The Daily Hoe

Winter Blooms - Outside!!

2011-02-10T16:53:00.000-08:00

For a lot of people, the thought of "blooms in the winter" is limited to forced narcissus (paperwhites) or the gift of a potted amaryllis from an aunt or dinner guest. If you're lucky, you may also have a blooming Christmas cactus by now. But why limit your blooms to the indoors? There's plenty of beauty outside your window.

I have written previous posts on winter gardening, so today is somewhat of an 'annual update' on one of my favorite winter activities: a walk through a winter garden. Here are some of the pictures from our walk this afternoon in the Washington Park Arboretum. Almost anyone can have these plants in their own personal gardens - especially if you live in a colder northern climate (now how often do you get to hear that?!).

Hellebores are a popular low plant that is often seen as a groundcover in better gardens. They look particularly striking when planted in groupings below a stand-out tree it tall shrub, like witchhazel.

Hamamelis, or witchhazel is out in full force this time of the year.

It always amazes me how many different types there are to enjoy - and they each have their own distinct sweet smell.

Mountain ash is also a popular tree that puts on an early spring/winter show. The red berries attract wildlife in a time of year when food is less abundant for them. An birds are a gardeners friend, for the most part ;).

Speaking of berries and sweet smells, one of the most excellent additions to a winter garden is the vanilla plant, or sarcococca. It's fun to say too!

Each one of these little blooms is abundant with sweet vanilla scent - imagine a whole shrub full of them! It's no wonder that this shrub is a favorite for walkways, doorways and hey - what's this?- in front of the men's room! Nice work :).

And last, but not least, if you're looking for color and not so much smells, check out this shrub that looks like it's on fire.

The juxtaposition with the line of the lawn makes it stand out beautifully. Snowberries are small shrubs that offer evergreen leaves with little clumps of white berries throughout. Definitely a nice addition to a winter garden. As with any planting in a winter garden, they catch your eye and remind you that the earth is alive and thriving - even in the dead of winter.

Winter Witch Hazel

2010-01-24T16:11:00.000-08:00

Just when winter couldn't get any more bleak, look at what started to bloom this past week! Witch Hazel (Hamamelis family) is the star of the winter garden. It explodes with flowers in mid January to early spring and keeps its blooms long after you have been distracted by other fun goings on in your spring garden. When the sun is out, you'll smell the sweet scent of the blooms from a number of feet away - it often turns heads as people wonder where that sweet smell is coming from.

The plant itself is very hardy - it grows well in many zones, depending on the species. It's very cold and drought tolerant (once established) and has wonderful fall color and growth habit. There are many varieties available on the market now, with the main distinction being an American or Asian species. Check out Paghat's fantastic description of American witch hazel here.

Many of the witch hazels you see around the Northwest are the intermedia species, which is actually a hybrid of two other popular Asian species: the mollis and the japonica. Yellow seems to be a common color, but my favorite is certainly the orange witch hazel 'Jelena.' Unfortunately, my first witch hazel was a Jelena that ended up dying, probably because I didn't remove all of the clay from the root ball when planting. That was an expensive and sad mistake!

Witch hazel is one of those plants that has a long and storied history worth knowing about. To me, one of the most interesting things about witch hazel is the origin of its common name. You might be thinking to yourself that it refers to a witch as in Sabrina or Tabatha. It most likely actually refers to the age-old practice of "water witching" or "dowsing" - when someone would walk holding a forked branch of H. virginiana witch hazel to locate underground water sources. "Wych" is an Anglo-Saxon term that means "bend," which is exactly what the branches do when you walk over an underground water source. Again, Paghat has a wonderful description of the origins of the name and uses of witch hazel. Keri's grandfather used to 'witch' wells in the Yakima valley in Washington state, so the practice has always been fascinating to me. We just returned from her grandmother's wake last week and were looking through pictures of her grandfather standing in a mountain of water shooting upward from the ground at one of the locations he found. Amazing. If we ever run out of rain in the PNW, stop by and we'll pull off a branch to find some water.

Images from a winter walk in the Washington Arboretum last year:

Tabletop Dahlia

2009-10-04T08:01:00.000-07:00

Dahlias are a flower party all by themselves

Consider floating a bloom in a shallow bowl or vase for a one flower show you and your friends won't forget. The bloom will last surprisingly long without any special treatment - no refilling of the water, no clipping of anything. Just enjoy for about 5 days or so.

Happy fall!

Awesome Agave

2009-10-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

I can't take credit for planting this beauty, but am I glad the previous homeowners did! This is a yucca filamentosa in full bloom this past July. It's a type of agave that will grow in northwestern climates and blooms every year, unlike other agaves that will bloom once every 100 years (!). It's a wonderful architectural addition to the garden and is very low maintenance. When it blooms it's a show-stopper. The blooming stalk in these pictures is about 4 feet higher than the plant, and since the plant is perched on a 3 foot high wall garden near our driveway, the blooms tower above my head to about 10 feet high. Awesome!

Loving Your Lavender (by pruning it once a year)

2009-10-02T17:27:00.000-07:00

Our 90 pound Riley demonstrating lavender in need of a haircut (in another month after this picture was taken) (this is the awesome Hidcote 'giant' variety; read about the dwarf variety HERE)

In Seattle's neighborhoods, there are many people who replace their water-sucking lawns with wonderful, drought tolerant, low maintenance plants. Lavender is an excellent choice for this situation. However, many of the lavender plants you see in these gardens are an overgrown mess of twigs and bare wood, with spindly little flower stalks throughout the year.

You can avoid this demise of your beautiful lavender plant by walking out to it once a year and giving it a haircut. It's the best 10 minutes you can spend pruning a plant, compared to the love your lavender will lavish on you next summer.

After lavender blooms in July-ish, enjoy it for another month or so, until the flowers start to look a bit dreary and dry. Use a sharp pair of garden shears to clip the blooming stalks down to the first bunch of new leaves. The goal is to maintain a "mound" shape, so if you want to prune down to the second bunch of new leaves to keep this shape, feel free.

Your lavender will sprout beautiful new, healthy flower stalks next summer, and maintain it's orderly shape indefinitely.

Beware: If you have not been maintaining your lavender and it's already an overgrown mess with a lot of woody stems - you will need to remove the plant and start over. DO NOT PRUNE INTO THE HARD WOOD OF A LAVENDER PLANT. Similar to other evergreen plants, like juniper and cypress, it will NOT re-grow from old, woody branches.

For more info:

HERE's a great article

Avoid A Hedge Pruning Disaster

2009-10-01T22:20:00.001-07:00

Please DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

Unbeknownst to the well meaning gardener who butchered the juniper in the picture above, this plant will never grow fresh 'leaves' from the old exposed wood you see here. It will remain a barren scab of a has-been border plant forever.

People plant these evergreen shrubs for many reasons, but don't usually take into account how big or unwieldy they will get in 10-20 years. So out come the pruners and the nightmare begins.
The only solution is to remove the whole plant and take it as a good lesson about 'right plant, right place.'

Remember this: Evergreen shrubs will not re-grow from old wood - if you prune them, only prune a few inches down on new wood. If you prune them too hard, and expose the old wood (as in pictures above), go get yourself a backhoe or back brace, get ready for a workout, and look forward to a trip to the nursery for a replacement plant.

Workin' The Farmer's Market

2009-07-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite ways to spend part of a Saturday or Sunday is working at a Master Gardener clinic booth/table answering people's home gardening questions. This is the Master Gardener way of 'paying back' the Master Gardener program for training us in basic horticulture and diagnostics. We volunteer our time to answer any and all gardening questions so that the University extension folks can focus on research and the really tough questions that we can't answer. By the way, the website has some fantastic fact sheets and tips for diagnosing pest problems.

Today's market crew. Our stand was a bit makeshift today, but we did alright.

Today I was at the Ballard Farmer's Market clinic with Jen and Jeff, and despite the occasional thunder storm, we had a pretty fun day. There were a number of questions about fruit tree and vegetable problems. Must be summer ;). Below are some pictures of today.

Jen with our box of goodies (a.k.a. reference books and handouts)

Jeff sharing his infinite wisdom

(he's a veteran MG, after all, Jen and I are lowly interns)

My favorite part of working this clinic is coming early to watch the farmers set up their stands. Jeff and I compared it to working bees humming their way through a routine that has been well polished through experience. I learned today that recent studies have shown that it is no more expensive to shop at your local farmer's market than to shop at a chain supermarket. Now that's music to my ears. What a wonderful way to spend part of a weekend - browsing (and buying) beautiful produce, listening to street musicians, eating fun foods, visiting with neighbors and learning news ways to cook interesting new foods. That's my kind of weekend!

Carrots anyone? The ones on the left are 'purple haze' - I'm growing these too, but haven't harvested any yet.

Have you ever seen such beautiful fava beans...I know...you're thinking of Anthony Hopkins right now...but I'm thinking cover crop!

Okay, so this isn't a picture of plants or produce, but the Loki Fish guys and gals are a local favorite for salmon. Today I bought the best looking sockeye salmon I've ever seen - 2 days off the boat in Alaska - yum.

Dante's Dogs - he's got the best hot dogs in town and is expanding his business quickly these days. Today I had one with sauteed onions, sweet sauce, grain mustard and cream cheese (!) - it was excellent.

A "Daily Hoe" Picture Gets Published

2009-07-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

Seems the folks at Schmap! travel guides (I know, I had not heard of it either), liked the photo I took of the pumpkin fields at Remlinger farms in Carnation, Washington last fall. It's in their travel guide now. Cool :)

Leaping Clematis

2009-07-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

The first year you sleep,

The second year you creep,

The third year you leap!

This is a saying that befits plants such as clematis, which take a while to get going after they are planted. The purple clematis I planted our first summer in Seattle is now in its third year and 'leaping' along the fence. It's not quite as full as I had hoped it would be by the third year, but it's getting there. I wonder what they do in the fourth year?

