Diggin' It
What could be a more romantic, old-fashioned look for a summer garden than a combination of roses, hydrangea, and lavender? (Courtesy of Lynn Hunt)
Lavender is a fragrant addition to summer gardens
Rosemary may be known as the herb of remembrance, but it is the unmistakable perfume of lavender that transports me to days gone by: A stroll through an English garden, an after shave my dad once wore, a sleep pillow handcrafted by a neighbor.
The evocative fragrance alone makes it worth growing, but lavenders are also wonderful companion plants. They’re perfect choices for edging and low hedges, and create colorful accents in the garden as well as in containers.
And, of course, they make a powerfully fragrant combo when planted alongside roses.
Lavender's long history
Lavender is native to the Mediterranean region and has been used to perfume, cleanse, and heal for 2,500 years. Ancient Egyptians wrapped their dead in shrouds dipped in lavender.
The Greeks employed it to deter all manner of ills from insomnia to insanity. Its fresh scent made it a favorite with the Romans who used the herb extensively in bath water.
Lavender has been a part of the medicinal garden as far back as 77 AD. During the Middle Ages, Benedictine monks cultivated the plant for a variety of uses, including banishing head lice.
Fictional monk detective Brother Cadfael grew lavender in his walled herb garden. He noted that it was “helpful for all disorders that trouble the head and spirit, and its scent is calming.”
The Elizabethans scattered lavender on the floors to perfume the house, deter insects in the linen closet and mask displeasing odors. It was also sold on the streets of London by vendors who claimed branches of lavender fastened to each wrist could ward off the bubonic plague.
About the same time, lavenders were used in elaborate knot gardens designed to resemble intricate embroidery designs of the day.
Colonists brought lavenders from England to America, where today they are prized more as a garden ornamental than for any medicinal uses.
The right lavender for the right zone
A number of species are cultivated throughout the world but our best performers are English, Spanish, French, and the lavandins (a class of lavender hybrids). However, not all will succeed everywhere in the country.
Munstead, Hidcote, and Croxton’s Wild (which is hardy to Zone 4b) are the best varieties of lavender for overwintering in most of temperate America.
While English lavender (L. angustifolia) is winter-hardy to Zone 5 and comfortable in hot, arid areas of the West, it generally will not tolerate the steaming summers of the Deep South.
French and Spanish varieties don’t mind the humidity, but may need to be treated as annuals north of Zone 9. Provence and Sweet are two varieties that have done consistently well in Southern gardens.
No matter where you live, all lavenders require full sun, an airy location, and slightly alkaline soil. Superior drainage is a must; otherwise dreaded root rot may come to call. Adding rotted manure and small stones to both clay and sandy soils will help improve drainage problems.
Lavenders may require a little extra water during their first season, but they don’t need fertilizer. Some experts also recommend sprinkling a bit of potash around the base of each bush in the spring to heighten flower quality and color.
Lavender care
Spring is also the time to carry out your pruning chores – cut back hard to about eight inches high. Otherwise your plants will get lanky and woody. Then tidy up unruly branches over the growing season. Be sure to stop pruning by the first of October to give plants a chance to harden off before winter.
Harvest flower stems just as they begin to open. Pick the dark-flowered lavenders when just one or two flowers are open. Choose a warm, dry day and prune late in the morning – damp flower stalks can encourage mold. Hang small bunches of cuttings tied with rubber bands upside down to dry in a well-ventilated room. Don’t allow sunlight to hit your bundles or flowers might fade.
Once the heads have dried, there are all sorts of ways to enjoy the harvest: Add a pinch of lavender flowers to freshly baked breads. Mix the flowers in potpourris or create your own unique sachets. Then breathe deeply and recapture some cherished summer memories.
PSSSST: Recently I wrote about trying to replace some of my favorite plants after moving. I’ve since discovered a wonderful small nursery that specializes in antique and old garden roses. If you are looking for something special or hard-to-find, check out Rose Petals Nursery.
Editor's Note: For more about cooking with lavender and growing Spanish lavender in Zone 8, see Growing and cooking with lavender and rice, a Diggin' It blog post from earlier this week..
