Natural Gardening

Red maple

2012-01-28T22:07:00.000-05:00

Acer rubrum (red maple) is a wonderful native tree in the Southeastern US (and the Northeast, too). Check out its range.

There are numerous cultivars, selected primarily for their fall leaf color. But equally interesting, although maybe not so remarkable, is the lovely winter color of recent growth. It can be reddish (that's what caught my eye), but also more towards yellow, too.

What are those reddish young trees along the edge of the highway, I asked my gardening companion? Maples, maybe, I thought? And, happily, he's done his research (see the book link on the sidebar), so he knew new growth on red maples was reddish in color, so my idea was confirmed. And as I look around where red maples have been planted, it's clear that new growth is definitely colorful!

And we're already seeing flowers of red maple on the ground both at home in the Piedmont and in the mountains. They're always among the first flowering trees in our native flora, and maybe a bit ahead this year, with a mild winter.

red maple flowers (from cas.vanderbilt.edu): click on image for link

Sugar snap peas and snow peas

2012-01-27T21:47:00.000-05:00

Even though we're in the final days of January, spring is around the corner. I'll be planting sugar snap and snow peas this weekend, hoping for a long cool spring, without too many damp (seed-rotting) days. I'll plant more later, too, buffering the odds of germination, emergence, and growth.

My garden blogging friend Randy planted his peas last Thursday, following the thickly planted strategy recommended by his spouse Meg. An excellent approach!

The most productive peas that I've ever seen (this were being commercially grown to be sure) were in the mountain highlands of Vietnam, in the area around Dalat.

This is an amazingly productive temperate vegetable growing area, with high tunnels and covered areas growing LOTS of vegetables for Asian markets and beyond. This was a post I made about this time two years ago about planting cool-season vegetables.

Snow peas ready to harvest in Dalat, Vietnam (2010)

Backyard (garden) birds

2012-01-26T20:53:00.000-05:00

Out in the Garden today with a group of volunteer education program guides, we heard some of our resident birds. It wasn't the focus of our program, to be sure, as it was an orientation series, but I noticed the uptick in calls, with another mild winter day.

Our resident Northern Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, and Tufted Titmice were actively calling, along with a flock of (seasonal) Cedar Waxwings foraging for fruits. We're hearing woodpeckers and our resident red-shouldered hawks, too, calling as they're foraging or hunting.

I received an excellent link to a Bald Eagle webcam today at Norfolk Botanical Garden (courtesy of a botanical sign company). Checking it out was amazing -- I guess with bald eagles that they reuse and repair their nest year after year, so the web cam works, but totally cool.

Here's the link to the Eagle cam info page. It takes awhile to load, after you click on the web cam link, but is well worth it!

Crocus and snowdrops

2012-01-24T20:31:00.000-05:00

The early spring crocuses in the shady bed outside the breakfast room are flowering now, and I spotted a early snowdrop in front of the house today. Spring is definitely early, and we had a lovely clear afternoon today that smelled of spring.

crocuses from a previous year

I weeded some winter annuals out of the vegetable beds, and put some pre-sprouted spinach seeds in a flat, too. I'm itching to sow cool-season greens, but I need to check soil temperatures before being too hasty.

My camera (an aging, but sturdy Nikon D100 with a nice lens) is languishing up in the mountains, so I don't have photos. I guess I could use our very nice small Panasonic camera that my gardening companion favors for travel photos, but I'm not that familiar with it. And I'd have to hunt around for the right download cord, etc. etc.

Robin flocks

2012-01-23T20:28:00.000-05:00

a robin eating fruit (from a royalty-free photo used in The Nature of Clemson)

It's been busy at the hollies over the last few days.

Large numbers of robins have (200+) been devouring the berries on the row of Ilex opaca cultivar hollies above the education building at the garden where I work. They visit the hollies, collect berries, then retreat nearby to eat them, then repeat.

This morning, in rain, before I began a program, the circuit from holly to perching trees nearby (in this case, large Cryptomeria and Southern Magnolia) was in full swing. Their continuous melodic murmurs were more than evident outside, but at a lower level from inside the building.

The year-round vegetable gardening class participants were fascinated, and we peered outside for a bit before we started the class. By the end of the morning, the flock had moved to the lower row of hollies (also Ilex opaca cultivars) below the nature center (the lower level of the building), presumably finished with the upper row after 4 days of feasting.

Categories, labels, and indices

2012-01-22T21:48:00.000-05:00

I've admired the nice category listings on other blogs. What a good thing to do, I thought. Not all of my posts are profound, but some are worth reading again. I enjoy doing that, and maybe others would, too, I'm thinking. Hmm.

Investigating, I discovered that Google's labels (on their blogger platform) can serve as surrogate categories (that makes sense). But then I realized that my labels (over years of blogging and a LOT of posts) created a list (triple-columned) totaling over 14 pages. Hrrhmp.

That means I need to go through all of those labels and consolidate them into reasonable categories and revise the post labels, before being able to put up an nicely organized category sidebar. Yikes!

But maybe that won't be so hard.

About half of my posts are about wildlife gardening and natural history observations, with the other half about growing vegetables, and all of them are about natural gardening. (We just say no to pesticides in our gardens and inside the house, with a brief acceptance for glyphosate for controlling bermuda grass and poison ivy.)

Rain

2012-01-21T22:15:00.001-05:00

The soil is soggy from lots of rain over the last couple of days. (Alas, it was not a outdoor gardening day today, but I finished ordering warm-season seeds. Gardening is an optimistic hobby, even as I contemplate the (hungry) woodchucks and deer that could chew things down in a flash.)

It's been a warm rain, with thunder and lightning, most unusual for for winter.

It's needed though, and although we've had fairly normal levels of rainfall recently, groundwater and reservoir levels are still low.

Signs of spring

2012-01-19T21:40:00.002-05:00

This shouldn't be a topic for reflection in mid-January, but we're definitely seeing signs of (premature) spring in the Piedmont.

All of the Asian species that normally flower in winter are in full swing and the early-spring flowering shrubs and trees (Japanese apricot, Prunus mume, for example) are also in full flower, almost a month ahead of 'normal.'

More interestingly, native birds are following the cues, and behaving more like it's February rather than January. Vocalization, flocking behavior, courtship, and probably all sorts of things that I haven't noticed seem much more evident than usual in January. The last two winters were quite severe for the SE and spring came late, providing a (maybe significant) contrast.

A radio show colleague remarked that the Farmer's Almanac predicts a cold February.

National Weather Service Climate Predication Center map

I haven't looked at that (nor do I know how the Almanac comes up with their predictions), but we'll see.

I like to periodically look at the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center's outlook maps for drought. I think that their temperature outlook might be interesting as well. Hmm, they're suggesting above normal temperatures for February (check out the graphic above).

Growing vegetables year-round

2012-01-18T22:14:00.000-05:00

Vegetables are on my mind. It's seed catalog time, of course, and I'm trying to make sure I have enough (ha!) to give away for direct sowing and transplants of the right sort, as well as for my own gardens.

But, it's interesting as I update my 3-class program about year-round vegetable gardening that I'm coming up with information about folks that are doing this in much more extreme climates.

It shouldn't be surprising -- one of my heroes is Elliot Coleman of Four-Season Harvest (and other books); he and his spouse Barbara Damrosch run a market garden (Four-Season Farm) in coastal Maine.

But it's remarkable about how many people have been extending the seasons in various ways for decades (centuries if you count Parisian market gardeners) and probably longer if I had time to learn about Roman vegetable growing practices.

Cold frames at West Dean, UK

It's fascinating to learn about the different levels of frost and freeze (important for overwintering vegetables, to be sure) and what levels of protection might be required.

Keeping organic matter out of landfills

2012-01-17T22:19:00.000-05:00

This seems like a no-brainer, but lots of folks must still be putting organic matter in the trash, based on a discussion at a meeting today.

It's easy to compost. Just dig it in under shrubs, trees, and edges, if you don't have a compost pile. My mom, from her hillside house (in a wooded neighborhood) in Austin, Texas, liked to throw her compostable materials (banana peels, apple cores, etc.) into the woods below her deck. They decomposed quickly, and didn't ever look unsightly, as I recall.

It's not hard to compost vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, leftover bread, shredded paper, paperboard in a simple compost pile or bin, either, if you have the space - apartment dwellers have options with worm bins and other kinds of indoor composting systems.

my gardening companion with a large pile of fresh mulch (wood chips)

Not to mention leaves, yard 'waste' and other forms of biodegradable woodies. We have leaf pick-up in our neighborhood via a vacuum truck (although, we NEVER let leaves leave our landscapes), so if we need more, we have them delivered.

bags of leaves snagged in our neighborhood in the mountains

And, in the mountains, where leaf pickup has (probably briefly) transitioned to bagging, we can pick up lots more.

Seasonal rhythms

2012-01-16T20:35:00.002-05:00

It's been cold the last few days, but we're headed back to milder temperatures by the end of the week. It's been an oddly punctuated winter so far, basically mild, with short snaps of cold.

It's been interesting to see early flowers of Japanese apricot, the odd daffodil, and quince -- then the swelling buds of various species in the warm spells.

Then, zap, the temperatures were back to the low 20's (°F), so even the kale froze solidly last weekend and didn't appear to recover in the unprotected mountain beds.

The kale and mustards (under plastic cover over bamboo hoops) in the Piedmont were fine. And the small spinach and lettuce plants in my improvised window box cold frames were doing well, too.

The robins are flocking, too, massing together on lawns and finishing up berries on dogwoods, hollies, and other fruit-producing trees and shrubs. A resident red-bellied woodpecker is taking breaks from poking around the wild cherry bark to snag a few black oil sunflower seeds under the platform feeder, too.

And I have a dining room table covered with seed packets to catalog, before buying the final warm season packets. Here's a photo from a number of years ago. Same idea!

And the post I made then, in August, 2008. It's fun to read it again. Some things stay the same.

Gardening creativity

2012-01-15T21:14:00.001-05:00

I went to an Artist's Way meet-up gathering this evening for past and prospective participants; it was a 12-week program that I did summer before last. It was a great experience. Yes, I'd still like to do watercolors, draw more, and use pastels (and still plan to do that), but I hadn't given enough credit to what writing, teaching, and creating gardens meant as a creative endeavor. That's what going through the program helped me realize.

