness is connecting with others, which we will address later in this “Gardening for Happiness” series.

Advance your gardening knowledge

A reader has recommended a well-regarded book about ways in which gardening yields gratification and satisfaction, feelings that are closely related to happiness. The book is organized around—and attuned to—the year’s four seasons, with related thoughts in each section. “Cultivating Sacred Space: Gardening for the Soul,” (1997) by Elizabeth Murray.

An imminent opportunity to add to your gardening skills: the local chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers will present “Grafting workshop: Create Your Own Apple Tree” on Sunday from 2-5 p.m. Attendees will learn about the basics of grafting, practice grafting cuts on provided pieces of wood, and then select an apple scion and graft it to an apple rootstock, which will be provided. Bring your own grafting knife, if you have one. Workshop attendance is free for CRFG members and costs $25 for non-members. The event will be held at the Santa Cruz Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Avenue, Santa Cruz.

The Cactus & Succulent Society of America will present the webinar, “What Does Heaven Look Like?”, at 10 a.m., Saturday. The presenter will be Attila Kapitany, well known for his knowledge and passion for cacti and succulents, with over 38 years of experience growing and enthusiastically marketing such plants. His intro to this webinar: “While I, by no means, have a crystal ball or know what each of we growers and collectors have in mind with our plants and why we desire them, I have a long history of visiting and questioning people about such things while also photographing their collections and gardens! Habitat scenes will also be included. So this is a pictorial treat with my thoughts and observations about different concepts of a cactus and succulent Paradise!”

To register for this free event, browse to cactusandsucculentsociety.org.

One example of a systematic approach to advancing your gardening knowledge is The Online Gardening academy, a series of individually available fee-based virtual workshops presented by national gardening expert Joe Lamp’l. Current offerings include Beginning Gardener Fundamentals; The Perfect Soil Recipe Master Class; Managing Pests, Diseases, and Weeds; Growing Epic Tomatoes; and Master Seed Starting. A new workshop Organic Vegetable Gardening, will be available in the spring of 2023. For details, browse to organicgardeningacademy.com/.

Narrow-leaved Phebalium (Phebalium stenophyllum) is another member of the Citrus plant family (Rutaceae). A small shrub with scaly branchlets, narrow oblong to (more or less) cylindrical leaves, and yellow flowers in umbels of three to ten. (An umbel is a flower cluster in which stalks spring from a common center and form a flat or curved surface.) The generic name, Phebalium, comes from the Greek term for a fig. (Courtesy Bill Bishoff)Narrow-leaved Phebalium (Phebalium stenophyllum) is another member of the Citrus plant family (Rutaceae). A small shrub with scaly branchlets, narrow oblong to (more or less) cylindrical leaves, and yellow flowers in umbels of three to ten. (An umbel is a flower cluster in which stalks spring from a common center and form a flat or curved surface.) The generic name, Phebalium, comes from the Greek term for a fig. (Courtesy Bill Bishoff)

Another option for online learning is Fine Gardening magazine’s multiple virtual resources, many of which are free of charge. Visit their website, finegardening.com, to review the video recordings, webinars, podcasts and courses on a range of gardening topics.

This week’s photo category

All of the photos in this week’s column are natives of Australia, as you might have realized, but the particular category is Australian winter bloomers. A selection of winter bloomers from the southern hemisphere would have been a more challenging category, but these photos are all from the Australian Rock Garden at the University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanic Garden. The photos were created in January 2023 by Bill Bishoff, the Arboretum’s excellent volunteer photographer. Thanks, Bill!

Enjoy your garden!

Tom Karwin is a past president of Friends of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and the Monterey Bay Iris Society, a past president and Lifetime Member of the Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society, and a Lifetime UC Master Gardener (Certified 1999–2009). He is now a board member of the Santa Cruz Hostel Society, and active with the Pacific Horticultural Society. To view daily photos from his garden, https://www.facebook.com/ongardeningcom-566511763375123/. For garden coaching info and an archive of On Gardening columns, visit ongardening.com.



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Filed Under: Gardening

How to grow vegetables in small gardens at home

February 2, 2023 by Staff Reporter

Every blade of grass – nature strip included – has either been smothered by cardboard, blood and bone, soil and mulch or simply dug up. The property’s deep clay soil has been steadily improved with compost and manure slurries that Fisher makes by soaking horse and cow manure in buckets of water. He also applies lashings of sugarcane mulch.