One of two sides

...and by the way...clematis can be pronounced either "CLEH-ma-tis" or "Cle-MAH-tis" - the first is the British pronunciation, and the second is more common among Americans. I switch between pronunciations depending on who I'm with and how snooty I want to sound - you kind of sound foolish using the British pronunciation around non-gardeners (apologies to our British readers).

Help! We're Drowning In Raspberries!

2009-07-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

Well... we knew this time would come... this is what happens when you properly support your raspberry vines and splay them horizontally so they get the most yield (aka.biggest crop, aka. most berries, aka. raspberries as far as the eye can see!). I discussed pruning and training raspberry vines in an earlier post, and now we're reaping the crop. It's official! We're drowning in raspberries! Berries love the Pacific Northwest - we actually have the highest rate of berry production in the world!

Perfect!

For some reason, the berries on the east side of the trellis were at least 1.5 inches long. I didn't do anything special to them, so we're trying to figure out why they are so much bigger than the others. This wasn't the case last year...

The ones that are darker purple with a slight "dusty" look to them are perfectly ripe. They should almost fall off in your hand without much pulling. Resist the urge to pull harder!

Perfectly ripe and falling from the hull. This berry fell off a few seconds after I took this picture.

Raspberries as far as the eye can see - as long as you move your eye low and look upward - raspberries like to hide under leaves and some of the best ones can be found in the shaded inner part of the stand.

Today we picked at least 7 pints of berries, with more to go and 8 jars of jam already put up two weeks ago. Whew! I'm freezing them, pureeing them, and canning them as fast as my two hands can work! These will be spectacular eating come winter...a reminder of the sunny Seattle days of June/July.

Washed and ready for making jam

Jars of freshly canned raspberry jam ready for gifts and storage

Pulping the raspberries to separate the juice from the seeds. Add a little sugar and fresh lemon juice and you have fresh raspberry coulis.

Raspberry coulis ready for freezing

As for the rest...bagged and ready for freezing with some fresh blueberries from our garden

It's amazing how many berries can be produced by just a 4 x 8 foot area!

Shopping on Fourth Street

2009-07-08T19:42:00.000-07:00

After our weekend adventures in the Sierra Nevada, I spent the day in Berkeley and Oakland yesterday and enjoyed the spoils of shopping on Fourth Street in Berkeley. Seems I've been gone too long from the Bay Area since this was my first time going to the Builders Booksource store. Woooooooow is all I can say. It took me over 2 hours to get out of that store -

they have the most complete collection of quality landscaping, gardening, and home improvement books I have ever had the joy of perusing. Instead of breaking the bank and carrying 50 pounds of gardening books home with me on the plane, I was restrained and just wrote down the titles of the books I want at some point in the future. Although I did walk out with a copy of "Elements of Garden Design" which I will post more about once I have a chance to read it.

After the bookstore, I wandered across the street to "The Gardener" - an upscale boutiquey sort of store that has been there for a while now. I always like window shopping and seeing what kitschy things they have for sale ($8 European carrot seeds or $15 'Gardener' soap anyone?), but usually don't walk out with anything. It just feels too high-end and decorative to be a functional gardening store. You're more likely to walk into a terra cotta pot from Italy or a designer tablecloth than a decent selection of plants or tools.

This time, however, I picked up a cute echeveria for my friend Julie, as a thank you and a gift to celebrate moving into a new exciting phase of her life. It was a great table setting for our meal at Tacubaya - the best Mexican food I've had in a long while.

It's always fun to spend a few hours in the world of garden shopping - and really makes me wonder about career changes...

The Gardener on Fourth Street in Berkeley

Hollyhocks and Lazy Days

2009-07-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

Hollyhocks!

My love for hollyhocks goes deep into the soil. Hollyhocks crowd next to porches, peer into windows, line pathways and chicken coops. You know the old-fashioned single flower in an array of colors.

They give me fond memories of my grandmother's garden and all the wonderful times we spent together in her garden. She showed me how to make adorable little

women with large flowing dresses from the flower. I so loved my time with her tending the garden. Her love for her garden was endless and she taught me so much even at a very early age. This has stayed with me through the years. I also know that she is right beside me when I am in my garden, still guiding me along.

Did you know... that hollyhocks are not only a delight to the eye but to the palate also? The blooms can be stuffed with cream cheeses, guacamole, or any number of sour cream dips. For a birthday party, you can fill each hollyhock bloom with a scoop of sherbet or ice cream. Did you also know that the old-fashioned name for the seed pods is "cheeses" and they can be eaten when green? Cook them in a little olive oil and toss them in your salad.

Don't forget to save the seeds in the fall for next year's plantings, to give as a gift or trade.

Now, won't you join me with a cup of tea out by the hollyhocks and watch the butterflies?

Welcome Janet!

2009-07-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce that The Daily Hoe is welcoming a new member to our "blogging team!" Janet Walker comes to the Hoe with more then 50 years of experience in gardening ..... She will be our resident expert on country gardening and all of the flowers and animal friends that come along with spending time outdoors in the country.

Janet has spent the last 14 years honing her skills on her 16 acre country home in Michigan. Over the years, she has built chicken coups, veggie and flower gardens, arbors, trellises, bird and bat houses or anything that was needed for any special project.

Janet is also a wildlife rehabilitator, and has extensive knowledge of all Michigan wildlife. She loves to sew and has done so since she was 12. She and her daughter sell their items at many of the arts and crafts fairs during the year. Her cooking skills have broadened over the years and she still finds time to fix gourmet meals for friends and family. Canning was a must when raising 5 children during the 60's and 70's. Now that the children are gone, she and her partner share their country home with 2 dogs, 5 cats, two sheep, one goat, 30+ chickens and a gray fox. All rescued animals.

The NW Flower and Garden Show Gets a Second Life

2009-07-01T10:12:00.001-07:00

The show must go on!

Every gardener in the Pacific Northwest can breathe a sigh of relief this morning, as breaking news tells us that our beloved flower and garden show has been purchased by the O'Loughlin Trade Shows company and is scheduled to return this February 3-5, 2010.

Read more about this turn of events HERE.

Garlic!

2009-06-28T20:19:00.000-07:00

This was my first year growing garlic, and I can't believe I waited so long! I planted Inchelium Red (softneck variety) and a hardneck variety that I cannot for the life of me remember the name of...but it's from one of our favorite nearby farms. Inchelium Red is an heirloom variety that was discovered growing on the Colville Indian reservation in Northeastern Washington. Choosing to grow this is my equivalent of a 'shout out' to my colleagues and friends on the Rez.

There's a lot of info online about when to harvest garlic (long story short, it's not easy to tell unless you're there in person), so I'm not going to write a bunch here. What I will share, is my shear delight in digging up something that I usually pick off the supermarket shelf. How awesome is it that I stuck a few cloves in the ground last fall and then dug up entire bulbs nine months later after only minimal care? I thought I would try braiding the softneck bulbs that

I harvested today, but after giving it a few tries, I decided that maybe I should save this challenge for next year. So I tied the bulbs into a nice arrangement/bunch and am now 'curing' them in the garage where it's a cool 55-65 degrees.

The hardneck variety I planted last fall has developed 'scapes,' or curly tops with a flower bud. The farmer I bought the bulb from last year said to cut off the scapes when they started to curl, and then harvest the garlic two weeks later. Apparently by cutting off the scapes, it tells the bulb that it's time to get big or lose your chance to evolve forever, so the bulb increases in size during the two extra weeks you leave it in the ground. So I'll be harvesting the hardneck garlic in another few weeks.

In the meantime, our neighbors Cara and Quinn and I are experimenting with the scapes in the kitchen. There are some interesting recipes people have developed for garlic scapes, most of which seem to be pestos, dips,

marinades, etc. Cara made an awesome garlic scape pesto within minutes of our harvest, and it tastes spectacular! Quinn gives it a big thumbs up when mixed with white rice.

Quinn with a handful of fresh scapes

Scapes in all of their artistic glory

I think this is what happens when you plant cloves too close together ;)

The first harvest of the year - Inchelium Red softneck

Rose on Fire

2009-06-26T22:05:00.000-07:00

Wow. Is about all I can say. This picture is not edited in any way.

This floribunda 'Livin Easy' rose came with us from Southern California and has been doing well in our garden in Seattle. Click here to see how stunning this rose is when planted en masse.

The Borage That Ate The Tomatoes

2009-06-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

Let me just come out and say it - I love blue borage. What a funky weed-like, workhorse of a plant that produces pleasant blue edible flowers! Unless you are a seasoned veggie gardener, you may have never heard of borage. 'Borage officinalis' is an annual that prefers full sun and rich soil. It is rich in potassium and calcium, with star-shaped bright blue flowers. Borage has many culinary, medicinal and gardening uses, a few of which include:

Enhances courage, reduces stress, and improves melancholy
Makes a cordial drink when infused with brandy
Soothes your sore throat
Cleans the blood of impurities
The mashed leaves apparently make a nice facial scrub or emollient
It induces psychic powers when drunk as a tea (yes, you read that correctly)

Borage was brought to the US by the early English colonists in 1631. The book Sauer's Herbal Cures has a fantastically thorough (and historical) description of the uses for borage; a snippet is below:

How could you not want to plant a defender of the heart that induces psychic powers in your garden?! One website notes that "Charles Dickens took a liking to borage punch which was made of sherry, brandy, apple cider, lemon, sugar and borage flowers. Borage is known for inducing calm and fortitude, and according to the Celtics provided courage."

So what about the tomatoes?

I have always planted borage next to my strawberries to help improve their harvest, and next to the tomatoes, to help keep soil-borne diseases and pests out. It usually self-seeds quite nicely from year to year. This year, however, I didn't see as many sprouts after our tough winter, so I planted a few seeds around the raised tomato bed. And here's what happened:

Clearly, I did not 'thin out' as I should have earlier in the season! The borage is taking over the three tomato plants I have planted in the cages that are barely visible in the background of these pictures. Borage plants are somewhat prickly, now that they are mature, but I'll just grab some gloves and pruners tomorrow and thin these babies out. My poor tomatoes need more light!