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Lynn Hunt, the Rose Whisperer, is one of more than a dozen expert gardeners who blog regularly at Diggin' It. She's an accredited horticultural judge and a Consulting Rosarian Emeritus for the American Rose Society. She has won dozens of awards for her writing in newspapers, magazines, and television. After a recent move, she grows roses and other plants in her garden in the mountains of western North Carolina.. To read more by Lynn, click here.You can also follow her on Twitter and read her Dirt Diaries.
Sprigs of fragrant lavender add taste and color to many dishes. They're especially tasty when combined with Thai jasmine rice, in this easy-to-prepare dish. (Courtesy of Linda Weiss)
Growing and cooking with lavender and rice
Growing lavender can be a challenge, especially in hot weather, which many of us seem to be suffering through lately, says gardener Anne Moore.
Choosing the best variety for where you live will give you the finest results. There are many types of lavender rated for my USDA hardiness Zone 8 garden, but they will not withstand the high humidity that hot summers bring.
In the South, Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas), with its tight flower heads topped by "donkey ears," is the chief perennial for our hot and humid summers, coming back year after year.
I have decent results by growing Spanish lavender in pots. I suspect any lavender will do best in a container, since this plant really requires good drainage. but it does not tolerate drying out. If you have sandy loam, then by all means, plant your lavender in the ground.
Lavenders also benefit from a shearing down to good strong growth right after you harvest the flowers. This will often not only strengthen the plant but also trigger it to bloom again.
How to grow rice
Growing rice is not for the faint-of-heart or the gardener in a hurry. Nor will you get much of a crop in your backyard garden. However, it can be fun to try something new.
A passive hydroponics system is a great way to grow rice. You can use jasmine rice from the supermarket as the seed, or you can also order rice seed from an online source.
Plant the rice into a large, clean bucket with the bottom covered in wet, heavy clay soil. Add about 2 inches of water to the top and leave the buckets in the sunshine. Add more water as the plants grow, making sure the roots do not dry out.
I doubt I will be growing much rice, but lavender to me is like catnip to kitties. I love the perfume of it and once I discovered lavender laundry supplies, washing day became a whole lot more pleasant.
I have not tried cooking with lavender, however. Linda’s Jasmine Rice With Lavender and Pecans recipe will change that.
Simple recipe combines lavender, rice
Where I live, says chef Linda Weiss, rice is a very popular food. Not only is one brand of rice grown here in South Carolina, but we even have special rice spoons for serving it.
This easy rice recipe has a lot of flavor, first from the bouquet of the rice and then from the lavender. When it is cooked and ready to serve, you add pecans or hazelnuts, so you have extra texture as well. Cooking the rice in butter before you add the liquid helps every grain to stand alone when it is ready to serve.
The recipe below uses Thai jasmine rice, but if you want to use plain long-grain rice, just follow the package directions as to water ratio and do everything else the same as in our recipe.
Here is a menu idea to serve with the rice: Strawberry-Parmesan salad with fresh baby greens and poppy seed dressing, pork tenderloin with Jezebel sauce (green peppercorn sauce), oven-roasted green beans, fresh rolls, and cold lime soufflé.
Now you have a great special or Sunday dinner menu. Enjoy!
Easy Jasmine Rice With Lavender and Pecans
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup Thai jasmine rice (I used Mahatma)
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth or equivalent of water
1 (3-inch) leafy stem of fresh lavender
1/3 cup toasted, chopped pecans
Salt to taste*
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add rice and stir until rice starts to turn golden.
Add chicken broth and lavender stem. Turn heat up and let the rice start to boil. Stir, and then immediately turn heat down to the lowest level. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Turn heat off and leave for 5 minutes. Flake into a serving dish with a fork. Add pecans to the top. Makes about 4 servings.
* NOTE: I did not need to add salt, but you probably will if you use water instead of chicken broth.
Editor's Note: To read more of Anne and Linda's "how to grow and prepare" series, click here.
Fans of lavender will also want to return to Diggin' It [click here] to read an article about growing lavender and roses together.
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Linda Weiss is a personal chef. She attended Le Cordon Bleu of Paris’ catering program and is a professional member of the James Beard Foundation and the Southern Foodways Alliance. She has wriitten a cookbook, "Memories From Home, Cooking with Family and Friends." Anne Moore is an award-winning freelance writer and member of the Garden Writers Association. She is the horticulture editor, gardening consultant, and e-newsletter editor for GardenSmart.tv. You can follow Linda and Anne as they also blog at www.thegardenerandthechef.com
Grow the roses that starred in Queen Elizabeth's Jubilee celebration
The Queen of Flowers played a glamorous role during Queen Elizabeth’s recent Diamond Jubilee celebration.