A fig and concrete swan in Fisher’s back gardenCredit:Penny Stephens

Fisher, who has a background in sculpture, has built steel frames to train the almond, pear and lime trees he is growing as space-saving espaliers on a side fence. He has also bent a huge sheet of reinforcing mesh into a walk-through arbour for passionfruit vines, and has constructed three large raised beds for vegetables.

Much of this food growing is taking place in full view of the street because the front garden is where most of the open space is and it also has better light. Fisher and West haven’t stopped at their front fence either. The fence itself is covered in pumpkins, while they have planted herbs, an elderberry and a string of native plants on the nature strip.

Fisher says that when gardening he invariably he finds himself talking with passersby and that he and West and have found themselves to be part of a “community of gardeners” who swap ideas. During holidays, they water each others’ gardens and, in extreme heat, throw sheets over each others’ hydrangeas.

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He says talking to other gardeners has helped him refine his own space and that a process of trial and error is also crucial. “You just have to be brave and put something in and, if it doesn’t work, pull it out and try something else. Don’t feel you have to be a master at everything to get started.”

Fisher and West started slowly. They didn’t create permanent structures or plant trees in the ground until they had observed how the light moved across the garden in all seasons. “We needed to see the direction of the sun and where we could put things. We didn’t want trees casting shade.”

They also wanted a garden where no space was wasted. Fisher, whose family migrated to Australia from Chile when he was five, says gardens “can be anything you want them to be”. He says he remembers his mother standing in a fruit and vegetable shop in Sydney in the 1970s “quietly crying” about the lack of diversity.

“Avocados, corn, coriander, all the things we had taken for granted were difficult to find then. My mother grew up surrounded by food gardens and (in Australia) she taught me how to garden. Gardens can be a place where dreams happen and for me that involves food.”

Visit these spaces and it might involve food for you too.

The three gardens are open from 10am to 4.30pm on Sunday 12 February, $8 each or $20 for all three. Go to opengardensvictoria.org.au for the addresses and more information.

Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.



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Filed Under: Gardening

Heritage Gardens’ Zipline Debate Back In Court | Sandwich News

February 2, 2023 by Staff Reporter

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‘Butterflies Are Blooming’ exhibit bringing thousands of flying insects to Meijer Gardens

February 2, 2023 by Staff Reporter

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s annual butterfly exhibition is returning this spring to help the West Michigan community escape the winter blues.

The “Fred & Dorothy Fichter Butterflies Are Blooming” exhibit will bring 7,500 tropical butterflies for patrons to enjoy an up-close experience as the butterflies fly freely throughout the Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory.

This year marks the 28th year Meijer Gardens has provided an intimate way to view the wonderful world of butterflies. This year’s event comes with a different theme: the microscopic detail and beauty of the species.

“We invite and encourage you to dig deep into the details for an up-close experience, zooming in on the beauty of these unique creatures,” Steve LaWarre, vice president of Horticulture at Meijer Gardens, said in a prepared statement.

The highly anticipated exhibition, taking place every March and April, is the largest temporary tropical butterfly exhibition in the nation, officials said.

Approximately 60 colorful butterfly and moth species journey from butterfly-rich regions of Costa Rica, Ecuador, the Philippines and Kenya to fly freely in the five-story, 15,000-square-foot Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory.

At 85 degrees and 70% humidity, the environment inside the conservatory mimics the tropical regions the butterflies call home. Patrons can look forward to seeing nearly 1,000 chrysalises delivered to Meijer Gardens each week of the exhibition, officials said.

The Observation Station will be open for patrons to see these fascinating creatures spread their wings for the first time, among other activities.

“We’ve added new Exploration Stations in the Grace Jarecki Seasonal Display Greenhouse, where guests can use magnifying glasses to enjoy a unique view of the plant material that helps butterflies thrive,” LaWarre said.

While Meijer Gardens encourages patrons to ask questions and “tune your senses to the tiny” during their visit, there are exhibition rules to follow, including:

  • Do not touch the butterflies.
  • During the butterfly exhibition, tripods are not allowed in the conservatory. Monopods may be used while being courteous to other guests.
  • Per USDA regulations, no butterfly or plant materials may leave the conservatory.

Admission costs are $20 for ages 14-64, $15 for seniors 65 and older and $15 for students with an ID, and $10 for children ages 3-13. Children ages 2 and younger get in for free.