If you google 'blue borage' you will get a number of websites discussing the honey that people make (bees make?) from these pretty little flowers. The bees just LOVE borage; hence it's nickname "bee balm." This time of year, they are abuzz the flowers, moving from one little flower to the next. And when you see the size of these plants, you know they have a lot of flowers to cover.

Speaking of borage flowers, these are hot commodities in pastry baking and desserts. Many folks like to crystallize the blue flowers and use them to decorate cakes and pastries. I haven't tried this yet, but perhaps I should drop off a bushel of flowers for our neighbor who is an excellent pastry cook. Cara, are you ready?

Here are more pics of the bees at work:

The Joy of Sheet Mulching: The Garden In Year Two

2009-06-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

So, I guess I can't stay away for too long after all. Here are some updated pictures of the sheet mulched front garden. Things are finally filling in, and although the New Zealand Flax died back after the winter storms, the rest of the garden has come back splendidly. Click here to see what this space looked like last year.

Out In The Garden

2009-06-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

Clearly, I have been a negligent blogger the past few months. Shame. Shame. I have been out rummaging in the soil, planting, weeding, pruning and enjoying the rewards of hard work in the garden. Instead of fighting beauty's pull outside during the Northwest summer season, I will come back to the Daily Hoe once we usher in the spoils of fall and the weather is more conducive to being on a computer, inside the house. Because really, what gardener in their right mind would choose to blog rather than be outside on these long summer days and evenings?

So, I'll post gardening tips and stories starting again in the fall, and dedicate many of the topics to winter gardening and winter interest. There's nothing better than curling up with a good blog during the cold months of winter to catch up on your gardening prowess, right?

Be well and GET OUTSIDE! See you in a couple of months...

How I Love Thee Crocus

2009-03-07T10:25:00.000-08:00

So I have to admit I have not always been a big crocus fan. When I started gardening about 12 years ago, I thought muscari and snowdrops were the more exotic bulbs to plant for spring flowers. Was I ever wrong! Year after year (and especially after this year's harsh winter) my reliable, deep purple crocus come up along our front walkway - a reminder that early spring is here. These little beauties are such a joy to have and such an inspirational addition to the garden just when I think winter will never end. Now, I've already sung the glory of crocus in an earlier post, but how could I resist sharing the purple joy with others?

Dig This

2009-03-07T08:47:00.001-08:00

Besides a visit to Butchart Gardens, a pilgrimage that any well-meaning obsessed gardener makes on Vancouver Island is to the store Dig This. It's a respite from the tourist trap shops, and has as many gardening goodies and useable tools that you can take in on a Saturday morning. It's sort of a cross between a garden boutique and garden store, and seems to meet the needs of gardeners who fall on either side of the "getting dirty" realm: those who stay out of the 'dirt' and buy flowery soaps and prune roses all day, versus those who buy vegetable seeds and go home to dig in some fish meal. Okay, so that's a bad stereotype, but this kind of store reminds you that there is both the aesthetic and the practical side to gardening.

For this American, it was fun to walk around and actually hold many of the items that I've only seen in catalogs. Like the gadgets in which to grow sprouts, 2 inch copper strips - 8 feet for only $3.50 CDN and the book 'Worms Eat My Garbage.' Of course we can get these in the U.S., but how many places can you go to actually hold them in your hand and have a truly visceral shopping experience? For being so boutique-y, this store has a lot of great products to offer. One of the most exciting things to me was exploring their back room of seed packets from local and British seed companies. Yes, British. One of the benefits of shopping in a former British colony is the availability of British gardening products - including seeds that are difficult to get in the U.S. I picked up a few packets of Suttons Seeds while I was there and grabbed a catalog to read on the boat ride back to Seattle. Fun!

I also picked up a great guide on winter vegetable gardening by a local Victoria gardener who certainly knows her stuff. Linda Gilkeson's way of presenting information in "Year Round Harvest Winter Gardening on the Coast" is as clear as I have seen on the topic, and I'm happy I picked up her guide (especially since it's not available in the U.S.). You can buy it from West Coast Seeds, the Canadian equivalent to Territorial Seeds in the U.S.

The staff at Dig This were very knowledgeable about products and gardening, and I was happily surprised about their depth of knowledge about growing vegetables in the region. This was a nice surprise since it seems that they have now franc hised the store. After at least a hour of wandering the store, I had to pull myself (and my wallet) away and go across the street for lunch. Thankfully, Keri made a convenient shopping basket while taking a nap in the fountain section of the store. You know it's bad when your shopping companion falls asleep while waiting for you.

Save Master Gardener Magazine

2009-03-05T20:29:00.000-08:00

This is a fantastic magazine for anyone who loves to garden (whether or not you're a Master Gardener). Read Susan's note about saving Master Gardener magazine.

Saturday Walk #2: Butchart Gardens

2009-02-28T21:17:00.000-08:00

You can't quite top a Saturday walk at the Butchart Gardens! It won't always be this good, but why not relish the moment? We spent the weekend in Victoria and visited a few of the island's famous gardens, including the grande dame of them all. Even in the dormant season, these gardens are amazing! Technically, this walk was on Friday, but I have a feeling I'll be forgiven. I have so many pictures, it's probably best that you visit by way of a slideshow.

Click here to watch the slideshow

Here are some teaser shots...

Poisonous Beauty

2009-02-28T20:48:00.001-08:00

On our trip to Victoria this weekend, we stopped at Butchart Gardens (of course we did!...pictures coming), but on the way back we stopped at a favorite garden of Vancouver Island locals - Glendale Gardens. They have a pleasant winter garden, in which I discovered daphne mezereum. Its color is a terrific dark purple and its scent is divine. Unfortunately, there's a reason why I haven't seen this type of daphne before. Although daphne typically have irritant qualities for some people (by touching them), this little beauty's red berries and twigs may choke and kill you if ingested. Even the leaves have caused the death of cattle and horses who have chomped on them. Bummer. So, unless I want to kill our cats, dogs and the wild birds of the neighborhood (except thrushes, which apparently are immune), this one will have to stay in Glendale Gardens in Canada. By the way, here's a great map and website about the gardens on Vancouver Island - a fantastic resource!

Saturday Walk #1: Witt Winter Gardens and Witchhazel

2009-02-14T12:37:00.000-08:00

It's become a habit for me to grab the dog and head out for an early morning hike somewhere in the woods near home each Saturday. It's part of my promise to myself to explore the area and enjoy the flora of the Pacific Northwest. I end up taking way too many pictures when wandering the woods - so many that the dog stands there looking like even he's getting impatient waiting for me to finish. So I'm going to start a routine of posting my finds as a blog entry. This is the first, enjoy!

________

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Where: Joseph A. Witt Winter Gardens in the Washington Park Arboretum, Seattle

Of course I forgot to bring the 'real' camera today, and made due with my cell phone camera. Apologies up front for the poor quality of these pics. However, I think you'll see how it was so hard NOT to take pictures. The winter gardens were in full bloom and just gorgeous, so I'll try to go back soon with a better camera to replace some of the shots.

The picture above is the scene you are greeted with on your way from the parking lot to the Witt Winter Garden. The sweet scent of the witchhazel tree in the foreground leads you to the garden entrance. Click the link below to see a slideshow of the pictures. A few highlights are below.

SLIDESHOW

Back to the 'Hoe

2009-02-11T11:30:00.001-08:00

OK, I broke down and changed the blog name back to the original "Daily Hoe." I think the content can speak for itself, so who cares if it has "garden" in the title? It has "hoe," right?! We'll see how it goes...I mean hoes...

Ridding Your Lawn of Dandelions

2009-02-11T10:33:00.001-08:00

For those of you who have a lawn, spring brings memories of warm summer days on the lawn frolicking with kids or dogs or whatever, and WEEDS. Some of you have asked me if there's a way to address the dandelion problem right from the start of the spring season. Here's your answer.

As with any weeds, it will take a method of a few actions for this first year, then a routine of care thereafter. In other words - do this in two steps: first, get rid of as many weeds as you can in one swoop. Then, follow a routine maintenance schedule of fertilizing, mowing, watering and de-thatching. It might sound pedantic or obvious to say it this way, but although the steps themselves are relatively simple, staying on top of things is the challenge. Every lawn expert I've spoken with has said the same thing, and has also recognized that if you miss some fertilizing you will end up with some weeds. The goal is to establish the healthiest lawn possible, which will naturally be less susceptible to weeds and other ailments. In the words of our friends at WSU Extension:

"Your best defense against broadleaf weeds (dandelion, clover, plantain, etc.) is a thick, healthy turf" - WSU Lawn Care Calendar

Can you tell which yard is lawn turf and which is just dandelions? Scary isn't it?

Step 1

So let's take the first step: Remove the weeds. Right now it's too cold to do much of anything. The ground is too hard to effectively pull the weeds out, taproot and all. Which would be my first suggestion. Persistence for about 2 years (seasons of growth) will get them eventually. And if you can't get the weeds out before they all go to seed, at least pluck the flowers off before it

becomes a seed ball that could disperse with any wind gust or cat walking by.

If you've been plucking them since your youth and are ready to throw in the towel, the next best option is to consider some pre-emergent spray. Here's a great explanation from Ohio State Extension:

For homeowners who cannot satisfactorily address the control of annual grass weeds in a preventive manner with strictly cultural controls, the best way to stop annual grass weeds from establishing in their lawns is through the use of preemergent herbicides. Preemergent herbicides are chemicals that prevent the germinating weeds from establishing in the lawn. These herbicides control annual grass weeds by inhibiting cell division in the young root system. The failure of the root system to develop results in the death of the young seedling weed shortly after germination. Lawns with thin stands of grass that do not provide 100 percent cover may require yearly applications of a preemergent herbicide to prevent the invasion of crabgrass and other annual grass weeds.