As part of the festivities, the queen’s royal barge was escorted down the Thames by a seven-mile flotilla of more than 1,000 boats, including 40 of the “little ships” that were used in the legendary evacuation of Dunkirk. It was the largest river pageant in 350 years.
Flowers from the queen’s gardens and her 16 Commonwealth realms decorated the royal barge, including English roses, Irish shamrocks, thistles from Scotland, Welsh daffodils, wattles from Australia, silver ferns from New Zealand, and Canadian maple leaves.
A 'floating botanical garden'
A traditional knot garden was also planted onboard the barge.
Rachel de Thame of BBC Gardener’s World created the floral designs in the royal color scheme of red, gold and purple. She used the queen’s 1953 coronation gown with its intricate floral embroidery as an inspiration.
Renowned florist Kitty Arden spent six months planning for the garlands that would festoon the barge. Her preparations, carried out along with 18-time Chelsea Flower Show gold medal winner Mark Fane, included several dry runs to assure that the flowers remained fresh and secure in case the royal party encountered rain or heavy winds. The flowers stayed put and remained vibrant for three days.
In all, more than 7,000 cut flowers, 140 plants, and 90 floral garlands (approximately six feet in length) turned the Spirit of Chartwell into a floating botanical garden.
And no flowers were more impressive or fragrant than the 2,700 cut flowers and 60 rose bushes supplied by David Austin English Roses.
According to Michael Marriott, David Austin’s technical director, the roses for the swags included 1,800 raspberry-red Darcey Bussell blooms and 900 blossoms of creamy-white Patience.
To mesh with the color scheme, 60 bushes of Darcey Bussell and the crimson-to-magenta Munstead Wood [see photo at left] were placed in a bed in front of the queen. Munstead Wood has won international awards for its fruity, Old World fragrance -- its delectable perfume delighted members of the royal party and onlookers alike.
Long days of preparation
To get the rose bushes looking their best, the Austin team forced them in a greenhouse usually reserved for their Chelsea Flower Show display.
For the cut flowers, they sent two of their expert florists to London to look after them in a building right by the Thames. For three days before the event, they turned them and gently made sure they were exactly at the right stage for the special day.
The result was a smashing success and a feast for the senses. The perfect outcome for a celebration fit for a queen.
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Lynn Hunt, the Rose Whisperer, is one of more than a dozen expert gardeners who blog regularly at Diggin' It. She's an accredited horticultural judge and a Consulting Rosarian Emeritus for the American Rose Society. She has won dozens of awards for her writing in newspapers, magazines, and television. After a recent move, she grows roses and other plants in her garden in the mountains of western North Carolina.. To read more by Lynn, click here.You can also follow her on Twitter and read her Dirt Diaries.
This lovely mock orange, known as Snow White Sensation, blooms first in late spring or early summer and again in late summer. It's one of a number of exciting new cultivars of Philadelphus virginalis. (Courtesy of Plants Nouveau)
A new mock orange reblooms
One of the truly outstanding late-spring or early-summer flowering deciduous shrubs is mock orange, Philadelphus virginalis. Of the many species available to gardeners, this is probably the most popular, due in no small part, I’m sure, to its very pleasing fragrance and attractive white flowers.
An ancient group of shrubs named by Linnaeus in honor of King Ptolemy Philadelphus, who lived way back in 300 BC, and first introduced to Europe along with lilacs in 1562, these classic and easy-to-grow Victorian-era darlings are making a dramatic comeback these days.
Big time!
A reblooming cultivar
I’m a fickle gardener, I admit. Usually I’m passionately in love with whatever perennial or annual I’m looking at, at that moment. And though shrubs are also favorites, it’s been a long, long time since I’ve been excited about a new shrub introduction to the point of drooling.
But here I am salivating over a mock orange!
If you remember seeing mock orange shrubs in your grandmother’s garden, you know they were rangy plants that had no decorative value once they stopped blooming – so you might conclude that I’ve lost my horticultural mind!