Gardening is essentially creative. We create spaces and add plants in ways that please us. We combine textures, and colors, and shapes. We work with a changing medium.

What fun!

Front meadow in summer

Winter birds

2012-01-14T22:01:00.000-05:00

The birdfeeders are active this time of year.

Our platform feeder in the mountains is a perfect example of 'pecking order' in action, with rounds of our common feeder birds: Northern Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, and White-breasted Nuthatch. Adding to the usual mix, we have Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, American Goldfinches, and House Finches.

In the last few days, a male Red-bellied Woodpecker has been hanging out on the black cherry below the feeder, and periodically investigates the feeder. And I saw a Downy Woodpecker on a nearby oak this afternoon.

A flock of crows was mobbing a hawk above the ravine at lunchtime (probably a red-shouldered, by the call). It was definitely a ruckus in the neighborhood, first the hawk's continuous calling, then the crow flock's squawking response. This went on for some time.

Amazingly, in spite of the cold overnight temperatures, we were able to eat lunch on the (covered) deck at ~50°F, quite comfortably.

Brrr...

2012-01-13T22:13:00.001-05:00

Our mild winter (so far) has been punctuated with what we called in Texas (where I grew up) 'blue northers.'

We don't use that term in the Southeastern U.S. where I live now -- 'cold fronts' is about as colorful as it gets.

But basically it means the same thing, a wave of much colder air bringing much lower temperatures. Tonight, in the mountains, it may reach 19°F. Chilly, especially if there's wind, as we usually have.

My cold season veggies look forlorn, even those under cover of minimal plastic, and glass. But there are birds to watch and tomatoes and peppers to order, so all is fine!

Heirloom and hybrid seeds

2012-01-12T21:19:00.000-05:00

Vegetable seeds are on my mind, and I'm planning to do an assessment this evening of what I have (BEFORE I order any more seeds). Hmm.

a VERY small sub-selection of seeds

But don't I need to order some disease resistant tomatoes, I think. We need some productive transplants for Garden Fest (and for our Master Gardener's Plant-A-Row for the Hungry garden). Those are normally hybrids, right? The Totally Tomatoes catalog and the Tomato Grower's catalog beckon. Hmm.

Generally, with tomatoes, which are susceptible to all sorts of diseases, I've found F1 hybrids to be more productive, but last year, my Cherokee Purple tomatoes in the mountains produced a pretty good crop and certainly were tasty. But I also grew a very productive heirloom in Clemson that was not particularly tasty (a paste tomato).

I'm musing about the benefits of open-pollinated seeds, heirlooms, and hybrids, having just finished The Heirloom Life Gardener (a nice book written by the founders of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds), mentioned in yesterday's post.

They're solidly in the all-heirloom camp, and I applaud their success, but having grown many hybrids myself, I certainly witness the perspective that hybrid vigor makes them more productive than heirlooms under a number of circumstances. (Check out this article in the NY Times for some interesting points).

I'm certainly aware and sympathetic to the viewpoint that in rural cultures throughout the world that seed saving is vital to survival, so open-pollinated varieties (OP) are essential. Large companies buying up smaller seed companies to 'monopolize' the seed trade is a worry-making reality.

I love the romance of seed varieties from all over the world, and that's part of the fun for me. I want to grow red turnips from Japan, Asian eggplant varieties, Italian paste tomatoes from the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius, storage beets from Germany, French filet beans, as well as cool new selections of mache (from Holland) or hybrid heat-tolerant kale from Japan.

And who knows what might turn up in the local tailgate and farmer's markets this summer?

Seed companies, seed catalogs, and seeds

2012-01-11T20:53:00.001-05:00

I hardly need to buy more seeds as I have LOTS already, but succumbed to ordering more from two favorite seed companies (Sow True Seeds and Renee's Garden), justifying this with the idea:

that I'm teaching vegetable gardening classes and doing presentations to garden clubs (where I share seeds)! We can plant them in the two vegetable gardens at the botanical garden where I work! I can share them with the Master Gardeners who are doing a Plant-a-row for the Hungry garden! I need more warm-season vegetable seeds to donate to grow transplants for the April plant sale! My friend and colleague has a school garden -- spring greens for the kids! etc. etc. I have two vegetable gardens of my own, too. Anyway, you get the idea. Uh, I need to actually assess what I have before ordering more, but... happily seeds are an inexpensive hobby.

seed packages at RHS Wisley (now I have a permit to bring seeds back!)

Hmm. I think I need to organize a seed swap -- now that'd be fun.

And then I started looking at the Comstock Seed catalog, a venerable (200+ year old) seed company purchased a couple of years ago by Jere and Emilee Gettle of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (their book, The Heirloom Life Gardener, is lovely). I was a pleased recipient of a review copy, offered to Garden Writers Association members.

Yikes, I may need to order some interesting heirlooms from Comstock, too.

Woo-hoo!

Meyer lemons

2012-01-10T19:37:00.005-05:00

I love the process of growing and harvesting vegetables, but equally enjoy cooking and eating them. Delicious.

Growing fruit is a bit more problematic, often requiring more 'management' - organic or not- than I like to do.

And my youthful enthusiasm for harvesting blackberries, blueberries, apricots, concord grapes, and strawberries, and making jam has long since disappeared. It's nice, certainly, but jam-making is hot work, and the product not necessarily so healthful in any quantity (although I made some nice low-sugar peach preserves last summer).

But my small Meyer lemon harvest (thanks to my friend CEN for the gift of the tree), yum. They've finally become fragrant, so I harvested four lemons a couple of days ago.

Yesterday, with one of the fruits, I made a delicious lemon pasta with the zest and juice and today, it was lemon-cilantro sauced chicken. I'd never cooked anything savory with lemons before, so I had to do some research to come up with the recipes.

The lemons (so far) have been lovely, juicy with just one or two seeds, and with nice thin skins that yield a delightful zest. And I know they're organic, because I've been tending them! Last year, I'd obviously harvested the lemons too early, as they're now fragrant and a lovely yellow when fully ripe.

Last weekend, I gave the entire tree a good washing with insecticidal soap (to treat spider mites) and pruned off the kaffir lime shoots (as recommended by some knowledgeable-sounding citrus sites). I'm inspired to be an even better steward of my delightful small lemon tree!

Planting potatoes in winter

2012-01-08T20:53:00.002-05:00

Cleaning up, at the bottom of the pantry, I discovered egg cartons filled with small potatoes that, too small to eat at harvest, I tucked away, but now they're happily sprouting away.

I'd planned to try to use them as 'seed potatoes' anyway, thinking that they'd be in the dark, etc.

sprouting potatoes

Yikes, I thought, even though the weather's mild, it's way too early even in the South to put out potatoes, although there are alternative folks who start them in the fall, based on my internet searches.

But something else I found was this informative post by Barbara Pleasant, an excellent and knowledgeable garden writer and vegetable gardener.

What she suggests is what I'll be doing tomorrow with my sprouted potatoes, as soon as I can mix up some potting mix with the coir bricks that I've still got in my garden shed.

I'll be tucking them into double paper lunch sacks filled with potting mix and keep them inside until I plant them outside, probably in early March.

A mild winter

2012-01-06T21:47:00.001-05:00

We had a couple of nights in the teens early in the week, but temperatures rapidly climbed back into the upper 50°F's by the end of the week. It was downright balmy on a late afternoon excursion to nearby downtown Greenville (SC).

Of course, we may have hard freezes to come, but the warmer winter has encouraged the Prunus mume (Japanese apricot) and flowering quince to open flowers already, a good month in advance of when I'd expect them.

And normally in February, we sporadically start having the warm days like we had today.

But although it's unusually warm, I'm just as glad not to have the abnormally cold winters of the last two years, when we had much more snow and ice and cold weather than we normally see in the southern mountains and piedmont.

Turnips and turnip greens

2012-01-05T21:32:00.000-05:00

I'd never eaten a turnip or turnip greens before moving to the Southeast almost three decades ago (growing up in Texas didn't put us in the turnip green belt).

But then, my parents were from California and weren't gardeners, and it was a era that vegetables weren't exactly front row and center.

But I discovered kale, mustard, and turnip greens living in Southeast Georgia, and have been a fan ever since.

I've grown lots of kale, collard, and mustards, but haven't grown turnips, but my colleague sowed some Purple Top seed late last summer in the kitchen garden next to the visitor center (at the botanical garden where I work).

We've harvested quite a few of the greens to contribute to our local food bank, including many of the turnips, which had sized up nicely last fall.

But, a number were left in the ground (supposedly, turnips 'sweeten' with frost), and this was the largest of the bunch, harvested this afternoon.

Turnip on grocery bag

Yikes, this turnip is on a LARGE grocery paper bag (not a lunch bag). It was big.

An extra-large turnip

But amazingly, it wasn't woody, and roasted, it was quite tasty. Summer turnips are often fibrous and bitter, but not this one, and its greens were edible, too. We may be able to harvest the rest for the food bank, after all!

Four-season vegetable gardening

2012-01-03T20:46:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking again (post-cold snap) that those of us in long winter day climates just need to add more winter protection to easily bring more greens through the winter than we normally can.

There are already lots of hardy greens that we can grow (if temperatures don't get below 20°F for too long), but with a bit of protection (cold frames, mini-hoophouses, etc.), we can extend our vegetable-growing seasons throughout the winter.

I harvested some last large leeks yesterday (delicious roasted), and hope my small leek seedlings (transplanted to beds in late fall) back home in the Piedmont are doing well, in spite of the cold snap.

It's been a mild winter so far, and temperatures will moderate again by the end of week. Time to sow more experimental winter varieties of lettuce and greens in our unheated hoophouse, at the botanical garden where I work!

More winter sunsets

2012-01-01T20:44:00.002-05:00

I spent some time today gardening, harvesting greens and pea shoots (in front of a low 20°F forecast) and tidying up the mulch edges on the paths and in front of our house in the mountains. I've put thin plastic over rivercane hoops over some of the greens, but that's more of an experiment than real protection.

There were wonderful views along the French Broad River on an after-lunch walk, and the lichen-covered trees were luminous in the mid-afternoon light.

But, what I saw through the small front window and was able to (sort of) catch in the camera in the late afternoon today was more brilliant sunset color.