Ah, there's that "healthy turf" reference again. Prevention is paramount! If these kind of chemicals are not your style, though, wait until the weeds have some green leafy growth on them and spray a bit of glyphosate (Roundup) on the leaves before the plant flowers. Roundup becomes innocuous when it hits soil, so it's the safest of chemical options. Just make sure you ONLY spray it on the plant you want to kill. It will kill

grass too, so just hit the leaves of the dandelions. And again, it's too cold right now on most days for it to be effective, since it needs to be between 59-75 degrees F to work. Gotta wait till May, sorry. Just take solace in knowing that their little green bodies will shrivel and die in a few short months.

Step 2

Here's the lawn maintenance part. Follow this Lawn Care Calendar from WSU Extension. It's fantastic. If you do what they recommend, you will be a happy lawn camper. The basics are: get rid of the weeds and start mowing in March, fertilize in May, June, Sept (and possibly Nov), de-thatch if the roots of your lawn have thickened to one inch or more, and aerate every once in a while - not really necessary, but we can talk about this at another time.

And that's it! You'll be on your way to a dandelion-free lawn. And when you're initially pulling them out, how about sending some of the flowers this way, so

we can cook up a great dandelion salad. I hear it's good.

The Newspaper Deliverer Strikes Again

2009-02-08T21:20:00.000-08:00

The newspaper deliverer strikes again. But the cheap plastic landscape lighting will prevail!! Every Sunday people. Every Sunday. His or her aim is accurate down to the inch...from the car window! What has the world come to?

Using Sphagnum Moss for Orchid Humidity

2009-02-05T21:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I've finally taken the plunge and ventured into the world of orchids. For years I've been intimidated by these little wondrous plants. They just seem so high maintenance. So with a little hand-holding by my mother-in-law, I am starting to collect a few nice looking varieties....and the "My First Orchid" book from the Orchid Society (I felt like I was 5 and was hoping someone would read it to me, but oh well).

A few weeks ago, I received my shipment of shopping spree orchid plants that I purchased while vacationing in Hawaii. I highly recommend Akatsuka Gardens if you are ever on the Big Island - they are terrific. So, I finally took a few hours this week to set up my new orchid plants in their permanent (temporary?) place on a table in our kitchen. Cherie, you would be proud.

I had my trays ready to go, but after buying a thermometer and tracking the temps near the orchids, I realized that I needed to increase the temperature and the relative humidity around the plants during the day. Now you can read all about the details of orchid care, but today I'm just touching on one part - humidity and moss. Orchids love both.

Goal: Increase the relative humidity around my orchid plants

Solution: Rocks and moss

The most common way to increase humidity for home growers is to place orchids in a tray filled with rocks. Fill the tray with enough water to come just below the top of the rocks - make sure you rest the orchids on pieces of wood or on some kind of grate to keep them from sitting in the water. The purpose of the water is to increase humidity via it evaporating around the plants. This works just fine if it's all you want to do. However, I stopped by the Indoor Sun Shoppe this week to check out their indoor lighting options and was impressed by their atrium of orchids - growing in trays of sphagnum moss. Very cool! (or warm?) I bought a bag of moss and ran home to start some environmental improvements.

After soaking the moss and placing it into the trays (on top of the rocks), I stood and watched as the thermometer rose 9% in relative humidity in about 2 minutes (from 51% to 60%). Amazing! (Update: The next afternoon it rose to 75% humidity and this morning was back to a healthy 55%-mission accomplished!)

There is one possible drawback to the use of sphagnum moss - is it environmentally friendly? Decayed, compacted sphagnum moss is called peat moss (thanks Wikipedia). I know that peat moss is endangered and highly flammable (as evidenced by the "don't throw your cigarette out the car window" signs off the levy road separating farm fields in the Sacramento area). Luckily, after a bit of investigation, I found that the sphagnum moss I purchased (above) is sustainably harvested in New Zealand - whew.

So on with the moss and up with the humidity!

(and check out that Wiki site - you can learn all sorts of distracting things- like that sphagnum moss is used for amphibian and horse stall bedding, dressing wounds in both World Wars, and sphagnum bogs are known to preserve mammalian bodies extremely well for millennia - so helpful to know)

Signs of Spring

2009-01-30T21:17:00.001-08:00

Early spring bulbs are a wonder to behold -especially after (during?) a winter like we've had here in the PNW. Keri came home yesterday thinking these little bulbs were confused because they are coming up when it's still so cold out. Although it is slightly hard to believe, these are coming up just in time for an early spring show (and they can withstand a good deal of cold weather, including late snow).

This picture is of an early spring narcissus that our neighbor handed over to me after having them spread all over her planting bed. Anyone want to guess the color they will be? Talk about rewarding! She dug them out and handed a huge clump over to me one day; I left them on the grass for about a week and then decided I should probably plant them; broke apart the clump and separated grass from the bulbs, and put them into our new walkway planting bed. And here they are - the first to come up in the spring. What a perfect ending to an otherwise dreary winter.

Surprisingly, crocus are actually the first to bloom in these parts, even though they are not the first to emerge from the soil. So, here are some tips on growing one of my favorite bulbs...

A few tips on growing crocus (compliments of Mary Robson's Master Gardener lecture this week):

Plant in full sun only
They come up so early that they are often in the mud unless you grow some kind of groundcover over them in the winter
When storm rains attack in late February, pick the flower buds that are open and bring them inside – or they will be mush after the rain
Crocus are loved by varmints! Try planting ¼ inch hardware mesh over the plantings to make digging harder
Crocus will open in daylight and close at night, so they are fun to bring inside and watch open and close throughout the day

Winter's Wrath on Ornamental Grass

2009-01-28T11:22:00.000-08:00

Well, Phormium, or New Zealand flax, to be exact. Check out what the worst winter in Seattle in 15 years has done to the ornamental flax around town:

So sad. Best thing to do is wait for new growth to come up so you can tell which leaves to cut down. Luckily, NZ flax grows pretty quickly in one season, so you should have a robust clump of beautiful grass again within a year.

Two winters ago, high winds ripped our favorite NZ flax to shreds and I had to cut it down almost completely to the ground. It grew back in spades over two years and looked great with our new deck. Unfortunately, it now looks like this after this bad winter.

Oh well. The joy of gardening is that things grow back, and if not, then just grow or buy another and chalk it up to a learning experience!

In Winter It's Heath, not Heather

2009-01-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

Heath is the superstar of our front garden at the moment. Unlike it's cousin for which it's often mistaken (heather), health is in full bloom NOW, in the dead of winter, when not much else looks so great. Especially this winter, which has been a particularly tough one out here in the PNW.

It's true that heath and heather could be considered "cousins." They are both part of the vast Ericaceae family, which also includes plants such as cranberry, blueberry, huckleberry, and rhododendron, however heath is in the Erica botanical genus, while heather is in the Calluna botanical genus. I'm amazed at how many nurseries label their heath as heather. Check it out sometime - it will surprise you!

(Above: Heath showing its distinctive single needle-like leaves)

(Above: Heather showing its compact scale-like leaves)

Here are some quick tips to remember the difference between heath and heather (shared by Don Marshall, a professor in Environmental Horticulture at Lake Washington Technical College):

Heath blooms through the winter, while heather blooms in the summer and fall
Heath is softer to the touch and has individual needle-like leaves, whereas heather has 'cross' or 'X' shaped leaves that are scale-like
Heath is usually smaller than heather, but this depends on the variety of course

Make sure you check the blooms to see if they are dead or alive - heath keeps its blooms into the summer, which is probably a big reason why people so commonly confuse it with heather, which starts blooming in the late summer or fall. But if you look closely, you'll notice that in summer the heath blooms will already be spent and will be dry to the touch...they are just holding on from the last season.

This picture shows how even after a hard winter, heath is blooming now while everything else is looking kind of sad. These are new plantings, so this winter hit them pretty hard - but they're still kickin'! Because many types of heath stay relatively small in size, it's great for walkways and borders where a little punch of color is welcome during grey winter months.

Book Review: The Garden in Winter

2009-01-19T17:06:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I perused the horticultural library at the University of Washington for some good reads on winter gardening (being that it's winter and all). By far my favorite of the bunch is:

The Garden in Winter: Plant for Beauty and Interest in the Quiet Season
By Suzy Bales (2007, Rodale)

It has a perfect balance of pictures, detailed information about plants, and design ideas...all of which save it from being a) a book that sits on the shelf unread because it is too boring or uninspiring, or b) a coffee table book that's pretty to flip through for the first month, then sits on the same shelf because it's not detailed enough.

The book is divided into eight main sections:

designing a winter garden
the glory of trees and the beauty of bark
colorful conifers and broadleaf evergreens
deciduous shrubs that dazzle
perennial pleasures: perennials and grasses
early-blooming bulbs
winter containers
christmas from the garden

I liked the practical tips sprinkled throughout the chapters in the form of easy to read/digest boxes, such as:

design do's and don'ts
a list of trees with sculptural shapes
the basics on bark

The author has very solid information to share, and does so in an inspiring way. I highly recommend this for a good winter read!

The Catalogs Have Arrived!

2008-12-29T00:14:00.000-08:00

Talk about gardening lust.

I reached into the mailbox on Saturday to find three of my favorite seed catalogs. THREE! AT ONE TIME! I almost passed out right there from overwhelming excitement. And it's not even January yet!

Yes, this is a sign of a good year to come.

Viburnum-The Love of a Shrub in the Winter

2008-12-28T00:15:00.000-08:00

I have decided that viburnum is my new favorite shrub. Viburnum has a long and rich history, yet is often overlooked for other shrubs like hydrangea. For gosh sakes, Shakespeare walked in gardens of viburnum and Robert Browning wrote poems about the plant! Here's one poem devoted to viburnum (laurustinus) by James Montgomery (1771-1854):

The Laurustinus

Fair tree of winter! fresh and flowering,

When all around is dead and dry;

Whose ruby buds, though storms are louring,

Spread their white blossoms to the sky.

