Seeds and Plants of the Year

Cayanetta Pepper

The All America Selections have been around since 1933 helping gardeners plant seeds, and buy nursery plants that have been proven to be dependable and giving high performance in many situations. This year they have chosen ‘Black Olive’ an ornamental pepper; ‘Cayanetta’, a mildly spice pepper; ‘Faerie’ an unusual yellow watermelon with the traditional pink/red interior; and ‘Summer Jewel Pink’ salvia.

All of these are annuals and all demand full sun. ‘Black Olive’ is very heat tolerant, not a challenge we have in our area. What surprised me is that ‘Black Olive’ was chosen in the flower category. It is a useful plant because of its dark foliage and lovely purple flowers, and because it can be grown in a container as well as in the ground.

‘Cayanetta’ can also be grown in a container, so those who like to do some spicy cooking can have good peppers close at hand on the deck or patio even if they do not have a big garden. The little red peppers, about three inches long, are very pretty.

It is always fun when a familiar and favorite fruit takes a new form. ‘Faerie’ is a good choice for the home gardener because the vines are slightly smaller than regular watermelons, only about 11 feet long. Also, the fruits average between four and six pounds, a perfect size for a family dessert. This is a crop that should be started indoors, preferably on a heat mat, a month before the expected last frost date. Fruit should ripen 60 days after transplanting.

‘Summer Jewel Pink’ is an annual salvia that will grow to no more than two feet tall and needs no deadheading to keep it in bloom from late spring into fall. It is an upright plant that needs no staking and does well in a container or in the ground. Like its 2011 predecessor ‘Summer Jewel Red’ salvia, it attracts pollinators like bees and hummingbirds over the course of its long bloom season. ‘Summer Jewel Red’ bears up under heavy wind and rain, and the goldfinches love its seed.

Once an All America Selection has been chosen, every year those seeds are marked with the AAS logo. Some fall out of use, but many remain favorites for decades.

AAS Trial gardens are operated all over the country and the results of those trials are tallied at the end of the year. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society has the only AAS Trial Garden in Massachusetts. The Berkshire Botanical Garden  in Stockbridge has a display garden of AAS seed winners, and there is an AAS Display Garden in Newton Center maintained by the Newton Community Pride Beautification Committee operated by volunteers.

I have found the annual blue salvia, ‘Victoria Blue,’ a Plant of the Year every year in my garden. I use it as an edging around my rose Shed Bed where the 18 inch spikes of rich blue look terrific with the pink roses. The salvia family is a large one, and if you are not already familiar with annual varieties ‘Summer Jewel Pink’ would be an excellent introduction.

Brunnera 'Jack Frost'

While the AAS chooses top annual plants, the Perennial Plant Association has chosen a top perennial every year since 1990. The 2012 Perennial of the Year is Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost.’ Brunneras are handsome shade loving plants that have forget-me-not-like flowers in the spring. ‘Jack Frost’ is notable for the silvery overlay and dark green veining. It is extremely hardy and grows in a mounded form about 18 inches in diameter with flower stems that are also about 18 inches.

‘Jack Frost’ does not have the kind of fragrance that deters deer, but the foliage is rough and does not appeal to deer who apparently have tender tongues.

I first saw these beautiful plants on the Bridge of Flowers where they are part of the shady Shelburne side entry, along with hostas, ferns and other shade loving plants. The golden grass Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola,’ the 2009 Perennial of the Year, seems to be a cascade of light, and along with ‘Jack Frost’ it brightens the shade in the Bridge’s entry garden.

I love seeing all the Plant of the Year choices various organizations choose because I can be sure they have been chosen for dependability in many parts of our country.  When going through catalogs you will see seeds and plants marked with award logos. If you have never grown an annual salvia or a brunnera, you can hardly go wrong choosing the variety of the year for your own garden. Mostly you just have to pay attention to whether a plant requires sun or shade, however AAS and the Perennial Plant Association have good informational websites that will give you full cultural information about this year’s plants, and all the plants from the past.