The clear winter air, combined with cloud streaks made for another magical sunset.

Winter sunset

2011-12-29T21:11:00.000-05:00

winter sunset view (from the deck)

Winter is not such an active gardening time (at least for me, at this point). I did sow some lettuce and kale seeds under the mini-hoop house and my rigged-up glass house yesterday, though, as an experiment.

My gardening companion energetically cleaned up ivy along the lower slope of the ravine this morning, hauled off accumulated trash (this was below our neighbor's yard), and spread more leaves. He and Woody clambered up and down the slopes, getting plenty of exercise in the process.

But that sort of 'gardening' is a bit too hard on my hands to make it worth joining in, although the up and down exercise is welcome.

Tim's made tremendous progress in reclaiming the ravine from invasives and adding all sorts of appropriate native trees and shrubs. It's really quite amazing. We have two lovely large oaks (seen above at sunset) that set the tone, with lots of other interesting trees, too. It's a good thing to be nudging the ravine back to a native hardwood forest.

Another window cold frame

2011-12-26T20:15:00.003-05:00

It's been mild enough this winter not to need extra protection for most hardy greens (I collected arugula, mustards, and a lovely large leek this evening for part of dinner).

So I haven't thrown the plastic over the bamboo hoops that are set up, but I did set up another window cold frame, to sow lettuces and spinach in (as soon as I manage to get some seeds up here in the mountains! I knew I should have put in my winter seed basket for sowing, as well as cataloging purposes).

I haven't managed to get by and take photos of my gardening friend's much more elegant versions, but they're in my mind. My first attempt on window cold frames will be updated when I'm back home in the Piedmont.

I've opted for a low tech (tacks and jute twine) method for attaching the windows together (so they're easy to take down and move or store). I wish I'd been able to find smaller windows for the ends, but the solid panels (with openings) are OK for temps down into the 20°s, I think.

And I'll be sowing seeds this week, too, as soon as I can get back over to Sow True seeds.

simple window cold frame

Happy holidays

2011-12-24T21:00:00.002-05:00

We've traveled for many years over the holidays - this means Christmas and New Years in the western world, however they're observed. We're not religious, but respectful of those traditions, and celebrate the places that we've been on Christmas Eve and Christmas over the last decades or so, and are glad to remember Christmas present, too.

The last two years, we've been home in the mountains. Last year, our old boy, Mocha, had a great time in the snow.

I thought he was still hale and hearty, but my gardening companion seemed to think ( and knew) that it might be his last winter, so we stayed home with him. So we had fun, and he enjoyed the heck out of the snow in Asheville and up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. But we lost him last March after a sudden, odd illness.

Woody in stream

Our new boy, Woody, is a lovely fellow. He had a great day today (being admired) at the Grove Park Inn and the Biltmore Estate.

Rescued from less than optimal circumstance, he's a people's dog: everyone wants to pet him and enjoy him, and it's a gift we're glad to share. But he's also a rescue boy, and worried to be away from us, so we've stayed home with him this winter, too. We didn't want to leave him with our nice kennel folks for the month or so that we'd normally be away.

And it's lovely mild weather this Christmas-time, unlike last year. So walking (of course, with Woody) is quite nice.

Smothering English ivy

2011-12-21T20:44:00.003-05:00

English ivy is a thug, basically. It starts out as a hardy groundcover, low-maintenance, and evergreen. But then it starts creeping up trees, becomes reproductive, and bam!

I remember English ivy from my graduate school days in the SF Bay Area (where it was rampant on campus). As a traveler, I've seen it in its 'native' habitat in Tuscany (also looking quite weedy, probably after centuries of disturbance), climbing up every tree in the woodlands that we were driving by.

In the Eastern U.S, it's a total pest (and has been designated as such, officially, in the Pacific NW states of Washington and Oregon).

Hand-pulling is effective, but requires labor and time. Herbicide-spraying (if you're willing to go that route) requires extra (commercial-grade) surfactants added to the herbicide, to overcome the waxy cuticle on the leaves.

But smothering with cardboard, mulch, and leaves is a longer-term solution, too.

ready to smother ivy

ready for leaves

My gardening companion, on a mission to recover the ravine forest below our mountain house, spent some time 'smothering' ivy and pulling it up, too, over the last couple of days.

Final result: leaves over cardboard

Support regional seed companies

2011-12-20T20:13:00.001-05:00

I've had fun learning about vegetable seeds, heirloom varieties, and their sources over the last 20 or so years that I've been a keen vegetable gardener. My initial forays into tasty vegetables were supported by specialty catalogs, now morphed into LOTS of catalogs, both mainstream and specialty, some more interesting and useful than others.

I was delighted to discover a locally-based seed company (Sow True) a couple of years ago that distributed a variety of open-pollinated vegetables through local nurseries and markets in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

I've been interested in the history of growing vegetables, heirloom varieties, and the practices of growing vegetables for the home garden for a long time (even before I started growing my one. My parents were of the generation enamoured of frozen vegetables and 'convenience' foods, marketed to as time-saving and modern, so my family didn't grow vegetables, needless to say.

My mom, growing up with the hardscrabble farm gardens of my grandma in Northern California, was way too familiar with the hard work involved with growing and harvesting for winter-time storage to find it appealing. But I thought my grandma's gardens and berry patches were magical, and loved to look at the canned vegetables and fruits in the pantry of her final house.

seeds ready for packaging

I was delighted to be able to visit the warehouse and retail office of Sow True this afternoon, and talk with co-owner Peter Waskiewicz and marketing and communications director Cathryn Davis Zommer.

The operation is efficient, and interesting in that people-time is the key for processing their seed.

seeds soaking prior to germination testing

Using community seed swap allocations helps them package both locally-grown and regionally-grown seed, along with seed from national OP producers with a minimal investment expense in equipment. And, I was impressed by the seed storage area (kept at 50°F for optimal seed longevity) and the tidy seed packing area.

But the bottom line is that I've enjoyed growing their seeds (and eating the results) and fully support their commitment to regionally-produced seeds. And now that I know that they have an easy-to-order website and a retail store in Asheville, I know where to get seeds all year round, not just when they're available on display at local nurseries and groceries. Woo-hoo! I just wish I'd snagged some spinach and 'Winter Density' lettuce while I was there. But I now know where to get more....

Why not check if there are regional seed producers nearby? Many have been bought up in recent decades by the big players (think agribusiness), but there's been a resurgence in 'start-up' seed companies like Sow True nationwide as well.

Winter view

2011-12-18T17:38:00.003-05:00

I love the silhouette of this tree -- a open-grown oak below the Asheville Visitor's Center.

With the Blue Ridge mountains in the distance, its canopy is magical.

Oak on a winter day

Southern Hawthorn (Crataegus viridus 'Winter King')

2011-12-17T20:30:00.001-05:00

Seeing some wonderful small trees laden with deep-red fruits in a parking lot planting had me returning for a photo today. These trees were part of an exceptionally well-done planting outside an upscale grocery. Admirable!

What had me puzzled initially is what the heck these trees were, and why aren't they planted everywhere? They're that striking.

They turned out to be most likely our native Southern or Green hawthorn, Crataegus viridis, and probably the cultivar 'Winter King' based on the size of the fruits. I have no idea why they're not more widely planted -- there must be 20 included in this parking lot planting, and they're amazing right now.

I've seen one or two planted elsewhere here in the mountains, but obviously not often enough to be reminded of them. They're apparently not heat-tolerant (zone 4- zone 7a), so Piedmont 7b must be too hot (either during the day or at night).

Parking lot planting of Crataegus viridus 'Winter King'

Crataegus viridus 'Winter King'

This is a nice account of the virtues of Crataegus viridis 'Winter King'.

Deer in town?

2011-12-15T20:07:00.003-05:00

We're squarely in the middle of our small college town, not out in the suburban and exurban habitats that white-tailed deer have populated in recent decades.

(And, through overpopulation, they've become downright pests, too, through much of the Eastern U.S).

deer grazing near the garden shed

But it's hunting season, and maybe these does were taking refuge. They enjoyed munching on winter annuals (chickweed and henbit), investigated my containers, checked out the main vegetable garden (largely empty this time of year, except for sorrel and leeks), and then were away.

Window box cold frame

2011-12-14T21:20:00.000-05:00

a window-based cold frame

My results (on my first attempt) weren't pretty like my gardening friend's, but serviceable.

But I didn't need power tools.

I used nails and twine to secure the sides (so I can take it apart to store), and the top lies securely on the sides.

If I can find two taller end pieces (or the right-sized windows), it would look much nicer, but it seems functional.

windows and a electric screwdriver (not needed)

another low tech bamboo hoop house with plastic

components

I sowed some spinach and arugula seeds, and transplanted some lettuce. We'll see.

I'm hoping that my second box (in a bed in the mountains) will look nicer, but that depends on matching the windows with the ends!

Surprisingly warm weather

2011-12-13T21:03:00.002-05:00

It was downright balmy today, with the high about 60°F. Remarkable for mid-December, but not unheard of.

The last two winters have been unusually cold and snowy; maybe this winter will be milder than usual. Weather extremes seem to be the pattern that climate change is bringing, but gardeners are used to extremes, if we're just sensible.

What we plant needs to make sense, for our climate and weather patterns, whatever they may be.

I met with a fellow today from central Texas (my hometown is Austin). They've had horrendous drought and heat over the last couple of seasons. There's no point in planting hydrangeas or hostas there, to be sure, nor was there ever a reason to do so.

I was looking through a waterwise gardening book by Scott Ogden and Lauren Springer Ogden this afternoon, and was reminded of all the great Texas and Southwestern plants that thrive in drought-conditions. Whether most will survive in our droughty Southeastern climate depends on their tolerance for wet soil over winter (in mostly clay, amended subsoil gardening conditions).

Window cold frames

2011-12-12T19:57:00.003-05:00

A gardening friend of mine made some wonderful cold frames from old wooden windows.

They looked like jeweled terrariums, with paned windows providing four sides and a top. I didn't have my camera at the gathering where I saw them a couple of weeks ago (photos to come), but they were totally inspiring, and were filled with spinach and cilantro.

I've been on a window search since.

After unfruitful excursions to a couple of Habitat 'Restores' in Seneca, SC and Asheville, NC and several antique stores, I finally found some matching windows (double-paned) at a Habitat store in Anderson, SC.