Extended hours and exhibition activities, as well as the full calendar of events, can be found online at MeijerGardens.org/calender.

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Filed Under: Gardening

Busch Gardens Debuts New Events, Food Options for Mardi Gras Celebrations

February 2, 2023 by Staff Reporter

Mardi Gras at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. (Busch Gardens)

WILLIAMSBURG — Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Mardi Gras is back, debuting a new event lineup for its 2023 take on the annual New Orleans tradition. 

Busch Gardens Mardi Gras runs now through Feb. 26 on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and the Presidents Day holiday. 

This year will feature a brand new Mardi Gras street party, according to a press release. Taking place in the France village, this new parade will feature ribbon dancers and stilt walkers, and a King of Mardi Gras passing through on a float while jester performers hand out beads.

The Carnaval Imaginique returns to the Globe Theatre, featuring acrobats and acts of balance and strength. Other returning entertainment includes the New Orleans Jazz Band in Das Festhaus, the Killarney Village Band in Abbey Stone Theatre and Samba Jamboree, and jester drummers in Rhinefeld village.

There is also a variety of new cuisine options, including classic New Orleans-style dishes ranging from chicken and andouille gumbo, shrimp étouffée, bananas foster cheesecake, the crawfish boil, and more. There are also several new cocktails available for guests over 21, including hurricanes, rum runners, and the King Cake shot.

New food and beverage offerings include: 

  • Oyster Po’ Boy 
  • Specialty Beignets     
  • Passionfruit Hurricane     
  • Cajun Bloody Mary 

Samplers are available to purchase in five or ten-item options — $40 for five punches, or $60 for ten punches. Guests can mix and match entrees, desserts, beer, wine, cocktails, and specialty non-alcoholic beverages at designated Mardi Gras kiosks throughout the park. Sampler lanyards are available to purchase online or in-park.

For more information, check out the official Williamsburg Busch Gardens page.



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February gardening guide: Freeze threatens new growth

February 2, 2023 by Staff Reporter

Texas had generally mild weather conditions across the state after the “Arctic Express” swept through in December, resulting in new growth on some trees and plants. The recent freeze across much of Texas means that new growth could be in trouble.

Some branches and limbs may need added support to protect from breakage as ice accumulates from a freeze. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Sam Craft)

While the warmer-than-average temperatures may feel pleasant in the midst of winter when we do get them, your garden may suffer from the roller coaster of temperatures experienced since the new year.

“Due to lack of chill after Christmas and the subsequent regrowth that has occurred on plants, even on cold-tolerant crops, this new growth will be very susceptible to freeze injury as our temperatures drop again,” said Larry Stein, Ph.D., horticulture specialist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Uvalde. Stein is also an associate department head and professor within the Department of Horticultural Sciences in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

“These plants may need some protection as the temperatures drop,” he said. “And limb support could reduce limb breaking due to ice accumulation.”

However, this recent cool, wet weather is perfect chilling weather for fruit trees, which up until this point was lagging, Stein said. For areas where the lack of rain continues to be a problem, irrigation will be critical prior to budbreak.

While waiting to see what weather Mother Nature will dole out as spring approaches next month, Stein offered the following gardening guide for February.

Plant or transplant new trees and shrubs

Continue to plant or transplant new trees and shrubs. The sooner you get them planted, the sooner the plants can initiate new roots to really take off and grow when warmer weather comes.

Treat with herbicides

Preemergent herbicide needs to be applied and incorporated via water into your lawn now to prevent spring weeds from germinating.

Those concerned about ball moss can treat it now with a copper spray.

An assortment of winter leafy greens growing out of the soil. They are bright green with red and purple stems in the foreground. In the background the leaves are a deep purple.Winter is the time to continue to stagger plantings of leafy greens, leaf lettuce, kale and collards. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Laura McKenzie)

Pot frost-sensitive plants       

Frost-sensitive transplants such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplants can be purchased and potted into larger containers. This will make for a larger plant with a vigorous root system to set out mid-to-late March.

Prune roses, plant potatoes and leafy greens

We typically use Valentine’s Day as the day to prune rose bushes and plant Irish potatoes, Stein said.

Continue to stagger plantings of leafy greens, leaf lettuce, kale and collards. You still have time to plant onion plants.