Watch for award winning plants in the catalogs that are filling your mailbox right now, and in garden centers in the spring. All America Selections are available as seeds, and as starts.

As I write it is snowing and blowing. It feels like winter has arrived. At last I can believe that spring will arrive too. I hope I won’t have to wait too long.

Resources:  www.all-americaselections.org;

Ornaments in the Garden – Plain and Fancy

Birdbath

While the ground is covered with snow and temperatures hover at zero, I’ve been trolling through photos of my visit to Seattle last July (with 70 other garden bloggers) and especially noticing ornaments in the garden, some plain and some fancy.  Many of us have birdbaths in our garden – even me – who has not ornamented my garden in any thoughtful way.

Fountain

It is not a big step to go from a simple birdbath to a fancy fountain. Bird lovers tell me that the sound of running water will attract more birds than a bird feeder.

Shiny beads

Strings of beads on a trellis is pretty simple. And simply pretty.

Mosaic bench

If you sit on this fancy mosaic bench you’ll get a fancy view of Seattle.

Steps and stones

I don’t know whether to call these steps plain or fancy. Stones aren’t fancy, but they can be used in fancy ways. I was surprised to realize that ornaments in the garden can be built right into the landscape.

Pebbles can be fancy, too. This pebble mosaic stair landing is beautiful.

Large urn

A large urn in the garden is a simple idea, and beautiful even if it is empty.

Urn with plants

Put plants in a fancy urn and you have double fancy.

Garden sculpture

Is this a sculpture – or is it a planter. Pretty fancy.

Bowling ball

Lorene Edwards Forkner invited all us garden bloggers into her Seattle garden. She knows how to make really simple work in the garden. And she has written a whole book about ways we can ornament our gardens simply for a fancy effect. Have you read Handmade Garden Projects: Step-by-step instructions for creative garden features, containers, lighting and more?

Entry to Japanese Garden at Bloedel Reserve

This small stone fox sculpture is set at the entry to the Japanese Garden at the Bloedel Reserve. Is it simple? Is it fancy? Is it perfectly elegant?

What kinds of ornaments do you have in your garden? Plain? Fancy?

Foliage Follow Up – January 2012

Orchid cactus

I rarely participate in Foliage Follow-up, but Pam Penick at Digging has prompted me to take a good look at the foliage around me at this time of the year.

I have owned this orchid cactus (Epiphyllum) for a number of years. I pay almost no attention to it which is shameful, because it would bloom regularly and magnificently if I did. You can see I don’t even give it the pedestal it deserves. For the past year it has lived in a bright rarely heated guest room where it seems happy even if it doesn’t bloom.

I am making a new year’s resolution to prune it back and repot it in the spring.  I think I will go upstairs and prune it this very morning.

I do have other succulents. Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus which are among the easiest plants to grow.  They even tell you when they need watering. Before any serious damage is done to the plant the succulent ‘leaves’ will begin to shrivel slightly and feel limp. It just takes regular watering to bring it back into fine fettle.

Christmas cactus, Schlumbergera bridgesii

This particular Christmas cactus lives in my bedroom, right next to a plump jade tree.

Jade tree, Cassula ovata

This jade tree is over 20 years old. My daughter cared for it during the two separate years we were living in China. She is as reluctant to prune as I am, and it grew so much more heavily on one side that the plant was leaning so dangerously that she propped up the stem with a small flower pot.  I finally did prune it  so that it was not only more attractive, but safer in its pot. Then a couple of years ago I left it right next to a north window in our unheated Great Room for the winter and I thought I had killed it for sure. It never got watered and became shrivelled and frozen, but I resurrected it in the spring when I gave it a radical pruning and watered it on a regular schedule. The leaves are now fat and healthy, if a bit dusty.

This citrus scented geranium is another plant I have had for several years. Still full of life, but another plant that is in serious need of pruning and repotting. Next month. I promise. I will also be able to take cuttings and start raising another generation.

Scented geranium foliage takes many different forms. Check the online catalogs like Hobbs Farm and Logee’s Greenhouse to see the full range. Scented geraniums do produce small flowers, but it is the scented foliage that is the appeal.