Along with 4 end walls of the same height, I scored 6 windows, to make 2 window box cold frames. Only $24 for all of them, too. Woo, hoo!

My (electric) screwdriver is charging now. I'm hardly apt at anything like this, but my gardening friend's setup made it look possible, even with my minimal skills.

All I need is some braces to fasten the windows together, and then hinges for the lid. With a drill and a screwdriver (my only power tools), I should be good to go.

A warm fall

2011-12-07T20:42:00.001-05:00

Now in early December, the shortest day of the year is just a couple of weeks away. Our shortest day still has almost 10 hrs of daylight (we're under 10 hours for just a couple of weeks), so it's not that dark.

But what's been remarkable this fall is how mild it's been. We've had a few light frosts, a couple of heavy frosts, but not a killing freeze even yet. This mild fall has been experienced throughout the Eastern U.S., even as the midwest has had early cold, and in some cases, unusual snows.

Today, balmy humid air was pushed out by a cold front (with accompanying rain). We're approaching normal rainfall for the year, but it's been unevenly distributed, so we've had much longer periods without rain (August and September) than normal, with warmer temperatures, too.

It makes me wonder about the conventional rubric of the 'first frost date' as a date on the gardening calendar -- it's all about how cold, how sustained, and what soil temperatures are, not just about being 32°F as an air temperature.

Trees planted (with volunteer help)

2011-12-06T21:20:00.001-05:00

Planting day for the Clemson Child Development Center was last Saturday.

Here were just a few images from that day. (I was busy planting and organizing and didn't have a lot of free photo time!). The good news was that we had very nice large trees; the challenge was that we needed equipment to plant them. Thanks to a delightful volunteer from the Clemson United Methodist Church, we had that equipment, and he knew how to use it.

Holes ready for trees

The first tree to be planted

Teamwork made the difference

One of the planted areas

It was a totally rewarding experience. And we'll be mulching the planted beds in the weeks to come, and I'm looking forward to seeing how these trees do! It's hard to transplant larger trees, but they make a instant difference in the landscape.

Tree planting

2011-12-01T21:17:00.001-05:00

Clemson horticulturist Tim Johnson 'augering' a planting site

I became involved in a tree planting project somewhat by accident, but it's turned out to be quite rewarding. I was asked by a friend (who shares local food interests) if I could suggest some shade trees for the Clemson Child Development Center (which shares a building with the Clemson ARTS Center, and the Clemson African-American Museum). Sure, I said.

The building ( I think) was the former black elementary school many years ago, re-purposed later for K-1 (?) as the Morrison Annex (to Morrison Elementary School), now replaced by Clemson Elementary School. In any case, the building has been there for a long time.

Perimeter trees were planted at the time it was last renovated, but there were still no trees surrounding the playgrounds for the CCDC.

I sketched out some ideas, money for trees was raised, and somehow, we're going to plant 6 oaks, 5 dogwoods, 5 oakleaf hydrangeas, and 5 blueberries on Saturday and creating mulched beds around them. Woo-hoo! Somehow, I think, the spark was provided to make this happen. Synergy.

I ended up spending a lot more time that I'd imagined talking with folks, arranging trees and the augering of holes (thanks to the City of Clemson's horticulturist), suggesting mulch, etc.-- all relatively easy, really.

Augered holes for an oak, a couple of dogwoods, and two oakleaf hydrangeas

It's definitely reminded me how simple actions can make a difference.

Meyer lemons

2011-11-29T20:56:00.001-05:00

I was the pleased recipient of a Meyer lemon tree (in a container) when my friend CEN moved north.

4 Meyer lemons

I'm not sure it's flourished exactly, but it's done fine outdoors in the last two summers, with a bit of fertilizing and pruning out offshoots of the kaffir lime rootstock (I need to do this again). And, it's spent indoors in the winter, with sun exposure through a sunny southern window. (I need to get a decent photo during the day).

It's produced 5 lemons this year, 4 of which have turned a lovely shade of yellow already. Woo-hoo! The fifth is still green, but I'll see what it does.

They're not yet fragrant, but I'll wait a bit more before using them in something special. (This account details some good suggestions).

This post (note the arrow) shows the lemon in May 2010 - it produced four lemons last year.

Woody

2011-11-27T20:42:00.001-05:00

Woody watching a red squirrel

Our young Golden is a master at spotting and stalking squirrels (not that he'd ever catch one).

Woody taking a rest, but still alert

The red squirrels ('boomers' for their warning calls) fascinated him. He peered at them for quite awhile.

Woody and me on the trail

Delightful to have him be so exuberant and confident on this trail, as it was his first real hike (he was tentative then, as a rescue fellow without experience of trails and the natural world).

Hike at Craggy Gardens

2011-11-25T21:57:00.001-05:00

Woody waiting

Woody on the trail

We had a lovely hike at Craggy Gardens off the Blue Ridge Parkway this morning. It was a clear, still and warm day, most unusual for Craggy, which is more likely cool (or cold) and windy.

A follow-up excursion to Pinnacle Peak found folks hanging out enjoying the view in warm sunshine. Wow! Normally, they'd look at the 360° view (whatever they could see of it) and scurry back down. Today, it was wonderfully clear. And the air was still and warm. Perfect.


Seep with icicles

Leaves are gold

2011-11-24T20:13:00.001-05:00

You can never have too many leaves, I tell folks in classes. But our neighbors in the Piedmont and the Mountains keep putting them out.

Grab them. They're gold.

Collected leaves; there are more to collect!

A fall vegetable garden planting

2011-11-22T20:47:00.001-05:00

I didn't post about helping a group of students plant fall vegetables early this fall. It's just part of what I like to do.

They have a courtyard, with small planting spaces, with full sun only in mid-day. They're a great group - LIEF students, the acronym corresponding to something environmental.

So I was delighted to see a gallery of photos on their Facebook page. I probably wouldn't have noticed but my artist friend Ellen, founder of the Rensing Center, 'tagged' the gallery. Woo-hoo! Thanks, Ellen.

What a nice group of students, and I hope they've been eating their greens...

Old Southern apples

2011-11-20T20:07:00.001-05:00

Malus domestica

The Slow Food Clemson University group hosted a delightful heirloom apple celebration this afternoon, marking the planting of a collection of 5 varieties of South Carolina heirloom apples, among them, Red June, an Edisto Island selection (read coastal) that ripens early.

The whips came from Century Farm Orchards, a NC nursery focused on heirloom apples.

The event was at the Student Organic Farm, where 10 trees are planted. Ten more are slated for the upper part of the Heirloom Garden at the South Carolina Botanical Garden.

Apples are a venerable fruit, having traveled from their native western Asian homeland (where larger and tastier fruits were selected - through evolutionary time - by Asian black bears) along trade routes, and then taken with settlers throughout the Roman Empire and beyond.

Arriving in colonial America, apples were planted from seed, but around 1800, grafted varieties became much more popular.

It was fitting that the author of Old Southern Apples, Creighton Lee Calhoun, had selected the apples to plant, and was there this afternoon to provide his thoughts. He's one of the last descendants of the family that founded Clemson University through the gift of Fort Hill, a 19th century plantation, to the State of South Carolina.

The trees that were planted are semi-dwarf and will reach 15-18 feet tall.

In the Piedmont, larger trees fair better in our summer droughts, apparently, and will do better in the long term than the smaller dwarf varieties popular in backyard gardens.

Winter vegetable gardening

2011-11-18T22:00:00.001-05:00

I'm a bit behind (we had a medium hard frost overnight), but I'm ready to put plastic over bamboo and river cane supports to create low hoop tunnels.

Arundinaria gigantea is one of our native bamboos in the SE US, and its young canes make lovely supports, as they're flexible and an attractive purple green color.

river cane hoops ready for protection

But young canes of Asian bamboo (overly robust where planted around here), work well too.

When green, they're flexible, and have the advantage over PVC pipe of being sustainable (that is, biodegradable) and attractive.

Local food and growing lentils

2011-11-14T21:26:00.001-05:00

I was at an interesting food forum today, focused on discussion of promoting connections between growers and consumer, farm to table, etc. I was encouraged by the representation of interests of the folks that came, from SC Dept. of Agriculture to CU Extension to the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association to local producers, the Clemson Area Food Network, and the Upstate Locavores, among others.

I have only a slice of my professional hat in this, but a lot of what I'm interested in as a natural gardener (at least the food side) is involved in good food, preferably local (as from my own garden and kitchen).

And as a cook, eater of whole foods, keen vegetable gardener, and supporter of local food and local farmers, I'm interested in helping promote an interest in our local farmers and their products, and increasing awareness of how we could be growing a lot more food (diversity-wise) locally than we're currently doing.

So I was glad to be a part of this gathering.

A side conversation about growing beans (my artist friend Ellen grew some great-sounding Italian heirlooms that she'd brought back from Italy, she said) and lentils were brought up.

Lentils were hard to grow in our climate, I suggested, remembering looking this up after returning from India a few years ago, and wondering about growing them. Lentils were everywhere in their markets.

Here's a bit more about that, from NC State's ncherbs.org website, courtesy of Dr. Jeanine Davis and her Q & A page, http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/fletcher/programs/herbs/FAQ/index.html

Q RICHLEA LENTILS. I was approached about growingRichlea lentils. What are they and can I grow them in eastern North Carolina?I've never seen lentils growing around here. Do you know why?

A The Richlea is a very desirable lentil. It is amedium green lentil. I used to live in the heart of lentil and dry pea countryin the Palouse region of Washington State. I was surrounded by lentils!

Take a look at slides 1, 5, and 6 inthis little presentation to see where lentils, peas, and chickpeas are grown inthis country and what the terrain looks like: http://www.wishh.org/workshops/intl/kenya/mar09/ppt/stobbs_mar09.pdf.

Lentils are already big business inthese states: http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/DryBeans/PDFs/DPLOutlook.pdf. In other words, there is no shortage.

I think the main reason we do not have a lentil industry in the Southeast isbecause it is too hot, humid, and wet. Lentilsare adapted to cool, semi-arid areas of the world. High humidity and rainfallreduce yield and seed quality. Where I lived, we got about 12 inches of rain ayear, and that came in the winter. And there was no humidity. (Bold is mine, lkw).