A person over looks a freeze damaged Orange Frost Mandarin Hybrid. A hand holds a damaged brown branch with leaves.A citrus tree after a freeze. Plants may need extra protection against freezes after experiencing a mild few weeks at the start of the year and new growth may be affected. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Courtney Sacco)

Care for fruit trees and woody ornamentals

Complete the pruning of your fruit trees as they begin to bloom. Treat fruit trees with dormant oil prior to budbreak.

Fertilize woody ornamentals with a 3-1-2 slow-release fertilizer toward the end of the month.

Remove thatch, utilize mulch

Scalp your lawn toward the end of the month to remove any thatch layer you may have and promote spring green-up.

A close up of mulch on the ground, which can be used to protect plant's new growth. Various shades of brown organic material comprise it.Dropped leaves can be gathered and utilized as part of your mulch. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Laura McKenzie)

Thatch is the layer of intermingled living and dead and organic matter that accumulates between the actively growing grass and the surface of the soil. It can help provide an excellent growing environment for grasses, but excess thatch can prevent water and oxygen from reaching plant roots and create conditions for diseases.

As live oaks drop their leaves, collect them to use as mulch in your garden and flower beds.

For more gardening advice, explore Aggie Horticulture’s diverse and robust educational resources and programs.

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Filed Under: Gardening

North Coast Gardening | February chores abound – Times-Standard

February 2, 2023 by Staff Reporter

February weather offers North Coast gardeners a mixed bag of tricks. Warm afternoons bless beds of blooming daffodils. Pink flowering plums tease us with the promise of an early spring. Suddenly a winter storm or a hard freeze shatters our brief reveries of spring. Still, our garden beckons. Here is what you can do this month to make your garden healthy and productive:

Plant color: Just a couple pots of bright color are sure to chase away the blues of winter. Primulas, pansies, violas, cineraria and cyclamen all tolerate the vagaries of February weather. Check out your local nursery for some cheerful color.

Watch out: Spring flowering bulbs are popping up this month. Don’t lose flowers to hungry slugs and snails. Now is the time to set out organic slug bait every three weeks or so.

Check garlic: By now, fall planted garlic cloves should be peeking up a few inches above the soil level. Now is the time to give a top dressing of all-purpose fertilizer or a liquid drench of nutritious seaweed based fertilizer, this month and next.

Sow seeds: If you are planning to start your tomatoes and peppers from seed, the end of February is a good time to sow indoors for transplanting out in May.

Plant food: Bare root fruit trees, berries, rhubarb, asparagus and more are available at local nurseries this month. You will also find transplants  of broccoli, kale, spinach, Asian greens, onions, snap peas and more.

Prune: This is the month to dormant spray and prune roses, berries and fruit trees.

Terry Kramer is the site manager for the Humboldt Botanical Garden and a trained horticulturist and journalist. She has been writing a garden column for the Times-Standard since 1982. Contact her at terrykramer90@gmail.com.

 

 

 



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Gardening: Rules about shipping plants meant to protect state’s crops, environment

February 2, 2023 by Staff Reporter

Have you ever wondered why some plant catalogs that say they can’t ship a particular plant to a particular state? On the surface, it doesn’t make sense and can be frustrating. However, there are very good reasons for these rules.

According to Benita Matheson of the Washington Department of Agriculture’s Plant Services Program, it means that those plants or the soil they are planted in may carry diseases or insect pests that would damage our state’s agricultural crops or that the plant is on our state noxious weed list.

As an example, let’s look at onions or alliums. I’ve seen several catalogs that won’t ship ornamental chives into Washington and the reason is simple, they might carry a fungus called white rot. White rot can affect any member of the allium/onion family including ordinary onions, shallots, leeks, garlic, chives, scallions and ornamental chives. The soil-borne fungus is carried on the roots or soil and rots the plants in the field. There is no known pesticide control. Once a field is infected, the fungus can lie dormant for many years making that ground unsuitable for onion crops. That could have a big impact on the state’s $101 million onion industry.

To ensure that contaminated plants don’t find their way into Washington, the Washington Department of Agriculture Plant Services Program develops shipping requirements that out-of-state nurseries must follow to reduce the chance that a disease or insect could be carried into the state. These requirements often mean that the sourcing nursery must do extra testing and certification to be able to ship into Washington. All this adds to the costs of the nursery, and they may decide that their sales here aren’t enough to undertake the extra cost of certification. A second reason is that a plant may be on our noxious weed list and could impact the state’s land and water resources.