But hear me out. The object of my current obsession is a newer introduction, a shrub officially known as Snow White Sensation (sometimes sold as Snow White Fantasy). Now I grow several older cultivars of mock orange for their scent, if not their beauty. However, Snow White Sensation (Snow White Fantasy) has knocked my garden clogs right out of the yard.
This is a beautiful, fast-growing shrub with gracefully arching branches. However, what makes her sensational are her two-inch, double snow-white flowers offered up in abundant clusters and smelling – well – like heaven.
And if she needed to strut her virtues even more, she sweetens the deal by blooming a second time!
The first flush occurs in late spring and then, come late summer, she does it again. Add attractive dark green foliage that stands up to our summer heat and drought tolerance once established, and is hardy to USDA Zone 4, this five-foot tall beauty gives the landscape three-season interest.
The reliable and durable mock orange
The majority of the shrubs – there are 65 species and countless hybrids – are large.eight- to 10-foot plants, which, when in bloom, perfume entire sections of the garden. The flowers are usually white, cup or bowl shaped, and can be either single, semidouble, or double.
Typically, the leaves are mid- to dark green in color; however, P. coronaries is the exception. Three noteworthy cultivars of it have different foliage: ‘Aureus’ and ‘Yellow Cab’ have golden yellow leaves, while ‘Variegatus’ sports cream-edged ones.
They like full sun, although they tolerate light shade and well-drained soil. As a bonus, mock orange has no serious pest or disease problems, though there is a bit of susceptibility to aphids and leaf miners, which is more of a nuisance than a threat.
Mock orange blooms on the previous year’s growth; therefore, prune immediately after it blooms. When it starts to look a bit overgrown and rangy, prune the oldest one-third of the branches down to ground level; following the same regime for the next two years. After three years, the shrub should, once again, be gorgeous.
One way to compensate for mock orange’s short bloom time and duller foliage – and an excellent way to bring color into the garden, if not to fool unsuspecting friends – is to train a small-flowered, long-blooming clematis vine to scramble through its branches.
Obviously, Snow White Sensation is not the only new girl in the garden in the world of mock orange. There are many others.
Some recent introductions have larger blossoms, others are shorter in size or more compact, making them perfect choices for small gardens, large containers, or planting at the front of the border.
Also, many of the newer introductions are fast growing and form a dense mound of gently cascading branches. They are also more heat-, cold-, and drought-tolerant.
One caveat
Fragrance is, as you can imagine, the major selling point for purchasing a mock orange shrub. Unfortunately, not all cultivars are equally fragrant. Thus, one of the best times to buy mock orange is when it’s in bloom at the nursery – that way you can let your nose do the choosing.
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Betty Earl, the Intrepid Gardener, is one of more than a dozen gardening experts from various parts of the country who blog regularly at Diggin' It. Her latest book is 'Fairy Gardens: A Guide to Growing an Enchanted Miniature World.' She writes a regular column for Chicagoland Gardening Magazine and The Kankakee Journal and numerous articles for Small Gardens Magazine, American Nurseryman, Nature’s Garden, and Midwest Living Magazine, as well as other national magazines. She is a garden scout for Better Homes and Gardens and a regional representative for The Garden Conservancy. To read more by Betty here at Diggin' It, click here.
Smooth phlox (Phlox glaberrima) is an easy-to-grow native perennial that flowers in late spring or early summer. (Courtesy of Gene Bush)
Smooth phlox is a charming in-between bloomer
Gardeners are probably most familiar with Phlox paniculata, or tall garden phlox, which blooms in summer. If you are a woodland or shade gardener, then perhaps the creeping woodland phlox (P. stolonifera), or wild blue wood phlox (P. divaricata) is most familiar.
While tall garden phlox generally wants sun and blooms in summer, the two woodland species bloom in spring and want an edge-of-the-woods location.
Mr. In-Between
There is a lapse in bloom times between the early woodland phlox and the summer phlox. Fortunately for gardeners, that niche is filled with the smooth phlox (P. glaberrima). I call this species Mr. In-Between for its continual bloom during May and into June here in Southern Indiana. It's native to many East Coast and Midwestern states.
While the smooth phlox is satisfying in the species, my favorite is a cultivar named Morris Berd.