Doesn't soundlike North Carolina, does it? Drought and high temperatures can also seriouslyreduce yields. The plants will not tolerate even short periods of flooded orwater logged soils.So, I'm sure that someone could grow some lentils here ifthey really wanted to. They would probably be successful some years, butprobably most years they would get low yields and poor quality. Here is some general lentilproduction information: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/lentil.html

Never too many leaves?

2011-11-13T20:56:00.001-05:00

We have an abundance of leaves already, but my gardening companion still is gleefully collecting nice large bags of dry oak, maple, and hickory leaves.

He's selective (no bags with excessive twigs, or trash, or yard debris), so we've got lots of treasure to distribute in our woodland forest (developing) and to compost (in the bags) to amend planting pockets for woodland herbs.

leafy treasure

A fall street planting

2011-11-12T18:04:00.001-05:00

Street planting in front of The Junction, River Arts District

This photo doesn't do justice to the striking combination of tans and browns in one of the most unusual and striking street plantings I've seen in a while. A bald cypress is the anchor, surrounded by clusters of an ornamental grass, with the dark contrast from the spent seed heads of Rudbeckias. It was amazing in the late afternoon light.

By the time I returned with my camera, the light was a bit dimmer, so the browns were less vibrant. We'd been poking around on the River Arts District Stroll, not something that I thought would be a photo op.

These are new street plantings in the River Arts District (Asheville, NC). A formerly industrial district, it's now a vibrant area of studios of working artists. I'm going to find out who's the designer. Asheville Green Works, a local non-profit devoted to greening the city is located across the street, so I imagine they're involved, but the design is definitely something out of the ordinary.

Street planting in front of the building housing Asheville Green Works and numerous studios

Fall to (almost) winter

2011-11-11T21:23:00.001-05:00

Coming up the Blue Ridge Escarpment, the glorious oranges and reds in the foothills dimmed to patchy spots of yellow and red (Southern sugar maple) and a few final scarlet oak leaves. It definitely felt like the transition from fall to winter, especially since a cold front was pushing through. Stopping to take a picture of Table Rock (still surrounded by brilliant fall color), there was a beginning of a chill in the air.

Behind our house in the mountains, the ravine forest is brightened by two large yellow sugar maples, and the final color from the young ones in the understory. The Japanese maple across the street is totally scarlet.

And it was below freezing overnight. The sugar snap peas that I harvested were delicious (but an errant woodchuck has eaten all of the cole transplants in our absence - broccoli, kale, and collards, along with most of the parsley, and some of the pea shoots). Hhrmph. At least s/he left us some mustards and mesclun mix, and, of course, didn't bother the leeks!

More fall color

2011-11-10T21:47:00.001-05:00

study window view

The views from my study window and out to the side garden were stunning this morning.

The dogwoods are deep red, the yellows of sassafras and ginkgo persist, etc.

side yard (garden) view

Fall color

2011-11-09T20:53:00.000-05:00

Fall color at the South Carolina Botanical Garden

It's been another glorious fall, in terms of color. The extended season, with cold snaps, then sunny warm days, has resulted in glorious reds, maroons, and oranges.

We haven't yet had a hard frost, so the leaves just keep hanging on!

Plant a Row for the Hungry

2011-11-08T20:48:00.000-05:00

Foothills MG vegetable garden

A devoted Master Gardeners of the Foothills group has been growing vegetables all summer and fall in the Heirloom Vegetable Garden site. It's resulted in well over 600 lbs. of produce to our local food banks.

In the spirit of the Garden Writer Association initiative, I've titled this Plant a Row for the Hungry -- they've been encouraging this for years. But lots of groups are doing this; we have a lot of open space in our cities and towns that could be used to grow food. Often, it's devoted to lawn.

But look at the fall plantings they've made. What a lovely, productive garden!

a mix of greens, broccoli, and a final few peppers

Atlanta Botanical Garden

2011-11-07T20:56:00.000-05:00

A delightful visit to the Atlanta Botanical Garden last weekend included giving an evening talk (my gardening companion) and doing a program about native plants and native woodland gardens on Saturday (both of us).

Happily, our visit included some wandering around the Garden and a behind the scenes visit to their outstanding conservatories and conservation greenhouse with Conservatory and Conservation Director Ron Determann.

And we had a chance to interact with a great group of participants as well as other staff.

ABG is a class act, and has been nicely redeveloped and recently expanded (in terms of access) to now include the Storza Woods (through the Canopy Walk).

This expansion has included a new visitor center and entrance, a parking deck that's a model of how to do one, and a multi-use education facility since we'd visited last.

I've been a member for years (I like to support nearby public gardens) and was glad to renew and upgrade our membership to a dual one on this visit.

If you're in Atlanta, take time to visit. It's a special place, part of Piedmont Park in mid-town Atlanta.

Fall color

2011-11-02T21:15:00.000-04:00

An email today describing a shaggy garden had me thinking today.

view towards front woodland

Hmm, our garden is a bit 'shaggy' too -- but maybe it's just a little bit 'wild' and not manicured...

fall chairs

Yes, it definitely needs editing, and cleaning up, after a summer season away, and not so much time yet this fall.

porch corner

But it's still pleasing, and this afternoon was glorious, with fall color and late afternoon light.

Cricket songs

2011-11-01T21:00:00.003-04:00

Crickets were singing as I went out to the grocery store this evening. I don't know what species they were, but they were noteworthy, as we've had frost on the ground the last few mornings.

I wondered if perhaps they'll be the last night singers of the season. The cold snap followed (and accompanied) the last of the monarchs and a final hummingbird on Oct. 24.

Fall color is lovely now in the Piedmont (in the Southern US). The clear yellows of the hickories, reds and oranges of the maples are evident, and the rich reds and tans of the oaks - not to mention the scarlet of sourwood and sumac!

Winter vegetable gardening

2011-10-30T21:31:00.000-04:00

I'm planning on winter greens this year. Yes, I've already planted kale and collards (as well as broccoli and brussel sprouts), but I'd like to try to carry over some less hardy winter greens (lettuce, spinach and mustards) with a bit of protection, especially in the piedmont, where woodchucks and squirrels like to be herbivorous.

In some years, winter vegetables are easier, but the last two winters have been unusually cold, apparently due to arctic air flowing south as the arctic regions themselves are warmer. Hmmm.

After trying to figure out how best to provide the small-scale protection needed (think low hoop tunnels, etc.) in the satellite garden, while still looking half-way decent and not requiring carpentry skills that I don't have, I realized that I can use my vinyl-coated tomato cages, fastened with 'earth staples' and covered with plastic to create nice rectangle-shaped protection. Aha!

satellite garden beds ready to plant/cold frame with greens and leek seedlings

The beds are ready now, after dispatching the (almost) last of the tomato vines, and I'm ready to plant tomorrow late afternoon!

Rain garden planting

2011-10-27T21:11:00.000-04:00

rainstorm prior to planting

We've got a small area of roof and a larger area of compacted lawn served by a created rain garden adjacent to our education building (at the South Carolina Botanical Garden).

Notice the stream of water entering off the pathway!

Our recent rain garden planting included a number of full-sun perennials that can tolerate periodic inundation, as well as droughty periods.

They're listed below, but my message, as the plant choice person, is that you need to know the conditions of your site, when choosing plants for a 'rain garden' which after all, is nothing more than a well-prepared perennial bed (and equivalent to a nice bit of natural vegetation/native plant community).

plants ready for planting

laid-out plants

Here's a look at what it looked like through the planting process.

after planting and before mulching

Plants used in the rain garden:

Iris virginica

Symphyotrichum novae-anglaie (Purple Dome)

Symphyotrichum oblongifolium ‘October Skies’

Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’

Vernonia noveboracensis

Muhlenbergiacapillaris Eupatorium dubium ‘Little Joe’

Chrysogonum virginianum

Vernonia lettermanii

Ruellia brittonia

And a bit more about the planning process was in http://naturalgardening.blogspot.com/2011/09/rain-gardens.html

Small meadows (or pocket meadows)

2011-10-26T20:50:00.001-04:00

When I started thinking about a small front planting as a pocket meadow, it seemed apt -- not a big meadow planting, but an informal small meadow -- a relaxed perennial border, really.

But one of my colleagues, an excellent horticulturist, at the botanical garden where I work, is planting pocket meadows, too.

She's planting them down the median strip in our Garden's entrance road (happily replacing a long row of Japanese Burning Bush). She's planting them along the Arboretum Road. And this one is at the fork in the road leading to the SCBG nursery area.

A mix of native perennials and grasses, this one is entrancing in early morning light.

Late October

2011-10-25T21:07:00.000-04:00

It's a funny time in the garden.

Cool nights and warm days (at least in the Southern U.S.) tempt us to try last plantings of mesclun mix and arugula, in open spots (without protection).

I sowed beets and spinach on Sunday. Hmm.... The calendar says we're nuts, but the weather is hopeful, and who knows -- maybe the first hard freeze won't be until mid-December.

But thinking about season extension and winter gardening in unheated hoop houses, well, I'm really feeling optimistic, if I can figure out an attractive, inexpensive, and easy way to create salad/greens gardens in our unheated teaching greenhouse. We had great success last year. (Currently I'm favoring willow plant boxes).

Uh, planting directly in bags of potting mix, although it works quite nicely, is not particularly attractive. Grow bags are too colorful, actually, and black plastic bags, yuck. Black plastic pots aren't too bad, but they're not actually that good-looking.

fall peas, monarchs, and a last hummingbird

2011-10-24T21:34:00.001-04:00

sugar snap peas

My sugar snap peas are in flower now, and I'm hoping for at least a small harvest. I was heartened to read that peas are hardy down to 20°F -- woo-hoo!

Even though we've flirted with frost in the mountains and the piedmont over the last weekend, I didn't see anything affected, even the eggplants in pots. The tomatillos had already succumbed to drought and lack of sunlight in the main vegetable garden, so they weren't much of a barometer.

And remarkably, we're still seeing monarchs flying southward, and (probably) a final hummingbird today (sighted in the butterfly garden where I work).

Garlic planted

2011-10-19T21:26:00.000-04:00

After an inch and a half of rain overnight and this morning, it turned clear and cool by late afternoon.