This situation is also the case for other crops we commonly order online. Blueberries and cranberries are affected by the disease blueberry scorch. Filberts or hazelnuts are affected by the eastern filbert blight disease. Grapes are susceptible to several insect and disease problems. Apples are being watched for the apple maggot insect.

These limitations sometimes aren’t just for out of state nurseries though, they can apply to plants and fruits being moved within the state. Right now, Spokane County is under an apple maggot restriction which means we shouldn’t be moving fruit to other parts of the state because apple maggots can get into our commercial apple orchards. Another example is that Japanese beetles have recently been found in Yakima. These pests will devour many types of plants and to slow the spread, the Department of Agriculture is asking that plant material not be moved from Yakima to other areas.

So, if you really want a particular plant that can’t be shipped to Washington, look for it locally. All our nurseries are inspected by the Department Agriculture and their plant buyers know how to work with the restrictions.



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Filed Under: Gardening

More banned plants, a children’s garden re-do, and purple tomatoes: The latest in gardening news

February 2, 2023 by Staff Reporter

Let’s catch up on some plant and garden “readlings” this week while we wait for next month’s pea-planting milestone…

Invasive plants banned

Five kinds of honeysuckle are the latest plants to be banned for sale in Pennsylvania after being deemed harmfully invasive, earning spots on the state’s Noxious Weed List.

The state Department of Agriculture’s Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee last month voted to ban the amur, Morrow’s, Tatarian, Bell’s, and fragrant (Standish) types of honeysuckle from sale in Pennsylvania. (Note that this doesn’t include native trumpet or coral honeysuckle varieties such as ‘Alabama Scarlet,’ ‘Major Wheeler,’ and ‘Cedar Lane’ or other honeysuckle species and hybrids such as ‘Gold Flame,’ ‘Serotina,’ ‘Scentsation,’ and ‘Winchester.’)

The committee also voted to add starry stonewort – an algae that can clog waterways and interfere with fish breeding areas – to the Noxious Weed List.

The additions bring the Class A list to a total of 20 plants (ones that can possibly be eradicated) and the Class B list to a total of 38 (ones that are too widespread to feasibly be eradicated). Most plants on these lists are what most people consider to be “weeds,” such as Japanese knotweed, thistle, poison hemlock, kudzu, giant hogweed, and such.

The latest action continues a state crackdown on invasive plants that began in late 2021.

Since then, Pennsylvania has banned the sale of several popular landscape plants, including flowering (callery) pear trees, burning bush, common and glossy buckthorns, chocolate vine (Akebia), four types of privets (Japanese, border, European, and Chinese), and Japanese barberries (except for four sterile varieties in the WorryFree series: Crimson Cutie, Lemon Cutie, Lemon Glow, and Mr. Green Genes).

  • Read more on previous plant bans

Although gardeners aren’t being required to remove banned plants from their yards, the Ag Department is recommending their removal to stop continued, unwanted seeding into the wild.

Many of the newly banned landscape plants are being phased out of sale.

Japanese barberries, for example, will be banned from sale as of Oct. 3 this year, while flowering pears will be banned as of Feb. 10, 2024.

Burning bush and the four banned privets have a grace period until Jan. 10, 2025.

The honeysuckles and starry stonewort will be banned 60 days after notice of the Ag Department’s action is published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin, which is expected to be by early this spring.

Although the above plants can be sold until the above cutoff dates, the Ag Department is discouraging gardeners from buying them, instead recommending native or non-invasive alternatives.

  • Read George’s column on native alternatives to invasive plants

Hershey Gardens is almost done with its re-do of its 20-year-old Children’s Garden.

Facelift of Hershey’s Children’s Garden

Renovations to Hershey Gardens’ 1½-acre Children’s Garden are nearly complete, and the 20-year-old interactive garden is on target to sport its fresh look by spring.

“We’re waiting on the delivery of some additional things to install and replace,” says Gardens’ spokesman Anthony Haubert. “Once that happens, we should be complete with all the renovations. We’re aiming to be done by the end of March or beginning of April.”

The work has included new plants, new cedar for the bird blind, repointed stone work, new raised beds in the Hoop House, and fresh paint throughout.

In the works is a revamped treehouse (being reimagined to a rainforest theme with thatched roof, cocoa-pod accents, and a climbing pole), a new boat play structure, and a new wooden bridge in the River Banker’s Picnic area.