Green are thy leaves, more purely green

Through every changing period seen;

And when the gaudy months are past,

Thy loveliest season is the last.

Be thou an emblem - thus unfolding

The history of that maiden's mind,

Whose eye, these humble lines beholding,

In them her future lot may find:

Through life's mutations may she be

A modest evergreen like thee;

Though bless'd in youth, in age more bless'd,

Still be her latest days the best.

There are over 163 different kinds (taxa) that have been documented, and the various kinds often share little in common with one another. The basic characteristics that all viburnum share are 'druping' ovoid fruit/berries with leaves arranged opposite (reference: Dirr).

My first viburnum was a plicatum mariesii (doublefile viburnum) that my mom and I purchased at the rhododendron species botanical garden in Federal Way, WA. It is quite a stellar plant, bursting into complete bloom in the spring and becoming the center piece of the garden (see above and below).

Today, however, Doug and I took a walk around the Wash ington Par k Arboretum and checked on one of the shrubs I remember noticing on previous walks when I did not have the time to stop and

take a closer look. This time, we took pictures. Look at these beautiful berries!!

On the way home, we stopped by the Center for Urban Horticultural library and checked out a book on viburnums so that I could finally ID this plant. Despite the lack of an ID tag (isn't this an arboretum?), I had a feeling this was in the same family as my shrub at home. Lo and behold, here it is - a Laurustinus, or Viburnum tinus.

The plant is a year-round show stopper. In the spring it gets clusters of pink and white flowers that give way to dark blue/black berries in the summer/fall. Both remain on the plant through much of the winter, when little else is blooming. They are great to use as an evergreen hedge. I just can't get over the sheen that's on the berries - it turns them into the most beautiful hue of purple you can imagine on anything natural. Wow.

But watch out! Some viburnum varietals can get huge with the right conditions - like the doublefile viburnum we saw at the botanical garden (below)...

I leave you with another description of this plant, from a book written in 1848 called The Language of Flowers:

Don't Tread on Me: Good Garden Etiquette

2008-12-27T09:15:00.000-08:00

One of the first things you learn as a Master Gardener is that the majority of plant problems people encounter are caused by something they did to the plant, not something that is inherent to the plant itself. So being the stewards of good home gardening practice that we are, we have to practice ways to suggest possible solutions in a nice, non-condescending manner..."so let me get this right, you planted your rhododendron in 90 degree weather in Arizona and it's looking brown? wa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!"

The fancy term we use for this is "abiotic symptoms" (although technically a human is a biotic symptom if you ask me). Here are some common examples of abiotic symptoms we see in our plant clinics:

Salt Injury

Herbicide Injury

Chemical Spills

Soil Compaction

Freezing Injury

Chilly Water injury

Nutrient Deficiency

Ozone Injury (yep, air pollution/smog)

Genetic Abnormalities

Oedema (overwatering)

Snow Damage

Car Exhaust

Vandalism

Yes, vandalism. So here are a few nice reminders about basic garden etiquette (read: how to not kill your plants by respecting them)

1. Create and use a walking path near your plants to avoid walking right next to them. Walking repeatedly next to plants compacts the soil around their roots, which basically suffocates them by reducing the amount of air that can circulate within the soil (and also prevents water from entering the soil).

2. Water from the bottom, not the top of your plants. This is just a good habit to get into. Watering at a slow rate near the base of your plants/soil will not cause problems, whereas watering over leaves introduces the potential for a host of problems, including fungi and other water/air borne diseases.

3. Find out what it is before buying chemicals to kill it (and everything else in your yard). Many people come to our plant clinics wanting to know what bottle they should buy that will kill all insects in the area to keep their roses healthy. I wonder if this is a result of our increasing addiction to "one-stop shopping" and all-in-one everything. Heck, you can buy an insecticide and fungicide plus fertilizer in one bottle now. The problem is that there are plenty of good insects and bugs in your garden that help to control the populations of bad insects. The use of broad insecticides kills everybody and leaves you with a barren wasteland that is inhospitable to the chain of living organisms that like insects in your garden, including birds that like the insects, your dog and cat that likes the birds, and your children who like your dog and cat. There are other, safer, more targeted options for controlling pests and disease - and yep, you guessed it - many solutions start with you taking better care of the plant/doing something different. Find out what the actual root of the problem is by talking with a master gardener or nursery near you before trying any chemicals. In the end, your plants will thank you for it and you'll be a better gardener.

4. Keep your garden relatively cleaned up - remove all leaves and debris from around the base of your plants - especially if the plant has suffered any disease recently (like black spot on a rose - don't let those diseased leaves stay on the soil over winter - the fungus will overwinter on the fallen leaves and come back to haunt you two-fold the next year).

5. And of course, remember the rule of responsibility: chances are the plant is not in the right place in your yard, or there is some contextual reason for its problem (too much water? too little water? too much sun? too little sun? did you spray weed killer on it by mistake? was it trampled to death by the house painter/fence builder/your dog? did it freeze? is it supposed to die back and nothing is wrong? yes, you would be amazed at what we see at plant clinics...

Good luck and safe garden travels!

How Do Plants Survive the Winter?

2008-12-26T16:57:00.000-08:00

Ok, gloomy winter months are a perfect time to brush up on our understanding of how plants live - a.k.a. botany. No, don't run away! This can be fun, I promise :). During warmer months of the year, it's easy to discuss garden "how-to" on a blog, but during the winter when most of us are enjoying the warmth of our home, rather than weeding in the snow, it's good to take the time to refresh our "know-how" basics of gardening. Because, really, who wants to read about plant photosynthesis in the summer when you could be out smelling the roses? So here goes the first of a few posts about garden know-how. Cue memories of high school biology, without the pimples and drama of dating (or textbooks).

(above) seed germination chart

Annuals and Seeds

First, let's get this straight: not all plants survive the winter. Annuals bloom in warmer seasons, produce seed, then die as winter approaches (who says gardening isn't dramatic, when we have terms like "killing frost" to describe this point in a plant's life). If you see a favorite annual bloom in the spring, it's not the same plant coming back, it's the plant that has grown from the seed left behind by last year's plant. The survival of seeds can be a rather amazing topic (and in some cases rather discouraging if you're trying to get rid of a plant). For example, a date palm seed from over 2000 years ago germinated last summer...and prior to that discovery, a Chinese lotus seed was well known for its long time to germination: 1300 years.

I'm currently enjoying a book about life in Arctic Alaska written by Seth Kantner, in which he describes observing the seasonal re-emergence of a wildflower (Windmill Fringed Gentian) that is only found in America on a sand-gravel spit on the north shore of the Kotzebue Sound above the Arctic Circle in Alaska. In Alaska, plant species survive from year to year by producing near-indestructible seeds that store energy for new plant life throughout harsh -100F winter temperatures. The conditions under which the fringed gentian seed needs to germinate (start growing) are quite amazing: it must experience soaking in a mixture of salt and fresh water, freezing at very low temperatures, and then soaking again at higher meltwater temperatures to start growing. Hence, the plant is found in Alaskan river deltas that experience annual flooding and freezing that creates the right conditions for its seeds to germinate.

And for those who doubt that their backyard plants have the same kind of impenetrable seeds, consider this horrible set of facts: The dandelion in your lawn has an average germination rate of 90% (90% of seeds will produce another plant), lives as a perennial for up to 13 years (meaning it produces both seeds and re-grows each spring from winter dormancy for up to 13 years), goes to seed within 9 days of flowering (better pluck those flower heads off quickly), and will start growing (germinate) 100% of the time in either darkness or light (so don't think you killed it by burying it). Their seeds are wind-dispersed and will produce new plants up to 500 meters from the 'mother plant,' and can still survive after being submerged in water for up to 9 months!

(above) Our foe, the dandelion (unless you like to eat it)

Perennials and Survival

Unlike annuals, the rest of the plant world makes like a bear and hibernates during the cold winter months until it's time to re-emerge above ground to enjoy another year of growth. Both evergreens and perennials slow their metabolism and enter into a form of dormancy during winter months. Evergreens keep their leaves and look 'alive' throughout the winter months, while perennials die back or lose their leaves in the winter and come back green in the spring. When spring comes, buds in trees and shrubs turn into new green leaves and stems. So, if you look closely, you'll see that the old brown parts aren’t turning green, but instead are being replaced by new green parts.

While the rest of us try to lose weight before holiday feasting, plants prepare for winter by storing sugar. Sugar lowers the freezing point of plants, so life can continue, albeit at a slower rate. Snow also insulates plants that are dormant underground during the winter. Snow particles have shapes that create pockets of air between them, which help minimize fluctuations in temperatures and protect plant material from harsh temperatures. My favorite term for this function is "deep-freeze duvet"

(above) Langaa egeskov rimfrost

No sleep for the weary:

Here's a related new fact that is somewhat of a tangent, but interesting nonetheless. We all know that plants use photosynthesis during the day to produce the nutrients they need to survive (they use the energy from sunlight to produce sugar and starch from carbon dioxide and water). Now here's the cool, newly discovered part: at night the starch is broken down to make more sugars when photosynthesis is not possible (no light). This production of sugar during dark nighttime hours allows the plant to survive and grow during the hours of darkness. Even plants don't rest at night.

______________

Ta Da. You survived a brief lesson in botany, congratulations! That wasn't so painful was it?

Garden Gnome Adventures, Part 2

2008-12-22T18:28:00.000-08:00

"Now THIS is downright rude"

Yes, I just gave a voice to my inanimate ceramic garden gnome. Little did I know that he would provide so much entertainment in the winter - maybe a bit too much entertainment for those of us with cabin fever. Nevertheless, he's a good snow gauge - it went past his hat completely later this afternoon ;)

Garden Gnome Adventures, part 1

2008-12-19T09:55:00.000-08:00

Sometimes life hands you a face full of snow...

How To Treat A Gardener Right This Holiday Season - PART 2: Having FUN

2008-12-06T08:54:00.000-08:00

This post is dedicated to those who tire of giving "stuff" to people at the holidays. How about a fun gardening adventure instead? Here are some ideas for winter activities.