Fortunately I'd prepared beds for garlic some time ago, so they were perfect for tucking in cloves of Thai Purple, Susanville, and Leningrad (all adaptable strains that should be good for the Piedmont). They came from impressive heads, grown by Hood River Garlic Farms -- much bigger than my harvested heads from last season!

I've grown Inchelium Red and German Porcelain successfully in the past, too, along with other cultivars, but it's always fun to try something new. Thai Purple and Leningrad are stronger-flavored garlics, according to their labels.

It was a joy to tuck the cloves into still warm fluffy soil, nicely hydrated by the rain. I had prepared the beds, I think, after pulling out potatoes and onions in early and mid- summer and spent tomatoes in late August. Here was a post of similar ilk from last fall, preparing for spring planting (I still have woodchuck issues, so I'm not planting greens in the satellite garden!)

Native woodland garden plants

2011-10-17T18:10:00.000-04:00

A beautiful fall day was ideal for collecting a group of native azaleas and rhododendrons (Rhododendron bakeri, R. prunifolium, R. calendulaceum, and R. catawbiense), along with some marginal wood ferns, Christmas ferns, and wild ginger (both Hexastylis arifolia and Asarum canadense).

native woodland plants, ready for planting

A mountain dog hobble and an attractive club moss rounded out the cache, purchased from a small native plant nursery in Fairview, NC (Mountain Mist) specializing in native azaleas and ferns. It's largely a mail order operation, but we've bought plants directly by arrangement (such as today) and at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville's plant sales.

BBC Gardening Illustrated podcasts

2011-10-16T20:58:00.000-04:00

I'm a fan of BBC Gardening Illustrated's magazine, and their annual Vista series podcasts (and others in between) are fabulous, too.

The most recent featured a group of well-known garden designers/plants people talking about garden design, naturalistic gardening (as it's practiced in Europe - way ahead of what we're doing in North America), and the tension between adding plants as part of a design, knowing about their ecology and background, while faced with extreme weather fluctuations.

Great Britain has experienced unusually cold winters the last few years, with exceptional drought during summer. (Sounds familiar to me!)

The last podcast was a thought-provoking discussion (listened to as I pulled the last of the still-green tomato vines out of the lower beds in the mountains.) It's time for winter-hardy greens, and I moved around some collards, broccoli, and arugula, and wished I'd already sown some other greens, but the seeds are back down in the Piedmont.

Poison ivy

2011-10-15T23:41:00.000-04:00

What's that attractive yellow across the ravine, I ask of my gardening companion? His distance eyesight is much better than mine if I'm not wearing my glasses.

yellow leaves of poison ivy

He looks and says, poison ivy. Hmm. It has virtues in terms of fall color and wildlife, but as someone highly susceptible to its oils, I'm hopelessly paranoid about being exposed via any means.

But, the view is pretty nevertheless! As long as Woody doesn't rub against it, and pass it on to me

Supporting local farmers

2011-10-13T21:09:00.000-04:00

Our Upstate Locavores group had a potluck dinner this evening. Delicious food, as usual.

But a high point was a brief talk from a local farmer who raises grass-fed beef, free-range chickens, and free-range pork. (I was supposed to talk about 'Five-season vegetable gardening' after him.)

It was a compelling call to think about how we need to support small-scale agriculture, in a vast county like the U.S., and one that's been dominated by big agriculture for decades.

It requires visiting farmers' markets, local food networks, and small scale groceries or coops as alternatives to our regular grocery stores.

I grow a lot of vegetables, and more than we can eat frequently, so I try to freeze whatever we can't eat. (Nothing normally goes to waste in our household!)

But I'm not a purist, although I think I'm pretty well-informed, and I hate to admit that I've still been buying commercial chicken (even knowing about many of its unsavory production aspects). The cost point just seemed high. But, Bud, the local farmer who spoke, was eloquent about how he raised his meat animals and how the commercial chickens are bred so that they can't actually walk very well on their own, because of the overly large breasts and spindly legs. Yikes.

OK, I need to get my head around whether we still need to eat meat (maybe not), only eat organic meat (hmm, I'm not sure the supermarket organic chickens are raised so nicely, either), or do I just need to support local farmers for beef, chicken, pork, goat, farm-raised trout, etc., not to mention eggs from free-range chickens, too.

I'm frugal, and it's hard to pay three times the amount for a whole free-range chicken. But my locavore friends assure me that these chickens are so much more tasty than supermarket.

The experiment awaits. There's a 6 lb. frozen free-range chicken in the freezer.

Fall harvest

2011-10-09T21:33:00.002-04:00

Fall vegetable gardening is just as much about harvesting summer vegetables as it is harvesting cool-season greens. In the dance of pulling out spent tomatoes, there's a 'does this green tomato look like it will color up?' and the peppers are still coming in.

The last eggplants are ripening, as long as the weather remains warm.

afternoon harvest

But, there's also parsley to harvest, which will continue through winter.

And all the kale, lettuce, and mustards that I harvested yesterday; those plants will continue to grow!

Morning glories

2011-10-08T21:47:00.001-04:00

An arbor or trellis covered with morning glories is an impressive sight.

We've taken to planting them on the poles and wires in front and behind our mountain house, and cutting their bases just before they reach the transformer box. Not elegant, but we get to enjoy them for quite awhile. They mask the cable supports, too.

'Pocket' meadows

2011-10-07T21:47:00.003-04:00

I'm hosting a garden club gathering tomorrow and will be talking about pocket meadows.

'pocket' meadow view

I love the idea.

A perennial border without the fuss!

Three seasons of interest are part of the fun, and this one has, so far, been great.

A bit of necessary moving has occurred, as some plants became much bigger than expected, but that's normal.

What I appreciate is how nice it is to look at through the front door, and (from the other side) pulling into the driveway.

And probably more important is that it requires (so far) minimal maintenance (outside of editing back after the first hard frost).

'pocket meadow' close to sunset

My larger meadow, at home in the Piedmont, requires much more editing (eg. more work) that it doesn't always get. It's been nagging at me to get going, actually, but a large garden always has elements to attend to!

Planted, perennial onions and shallots

2011-10-05T20:24:00.000-04:00

As the light was fading this evening, I managed to get the potato onions and red shallots in their prepared beds. Although the weather has been glorious, I've been 'under the weather' the last few days, but thankfully I'm much better now!

Happily, I had prepared the beds in the satellite garden in late August (in terribly dry weather), getting them ready for woodchuck-proof plantings of regular onions, garlic, perennial leeks, shallots, and potato (multiplier) onions.

So it was easy to tuck the bulbs into the ground, in nice compost-enriched beds. I watered them in well, and hope my garlic from Hood River Farm comes soon!

Perennial onions and shallots

2011-10-04T22:41:00.001-04:00

I've grown bunching onions in the past, and tried potato onions and shallots, too. But there's just something appealing about perennial vegetables that we normally grow seasonally (think perennial leeks, garlic chives, Welsh onions, etc.)

So the arrival of another batch of potato onions and French 'perennial' shallots from Southern Exposure Seed exchange sent me searching again for information about perennial onions. This article in Mother Earth News is informative and these folks at Mulberry Woods Nursery obviously know what they're writing about, and visit their sister site, Heirloom Onions for more information.

Apparently shallots and 'potato' or multiplier onions are derived from the same species cultivar, Allium cepa var aggregatum, but differ in the size and growing habit of the bulbs.

I'm excited about trying multipliers and perennial shallots again. I obviously didn't realize how I was supposed to keep them going on my first try. That won't happen again.

yellow potato onions and French 'perennial' shallots

Fall weather

2011-10-03T21:53:00.000-04:00

Even though we still need rain, the last few days have been glorious. Highs in the low 70°F, and low in the 50°s. The sky is clear blue, due to low humidity, and the stars are out at night.

There's no rain in the forecast, and some long-term projections have dry weather predicted through winter. Yuck. Gardeners (and plants) want more rain.

I just received packets of multiplier onions and perennial shallots from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. That's to add to my perennial leeks, and the garlic to come.

It's a good thing that the resident woodchuck doesn't like alliums. I'm totally frustrated trying to snag him/her, before the rest of my mustards are gone. Maybe it's squirrels?

New England Asters

2011-10-02T20:29:00.000-04:00

New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) is a stalwart for fall-flowering garden beds (and containers, too).

This one, in a pot next to the garden shed, is in full flower right now.

There are many other asters that are great in fall (Aster oblongifolius 'October Skies' is my current favorite), but New England asters are tough and versatile, too.

New England Aster (cultivar forgotten!)

Chives

2011-10-01T22:09:00.000-04:00

I've had clumps of chives for years, primarily for their spring flowers. I'm sorry to say that I've never used any shoots before today, faced with four (very robust) clumps, needing to be weeded of Oxalis and Digitaria.

A google search on what to do with chives brought up the usual (chop the leaves up as garnish for baked potatoes, soups, etc.)

But I have LOTS of chive leaves. So I searched for chive pesto. Hooray, chives with parsley or cilantro (in equal quantities) with garlic and nuts (almonds and pine nuts were listed).

So I harvested a good size bunch (uh, just a drop in the proverbial bucket), and added them to cornbread and a pot of beans (the target for dinner tonight).

Obviously, I need to start making pesto!

Rain gardens

2011-09-29T21:43:00.001-04:00

I've been thinking about rain gardens lately, in preparation for an upcoming workshop. In essence, they're nothing more than landscaped beds, with well-prepared soil and plants selected for sun, shade, or something in between.

Natural forested landscapes absorb almost 99% of rainfall that fall on them, releasing water slowly into nearby streams, and then into rivers. Urban and exurban landscapes shed water, because of impervious surfaces (roofs, driveways, roads, paths, and compacted soil landscapes).

Compacted landscapes? What are those, you might be thinking? They're all too familiar in the thin lawns, mowed road verges, landscape edges, and other depauperate examples of marginal vegetative cover.

Recent heavy rains had me amazed at how much water was sheeting off bermuda grass 'lawns' and adjoining paths into a prepared rain garden bed.

It's to be a demonstration site, and we were thinking about the roof runoff from the nearby building as our primary focus.

But the landscape runoff, by far, will be the biggest contributor to our newly established rain garden.

The take-home message is that creating landscapes that include trees, shrubs, and perennials with deep roots, and that are well-mulched, will pay dividends in terms of keeping water where it falls. And the result is to minimize runoff of rain water (or storm water) with any accompanying pollutants of sediments, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. (depending on your landscape practices).