Prostrate rosemary

This prostrate rosemary did beautifully in its pot out on the entry walk all summer where it is hot and sunny. I brought it in and put in in the south window of the unheated Great Room which did go down below freezing yesterday, but it still looks fine. Unlike my upright rosemary which got nipped by cold in the Great Room earlier in the season and which I am trying to revive in a warmer, but still cool, room.

This is what foliage looks like outdoors this morning. I am glad for the snow cover before temperatures plummeted. Four degrees above zero this morning.

Pam, thank you so much for Foliage Follow-Up.

Bloom Day, January 2012

This Bloom Day is the coldest day of the winter so far. -4 degrees at 7 am. Still I have a few blooms to enjoy. This Christmas cactus is becoming quite magnificent and sits in the corner of our bedroom where it is one of  the first things I see when I wake up.

We are still a little disorganized from the nearly completed work on our kitchen so this Christmas cactus is sitting it out in the Sitting Room which is on a separate heating zone and very cool.  The small white cyclamen behind it that I bought for Christmas is really enjoying the cool temperatures.

The real surprise is this fuschia. I bought it in the spring and planted it along with a colcasia (elephant’s ear). I was potting them up in my new potting shed when I knocked a bag of perlite on top of the fuschia and broke off the main stem. I was so annoyed with myself, but planted what was left anyway. It took at least half the summer but new shoots appeared and finally in the fall it produced these blossoms. We had a long mild fall but finally I brought the pot in, minus the colocasia which had not done very well because I think our hilltop is just too cool. The fuscia continue to bloom in our unheated Great Room where it gets lots of sun, but very cool. This morning it is just about 32 degrees and the heat has automatically come on. The fuschia has been our great winter surprise.

For more blooms around the country visit clever Carol who thought up this great idea at May Dreams Gardens.

The view outside this morning

Geranium and Heuchera: Plants of the Year

Heuchera 'Lime Ricky' photo courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries

The National Garden Bureau’s goal is to make the world more beautiful with plants by inspiring gardeners and giving them useful information. This year they have named 2012 The Year of the Geranium and the Year of the Heuchera. Both of these flower families are large and varied, but none have difficult requirements for growing success.
The geranium the NGB is celebrating this year can more accurately be called pelargonium. When Linnaeus of Sweden first published his plant classification system in 1753 he clumped cranesbills and the pelargoniums in one family he named geranium. It did not take long before the French botanist L’Heritier thought one group was distinctly different and moved them to their own group he called pelargoniums. This caused a controversy that endures to this day, but today I will talk about the plant that Thomas Jefferson first sent from Paris in 1786 to John Bartram in Philadelphia, and that most of us still call geraniums.

As bedding plants geraniums can be grown in the ground, but most of us use them in containers. There are four main types. Zonal geraniums, Pelargonium x hortorum, with its familiar leaf markings, is the flower that is sold everywhere in the spring. No matter what color from white to shades of lavender, salmon, pink and red, there is a geranium that will appeal. Most flower heads will have single or double flowerets, but some will have starry flowerets. There are dwarf ten inch plants, and miniature six inch plants as well as the familiar12 to 18 inch size, something for everyone.