Favorite 'Fun' for Gardeners

(i.e., how to keep yourself entertained during the winter holidays)

Take a tour of your local arboretum or botanical garden, and search for winter garden ideas. One of my favorite places to stroll during the cold winter months is the winter garden at the Washington Park Arboretum. It's this time of year that I most appreciate the splendor of nature's ability to keep things in motion during such harsh winter conditions. Here's a taste of what's in bloom when:

December: Sarcococca, hollies
January: Heather, hellebore, holly, mahonia, sarcococca, witch hazel
February: Daphne, dogwood, chimonanthus, heather, hellebore, holly, rhododendron, sarcococca, witch hazel
March: Camellia, flowering cherry, corylopsis, daphne, forsythia, heather, hellebore, magnolia, rhododendron, witch hazel

Go to a Garden Show! Most major cities have a garden and flower show of some kind, so take your favorite garden friend to one of these shows and you'll be their favorite person for years to come (or least until they get through the entrance and then forget all about you as they wander in a lustful trance from one stall to the next in wonder and amazement). Tip: leave your credit card behind unless you are ready for the scene that unfolds as ravenous gardeners who have been trapped in their house for months descend upon a sea of garden product vendors for the first time this season.

If you are of the crafty sort, there are all kinds of fun things you can make with garden items: pine cone wreaths, candle votives, birds feeders/seed balls (after which you should send your gardening friend these instructions, or you will lose a friend by the next veggie harvest)

Every avid gardener has "to do" lists that may go easier with the help of a friend. How about offering to organize a 'garden party' that will help your gardener loved one accomplish something this year that they otherwise would have waited to do?

How to Treat A Gardener Right This Holiday Season - Part 1: STUFF

2008-12-03T16:56:00.000-08:00

Winter has finally set in, and just in time for the holidays! What an opportunity for gardeners to share their wants and needs with the gift-givers in their family. Or, if you are of the anti-commercialism sort, there are plenty of activities and sentiments to keep your mind on gardening during these seemingly dormant winter months...This post will focus on the "stuff" you can buy and/or make...next post will focus on the "fun" you can have with your gardener loved one...

Favorite 'Stuff' for Gardeners

(note: you will not find Smith & Hawkins/Restoration Hardware gardening kits recommended here - you can be more creative than that, plus the quality of the tools in those kits is suspect in my opinion)

Obviously, the first thing on the list has to be the tool by which all gardeners drool after...Felco pruners
These muck shoes are the BEST in my opinion, warm, soft and cushiony - wish I could wear these to work - oh wait I am. Any gardener would love to have a pair of these by the door just ready for venturing out on those 'weeding on a whim' moments
There's a reason why these gloves are fast becoming the most popular among garden folks...they fit, they grip, they are water resistant, and they are cheap compared to most other gloves of this sort!
How about a bag for collecting cuttings, leaves, etc.? This one is cool too.
Seed-starting kits. These APS kits are really wonderful. They are a bit pricy, but fool-proof for starting seeds. People have mixed results using other mediums, like egg shells, egg cartons and peat pellets. The APS kits make watering easy, include a light plastic 'lid' to keep the air warm and humid inside the planter, and come with soil-less planting mix, which is key to starting seeds with a lessened chance of common seed-starting problems, like damping-off.
Seeds to go with those seed-starting kits. Here are a few of the better seed catalogs: Territorial Seed, Johnny's Seeds, Cook's Garden
Or, you could order bulbs or plants, but keep in mind that these may have a delayed shipment until the weather gets a bit warmer for planting in the spring. A gift certificate to these fine establishments might be a better option: Brent & Becky's Bulbs, White Flower Farm, Raintree Nursery
Books about pruning, organic gardening myths and facts, garden remedies myths and facts, veggie gardening, seed starting
You could try for a garden journal, but I've found that many gardeners typically love the idea of journalling, but never get quite down to it. So try to spice it up with places for their pictures, graph paper for drawing out what goes where, etc.
Why not make a garden calendar instead? Try one of the online photo serves like Snapfish. Gather some pictures of your favorite gardener's yard and put together a nice looking calendar on which they can keep track of important gardening dates. You could even go extreme on them and put in the first ones, like the first and last frost for their area, first day of spring/winter, gardening lore/quotes, etc.

Have more gardening gift ideas? Do share...

The Deck Is Done!

2008-11-27T08:27:00.000-08:00

Hooray! After one more sunny Saturday, the front deck is finally finished!

Our neighbor Nick did a beautiful job framing in the bench, and I just finished staining it with Penofin the other day.

I wanted to be sure to post some pictures of Nick's handiwork. He used to be a finishing carpenter, and this stuff comes naturally to him. Look at the beautiful job he did framing in the corner...

A Winter Sunset

2008-11-26T17:28:00.001-08:00

A Wisteria Sunset

2008-11-26T17:09:00.001-08:00

Fun With Chickens

2008-11-24T20:46:00.000-08:00

As we sit down to feast on (with?) our feathered friends this Thanksgiving, I thought you would enjoy this video snippet from my recent visit to my dad and step-mom's house in Idaho. They have 24 chickens they care for plus 3 geese. Perhaps it's time to start a guest blog feature, so they can tell of their life with chickens, but for now, here's a taste of some of the fun you can have at snack time...

Did I mention my favorite dahlia is STILL blooming?!

2008-11-16T22:20:00.000-08:00

...and so are the chocolate cosmos!!

Testing...Testing...

2008-11-15T07:53:00.000-08:00

So I woke up this morning with a new blog title in mind - one that includes "garden" in the title so people can get beyond the first laugh and know what's really covered on this blog. "The Daily Hoe" was a popular one that gave people the giggles, but how do you like the new name - any better ideas?

Smoke and Berries

2008-11-15T00:10:00.000-08:00

My favorite corner of our newly re-landscaped front yard has a smoke bush (Cotinus coggyria), beauty berry (Callicarpa americana) and Kohuhu 'Marjorie Channon' (Pittosporum tenuifolium) nestled together. As of this week, the beauty berry's berries (say that 5 times fast!) have finally turned purple, and look terrific next to their neighbor plants.

I took pictures from each side of the beauty berry bush so you could see the different looks you can achieve with a dark (smoke bush) or a light (kohuhu) background planting. The kohuhu is the true star of the show, not only because its name is so darn fun to say, but because the smoke bush will eventually lose its leaves and the kohuhu is evergreen.

Designing your garden for year-round interest and color is easier than it seems and so very rewarding. Plus, you can say things like 'Kohuhu' and 'Smoke Bush' and have more exciting conversations at parties than resorting to last year's lawn stories.

Blades of Wrath

2008-11-14T18:35:00.001-08:00

Ugh. Countless hours of my life have been spent pulling up and shaking out clumps of creeping, crawling awful grass. Today was a day much like any other, but this time I had a camera ready.

I'm pretty sure this is bermuda grass. Crab grass and bermuda grass are often confused with one another, so start with this great website to figure out what you're dealing with. Better yet, check out this amazingly comprehensive listing of resources on identifying and dealing with turf grass and weeds.

A common tactic I am using these days is to sink a 4 inch plastic border between the lawn we want to keep and new planting beds. For a 20 foot border, it's possible to dig a trench, lay the border, and back fill the trench in about 2 hours. The important part is to make sure you sink the border deep enough to block the spread of the rhizomes that the grass uses to propagate (and spread).

Rhizomes are the bane of my existence when it comes to weeding. Plants with rhizomes have to be some of the most frequent visitors to noxious weed lists across the country. The scary thing is that these underground runners can be viable for years, spread many feet out, and can reproduce from pieces that are less than 1 inch long. Now that's some scary potential right there.

So if you dig any out, make sure you shake the soil loose from the roots, without breaking the rhizomes into pieces that will remain in your new grass-free area. The slightly thicker, white horizontal runners are the rhizomes - these are what you need to completely remove to remove the grass (see picture).

So, the hard part is over and I can relax for the rest of winter without having nightmares about the underground creeping horrors developing in my lawn. I'm sure there's more to say, but my hands hurt from pulling up so much grass today.

Good luck.

...and to think the wind and rain destroyed these webs within one hour of this early morning shot...

2008-11-14T18:28:00.000-08:00

Winter Veggie Gardening Basics

2008-11-09T23:35:00.001-08:00

Disclaimers first: If you live in a climate under snow right now, unless you have a green house, disregard this posting. It will be too depressing for you to withstand. If you have a green house, you should be doing different things anyways (it's much hotter in a greenhouse than what this posting covers). Now, on to the fun... :)

One of the joys of living in the Western region of the U.S. is our relatively mild winter climate. It is possible for people in many regions in the West to continue gardening right through the dead of 'winter.' Even in somewhat cooler, yet mild climates like the Bay Area and Seattle, there is plenty that we can look forward to in the winter. In a later posting I will cover winter gardening with perennials. But for now, let's talk about GROWING VEGGIES IN THE WINTER!!

Here's a list of sure performers that you can enjoy through the winter:

kale

cold weather lettuces

arugula

green onions

spinach

endives/escarole

garden cress/lamb's lettuce

Kale is (hands down) the queen of the winter veggie garden. Green onions can be sown and harvested year round - pretty awesome!

Here are a few extra tips to keep in mind:

winter temperatures may be too cold for seeds to germinate - so start them inside and move them outside once the first true leaf has formed
it's helpful to build a cloche or have some kind of covering readily available for more extreme temperature days/bad storms
slugs and snails won't leave your greens alone in the winter so remember to put copper tape around the top rim of containers/planting beds, or set out those cups of beer (more on that later)

Here is a fantastic winter veggie planting timetable put together by Travis Saling up here in the PNW. If you live in a milder climate, the sowing dates can be a bit later. And if you start seeds indoors, or use a cold frame, you can also sow a bit later than the dates included in his chart.