More fall vegetables

2011-09-24T22:38:00.000-04:00

front beds (late Sept. 2011)

I cleaned up the rambling tomato vines in the front beds this afternoon (harvesting lots of green tomatoes in the process).

There won't be time before frost for tomatoes to ripen, and the temperatures are already dropping into the 50°s (F) at night.

mesclun and ruby chard

Siberian kale and leeks

I swapped them out for some collard, mustard, and broccoli transplants that I bought at the local hardware store (thinking guiltily, I could have grown these myself!) However, what I've sown is doing nicely, from the Siberian kale to the mesclun mix, so I haven't done so bad for a part-time resident in this garden.

Woody's perch and fall vegetables

2011-09-23T22:25:00.002-04:00

sugar snap peas

Arriving early this evening to the mountains, I was glad to see that the fall greens were doing great.

My first activity, after harvesting some eggplants, peppers, and tomatoes, was to clear the front trellis of bean vine remnants and the spent tomato vines.

meslun mix and swiss chard

Woody, not looking very alert

Woody enjoyed keeping watch on his perch.

Woody, hmm, on watch?

He can monitor comings and goings from his view through the window well. And, finally, my (our) gardening companion arrived!

FINALLY, some rain

2011-09-21T19:38:00.001-04:00

We had two inches in our rain gauge by mid-day. Woo-hoo! It's been a brutal couple of months, with limited rain and high heat. But with temperatures moderating now, this moisture will sink in, and help reinvigorate root growth of (practically dormant) plants.

The non drought-tolerant wimps in the landscape have already succumbed, to be sure, whether they're native or not. Even my modest triage efforts in mid-August only revived plants that could withstand over 3 weeks of extreme heat and no water. It's interesting to see how tough many plants are, even if they would have looked a lot better with a lot more water!

A side note: I just reconnected/updated my Networked blogs permissions, which had been 'broken' in early summer (I hadn't noticed), so any of you who read this via Facebook, missed a couple of months of posts over the summer. I'm not a regular Facebook user!

Border renovation

2011-09-18T20:21:00.002-04:00

Not a nice-looking view

I'm not a big fan of doing 'traditional' perennial borders. Yes, I like to admire them, but no, I don't have the time nor interest to lift, deadhead, and divide (not to mention water) - which is what many borders require.

See what I mean! (click to get larger images)

My 'low-maintenance' border, however, was looking pretty darn shabby, after weeks and weeks of drought and heat, and a gardener's absence. It was not a happy sight. The redbud seedlings had popped up everywhere; even drought-tolerant perennials looked stressed (or had given it up, as was the case of the Coreopsis verticillata).

Better, but still needs work

So a morning's work knocking back the woody saplings and removing dead stems, and editing the perennials that looked the worst made an immediate difference.

more editing and pulling the border forward is needed!

This bed is slated for a major renovation over the winter (expansion, soil amending, and replanting in front of the oakleaf hydrangeas, which have been champs).

Hummingbirds

2011-09-17T20:36:00.000-04:00

Watching an afternoon football game with my gardening companion (Clemson beat Auburn, hooray...), I couldn't help but notice a female hummingbird at the porch feeder.

She sipped a lot, but then spent a lot of time 'hawking' -- just sitting on the pot holder rim above the feeder catching insects, and maybe just defending her 'food resource.' Later in the afternoon, there was a second hummer dashing around, too.

First I brought out the binoculars to the living room room so I could peer at her, and then brought my camera.

I find it hard to get a good focus on a small object (eg a hummingbird) with my lens, but was glad to have had a chance to observe her over the course of several hours.

Morning light

2011-09-11T21:50:00.000-04:00

Filtered light through the trees in the ravine is a wonderful way to start a weekend morning.

The light, especially when it's a bit foggy, is glorious.

View from the kitchen

Meadow plantings

2011-09-10T20:46:00.001-04:00

This is why I like to have meadows.

afternoon light behind meadow

this is why meadows work

The light coming through illuminates the pocket meadow in front of our mountain house. The much larger meadow in front of the garage at home is equally magical in the afternoon light.

Whether it's grasses or goldenrod, their appearance backlit by the sun going down is always uplifting.

new meadow plantings in front

We added a number of additional plants this morning after a native plant sale at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville, some to the front meadow, but others to a 'damp' border below the house and along the ephemeral stream at the base of the ravine.

Garden seasons and fall greens

2011-09-09T21:44:00.002-04:00

I'm grateful for the renewal that each (gardening) season brings.

Fussing about drought-stressed shrubs and weedy borders isn't why I garden. I don't want to be a gardener that looks out and sees the imperfections; it's about embracing what's growing.

It's the parsley that flourishing now as cooler air is blowing in, as well as the mustards and arugula that are growing rapidly. Even though the beans, tomatoes, and peppers are in decline, the promise of hardy transplants (collards, broccoli, and brussel sprouts), fall peas, lettuce, and salad mixes is encouraging. Nice.

And it's fall plant sale time for the next few weeks. Woo-hoo! Who knows what cool natives might be available to be part of our front meadow or rain garden?

Signs of (garden) life

2011-09-07T20:07:00.000-04:00

The garden (vegetable and flowers) is looking pretty dismal. One of my perennial borders is a perfect 'before' picture for a garden renovation class, full of redbud seedlings, and totally unbalanced in terms of texture and proportions. Not pleasing at all.

Weedy edges are everywhere, with Bermuda grass creeping in, reflecting the heat and drought of August.

But the coolness of the cold front that came through with Lee, combined with a somewhat recovered hand (post-trigger finger surgery) found me this evening (more or less) happily doing a bit of tidying and seed-sowing. It's always good to be in the garden, whatever its state.

I sowed a couple of flats of mesclun and transplanted some kale and collards, enriched another bed with mushroom 'compost', and admired the sugar snap pea shoots which are looking good in a container planting (they'll need a LOT more support than this soon).

I've got peas planted both in the Piedmont and the mountains; maybe it'll be a good fall for peas this year! They're growing well, and are signs of life in the garden.

Rain needed

2011-09-05T21:44:00.002-04:00

So far, it's been a no-show with the remnants of Lee.

We were hoping for a good soaking, 4-8 inches of rain the predictions forecast.

So far, it's been about an inch, both here in the Piedmont and in the UNCA site in Asheville. Hrrmph. We need a LOT more.

I'm hoping for something overnight and tomorrow, but it's quiet now. We'll see.

This was a record-breaking summer in terms of heat here in the Piedmont of SC (number of days above 90°F: it exceeded 85 days).

In my growing-up town of Austin, TX, they were above 100° F for a lot of days this summer -- exceeding the record--at the end of August it was 75 days above 100°F, geez, that's rough.

It's obvious that there's reason to think about global climate change and weather extremes (hello?).

But we also have to think about how we want to garden and water and what to plant. I'm voting for vegetables (pampered denizens of the green world) and plants from dry places (native to here or not).

Sedums and bees

2011-09-03T21:13:00.000-04:00

bees on Sedum 'Matrona'

Sedum 'Autumn Joy' is often on lists of butterfly-attracting plants.

It's a great plant, to be sure, drought-tolerant and with multi-season interest. But flowers are short-lived, and are more bee-attracting than butterfly-attracting, as far as I've observed.

Sedum 'Matrona' is similar.

It's also a great plant, taller than 'Autumn Joy' and with attractive purplish stems and foliage.

The one in our garden in flower now is covered with bees: bumblebees, carpenter bees, sweat bees, honeybees, with only an occasional small butterfly.

bee on Sedum

butterfly on Sedum

Sedum 'Matrona'

The crowns of flowers are bee magnets.

Disappearing chard

2011-08-30T20:47:00.000-04:00

Watering, again, this evening, I noticed that the chard leaves that were looking good last night are gone.

Hmm. I guess the thirsty woodchuck snuck up and had a few bits of water-filled leafy greens. Hard to blame him/her. (Woody's currently inside during the day, so he's not much up a deterrent). I can't imagine that a squirrel would be interested in chard, and they can get water from the bird bath and water dishes on the other side of the house.

What was curious is that pea seedlings, seedling of kale and mesclun mix, etc. were passed over (on the way) in favor of the chard. And clearly the foliage of a fall eight-ball zucchini wasn't of interest, either.

Drought and gratitude

2011-08-28T20:41:00.000-04:00

I spent a lot of time today dragging around hoses and watering.

I watered my vegetables, yes (they're totally dependent on the water and nutrients I provide), but also I (and my gardening companion) watered young native shrubs (as well as older ones, and shallow-rooted native trees like Cornus florida (Flowering Dogwood), some quite old. The evergreen Rhododendrons have suffered from the blasting heat and no rain of the last 6-8 weeks -- we normally would have had afternoon thunderstorms providing moisture.

But I'm mindful of how lucky we are to be able to turn on the hose faucet.

Our (human-made) lakes are pretty full of water, both for drinking and whatever watering we're willing to pay for. (Not too many years ago, we were close to not being able to turn on the tap for landscaping).

But a piece on NPR this evening reminded us of how it could be.

Drought-stricken areas of Africa have emptied of desperate farmers and their families who can't 'turn on the tap' when nature's rains don't come.

We saw women in Tanzania some years ago coming to a government well to fill up large containers of water to take home some miles away (probably up to 5-8 miles) -- this was on foot. They didn't have vehicles or animals to help.

So I'm grateful this evening that I can turn on the tap to water plants. And take a bath, not to mention water for a soft-boiled egg for breakfast and coffee, too.

Hungry critters and drought

2011-08-27T20:26:00.000-04:00

My attention has been elsewhere than the (vegetable) garden this last week, aside from watering, with attending a Farm to School conference last Thursday in the mountains, and helping coordinate a Butterfly Gardening symposium today at the Garden.

But, I shouldn't have been surprised to discover this evening that one of my chard plants had been nibbled. But it did surprise me.

These plants (having survived over summer) were putting out new leaves, now supplied by regular watering. But they're right out the kitchen door. We go in and out of that door regularly. Woody, our gardening assistant, is out there, too, even if he's not so experienced as a woodchuck deterrent.

But scorchingly hot weather and no rain must find the local woodchucks, hanging on in marginal habitat, hungry enough for food (and the water they get from leaves) to venture close to the house.

