Planters Punchlines
Men’s Garden Club of Wethersfield
January 2014
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"Share Your Gardening Successes (and Failures)"
@ Men’s Garden Club of Wethersfield January Meeting
Monday January 27 @ 7:00 pm in the Pitkin Community
Center
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Come and share your gardening
success stories (recent or in the past) and ask other members how they solved
any gardening problems you may have experienced.
Compostable Matter
By Jim Meehan
A lot of
men are reluctant to try organic gardening – thinking that it’s too
touchy-feely, earthy-crunchy. Real men
just want to “grow ‘um and mow ‘um.”
In Chinese
Taoist philosophy, the concept of "yin and yang” is used to describe how
seemingly diametrical opposites can be thought of as complementary forces that
interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the parts
– for instance shadow and light may look incompatible, but shadow cannot exist
without light.
Likewise,
the nurturing and destructive aspects of horticulture can be successfully
synergized with just a little environmental sensitivity and a lot of
petro-chemical horsepower – as in, for example,
“Eco-Machismo Mulching”
Flakes of lifeless leaves
flung from slashing Toro blades –
return to their roots.
Garden Media Unveils Its 2014 Garden Trends Report
According to
the 2014 Garden Trends Report, consumers are spending more leisure time
outdoors and not only “decorating” their homes, but their gardens as well. The
rise of social trends, like lawn games, glamping, and garden parties, are fueling
a record growth in garden furniture and accessories, driving demand for
tabletop fountains, outdoor footprint.
“2014 is all
about balance. People finally appreciate that being in nature and in the garden
is true bliss. But now, they want the garden to do double duty: A Zen oasis and
the social hub for entertaining,” says Katie Dubow, creative director of Garden
Media. “Surrounding yourself with nature, with trees in the yard and
houseplants in the office, brings a sense of peace, boosts productivity and
enhances your quality of life—in addition to providing a great escape from the
hustle and bustle of a technology intense life."
Looking ahead,
Garden Media presents 12 trends to keep a close eye on in 2014:
1. Ground Up:
Recycling food scraps and creating compost is the new recycling.
2. Super
Foods, Super Models: Edibles are going to the next level with foodies growing
everything from quinoa to dandelions in straw bales and keyhole gardens.
3. Drink Your
Garden: People are drinking their gardens using such super foods from their
gardens, like blueberries and raspberries to craft cocktails and green
smoothies. “Fermentation gardens are the new chickens,” says Rebecca Reed of
Southern Living. People are growing hops for home-brewing, grapes for home-made
wine. veggies to provide safe shelters.
4. Dress Up
Your Yard: From decorative throw pillows to decorative insect traps and
shabby-chic mason jar humming bird feeders, people want their yards to have a
personal stamp.
5.
Bee-neficials: It’s all about the bees this year. Bees are at forefront of
environmentally aware consumers’ minds, inspiring them to plant native, pollen
rich flowers, trees and veggies to provide safe shelters.
6.
Cultur-vating: Taking local to the next level, people are growing the world in
their gardens, mixing cultures and embracing what is local to their own region.
7. Simple
Elegance: Think one color flower in an elegant container in an eco-chic,
hand-cast planter.
8. Frac’d Up:
Neat clean lines are out as explosions of color in fractional shapes like
triangles, circles and squares dominate design.
9. Young Men
Get Down and Dirty: Big surprise here: young men 18-34 are spending $100 more
than the average gardener. They are grilling, growing their own hops for beer,
and taking the kids out to play in the dirt.
10. Think
Gardens: Plants make us smarter, more productive and less stressed and are
showing up in offices, schools and hospitals across the country.
11. Fingertip
Gardens: Gardens go high tech with mobile apps and technology.
12.
Tree-mendous Reversal: Losing more than four million urban trees a year,
Americans are being asked to plant trees. There are many environmental,
economical, and emotional benefits of trees. Plant a tree – or care for one you
have - this year and be part of this growing trend.
Horti-Culture Corner
"Though an old man, I am but a young gardener."
Thomas Jefferson
“It is easy to age when there is nothing to believe in,
nothing to hope for;
gardeners, however, simply refuse to grow up."