The early-spring finish date coincides with the time gardeners get antsy for Hershey Gardens’ vast spring bulb display.

Peak bulb bloom typically runs from mid-April to early May, depending on each season’s weather.

“It’s always a guessing game as to when that will happen,” says Haubert. “We tell individuals who inquire – and we get a lot of inquiries beginning mid-March – to check our website and social media pages for updates on the blooming of the tulips.”

This past fall, staff planted nearly 26,000 new bulbs. That included 1,500 new daffodils around the Conservatory and the rest assorted types of tulips around the Conservatory, in the Children’s Garden, and the bulk in the Seasonal Display Garden.

Also over the winter, Hershey’s staff replaced overgrown potted palms in the conservatory’s main-entrance atrium with more compact foxtail palms.

Wood's sedge

This sedge, known as wood’s sedge, was the top performer of 70 species and varieties in Mt. Cuba Center’s new trial.

The best sedges

Delaware’s Mount Cuba Center is just out with results of its latest plant trial – this time exploring 70 different species and varieties of sedges (Carex) over four years of evaluation.

Sedges are grass-like perennials that have come into vogue lately, not the least because deer seldom browse them.

“(Sedges) are quickly becoming favored by homeowners and horticulturists alike, thanks to their beauty, utility, and overall minimal maintenance requirements,” says Sam Hoadley, Mount Cuba’s manager of horticultural research. “The diversity of the genus is outmatched only by the wide spectrum of habits in which they grow. From shady wetlands to coastal dunes, you can find a (sedge) to grow and thrive there.” Many sedges are U.S. native plants, and as Mount Cuba’s trial report points out, most can even be used as mowable substitute for traditional lawn grass.

Mount Cuba trialed the 70 sedges in both shade and sun in average garden soil. In the last year of evaluation, staff mowed the sedges every two weeks to assess their potential as a lawn substitute.

The foot-tall, green-bladed, native wood’s sedge (Carex woodii) clocked in as the trial’s top performer. Hoadley says it excels in both sun and shade, offers a carpet of straw-colored flowers from April to May, and was the trial’s top-performing mowable sedge.

The remaining top 15 sedges in the trial (after wood’s sedge) were: Cherokee sedge (Carex cherokeensis), common brome sedge (Carex bromoides), Hayden’s sedge (Carex haydenii), upright sedge (Carex stricta), Emory’s sedge (Carex emoryi), long-beaked sedge (Carex sprengelii), Pennsylvania sedge (Carex pensylvanica), Pennsylvania sedge ‘Straw Hat,’ Muskingum sedge ‘Little Midge,’ white-tinge sedge (Carex albicans), James’ sedge (Carex jamesii), Muskingum sedge ‘Oehme,’ fringed sedge (Carex crinita), Leavenworth’s sedge (Carex leavenworthii), and plantain-leaf sedge (Carex plantaginea).

Over-harvesting ramps

Ramps are onion-like native plants that have become foodie favorites lately.

Raiding the ramps

Ramps – those onion-like plants often found growing wild in Appalachia’s woods – have become so popular in foodie circles lately that concern is mounting over their over-harvest.

A new Penn State study finds that if ramps gatherers would wait a month longer before harvesting, ramps colonies would rebound much better.

Also known as wild leeks, these strappy-leafed plants have been locally popular for hundreds of years for their garlic-like aroma and onion-like flavor. Both the leaves and underground bulbs are edible.

Ramps’ demand – and value – has gone up sharply in the last few years as they’ve become darlings of foodies and restaurant chefs. The price increases have fed a sharp increase in gathering from wild colonies.

Enter Penn State, which studied ways of conserving this “cultural keystone resource.”

“With even modest harvests from ramp patches, it can take years and years for those plant populations to rebound,” said Eric Burkhart, a Penn State associate professor of ecosystem science and management.

Penn State researchers found that by pushing back peak harvests a month from the usual harvest period of March 1 to May 30, plants can increase their yield significantly.

“If foragers would just wait a little longer,” says the study’s lead researcher, assistant professor of biology Sarah Nilson, “they can actually collect the same weight of ramps with less effort because the plants are larger. We will be trying to promote this little saying: Fewer ramps per pound is more ramps in the ground.”

Nilson adds that it’s best to wait until the plants have developed at least three leaves before harvesting.

Ramps are perennial plants that can be grown in home gardens as well, although they do best in moist, shaded spots – unlike traditional onions and garlic.