More winter gardening resources:

Cold frame vegetable gardening

Winter vegetable gardening

Listing of articles on winter vegetable gardening

Building a cloche

Say Goodbye to Lawn - The Joy of Sheet Mulching

2008-11-09T20:57:00.000-08:00

We bid farewell to half of our front lawn last spring, and have enjoyed every second since! Let me introduce you to the fun fine tactic of sheet mulching...the practice of ridding yourself of lawn in one full swoop (and it's also great for suppressing weeds anywhere else in your garden beds).

I've found it somewhat difficult to find comprehensive and straight-forward info online about sheet mulching, so here's my attempt at the matter. Please share your thoughts and experiences with it by commenting below.

Put simply, sheet mulching a lawn is composting your lawn in place. A good time to do it is now, in the late fall, when the rains begin and can keep the area moist without the added cost of a high water bill.

SIMPLE STEPS TO SHEET MULCHING

1) Collect thick pieces of cardboard - enough to cover the area you want to sheet mulch plus a few extra feet. Remove all staples and any packing tape from the cardboard before putting it down (these don't compost!). Lay the cardboard so that it covers the entire space, with at least a 3 inch overlap between pieces. This will prevent light from getting to the lawn before it has decomposed.

2) Place 3-4 inches of compost, or a mix of compost and wood chips on top of the cardboard.

3) Lightly wet the compost with water so that it is damp and the composting process can begin.

4) Plant a few plants through the cardboard for some immediate satisfaction (see below).

5) Keep an eye on your work over the next two months, looking specifically to make sure that a) the compost does not dry out completely, and b) light never reaches any of the grass you are trying to kill/suffocate/compost.

6) If you are sheet mulching an area that will border grass, you will need to build a simple barrier between the grass and your new lawn-free area. DO NOT USE ROCKS. Grass will grow right through the rocks in a short matter of time, so save yourself the trouble now, and use a non-porous material for your barrier. You can even bury a border at least 5 inches deep and have an invisible border. The important part is to make sure you place the border material in a narrow trench with thick cardboard at the bottom. Similar to underground fences that flare out at the bottom to keep animals out of a garden, the cardboard needs to essentially 'wrap' your new lawn-free area by having a cardboard barrier that goes below the root system of the lawn you are keeping.

TOP 6 MYTHS OF SHEET MULCHING

1) It takes months to work, so I can't plant anything now

The process of decomposing starts immediately, and although the complete process can take between 3-4 months, you will notice that the grass has started to yellow and die back within just a week. One of the coolest phenomenons of sheet mulching is becoming the new hot spot in town for your neighborhood worms. They LOVE to hang out in the soil just under the cardboard - which is wonderful for us humans since the worms help to compost the lawn even faster. You can add plants to your new garden area by cutting a hole through the cardboard with a box-cutter/knife, digging a hole that is deep enough for your new plant (and make sure it's deeper than the roots of the lawn) and planting directly into the sheet mulched area.

2) It's a lot of hard work

Nope. Sheet mulching is much easier than digging out your existing lawn and figuring out what to do with it afterwards....and easier and cheaper than maintaining your existing lawn. Just cover the lawn with cardboard, apply an even layer of thick mulch, keep moist, sit back and enjoy your new permaculture garden. Some online sources have an extra step of adding compost underneath the cardboard, but this is not necessary. 1-2 days tops of medium-effort labor...and did I mention that it's cheap?

3) Weed barrier cloth/black cloth is just as good as any other barrier material

Probably the most important step in sheet mulching is deciding what material to use as a barrier between your existing lawn and the mulch you will put on top of it. Cardboard rules - no doubt about it. Just go to a local bike shop and ask to take a few of their bike boxes of their hands. Make sure you take out all staples and remove any packing tape from the boxes, then place them on your lawn. The key to a successful barrier is its thickness and keeping the light out. Thick cardboard is perfect because of how long it takes to break down, and how cheap it is (free!). Just be sure to overlap each piece by about 3 inches to make sure that the grass has no chance of peeking through. If you use newspaper, make sure you use a thick enough amount - at least 1/4 inch thick - and also overlap the pieces. Weed barrier fabric is generally not recommended - contrary to what many people think, almost all weed barrier fabric breaks down within 8 years, and it is usually not thick enough to promote the heat and lack of oxygen and light that is required to break down the grass underneath.

4) Weeds will never return

Wouldn't this be nice?! Weeds will always return. But if you sheet mulch correctly, the only weeds you'll have are the ones that come from plants that have seeded on top of your cardboard barrier. So they will start small and be few in number. Just follow the golden rule of weeding - kill 'em when they're young!

5) There's a big difference between using woodchips, compost, sawdust or other materials as a top covering

The important thing to remember for your top cover is that it is weed free. All of the above materials will work fine, as long as you put enough of it on the cardboard. A tricky tactic shared by a master gardener friend of mine is to pay attention to when neighbors have any trees removed from their yard. Ask the tree cutting service to dump their wood chips on your driveway after they chip the tree. Just make sure it's a healthy tree! And be ready with your cardboard, so you can spread the wood chips as soon as possible.

6) It will be an ugly eye-sore for months

This was the most common concern from my honey when we were deciding if we should sheet mulch. You can sheet mulch a good sized area of your yard in one day, so if you do this in a weekend, you can mulch and direct plant some main plantings within one weekend. Of course it will take a few months for any groundcover you plant to get established. I've been very happy with kinnick kinnick - a native low-growing evergreen plant to the Pacific Northwest that is drought tolerant and produces a tiny red berry in the spring. It has been used for centuries by Native peoples for everything from cooking to smudging (smoking/cleansing the home). Whatever you choose, make sure you plant a decent number of groundcover plants that will cover the mulched area and provide a better habitat for wildlife. Wildlife is attracted to yards with a diverse grouping of plants - low groundcovers, middle bushes, trees...the diversity of plants provide shelter and food for them, in addition to a prettier garden for you.

Don't Prune Your Roses Now

2008-11-07T20:23:00.001-08:00

One of the first things I noticed after moving to Seattle was the number of people who pruned back their roses late in the fall. After a few weeks, I would pass by the same houses and their roses looked spindly, with stunted growth, and disease-ridden. So here's your fair warning:

DON'T PRUNE YOUR ROSES IN THE FALL

Unless you're worried about wind damage for very tall or exposed rose bushes, leave your roses alone until next spring. The fall is when your roses start to store energy in preparation for winter dormancy - a.k.a. rose hips. Leave the last set of blooms on the bush and let them turn into rose hips that will keep your fall/winter garden pretty until late spring when new growth begins again.

When I lived in Michigan, I had an annual fall routine of bedding down my roses by piling on extra mulch around their stems and even wrapping container roses with bubble wrap for insulation. But here in the coastal Pacific Northwest, the rains keep our winter soil moist throughout the season, so adding extra mulch around the base/crown of your roses is an invitation for rot and a host of other moisture-oriented problems.

That being said, if you are a rose hobbyist, and know the various species of roses you are growing and understand your particular micro climate's demands, then by all means, read resources like the American Rose Society's website for more info on the debate on how (and if) to protect your roses for winter dormancy. Some roses may benefit from some protection and early pruning, but not most.

So put the pruners away until late spring, and we'll talk more about pruning roses later.

What To Do In November

2008-10-31T16:29:00.000-07:00

As winter arrives, here are some reminders about what to do for your garden:

CLEAN UP

In areas where it freezes, be sure to detach any garden hoses from their faucet to avoid damage to your plumbing
Even in milder climates, make plans for the occasional freeze by moving container plants to a protected spot. For plants that are not moved, consider covering them with a protective cloche or cloth like this.
THIS is the time to mulch. Although mulching is often associated with spring (as evidenced by grocery stores and nurseries with mulch displays everywhere), mulching is actually the most important for winter protection. It helps protect the roots of your plants and the soil in which they live. Of course mulch helps with water retention in the summer as well, but always remember to add an extra layer in the fall.
Fertilize your lawn with a 3-1-2 formula between Thanksgiving and Dec. 10.
Lift and store summer-blooming bulbs such as dahlias, gladiolus and cannas after frost nips their leaves
Rake deciduous leaves and spread them 3 inches deep on shrub and tree roots, or add them to your compost - do NOT spread leaves from diseased plants around other parts of your yard - put them in the yard waste bin (not your compost pile)
Drain all small water fountains of water before it freezes and cracks the receptacle. Or, in milder climates you may leave the fountain feature ON and it will keep the water moving and help avoid cracking
Of course there is a lot more you can do, but these are the highlights if the holidays get the best of you and you can't make it to anything else... :)

PLANTING (yes, planting!)

Anyone can start forced narcissus bulbs indoors for a fun holiday show
If your ground is not frozen, you can still plant garlic and fava beans
Get those cover crops sown, if temps have not dropped into freezing already (so sorry if that's the case, how depressing)
Last chance to get tulip, narcissus, crocus, daffodils and other spring bulbs into the ground (again, only if you are in a mild-ish climate)
Harvest your cold-weather veggie crops, like brussels sprouts, lettuce, broccoli, kale, etc.
If you have a cold frame, start your cold-weather crops now to enjoy them through the winter!

Thanks to the following sources for many of these tips:

Mary Robson

Northwest Maritime Gardening Guide

The Dahlia That Just Won't Quit

2008-10-28T09:25:00.000-07:00

So here we are with winter fast approaching, and lookie what I passed on my way out the door yesterday. What a beauty! This is a new exhibition dahlia I picked up from one of our better nurseries here in Seattle.

It's called a 'Sean C.' collarette dahlia. You can buy tubers at Dan's Dahlias by clicking here. The collarette variety of dahlia is known for its distinctive petal layers and the 'collar' that is formed by the darker back petals. The blooms are about 3 - 4 inches wide, and the plant is about 2 feet tall (although everything I read says it's supposed to be 4 feet tall, so we'll see what happens next year when we're not building a deck by it). Simply an awesome dahlia! And even better that it blooms so late in the fall!

p.s. DON'T plant dahlia tubers this time of year - they will probably freeze or rot in wet winter months. We are lucky in our microclimate to not have to dig them out of the ground each year, but this is not typical. Just 20 miles inland from our house, dahlia farms spend weeks digging up all of their tubers each fall. Sorry if this deflates anyone's dreams of planting now, but now you have a plant for the top of spring's list!