A second type is the regal geranium, Pelargonium domesticum, which is sometimes sold as a Martha Washington geranium. These are bushy plants that need cool temperatures to set buds and bloom in the spring. A smaller variety is called the angel geranium with blossoms that can resemble pansies.
Then there are the scented leaf geraniums, again a Pelargonium domesticum. These do produce small blossoms but their main appeal lies in their leaves which release a rich fragrance when they are brushed or crushed. You can choose chocolate, lemon, rose, peppermint or any one of a dozen other fragrances.
Finally there are the ivy leaved geraniums, Pelargonium peltatum, with vining stems and, naturally, ivy shaped foliage. These are especially desirable for hanging baskets and window boxes or adding their graceful charm to any container. The flowers are comprised of smaller looser umbels in shades of pink, white and red.
All geraniums need full sun, and a rich well-drained soil. When grown in a container drainage is vital as is fertilizing every two weeks with a half strength balanced fertilizer.
While geraniums can be used in your container garden, heucheras, or coral bells, can bring a whole range of foliage color to flower beds. They can be used as specimen plants, as groundcovers and even add vigor and color to your container plantings. Some catalogs will list them in the shade section, but they also happy in the sun.
It seems to me that the last few years have brought us an explosion of heuchera varieties. I don’t know many gardeners who grow coral bells for the dainty flowers on their tall slender stalks anymore. Heucheras are all about the large leaves of wonderful foliage in a range of colors from the bright chartreuse green of ‘Lime Rickey’ to the yellow and pink of ‘Ginger Ale’ and rich dark ‘Plum Pudding.’ There are also the ruffled green leaves of Garden Merit Award winner ‘Sashay’ edged with burgundy, the hot pink splashes on ‘Midnight Rose,’ and the silver shimmer on the dark leaves of ‘Frosted Violet.’

Heuchera 'Marmalade' photo courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries

While we don’t think that perennials change much over the growing season, beyond going in and out of bloom, a heuchera like ‘Green Spice’ will surprise us with its green and silver leaves and red veins in summer, but then turn orange and burgundy with silver in the fall.
Having said many gardeners are only interested in heuchera foliage, I do want to point out the brilliant ‘Firefly’ that has tall red flowers and even fragrance.
Whether or not we choose a coral bell with pretty flowers, the foliage itself is useful in flower arrangements and a long stemmed leaf will last a long time in water.
Terra Nova Nursery is a wholesale nursery that has hybridized and introduced many stunning heucheras that you will find in local garden centers and mail order nurseries like Bluestone Perennials. Many of these new varieties are not only very hardy, they form large clumps quickly and can be used in a variety of ways in the garden.
Heucheras thrive in sun and shade. They prefer a soil that is near neutral or only slightly acid, but are quite adaptable. Good drainage is important. After a year like 2011 that brought us such torrential rains we are reminded of how important drainage is in the garden, especially for plants like coral bells. On the other hand, they are drought tolerant – in case we have a very dry year. Mother Nature seems to be getting more and more capricious. We can’t even count on a rainy season or dry season on a predictable schedule.
Geraniums and heucheras are both dependable, varied and beautiful plant families. It is easy to see why the National Garden Bureau is celebrating them this year.

Beetween the Rows   January 7, 2012

Sunday Afternoon with Mozz, Feta, Chevre, Cajeta and more

Sheila of Dell Farmstead

Actually my neighbor Sheila of Dell Farmstead started her cheesemaking workshop at 9 am! Fortunately, she included a beautiful lunch in the day’s schedule. By the end of the day we had made: chevre, a goat cheese; 30 minute mozzarella; feta; cheddar; creme fraiche, soft goat cheese, and a Tomme unique to Dell Farmstead.

Curds and When

We learned that all cheese begins with separating the curds from the whey – with the help of additives like citric acid, and starter cultures including rennet that are different for each type of cheese. Animal rennet is extracted from the 4th stomach of a calf, but vegetarians can use a rennet made from plants like thistle flowers and stinging nettles. We also learned that whey, the liquid that is left after the milk solids are removed is considered a pollutant. That means it cannot go down the drain into a septic system or sewer system. Sheila feeds the whey to her hens or dumps it on her garden where it does no harm.

Heating the milk

The very first step is to warm the milk. How hot it needs to be and for how long depends on the type of cheese being made. A cheese thermometer is vital because it gives small increments. All utensils were stainless steel and very clean. No oil or soap residue can be left behind.

Ricotta?

When the whey has been totally drained, the curds can look like this. I’m not sure if this is the ricotta or the chevre. Both look very similar.

We didn’t make any cajeta which is a Mexican caramel made from goat milk, but Sheila had some ready for us to sample. She also made dark chocolate covered goat milk truffles which you can see us tasting, while one devoted member of the group was deputed to keep his eye on the thermometer.

Luncheon Table

The truffles did not ruin our appetites. We sat down to a wonderful lunch of paillards of chicken with a creme fraiche (that we made)  sauce over rice and a lovely green salad. Sustaining.

Feta Cheese - almost

Feta cheese is not really feta until it has been brined.  for three days.

30 minute mozzarella

I couldn’t believe it only takes 30 minutes to make mozzarella. It uses the magic of a microwave, and some taffy-pulling technique.  Most of the cheese we made used commercial milk, but only Guida and Our Family Farms milk because these two are only pasturized, not ULTRA pasturized which would have killed every single bacteria. You need bacteria, good bacteria, to make cheese.

Cheese Cave

We only made one cheese that will end up in Sheila’s ‘cave’ which made use of an old cistern in her basement. She lives in an old farmhouse.  Many of the cheese recipes we used are in Ricky Carroll’s book Home Cheese Making. Ricky is known as the Cheese Queen and everything you need to make cheese is available through her website. Sheila took Ricky’s workshop nearly 30 years ago – and has been making cheese ever since.

Hoegger’s Farmyard is another company that sells cheese making equipment online.

If you’d like information about a cheesemaking workshop contact Sheila at  sheila@thedell.com. Oh, by the way – we all got to take some cheese home with us.

PS – Don’t forget that tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 14 is the great Winterfare in Northampton. Fresh produce, workshops, soup cafe, and lots of fun all around.

Setting Wolf Moon

January's Wolf Moon

Do you have half your firewood supply left?  For more Wordlessness on Wednnesday click here.

Christmas Extended – For the Birds

Pine cones, peanut butter, birdseed and ribbon

Christmas celebrations end for us on January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany. The wise men have finally arrived, the last gifts have been given and the party is over. But maybe not quite. When I take the Christmas tree down, I put it outside and decorate it for the birds. The ornaments are simple, but tasty, peanut butter smeared into pine cones and then rolled in bird seed.  A tie can be ribbon, yarn or twine, no matter.

Suet for the birds

I use an mesh onion bag to hold a piece of suet. Birds really appreciate suet to help them keep warm, although temperatures yesterday were again over freezing.

Suet and pine cone bird feeders

I tie these ornaments on my Christmas tree which is propped up by the brush burn pile. So far I have only seen bluejays taking advantage, but maybe that’s because blue jays are about the only bird I can identify. Except for robins.

Agastache and Nepeta – Deer Repellents

Photo courtesy of Fine Gardening

Fine Gardening’s photo of Agastache ‘Cana’ has got me all excited. Recently I read somewhere (I wish I could remember where) that some plants were not only deer resistant, they were deer repellent. Deer have a sensitive sense of smell and some plants have such a strong scent that deer are actually repelled and avoid them. I am thinking of strategically planting some attractive deer repellant plants among my garden beds in the hope this will discourage deer – and bunnies.

The family of Agastaches, otherwise known as hyssop or hummingbird mint, has the advantage of including many attractive cultivars, like ‘Cana’ and attracting many insects as well as butterflies, hummingbirds and other birds who relish the seeds. It needs a good rich soil, sun and good drainage, but is not really difficult to grow.

Photo courtesy of Kentucky University

Nepeta Walker’s Low is just one of the catmints that is welcome in the perennial garden. Like the agastaches it is a deer and rabbit repellent plant and like them it needs soil with organic matter, lots of sun, and good drainage.  In the past I planted catmints that my cats have loved to death. Now the cats are older and my vegetable garden, which suffered considerably from deer noshing last year, is a small distance from the house so I am counting on the cats being less venturesome and staying nearer the house in their old age. I can hope.

The University of Michigan has a good list of deer resistant plants here.

I wrote about Ruth Rogers Clausen’s great book 50 Beautiful Deer Resistant Plants: The Prettiest Annuals, Perennials, Bulbs and Shrubs that Deer Don’t Eat here. We all have to remember that the power of the repellent or resistance may vary when deer get really really hungry, but I am hoping that including more of these plants in my garden, especially near the vegetable garden, will keep me happier, and better fed myself.

New Goals For the New Year

“What news? What news?” was often the cry when E. F. Benson’s delightfully pretentious Lucia met her neighbor Georgie coming across the Riseholm village green in “Queen Lucia,” the first of several books about the life in an English village before WWII.

When I return from Saturday morning rounds in my own rural village my husband always wants to know what news I bring home.

“What’s new?” is our inevitable query of neighbors at local gatherings.

The desire to be in the know, aware of the latest news and rumors, trends and fashions seems to be built into our genes. Right now, as we stand at the cusp of a new year, we gardeners are already being bombarded with catalogs promising the newest horticultural offerings, latest achievements in hybridizing and the dandiest new gadgets.

I’ve been doing a tiny survey to find out if any of the people I know make new year’s resolutions anymore. No one I asked admitted to doing such a thing, but several said they set themselves goals for the year, for their business, in their domestic life, and their social life. Some said they liked getting close to a goal – and then setting a new stretch goal. I think many gardeners will greet the new year with one or two new goals, and maybe even stretch a little further.

When I opened my Johnny’s catalog I was instantly launched into a suggested goal, “Create a season-long planting program (to) ensure a continuous supply, make efficient use of space and effectively schedule planting times.” That is a noble goal and one I set myself every year, but rarely manage to carry out to any great degree. This is a new year, however, and it is a goal I can commit to. Once again.

With all the talk about the eating local trend, and growing your own vegetables, even if you don’t own a piece of land, those with a deck might set a goal of learning to grow vegetables in containers. Cherry tomatoes are easy to grow in containers, and many lettuces can be harvested in the baby stage after only about 30 days. Renee’s Garden offers a new variety of zucchini that is suitable for container growing. Growing herbs in containers will save cooks a lot of money over the summer and fall. How much do you spend on parsley alone every season?

Every catalog will tout their new varieties. Johnny’s has a whole new vegetable for farmers that they are calling “Flower Sprouts,”  a cross between Brussels sprouts and kale. The mildly flavored rosette-like sprouts the color of Red Russian kale grow on stalks like Brussels sprouts. I hope some of the local farms grow will grow this.

Some catalogs like the Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) are offering newly available old varieties. Many hybrids are suitable for the home gardener because they have been bred for disease resistance, but many are also bred to ripen all at once and be less fragile, both qualities that are important for commercial growers whose crops have to be up to the rigors of long distance transportation, but not are not as concerned with flavor.

Mantilia from SSE is a new old butterhead that has won taste testing competitions and is “mild, tender and sweet.”  I love butterhead lettuces.

Heirloom seeds also help keep the gene pool robust and abundantly diverse. We never know what stresses or changing conditions will arise, affecting plant growth and thus our food supply. Scientists cannot make useful hybrids if they don’t have a large healthy gene pool at their disposal.

Bluestone Perennials touts their new use of biodegradable pots on their catalog cover, along with 120 new items. Their new pots are made of coir, coconut husk fibers. These fibrous pots allow for better air exchange which fosters good root growth. Since these pots go directly into the soil, there is no transplant shock. Actually, these coir pots appeared last year and I can attest to the benefits.

Bluestone has many familiar and unusual flowers on offer. I remember when Echinacea, coneflower, came in a dusky pink or white, but now there are pinks, gold orange and green; some, like ‘Milkshake,’ have large shaggy centers and recurved petals.

Then there are always new projects. Sometimes that is a planting project like a blueberry patch. Sometimes it is a new structure from a trellis to hold cukes or melons, and sometimes a garden shed. My garden shed has changed my life. Now my tools and supplies are organized and accessible.

We are planning a new fence around the vegetable garden which includes a small raspberry and black raspberry patch. This past year I had as much trouble from rabbits as from deer, but we hope a new fence around the whole area will solve the problem. I am even hoping for a nice gate.

As the year turns, and you turn to your garden catalogs, what new things do you hope for in 2012?  New plants? A new planting bed – ornamental or vegetal? Do you need a new tool – or a new tool sharpener? What new project are you considering?

Whatever new directions you take in your garden this year I wish you every success, and every pleasure. ###

Between the Rows  December 31, 2011