Its individual flowers are quite large compared to the species. Each flower is a rosy-pink with a eye of white swirl, and petals are of heavy substance. The relatively large blooms are carried in clusters well above the foliage. Flowers are fragrant and attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies as well as gardeners. Leaves are long and narrow, clean green, providing a nice background for the blooms.
Morris Berd reaches only a foot or so in height and has a spread of couple of feet. While vigorous in growth, the rhizomatous habit is clump forming, and the plant is well-behaved. It is not demanding about soil -- it handles a wide range from moist to dry -- and does well from shade to full sun. Mine is in open shade.
It's easily grown, very tolerant of less-than-ideal conditions, and hardy from Zones 3 to 8. Throw in resistance to deer browsing, and what more could a gardener ask of a perennial?
In my garden
Along a path located on the west side of my garden where plants will get a touch of setting sun, I have a drift of smooth phlox that ends in dark-leaved bugbane (Actaea) among limestone rocks lining the path. [See third photo above; click on the arrow at the right base of the first and second photos to see the third one.]
On the opposite side, there is a second small drift at the base of a tree. Thus far my favorite companion is Campanula (bellflower). [See second photo above.] The blue blooms of the Campanula provide a punch to the phlox's pink, enhancing the overall experience for those who choose to walk that path over another.
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Gene Bush, a nationally known garden writer, photographer, lecturer, and nursery owner, gardens on a shaded hillside in southern Indiana. His website is www.munchkinnursery.com. He also writes the Garden Clippin's Newsletter. To read more by Gene here at Diggin' It, click here.
This perky little perennial, known as Gaillardia Moxie Commotion, loves the sun and blooms a long time. (Courtesy of Skagit Gardens)
Great garden flowers: A gaillardia with plenty of moxie
Some readers will think it's silly for me to say I fell in love with a flower simply by looking at its photo. But it's not all that unusual among "plant nuts," those of us who love to grow many different kinds of annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, herbs, vegetables -- well, a little of everything.
I'll have to admit that sometimes, the plant in the photo lives up to your hopes -- and sometimes it doesn't. But last summer I really hit the jackpot.
Skagit Gardens in Washington State, a wholesale grower of new annuals and perennials, sent me plants of Gaillardia x grandiflora Commotion® 'Moxie'. (That's a long name for a particular variety of an easy-to-grow perennial often called blanket flower.)
The plants weren't in bloom; just small, sturdy seedlings. But they came with a color photo of peak bloom -- and that's all I needed. Now, the typical gaillardia (click here to see a photo if you're not familiar with it) is a fine perennial for sunny spots and hot weather. It blooms a long time, doesn't need a great deal of water, and mixes well with other flowers.
What made the difference
But for all those attributes, gaillardia is a plant I've never gotten really excited about. Sorta ho-hum in my view.
What attracted me to this one? Well, the flowers are clear yellow with an orange center, instead of the usual red and yellow, and I'm a big fan of yellow blossoms in sunny gardens.
What you really notice, though, is that the flowers have a bit of an unusual appearance. The ends of the petals are fluted (sometimes called "spooned," or quilled). Look at the photo above and you'll see what that means.
Wow! I thought. Could this plant really look that attractive? And if it did, would it bloom a long time, be insect- and disease-resistant, and be winter-hardy so it returned the next year? (Looks aren't everything in the garden.)
It passed the grow test
The young plants flowered quickly and were everything I was hoping for. They looked as good as in the photos, and they performed well in the garden and in containers. And yes, they returned this spring, although, admittedly, I live in USDA hardiness Zone 8 and we didn't have much of a winter. Still, the plant is supposed to be hardy to Zone 5, where the average winter temperatures may dip to -20 degrees F.
This gaillardia is easy enough for beginners. Plant in a spot that has well-drained soil and is in the sun all day (seven or more hours). It grows 18 to 24 inches tall and spreads about the same distance.
Fertilize monthly and remove flowers as they fade. In midspring, cut the plants back to about three inches high. Then sit back and enjoy the commotion year after year.
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Judy Lowe, a member of the Garden Writers Association's Hall of Fame, is the editor of the Monitor's Diggin' It blog and the author of 12 garden books. Her latest book, 'Herbs! Creative Garden Themes and Projects,' shows how to create dozens of interesting herb gardens based on themes that vary from herbs mentioned in the Bible and by Shakespeare to a pizza herb garden and herbs that will attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard..