A culprit a couple of years ago (hard to fault an animal looking for moisture and food!

It might have been squirrels, too; they've been on their own this summer without the birdbaths and fallen seeds from the birdfeeders, but my guess is that a woodchuck managed to snag a few chard leaves before scampering back to the woodpile in back!

meadow gardens

2011-08-25T19:08:00.001-04:00

front meadow

diverse plantings

I'm thinking about butterfly gardening and just enjoyed watching a tiger swallowtail visit flowers on Vernonia (Ironweed).

Our small front meadow in the mountains is full of nectar plants, and we have lots of host plants for caterpillars nearby, in the forest ravine and planted as shrubs.

front door view

More fall vegetables

2011-08-22T21:11:00.001-04:00

This evening, I sowed chard and beet seeds that I'd soaked overnight into one of the beds I'd prepared yesterday. I also sowed some mesclun mix.

There's always a new gardening season, I think (I'll be ready to get this summer behind us).

The heat in the Piedmont seems oppressive (it was 95°F today), even though the mornings and evenings are OK. It's all a matter of degrees, I guess; it was probably in the upper 80's in the mountains, but that makes a difference, even if both places are hotter than normal (whatever that means nowadays).

My gardening companion and gardening assistant enjoyed a refreshing swim in late afternoon at Lake Hartwell; a deep water cove provided cooler water than our shallower beaches.

Sowing fall vegetables

2011-08-21T21:01:00.002-04:00

I've been busy amending beds and sowing lettuce, arugula, kale, collards, and sugar snap peas. It's still beastly hot (especially in the Piedmont), so all I can do is water and hope for cooler weather to come.

Hindered by some hand surgery last Thursday for a trigger finger on my dominant hand, I plugged along, with the help of my gardening companion. (The idea is that releasing the tendon will help the finger movement and reduce pain; the short-term is that the finger is more painful than ever. Oh, well -- movement and stretching is supposed to be beneficial, according to the doctor, and I 'can't do any harm' - he said. Hmm.)

Woody, the river dog...

On a cooling note, Woody, on a recent swim, is the picture of a fellow happy to be in the river.

Pesticide safety

2011-08-17T21:16:00.000-04:00

I'm (largely) in the 'just say no' category when it comes to pesticides.

Yes, we've used a systemic to protect our Eastern hemlocks from woolly adelgids (only once so far), but that's the only pesticide that I can remember using personally (we have sprayed yellowjacket nests, too, now that I think about it). We've used a herbicide, glyphosate, on Bermuda grass and poison ivy, too, to be complete. No sprays inside or outside the house (hmm, roach and ant baits at times, I guess).

But, I was alarmed at a call yesterday on our statewide gardening call-in program about caterpillars on horseradish. He said that the caterpillars had pretty much defoliated it. So he sprayed a pesticide. The remaining leaf tissue didn't look so good. What to do?

Yikes. I asked what he sprayed, first of all, thinking what sort of caterpillar eats horseradish? He said a pesticide, and I asked again 'what kind'? Diazinon, he said.

Alarmed, I said that I hoped that he wasn't planning to use the horseradish as an edible, mentally trying to remember what diazinon USED to be applied to control (it's been banned for homeowner use since 2004). I don't think it was for caterpillars.

My colleagues and I try to be encouraging to callers, but this was a 'teachable moment' and I suggested that he needed to dispose of this pesticide as hazardous waste, ASAP. Fortunately, he was growing horseradish as an ornamental plant.

He took my cautionary 'scolding' quite well (I reminded him about reading the labels on pesticides and herbicides; there's a reason that we have them!)

And I was glad that our statewide audience could be reminded that it's important to look at the detailed information on labels of whatever garden 'product' that you use.

Amending vegetable beds

2011-08-15T21:08:00.000-04:00

Getting ready for fall vegetables, I dug some (commercial) mushroom compost into some of my already well-worked beds (in the Piedmont). They were like dust, as I turned over the soil, incorporating the compost. Yikes.

And leaving the office this afternoon (at the botanical garden where I work), I was startled by a couple of woodchucks foraging in the lantana (weird). They popped out, saw me, fussed, and ducked back into the lantana. Hmm.

Very strange, and it isn't a good sign for our nearby kitchen garden, as woodchucks need to get their moisture from green plants, and that's in short supply right now.

Mid-August gardening

2011-08-13T18:21:00.005-04:00

In the South, mid-August is solidly summer, really the midpoint of our year-round gardening cycle, both in terms of landscape and vegetables.

It's not time to think about fall planting for native (or non-native) perennials, shrubs or trees, but it's time for vegetables.

I'm trying to get the mountain beds ready for a fall season, and know that the Piedmont vegetable beds are ready for clean-up and amending. (They looked awful on a quick trip last week; everything was parched and dry, and the surviving plants had been munched by presumably thirsty woodchucks, and maybe squirrels, too). Yikes!

A couple of drenching afternoon thunderstorms have helped the mountain beds, vegetables and perennials alike. The sedum bed (even though drought-tolerant) had been looking wan, but perked up with plenty of moisture.

But, on a (21st century) school schedule, whatever the grade level, fall comes early, and mid-to-late August means back to school. I'm doing a fall vegetable gardening class on Tuesday, so it's on my mind!

But late summer and fall are great times to enjoy perennials in the Southern U.S. It's probably our best time, really -- the spring display is best (aside for our native woodland wildflowers) elsewhere, I think.

Rudbeckia, Helenium, and Salvia

Rudbeckia triloba

I enjoyed an unexpected combination of Salvia guaranitica, a Helenium cultivar, and Rudbeckia triloba (a standout this summer in terms of flowers, even it droops on hot days).

Finally some rain

2011-08-08T21:18:00.000-04:00

We've had a very long dry (and hot) spell in the mountains, requiring daily watering of the raised beds (of vegetables), and even watering of the deep-rooted meadow plants in front.

(I'm not looking forward to what my Piedmont beds are like, later in the week).

rain through the front door

So it was a welcome late afternoon thunderstorm, bringing a downpour visible both through the front door...

rain in the ravine

and from the deck.

Tomatoes (and harvest)

2011-08-03T21:41:00.000-04:00

tomato harvest

I've got a backlog of things to reflect upon (with lots of photos, too), but my attention, after spending time cleaning up the raised beds and harvesting, and more harvesting, is struck by tomatoes, today.

It's been beans over the last week - yikes, as a local eater, I'm getting just a wee bit tired of green beans, both the young and tender sort, but particularly of the beany sort that's gotten too big to be really tasty.

But the tomato harvest has been amazing so far. Chalk one up for exceptionally warm and sunny weather in the mountains of western North Carolina, however out-of-the ordinary that it is.

One of my Cherokee Purple tomato plants keeps producing. More and bigger.

Cherokee Purple tomatoes

Check these out.

(That's a teaspoon for scale).

These are from vines that look like they're in decline.

(I'd be too, after all the tomatoes that this plant has already produced.)

Mt. Rainier

2011-07-29T01:31:00.004-04:00

Whether you can see Mt. Rainier is a touchstone for weather in Seattle.

I don't think it's common (even in summer), but today was clear and sunny and I saw (in different directions) Mt. Rainier, the Olympics, and the North Cascades. Woo-hoo!

A great final day in the NW before heading home to the Carolinas.

Woody cooling off!

2011-07-27T01:33:00.000-04:00

It's been great fun to introduce our young rescue Golden to fun times...

Here he's cooling off at the dog park!

Natural Gardening

2011-07-27T00:29:00.002-04:00

Visitor center exhibit at Bellevue Botanical Garden

I loved this display at the Bellevue Botanical Garden (of course).

It was accompanied by wonderfully well-done 'green' gardening handouts from the city of Bellevue. It's worth paying attention to these messages...

I'm thinking about the college town where we live most of the year, and our small house in the mountains (but in a city).

Bloedel Reserve

2011-07-26T01:04:00.001-04:00

Visiting Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island was magical.

It was overcast (and rainy), but that just made the weather right for a visit-- it's their normal weather.

meadow view

The second-growth temperate rainforest was wonderful (I wished my gardening companion was with me to experience it), since we knew western plants from 'school' -- many years ago.

The haymeadows surrounded by evergreens were what called me, though.

A wonderful landscape.

meadow grasses

Garden connections

2011-07-25T03:20:00.000-04:00

My camera cord arrived yesterday, and I was overwhelmed with downloaded images (I'd somehow managed to take close to 400 photos over 3 days). So sorting them out and making sense of what I saw will take some time.

But what I do feel strongly about (at the moment) is the power of garden connections.

We're all garden bloggers here at this meetup (basically an informal gathering, even if very organized). We all embrace garden blogging as a vehicle of expression; some of us have lots of folks who comment, others not so many (I'm in that category).

In Lorene Edwards Folkner's garden

But I love posting reflections about what I've find interesting or rewarding (from my garden or the natural world) at the end of the day. And it's magic, to be observant and grateful, for that.

In one of the gardens that we visited today, the personality of the garden was evident -- it was an enchanting garden one that exuded the personality of the gardener.

She's got an upcoming book from Timber Press about garden projects, which based on what I saw in her garden should be a wonderfully creative addition to our gardening bookshelves.

a clever basket hose reel

Amazing gardens in Seattle

2011-07-23T01:08:00.000-04:00

At the Seattle Fling, a Garden Bloggers meetup, I've visited some spectacular gardens yesterday evening and all day today.

Photos, however, will need to wait until my camera cord arrives, hopefully tomorrow (left behind with my phone charger and camera battery charger, left behind in a last minute change of bags, consolidating into one).

But it's been an amazing visit so far. Already too many gardens to describe, and we still have three more days (and I'll have three more days on my own afterwards, too, for gardens, urban gardens, etc.).

But something struck me this evening, thinking about how I was mistaken yesterday for another garden blogger from last year's meetup in Buffalo.

There's a bit of a phenotype for active (women) gardeners of Northern European heritage.

I resemble my friend Meg in Clemson (we're of similar size and shape)--we're both gardeners.

And I was totally flattered to be mistaken for my garden blogging friend (she's wonderfully stylish). We share the resemblance of size and shape, too.

And we had a wonderful docent at the Dunn Garden this afternoon, who I was thinking, I'm going to look like her (clothes and all) in another decade.

This is a good thing.