Allan Artimage
Garden Guru: A look at garden trends for 2014 (excerpt)
by John Porter
CHARLESTON,
W.Va. -- It's this time of year that you see everybody make review lists of the
year we just finished, whether they are the best or worst moments of the year,
best pictures, movies, music, and so on. I thought that it might be more
helpful if we take a moment and look ahead at a list of things that are poised
to make a splash in the gardening world. From the top plant award winners, to
projected trends in the garden, I'll count down a few things that will affect
the gardening world in the coming year.
Plants of the
year: There are several different organizations that pick their own plants of
the year, so I'll just mention a few. The Perennial Plant Association
(www.perennialplant.org) chose an ornamental grass as the 'Perennial Plant of
the Year' for 2014. Panicum virgatum'Northwind' is a tall, native switchgrass
that turns golden yellow in the fall.
All-America
Selections (www.all-americaselections.org) is an organization that releases an
annual list of vegetables and bedding plants based on variety trials around the
country. This year, the national winners included the 'Mamma Mia Giallo'
pepper, 'Fantastico' and 'Chef's Choice Orange' tomatoes, 'Mascotte' dwarf
French bean, 'African Sunset' petunia (it's brilliant orange), and 'Sparkle
White' guara, a delicate-looking yet tough, drought-resistant perennial.
The neat thing
about the AAS program is that their winners are grown at display gardens around
the country so you can get up close and personal with the plants. The only
display garden in West Virginia is at Oglebay Resort near Wheeling, but you can
also check them out at Franklin Park conservatory in Columbus, Ohio, the horticulture
garden at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., and Schenley Plaza in Pittsburgh.
Color of the
year: Each year, the Pantone Color Institute (www.pantone.com), the company
that acts as the standard-keepers for colors for everything from commercial
printers to the U.S. Patent Office, selects its color of the year. This year
the color is "Radiant Orchid," which is based on the purple-pink
color in the Phalaenopis orchids you see in grocery stores and garden centers.
While this color is most commonly seen in fashion and home decorating trends,
you will also likely see an increase in the number of flowers at the garden
centers this year with similar color profiles.
Sustainable
gardening: The Garden Trends Report, which is released by the garden marketing
and PR firm Garden Media (www.gardenmediagroup.com), lists composting as a top
trend. More and more gardeners are interested in reducing the amounts of inputs
they put in the garden -- from fertilizers to chemicals and more.
But gardeners are going beyond that and adding more
sustainable practices, such as collecting rainwater, using recycled materials
in the garden, and more. Sustainability is not just about being environmentally
conscientious though. It's also about choosing practices that are more
economically sound (cheaper) and thinking about your neighbors when you make
decisions.
Growing more
food: Vegetable and fruit gardening has been on the rise over the past five
years now, and the trends looks to continue into 2014. The initial interest was
fueled by the crashing economy, where people decided to be more self-reliant in
the face of higher food costs and smaller paychecks. But the interest continues
now that people are more interested in knowing where their food comes from and
being more self-sufficient thanks to a rise in the DIY and homesteader
attitude. So backyard vegetable gardens, edible landscapes and community
gardens will continue to pop up at a good pace.
Eat and drink your organic roses
A
rose is a rose is an edible -- if you grow it organically.
Charlotte from Peaceful Valley - http://groworganic.com
Do
you grow roses? DId you ever think about growing them organically?
That way you
not only keep synthetic pesticides out of your garden and groundwater, but you
can EAT and DRINK your roses too.
In our new
video, Tricia shows you how to grow roses organically and she gives basic
guidelines on rose care and pruning.
Now, let’s eat
those organic roses. Pick up your pruners and follow us into the rose garden.
Strong
fragrance means strong rose flavor
Our friend
Teresa O’Connor is an edible flower specialist at Seasonal Wisdom. She votes
for the fragrances and flavors of old roses like Rosa rugosa and Rosa gallica.
We have a short video with Teresa’s tips on other edible flowers.
For California
native plant lovers, consider the Rosa californica.
Feel free to
follow your nose to your favorite rose. How
to gather your rosebuds
In the cool of
the morning, snip off those buds and blooms, rinse them indoors, and then
remove the bitter, white base of each petal.
Pat the petals
dry and use them in the following recipe ideas.
Eat and drink
organic roses from morning to night
* Start your morning with a Vitamin C rich cup
of rose hip tea (easy to find these on rugosas).
* Make some rose petal jam for your breakfast
toast.
* In a hurry? Blast up some rose honey in your
food processor.
* Simplest of all? Add one part rose petals and
two parts sugar for rose sugar. Prettiest in our small Weck jars.
* You can use rose water in any number of
recipes, like salad dressings and Manhattans. Here’s how to prep your very own
organic rose water.
* Feeling sentimental? FIx an entire tea party,
for Mother’s Day or another occasion, with rose petal everything.
* Still wondering about that Manhattan recipe?
It’s a Rosehattan, pleasant to sip while wandering in your garden at dusk.
Don’t forget
to make tea for the roses, too
Alfalfa tea is
all the rage with rosarians around the U.S., and many blue ribbon winners swear
by it. Try our alfalfa tea ready to steep in “tea bags”. We have alfalfa tea
bags from Haven Natural Brew Alfalfa Tea.
These make
unusual gifts on their own or in our rosy gift baskets, for your rose-obsessed
neighbors and friends.
Just goes to
show—deer are not the only mammals that like to eat roses. Grow your roses
organically and savor the floral flavors.
Drink your garden
By Kathy Jentz - http://tpssvoice.com
~ Grow your
own kale and throw a bunch in a blender along with a handful of fruit and a cup
of juice for a yummy green smoothie.
~ Gather a
handful of lavender and use it in your next batch of lemonade. See the recipe
here: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/lavender_lemonade/.
~ Pick
raspberry leaves, place in a mug and pour almost-boiling water over them, let
steep for a minute, then remove the leaves and drink the delicious tea.
~ Serve
champagne with some fresh fruit from your garden, like blueberries, dropped in.
~ Dry some
chamomile blossoms and add them to your tea on a chilly evening.
~ Plant some
wine grapes and hops vine and take a course in home brewing.
For several
more ideas about how to drink your garden, check out to new books on the
subject: The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart and Drink Your Own Garden by
Judith Glover.
Read This Now: The Drunken Botanist
A Book Review By Michael Dietsch @ drinks.seriouseats.com
Although books
like that have their value, I already own more such books than I currently
need, so I found myself uninspired by this book—or, at least, my idea of this
book.
But my idea
turned out to be wrong, and The Drunken Botanist turned out to be a very
engaging book about the botanical origins of our favorite drinks: beer, wine,
spirits, and even a mixer or two.
If you're
getting into cocktails and looking to expand your understanding of spirits,
wine, beer, and mixed drinks, reading Stewart's book is a great way to do it.
You'll come away with a knowledge of what exactly is in your glass and you'll
be able to understand how those elements play together to form the flavors and
aromas you'll encounter in a well-made drink.
Drinks,
Shoots, and Leaves
The book's
origins arise from a conversation Stewart had some years ago with a fellow
botanist. He told Stewart he disliked gin, and she first vowed to make him a
cocktail that would make a gin lover of him, and then expressed her surprise
that a botanist could fail to love gin, which is full of botanical ingredients:
not only the grain that makes the spirit itself, but also the herbs and spice
and citrus that provide gin's robust, complex flavors.
Grapes,
Grains, and Grasses
In the book's
introduction, Stewart says, "Every great drink starts with a plant"
and of course, this is obviously true. Beer starts from barley or other grains;
wine, from grapes or other fruit. Vodka comes from grains or potatoes.
Whisk(e)y arises from barley, corn, rye, or other grains.
Stewart uses
this simple truth as a starting point for a fascinating book, one that rewards
a cover-to-cover read. The first part of the book covers the classic
booze-worthy plants, the ones used most often to produce alcohol. Here you'll
find agave, apple, barley, corn, grapes, and onward through wheat. She
discusses the history of each crop and its history as an ingredient in beverage
alcohol. She doesn't shy away from unpleasant facts, either, such as the
sustainability crisis facing agave agriculture in Mexico, for example.
The first part
concludes with a look at less-common or even bizarre plants that have been
turned into booze: bananas, cassava, parsnips, and something called a monkey
puzzle.
In part two,
she turns her green thumb toward the flavoring elements that go into beverage
alcohol. Here she first covers herbs and spices—allspice, angelica, bison
grass, cardamom, gentian, ginger, juniper, licorice and its relatives, vanilla,
wormwood, and many others. Then she hits flowers—chamomile, hops, jasmine,
rose, etc. Next up are trees—angostura, birch, cinchona, cinnamon, sugar maple.
Next up is fruit—apricots, currents, figs, and the variety of citrus fruits,
among others. Finally, she ends part two with a look at nuts and seeds: almond,
coffee, hazelnut, kola nut, and walnut.
Only in part
three, by far the shortest part of the book, does she tackle the topic that I
initially thought comprised the entirety of the book: infusions, syrups,
homemade liqueurs, and pickles. She even provides instructions on home-brining
olives.
The book features several types of informative sidebars.
The most practical are the recipes: not just cocktail recipes but instructions
for syrups, pickles, and liqueurs such as limoncello.
Another
sidebar talks to gardeners and provides DIY advice on growing these crops.
Some, of course, are less practical than others. She acknowledges that only the
most die-hard of home-brewers, for example, will grow their own barley. But
others, such as lemon verbena and black currants, though, are within the grasp
of nearly any gardener.
She takes time
out to discuss plants that affect booze production without being ingredients of
their own: oak (for barrel aging, of course) and cork oak.
Finally, though it's not a plant and therefore not
botanical at all, Stewart takes the time to discuss a topic without which, none
of these wondrous drinks would be possible: yeast.
A careful and
knowledgeable reader might find some of the discussion a bit thin, as I did
when reading about the history of bourbon, located logically enough in her
chapter on corn. But this is excusable; she only has so many pages, and the
topic is hefty enough to support an entire botanical library. Further, if
you're looking for a book full of recipes for cocktails, syrups, infusions,
bitters, liqueurs, mixers, and other plant-based cocktail ingredients, you're
simply in the wrong place.
But if you're
curious about the plants you're drinking with each toast, I recommend The
Drunken Botanist, an delightfully informative and entertaining book about the
basic ingredients of beverage alcohol.
About the
author: : Michael Dietsch approaches life with a hefty dash of bitters. He lives with wife, son, and cats in
Brooklyn. You can reach him on twitter at @dietsch.
Flowers for Borders
"Flowers
for borders" is the concept behind ground-breaking research and has
revealed how gardeners can attract beneficial insects — ladybugs, lacewings,
ground beetles and other insects that feed on pests — simply by planting
certain flowers. We've been monitoring this research and compiling a list of
plants that are both highly ornamental and proven effective in attracting and
sheltering beneficials. Here's our exclusive special report on these beautiful
and valuable plants.
To get energy
to search for their prey, or to reproduce, many beneficial insects feed on
nectar (for carbohydrates) and pollen (for protein) from flowering plants.
Researchers are discovering that some flowers are much better sources of nectar
and pollen to sustain beneficial insects than others. Studies are also
revealing the best plants to grow for shelter to help good bugs thrive. And as
an added bonus, many of the nectar sipping/pest-eating insects that are
attracted to flower pollen will also pollinate your fruit and vegetable crops
and increase your yields.
Here are the top ten [plus one] ornamental plants we
recommend for Beneficial Borders. All are very easy to grow and ideal choices
even for new gardeners.
1. Bachelor's
Buttons or Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) This beautiful blue wildflower has
extrafloral nectaries, which means the plant's leaves release nectar even when
the flowers are not blooming. Research in Germany has found that bachelor
button nectar has a very high sugar content of 75 percent. This nectar is
highly attractive to flower flies, ladybugs, lacewings, and beneficial wasps.
Sow easy-to-grow bachelor's buttons seeds directly in the garden in fall or
early spring; plants usually reseed energetically.
2. Sweet
Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) This low-growing annual makes a lovely white,
highly fragrant edging for flower beds, or a fast-growing,
beneficial-attracting, weed-smothering ground-cover to interplant in vegetable
beds. Numerous studies have confirmed that sweet alyssum is highly attractive
to aphid-eating flower flies. You can start with seeds, or buy bedding plants
for earlier flowering.
3. Borage
(Borago officinalis) This annual herb has bright blue clusters of edible,
cucumber-flavored flowers. Studies in Switzerland have shown borage to be
exceptionally attractive to good bugs, with an average of over 100 beneficials
found in just 1 square yard of borage. In addition, common green lacewings have
a very strong preference to lay their eggs on borage. Look for borage on garden
center seed racks and mail order seed catalogs.
4. Cup Plant
(Silphium perfoliatum) This 6 to 8 foot tall native perennial has a unique
feature that makes it a star in Beneficial Borders. The leaves wrap all the way
around the stems, forming a deep cup that collects dew and rainwater.
Beneficial insects and small birds can easily use the leaves as landing pads,
and then drink from the cups. Cup plant is an outstanding ornamental, with
large attractive leaves and clusters of yellow flowers in mid to late summer
that are highly attractive to many insects. It's hardy to zone 4 or 3. To start
seeds, sow in fall, or store in damp sand in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 weeks
before planting in spring.
5. Anise
Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum or A. rugosa, aka Korean mint) Perennial,
summer-blooming anise hyssop has fuzzy purple or violet flower spikes on 2 to 3
foot high plants with licorice-scented leaves. The nectar-rich flowers are very
attractive to both butterflies and pest-eating beneficial insects. Anise hyssop
is hardy in zones 6-9; Korean mint in zones 5-8.
6. Golden
Marguerite (Anthemis tinctoria) This long-blooming perennial produces bright
yellow 2 inch daisies that are highly attractive to five key kinds of
beneficials—ladybugs, lacewings, flower flies, tachinid flies and mini-wasps.
It was the only plant out of 170 species to score this well in a 3-year study
at botanical gardens in Colorado and Wyoming. Golden marguerite thrives in poor
soils, growing 2 to 3 feet high and wide. Deadhead (remove spent flowers) to
promote rebloom, and divide plants every 2 to 3 years. Hardy in zones 3 to 7.
7. Fennel
(Foeniculum vulgare) Long-lasting fennel flowers are extremely attractive to
all nectar-feeding beneficial insects, and the feathery green or purple foliage
looks wonderful in spring and early summer. Fennel is a host plant for the
caterpillars of the anise swallowtail butterfly. The seeds and leaves are also
eaten by humans, and are excellent in salads (leaves) or spaghetti sauce
(seeds). The plants grow about 5 feet high and are perennial in zones 6-9.
8. Mountain
Mints (Pycnanthemum virginianum and P. muticum) Both of these native mountain
mints (and many other members of the mint family) are excellent choices for
Beneficial Borders. Short-toothed mountain mint (P. muticum) has broad clusters
of small white flowers surrounded by unique, showy white bracts; it makes
beautiful dried flowers. Mountain mints grow 2 to 3 feet tall and are hardy
from zones 4 to 7. Not yet widely available, these plants can be ordered from
Sunnybrook Farms, 440-729- 7232.
9. Pussy
Willows (Salix species) Willows are especially valuable because they produce
pollen so early in the spring, when many beneficials are just emerging. Pussy
willows are super-easy to grow and fun to cut for flower arrangements. Most
garden centers will carry pussy willows in spring, or you can root cuttings
from a neighbors' shrub in water.
10. Ornamental
Grasses All clump-forming grasses provide excellent summer shelter and
overwintering sites for ground beetles, ladybugs and other beneficials. Studies
in England found more than 1,500 predators per square yard in grass-covered
"beetle banks" planted in arable fields.
[plus]
11. Corn Corn
tassels produce large amounts of pollen that is a nutritious protein source for
many beneficials. And while we usually don't think of corn as an ornamental, it's
actually very striking when planted in flower beds. Think of it as a very fast-
growing, tall ornamental grass. And if you want an extra bit of beauty, try the
'Japonica' corn which has green, white and pink variegated leaves.