Big Purple Tomato

British plant developers have produced a tomato with purple flesh as well as purple skins.

Purple tomatoes

Gardeners have long been able to grow tomatoes with purplish skin, but a pair of British researchers have developed the world’s first cherry-type tomatoes that are deep purple throughout.

The true-purple tomatoes were genetically engineered at laboratories in England, using a pair of snapdragon genes as the genetic “on switches” that trigger the tomatoes to produce purple pigments in the fruits’ flesh as well as their skins.

Professors Cathie Martin and Jonathan Jones formed a company called Norfolk Plant Sciences to produce and sell seeds.

The company got U.S. Department of Agriculture regulatory clearance last fall to begin selling the new variety in the U.S. Seeds aren’t available yet, but interested gardeners can sign up for them through Norfolk’s Big Purple Tomato website.

Besides the striking look of the fruits, the company says the purple tomato has a longer shelf life and improved nutrition, especially the antioxidant anthocyanin, which has anti-inflammatory properties and can reduce the risk of cancer and heart problems.

Seeds could be available by later this year.



Originally Appeared Here

Filed Under: Gardening

1995 calendar used for 2023 gardening notes

February 2, 2023 by Staff Reporter

Today, as this column gets underway, one month of craziness has been recorded in notes. It is where the notes are written that is going to jostle you — maybe. Because people accuse me all the time of saving everything, you won’t be surprised to learn that since Jan. 1 an appointment calendar from 1995, “Notes From My Garden” by Marjolein Bastin, is my new log. The dates line up with 2023.

While you are thinking that my trove of goodies is ridiculous, the defense for saving this book is lovely artwork, pages never written upon, and a realization that old age is here — so get going.

The book was rediscovered in a pre-holiday purging session. Looking through Marjolein’s detailed artwork brought the discovery that on each of her 12 pages of art to introduce the month she had left charming personal notes. These related to birds, bees, berries, even flowers pressed in a phone book — notes from her point of view. And it revealed a British background through bird species depicted. The lights came on for me. This book could be my notebook from the garden this year.

Through my mind ran visions of Martha Stewart’s calendar with no art, just scheduled appointments and regular chores. That was like a to-do list in calendar form. This one nourished, encouraged and demonstrated. There may not be artwork in my version but phrases are okay.

My notes began with Day 1 – “washed dark load with two pieces of gum;” Day 2 – “Anne’s birthday;” Day 3 – “massage;” Day 4 – “Kingwood takedown;” Day 5 – “gouge finger with peeler, column on glad growers;” Day 6 – “takedown Historical Society;” Days 7-10 empty; Day 11- “webinar on biodiversity;” Day 12 – “Zoom cast on ephemerals, Hixson article;” Day 13 – “80th birthday party for friend;” Day 14 – “shop for truck.”

Little of this related to the garden except for webinars, but on the 15th notes suggest “warming up.” My note states “ordered four packets of seed.” Then on Jan. 17 – “planning new plants for cutting garden.” This is the truth. A program lies ahead in October. Jan. 20 – “watered exotics in the garage.” That was frightful because a leak out there caused the faucet to be shut off. Nest building began on the 22nd not for birds but for centerpieces. Glue and packing materials were challenging, me inept. There was a webinar on insect life on the 25th.

On the 26th notes record a “red-breasted woodpecker and a hairy simultaneously playing quick frozen critters.” On separate suet logs both must have perceived some danger. Usually quick and actively engaged, they were very still except for an eyeball. Close to an entire minute a freeze was in effect. A hawk may have lurked. Jan. 26 – “column on ‘White Nymph” amaryllis.” On Jan. 27 – “more nests built;” Jan. 28 – “all outside Christmas decorations back on shelves;” Jan. 29 – “passed up First Fig Festival;” Jan. 30 – “finished forming nests.”

None of this was was fiction. If this were an assignment, a coach might suggest more focus on garden-related stuff. Defensively, my comeback would be “it was January and I tried and left out houseplant pots to which soil was added, plants fertilized and one totally repotted.” That coach would point out that these were relevant actions. Add them.

Life continues to be good as Bastin’s art and garden notes are relished.

Mary Lee Minor is a member of the Earth, Wind and Flowers Garden Club, an accredited master gardener, a flower show judge for the Ohio Association of Garden Clubs and a former sixth grade teacher.



Originally Appeared Here

Filed Under: Gardening

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