How to Prune Raspberries

2008-10-27T18:07:00.001-07:00

Raspberries are one of the most rewarding fruits to grow with minimal effort a few times a year. Fall is one of those times. If you haven't taken care of your raspberries yet, take some time this weekend and get them ready. For those of you in snowed in regions, come back to this post in the spring, and follow the steps below. It's better to prune raspberries in the fall so they can devote more growing energy to the new canes for next year's fruit, but they will still benefit if you prune out the old canes in the spring.

There are two types of raspberries: summer-bearing and ever-bearing. Most of us have the summer-bearing variety, which bear fruit in the summer (duh) sometime close to June on canes that started growing the previous summer. The ever-bearing varieties bear fruit on the top half of first-year-canes from early August through late September. They overwinter and produce a second crop on the lower half of the canes the following June through July.

Probably the most commonly asked question that master gardeners get about raspberry maintenance is 'how do I know which canes to prune?' The most important thing to figure out is whether you have the ever-bearing or summer-bearing variety. Maintenance for the two types is completely different.

You have a summer-bearing variety if you had ripe berries from about June to early August, and by November half of the canes have brownish, sad looking leaves and the other half of the canes have leaves that look bright green and fresh. You have an ever-bearing variety if you had berries in the fall AND the spring from the SAME cane.

So here's what you do with them to make sure they're happy through winter and give you a delicious bounty next summer...

Step 1. For summer-bearing plants, cut out all canes that bore fruit THIS season. The leaves on these canes will be noticeably more brown and looking sad compared to the other canes in the bunch by September. You may notice shriveled fruit stems or spent flowers as well. If you're not sure, follow the cane down to the crown (bottom) near the ground. You should be able to tell that the bark on the old canes is more weathered than the fresh new green canes. Cut the old cane about 2 inches up from the ground. Then gently pull the cane up through the top of the other canes (or pull down, just do it gently). After you remove the old canes, you will have a nice-looking spindle of canes left on each crown (see picture at left)

If you have the ever-bearing variety, cut ALL of the canes down to about 6 inches from the ground.

Step 2. While you're down on the ground cutting old old canes, take the time to remove weeds that have grown up around each of the raspberry crowns. Consider adding a 2 inch layer of organic compost to the top of your raspberry beds.

Step 3. Check all trellis wire/string and make adjustments where necessary. I switched from string to stainless steel wire this last year and it works like a dream. If you use wire, make sure you buy stainless steel or galvanized so that it doesn't rust all over your fruit! Make sure the longest canes on summer-bearing varieties are supported by the trellis wire so they can withstand harsh winter conditions.

Step 4. Pat yourself on the back for taking the time to care for your raspberries and knowing the great harvest you'll enjoy next summer!

...and for next spring, here are some excerpts from an excellent resource for growing small fruits, courtesy of Washington State University Extension (click here to download it):

"In late January or February, tie top canes trained to either the Scottish stool or English hedgerow system at 6 inches above the uppermost trellis wire. You also can leave canes long and bow them over the top wire in a semi-circle. Either method of pruning forces lateral branches to grow in the spring at a convenient picking height. Remove the first flush of primocane growth by hoeing in late April when growth is 7 to 8 inches high on vigorous plantings where cane growth is greater than 9 feet. New primocane growth follows shortly. This practice substantially increases yields, reduces fruit rot, and makes picking easier. Remove the top half of the cane from fall-bearing cultivars after fruiting is over, or remove the entire cane at the ground line. Leave the lower half of the cane for a summer crop the following June; remove canes entirely for only a fall crop each year. Because the fall crop on fall-fruiting cultivars is superior to the summer crop, most growers advise cutting all canes to the ground line in mid-October."

Ode to a Dying Fuschia

2008-10-27T17:50:00.001-07:00

Oh Fuschia

When I saw you in the nursery, I knew you would be mine. Took you home, gave you good soil, water and light, and behold! Not much growth.

You puny little thing. How dare you choose to defy me by never gracefully spilling over your planter's edge?

No cheerful greetings for our entryway visitors.

You didn't even grow in time for my mother-in-law's visit (the one I bought you to impress)

So now you hang on to your last days of fall before shriveling into the abyss of cold nights and wet days.

You're not coming inside this winter. You're being replaced.

Deck Building

2008-10-26T23:31:00.000-07:00

The deck is almost finished! This is the last step in a final transformation of part of our front yard. A low deck for lounging on sunny weekend mornings and reading the paper. Our neighbor Nick has been a great help in making my crazy vision of a deck come to fruition.

We chose ipe hardwood (also known as ironwood) because of its durability, sustainability, and remarkable beauty! It's truly worth the extra cost. Keri just stained it with Penofin hardwood stain. Penofin is a wonderful treatment for wood - only one coat and you're good to go. The pictures posted here were taken before it was stained. If you let ipe age naturally, it becomes a silvery grey color. We want to stick with the deep red and brown colors it has currently for as long as possible - it's beautiful!

Next weekend we'll try to finish it off by building the bench and front step. Just in time for winter - oh well. Do you think people will laugh if I'm out reading the paper and drinking my coffee on a rainy winter morning?

my love hate relationship with snow on the mountain

2008-10-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

No...not that kind of snow,

this kind of snow:

a.k.a. Bishop's weed, Aegopodiu m podagraria 'Variegatum', or Goutweed if you're in the midwest or northeast. People either love or hate this plant and I'm determined that there must be a happy medium. I love the way this plant looks in many garden landscapes! Particularly the variegated variety. But there are reasons why it's called an invasive plant in most parts of the country. Like many invasive plants, it's a great choice if you want to fill a space quickly with a nice looking groundcover. However, it's spreading personality will get the best of you if you do not give it some boundaries.

Serious boundaries.

Like a minimum 4 inch underground wall of impenetrable plastic border. No joke - this stuff can weezle it's way in and out of tiny crevices and cracks in any wall you build - so don't even think about just stacking stones or gravel. Here's a picture of what this beautiful plant will do after 3 months of being in the ground. These underground runners, or rhizomes, have spread from plants that were planted 3 feet away. I buried a 4-inch plastic border around this entire planting area, except for two feet where I ran out of border material. And here's what happened!

Rhizomes are 4 inches beneath the soil. I have read about so many people trying to spray herbicide or dig up this plant, to no avail. There is no need for chemicals if you are persistent about blocking its path underground (although some have reported success with painting leaves of aberrant plants with round up - I will post more info about round up later; it's actually the better of the chemicals). Rhizomes are evil in that they will reproduce the plant from a section that is as little as 1 inch long. So the worst thing you could do is dig all around these plants, breaking the rhizomes into little pieces. Instead, gently lift the soil from below 4 inches (in big chunks, so the rhizomes are exposed - then continue digging deep chunks so that you can remove the entire rhizome without breaking it into pieces.

So...off to the store and in with more plastic border to make sure this aggressive grower is kept in its place.

Just another example of how a plant can be as obnoxious, or wonderful as the person in charge of it allows. Next up: butterfly bush...

Helpful Gardening Sites

2008-08-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

I find the best gardening information online or from fellow master gardeners. Here are some of the best online sites for gardening tips:

The Informed Gardener - WSU Urban Horticulture Extension

Let's Talk Raspberries!

2008-07-10T21:22:00.000-07:00

The raspberries are finally ripe! I've been waiting all year for this week - and what a week for harvest it is! This past winter, Keri and I built a new trellis for the raspberries and I trained them the "right" way across the lines as they grew during the season. As a result, we have a full bounty of luscious raspberries - at least 5 times as many as last year! I just made our first batch of homemade raspberry jam last night. I used a new recipe and it is a wonderful one. No pectin needed. Just the old fashioned way of boiling the fruit with sugar and a little fresh lemon juice, and the true rich flavor of the berries comes through more than ever. With the new self-seal jars (no boiling required), the whole process of making jam took less than an hour. Not bad for 8 cups of home-grown raspberries and 7 bottles of taste-bud pleasure.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2008-07-10T17:56:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's the summer now (finally - it has been a long cold wait here in Seattle!), so I must begin posting updates about our gardening adventures! I'll post separate updates for general gardening topics, and link back to specific threads related to some of my passions (like heirloom tomatoes - 'oh la la!' as Ciscoe would say!)

The front and side yard renovations have been my pet project for the past few months....The purple smoke bush (Cotinus coggyria) went in first - and remains my favorite addition. Slowly but surely I added a row of shrubs as a main border between our house and our neighbors' house. The osmanthus definitely steals the show, with a beauty berry, witch hazel (both for winter interest) and hardy gardenia as a back up. I built a small fountain with recycled glass from a fantastic place here in Seattle called BedRock. We also purchased an entire flat of overstock slate from BedRock for our new walking paths. and The fountain adds a great sound and focal point to the garden.

The best part of this garden is how it started: from grass. Yes, I have crossed to the "dark" (or enlightened??) side and have become an avid grass-hater. People here in Seattle let their lawns go dormant (read: dead-looking) in the summer to save the cost and time of watering. I didn't learn until I moved up here that Seattle is actually in a Mediterranean climate - yes just like California; defined by a wet winter and dry summer (unlike the rest of our country which is wet in both the winter and summer). Therefore, the grass will go dormant here just like it does in Palm Springs without supplemental summer water. I have to admit there's something great about the lack of extensive watering systems like you see in LA. But the downside is dead-looking lawn. So...out with the lawn and in with the draught-tolerant garden! The most efficient and earth-friendly way to rid ourselves of the lawn was to sheet-mulch. This is a wonderful technique that I highly recommend. I'l write about this in more detail in another post, however.

For now, enjoy a few pictures of the growing front garden: