I stopped at the detention basin this morning on the way to the Haggerty Center and was chilled the raw, cold wind under the gray sky. It looked and felt like snow, but happily the snow stayed well to the east of us.
We are another snow-free day closer to spring.
The common name for cornus is dogwood. These are small trees growing to 20 feet or so and are valuable additions to any small garden or as an understory layer in a larger one.
Cornus florida is the wonderful native species that blooms for almost all of May with a cluster of tiny flowers that turn into beautiful berries later in the season (read Doug Tallamy on how much robins and other birds thrive on them). The flowers are surrounded by four large bracts that are big waxy petals that are typically misnamed the tree’s flowers. These bracts decorate the tree for almost the entire month of May. Later, there are the colorful red fruits and beautiful orange and red/maroon fall foliage. We have the most disease resistant variety available at this year’s sale: Appalachian Spring.
After the native dogwoods finish their display, the cornus kousa start blooming and their bloom usually lasts through June. We have several new and different varieties at this year’s sale: Summer Gold has white bracts and striking yellow variegated foliage. Then we have two white variegated foliage dogwoods that we’ve carried before but that continue to be among our favorites: Miss Santomi with blush pink flower bracts and Wolf Eyes, which is smaller and slower growing than most. It has brilliant variegation that shines in a shady corner. I’ve also seen it used effectively in large urns at the Mansion in May in Far Hills a few years ago. The last kousa is ‘Kristen Lipka’, which is an amazing weeping form. A final great thing about the kousa dogwoods is their big raspberry-like fruit that, although seedy, tastes like banana. It’s a special treat for my dogs and me, but we do leave most for the birds.
Then, overlapping the bloom of the floridas and kousas are the Rutgers hybrids, known for their disease resistance and large blooms. We have several new ones: Rosy Teacups, which has pink blooms as adorable as it’s name; Variegated Stellar Pink, which has light pink bracts and white variegated foliage; Celestial Shadows, developed by the well known dogwood breeder Don Shadow, who gave it the botanical hybrid name of ‚ÄòMichael Steinhardt’. Mr. Steinhardt is a benefactor of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and has the most amazing, not-to-be missed garden in Mt. Kisco that is part of the Garden Conservancy Open Days program. Plan to spend the whole day when you go.
== Patti Millar & Ilona Ontscherenki, Co-Chairs
My yard is dominated by large trees of varying types. Oaks, hickories, maples, white pines; beautiful majestic beings that provide coolness in summer and protection from harsh winter winds. As a gardener, I have learned that while the shade these trees provide limits my choices from plant lists, I can still create a beautiful garden where soft colors weave in and out and create an atmosphere of coolness, serenity and calm.
One important technique to achieve visual interest in the shade garden is variation in elevation. I love Thalictrum ‚ÄòElin,’ with its height up to seven feet and its soft, lacy leaves. Purplish stems topped with lavender flowers and blue-green foliage give color variety as well as height. ‚ÄòElin’ will be happiest with a few hours of sunlight. Find a spot under a high tree canopy and you will be rewarded by her charms.
Another vertical plant is Actaea pachypoda ‚ÄòMisty Blue,’ also know as white baneberry or Doll’s Eyes. This eastern U.S. native forms a mound of almost blue tinted foliage with stalks of white flowers in the spring, reaching 2-3 feet. When the flowers fade, small white fruits with distinctive black dots in the center form on the stalk, thus the name ‚ÄòDoll’s Eyes.’ The fruit is readily consumed by birds but the entire plant is highly resistant to deer.
Moving down to lower level plants, every shade garden needs to have heuchera, and one of the best is Heuchera americana Dale’s Strain. Also derived from a native plant, Dale will benefit from a higher canopy. The plant can grow to a foot tall, with white flower stalks of up to 24″ tall. But it is the beautiful marbled foliage that makes this plant stand out in the garden.
You don’t have to rely only on pachysandra as a groundcover in the shade garden. Pulmonaria, particularly a variety such as ‚ÄòSilverado’ with its silvery leaves, is a great substitute. Don’t forget all the many varieties of epimedium, with its dainty foliage, and about as trouble free a plant as you can find. And plant breeders have been providing us with new varieties of Japanese forest grass, Hakonechloa, with varieties such as Beni Kaze, All Gold, and Macra.
And, all of the above are deer resistant. What more could a gardener ask for? Go forth, plant, and while others wilt in the heat, revel in the glory of the shade garden.
==Sally Hemsen, President, Friends of The Frelinghuysen Arboretum
Whilst dreaming of all the stuff I want to grow this spring and perusing the latest seed catalogs my eye catches a picture of a giant mountain of produce. What is this, I wonder.
Turns out, it’s a hugel and growing plants in a hugel is called hugelculture. Hugelculture are no-dig raised beds. They hold moisture, build fertility, maximize surface volume for soil warming and are great spaces for growing fruit, vegetables and herbs. Developed centuries ago in Eastern Europe, permaculturists are drawing renewed attention to it now.
The part of this technique that is really compelling is that you are growing, but you are doing so as part of a composting process by employing raised planting beds constructed on top of decaying wood debris and other compostable biomass plant materials.
Hugelculture replicates the natural process of decomposition that occurs on forest floors. Trees that fall in a forest often become nurse logs, decaying and providing ecological facilitation to seedlings. Walk through the woods and you will see many fallen logs. A log that has rested on the forest floor for five or ten years will be covered in moss, mushrooms, wildflowers and even young trees. Poke at it and you will notice that the decaying wood is damp in all but the most serious of droughts. As the wood decays, its porosity increases allowing it to store water “like a sponge”. The water is slowly released back into the environment, benefiting nearby plants.
Start here for a simple definition: http://homesteadingstewards.com/gardening/huglekulture-hugelculture/
In California they are pushing the envelope with hugel pots and vertical hugels http://lowcostvegetablegarden.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/garden-bed-construction.html
Don’t be put off by the article on vermicomposting toilets, it’s a goldmine of information http://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/many-benefits-hugelkultur
Which trees to use and which to avoid clearly stated here, plus many videos http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/
Speaking of videos, don’t forget You Tube. Search “hugelculture” and a variety of clips come up, long and short. Some even show you how to make a hugel with a foundation!
Finally, for more information, google the “Fathers of Hugelculture” and read about Sepp Holzer, the Austrian agricultural rebel, who almost went to prison for not pruning his fruit trees, Geoff Lawton, the down under permaculturist, and here in the USA, Paul Wheaton.
Now, who wants to build a hugel? If you are interested in working on a display hugel here at The Frelinghuysen, please email the Virtual Gardener, lparness@morrispark.net.
==Lesley Parness
Author: McKel Hill, MS, RD, LDN
Ingredients
Instructions
Enjoy!
This past summer, the Virtual Gardener fell in love with ferns. She is not the first to succumb to their charms. In the Victorian era, pteridomania was a craze which obsessed England at every level of society, from the Royal family to impoverished farm workers.
Wiki tells us that “the word is a portmanteau of the biological name for ferns and ‘mania’ in the sense of a craze”; in other words, pteridomania was a passion for ferns. It manifested in a huge range of ways, from going on collecting expeditions to gather specimens, to including fern motifs on every decorative object imaginable. The term was coined in 1855 by author Charles Kingsley: “Your daughters, perhaps, have been seized with the prevailing ‘Pteridomania’ and wrangling over unpronounceable names of species and yet you cannot deny that they find enjoyment in it.”
Continue reading “Pteridomania”Have you ever grown bay laurel? It’s such a dignified plant.
Reserved in its rate of growth, a bay laurel grown in a container will not need replanting for 5 years or so. Bay is often kept pruned, either to keep the size in check or to create a more ornamental tree. Pruning is usually done in the spring, as new growth is just beginning. You can prune as much or as little as you like, to keep the tree small or to
create a topiary artwork.
Modest in its needs, bay trees wintered over in a sunny window need even less water than during summer months and no feeding at all. Bay is drought tolerant, but appreciates regular deep watering. Always allow the soil to dry out between waterings, so the roots don’t rot. But don’t let it sit for long periods without water. Come spring add two inches of nice rich topsoil and do feed while the plant is setting out new leaves. Fish emulsion is a good food.
Neat in its habits, bay is mostly pest free and in days past a leaf of bay was used to deter pests in the pantry.
Bay is a very attractive shrub but mostly we grow it it as a seasoning. The leaves don’t soften much in cooking so must be removed before eating. Bay is used in stews, soups, tomato sauces, on fish and in bean dishes. It is a traditional component of the French ‘bouquet garni’ and is best used in that form or in a cheesecloth bag.
Several varieties of laurel are edible, we are offering Laurus nobilis ‚ÄòAngustifolia’ the willow-leaf laurel. With so much to commend it, this plant can easily rest on its, well, on its “laurels!”
==Lesley Parness
Pleasing Plant Combos
Here is a great combination for the shady garden with the added bonus of deer resistance.
The early Spring blooming Brunnera variegata offers delicious sky blue flowers in May and white flecked, heart shaped leaves for interest the rest of the Summer. Combine this with the textural foliage of the pink flowered Astilbe Rythm ‘n Blues which has plumey pink flowers from June to August. For another unique textural element add Rodgersai Fireworks with its large, leathery, copper edged leaves and glowing pink flowers in June and July. Fill in with Lady ferns (Athyrium Lady In Red) for a picture perfect garden grouping.
Start with the graceful foliage of Amsonia hubrechtii and its delicate blue flowers in Spring. This 3 foot tall perennial has fantastic Fall foliage of buttery yellow. Add bold clusters of pink, aging to bronze, flowers of Sedum Auntumn Fire. Sturdy stems keep this sedum from flopping. Butterflies and bumblebees love this plant.
And now for the real wow factor add Echinacea Double Scoop Orange for non-stop bloom. This is another deer resistant combo. Why not go bold in the garden this Summer with this great combination.
Start with that all time favorite plant, Peony Eden’s Perfume that will fill the air with sweet fragrance in May and sports gloosy foliage the rest of the year. Follow it up with the Summer blooming Leucanthemum Highland’s White Dream whose daisy-like flowers will bloom until frost (a little deadheading please).
For more white for Fall bloom add the 3 foot Anemone Whirlwind. To add some color plant hollyhocks like Alcea Halo White, Alcea Peaches ‘n Dream or Alcea Indian Spring. Alchemella mollis would make a lovely edger for this grouping with dew kissed foliage and chartreuse flowers in June and July.
We had an interesting question from a member last week about our French Tarragon. The member asked whether the Tarragon that we will have for sale will be really French Tarragon or Russian Tarragon. I want to assure you all, that our Tarragon is the real deal…
French Tarragon does not produce seeds and can be propagated only by cuttings. Grown by cuttings (and organic cuttings at that) our Tarragon can be counted on to add its distinctive licorice taste to your cooking.
Here’s nice recipe for using tarragon:
Green Goddess Chive Dressing
This creamy dressing is rich with herbs–chives, garlic, scallions and tarragon–and uses far less anchovy than most green goddess dressings. A delightful green salad or seafood topper!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
1 chopped green onion
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauceDirections:
In a blender or food processor, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, chives, green onion, garlic, vinegar, tarragon, sugar and Worcestershire sauce and blend until smooth.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until serving. It will keep up to three days in the refrigerator.
==Lesley Parness
Yes, you can add pizazz to your garden with Canna, Caladium and Colacasia.
The strong focus on spring flowering bulbs in our gardens can overshadow the many wonderful choices of summer flowering bulbs that will perform quite well here in an increasingly hot New Jersey.
Cannas bring tropical splendor and architectural interest to summer borders and they also flourish along the damp margins of a pond. These bold plants feature clustered, flaglike blooms in a brilliant array of colors. They are deer resistant, easy to grow and attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
Continue reading “Yes You Canna!”