No space for a garden? A clay pot will hold a variety of basils and other culinary herbs. They'll spice up your cooking this summer! (Courtesy of Lynn Hunt)
Basil spices up summer gardens and recipes
Few summer experiences are as memorable as strolling through an herb garden, brushing past Ocimum basilicum, and inhaling the intoxicating scents of anise, clove, and cinnamon in the warm breeze.
Ah, the sweet smell of basil! If aroma were its only attribute, basil would still be a welcome addition to the garden. But, of course, fragrance is just the beginning.
Starting now, gardeners in most areas of the country can count on basils to liven up a variety of summer dishes, provide the essential ingredient for mouth-watering pesto, and add touches of color throughout the landscape.
Small wonder that basil, called the herbe royale by the French, has become the king of the herb garden in America.
An herb rooted in history
Basil is a member of the mint family and most likely originated in tropical Asia. The first written history of the herb goes back 4,000 years to when it was grown in Egypt.
While many ancient Greeks thought the fragrant leaves to be cursed, Romans associated basil with love and devotion. It was believed if a man accepted a sprig of basil from a woman, he would love her forever. A pot of basil seen on a balcony signaled a suitor that the lady welcomed his attentions.
With the diverse legends surrounding basil, the herb was traded across the globe and eventually arrived in America. Sweet basil is one of the herbs mentioned in Colonial garden records.
Basil basics
Although they grow as perennials in their native land, basils should be treated as annuals in most areas of the United States. They are not hardy below 32 degrees F. (0 C) and will usually turn black after the first freeze.
The tropical origins dictate where basils grow best: a warm, sunny location where plenty of moisture is available. Basils require at least four hours of sun daily and should not be planted until night temperatures are in the upper 50s F. (13 to 15 C).
Basils will tolerate a wide variety of growing conditions but do best when planted in rich, well-drained soil. To provide proper air circulation and discourage disease, plants should be set about a foot apart. Pinch back the top of the tender stems to encourage a bushier plant.
Keep an eye out for flowers and prune them off immediately to promote further leaf growth.
Water regularly -- at least one inch per week. Basils grow quickly and are heavy feeders, so be sure to give them a dose of liquid fertilizer twice a month.
If you don’t have room to plant basils outdoors, or if you live in an area where summer evenings are cool, try growing basil in clay pots. It is one of the few flowering herbs traditionally raised as a potted plant. Gardeners in England often presented guests with a pot of basil as a symbol of good wishes.
Colorful choices
We’re all familiar with the popular culinary basils including Genoa Green and Genovese. They are two of the best selections for pesto but some of these colorful varieties are also great choices for cooking and garden display:
African Blue basil -- Green leaves shaded with purple; leaf veins and stems are purple. A wonderful ornamental plant.
Red Rubin -- Rich, dark purple leaves have a clovelike spiciness. May be a bit strong for pestos.
Cinnamon basil -- Dark green, distinctively veined foliage, spicy aroma with a hint of cinnamon.
Lemon basil -- Light green leaves are wonderful in salads and iced tea.
Purple Ruffles -- With ruffled, deeply toothed leaves, this plant is excellent for containers or as an ornamental accent in the garden.
Spicy Globe basil -- A dwarf hybrid loved for its spicy aroma, flavor and bushy appearance. Excellent for edging.
The endless summer
The close of the season doesn’t mean the end of a good thing. Most basils root easily in water so you can extend your harvest. Place cuttings in a small jar or paper cup on a sunny windowsill. Be sure to change the water daily to avoid stem rot, then pot them up before the roots get too long.
You can also freeze chopped leaves in an ice cube tray. Pop the frozen basil cubes into a freezer bag and use them whenever you want to spice up a meal and revisit the sweet days of summer.
PSSST: Liven up a boring plate of sliced tomatoes with your favorite salad dressing and a mixture of thinly sliced basils including Purple Ruffles, Spicy Globe, and Red Rubin. Yum!
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Lynn Hunt, the Rose Whisperer, is one of more than a dozen expert gardeners who blog regularly at Diggin' It. She's an accredited horticultural judge and a Consulting Rosarian Emeritus for the American Rose Society. She has won dozens of awards for her writing in newspapers, magazines, and television. After a recent move, she grows roses and other plants in her garden in the mountains of western North Carolina.. To read more by Lynn, click here.You can also follow her on Twitter and read her Dirt Diaries.
The creeping types of Tiarella or foamflower, such as Running Tapestry, shown, spread to cover woodland gardens without crowding out other plants. (Courtesy of Gene Bush)
Tiarella, or foamflower, does double duty in the shade garden
Gardeners will want to know that foamflowers fall into two divisions. There is a species, with its forms and cultivars, which all form tight clumps over time. Most of these will have some Tiarella wherryi in their parentage. Tiarella cordifolia, which has both rhizomatus stems and is stoloniferous, creates ground covers.
Each -- creeping ground cover or clumping -- has its place in the garden. As I learn how best to use foamflowers in my garden, ground-covering forms have become my favorites. I find it easy to use ground covers with companion plants. In fact, foamflower is so versatile that it's difficult to choose a less than ideal companion plants for them.
For example, while flowing outward, they offer no competition for other plants to grow up through. I enjoy being able to use the same space in my garden more than once, providing several seasons of interest in the same location.
Ground-covering plants are more than just another pretty face for the gardener. They also serve to hold down weeds by occupying space so seeds cannot germinate. While covering an area, foliage provides constant shade to keep the roots of other plants cooler and more moist.
Try Running Tapestry foamflower
Of all the foamflower cultivars that have come and gone over the years, my favorite is T. cordifolia ‘Running Tapestry’. [See photo, above.] Mature leaves are about 4 inches across and 4-1/2 to 5 inches long, softly hairy, with gracefully scalloped edges. The veins are heavily marked as though ink-stained in brown-black with concentrated patterns or blotches of color in the center of each leaf. In winter the foliage takes on additional colors of pink, tan, and maroon-red over the dark, rich, green.
Running Tapestry is one of the heaviest bloomers of all foamflowers grown here at my garden in southern Indiana. Almost every one of the plants that have matured on runners will have clumps of bloom stems with white frothy flowers on display.
In spring and summer, the plant sends out thin, green runners that reach two to three feet in length. These will have leaves about the size of a quarter along their length. At each leaf node, the runner will take root and form another plant that will mature and send out its own runners.
Woodland landscaping with foamflowers
Three years ago I transplanted three plants to my raised bed. Those three plants have grown nicely to cover an area about six feet by seven feet. The raised bed, which has old rotted pines and cedars as side supports, is about 12 feet by 12 feet. There is a path around all four sides of the bed, with largest plants in the middle, stepping down in size to the edges of the bed. There are two native azaleas, hellebore garden hybrids (Lenten roses), ferns, Trilliums, and Disporum (fairy bells).
I am especially pleased with the way Running Tapestry has woven a carpet around hellebores and ferns. Trilliums poke their noses up through the weave, adding vertical accent. New runners are drifting over the edge of the rotted logs like a tattered rug, creating a wonderfully soft, natural appearance to the edges of the bed.
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Gene Bush, a nationally known garden writer, photographer, lecturer, and nursery owner, gardens on a shaded hillside in southern Indiana. His website is www.munchkinnursery.com. He also writes the Garden Clippin's Newsletter. To read more by Gene here at Diggin' It, click here.
Cheesy spanakopita is a tasty way to serve the fresh spinach you've grown in your garden, or picked up at the farmers' market. (Courtesy of Linda weiss)
How to grow and cook spinach
Spinach likes it cool, says Anne Moore, the gardener. Plant it early in the season for a spring crop or late for a winter crop. If planted after the soil heats up, the seeds might not germinate. For a winter crop, you might have to sow it indoors where you can regulate the soil temperature.
Bloomsdale Long-Standing spinach is a reliable, old-fashioned spinach. It is slow to bolt (a seed stalk shoots up from the center of the plants, turning the leaves bitter.) Use it anywhere the weather jumps from cool to hot with little “spring” in between.
New Zealand spinach and Malabar spinach make good hot-climate spinach substitutes. In the South, you can sow either directly into the soil after all danger of frost has passed. Despite their names, neither are spinach but they taste much the same. Both can be eaten raw or cooked slowly as you would other greens.
New Zealand spinach seed should be soaked for 24 hours before planting. It actually is a cluster of seeds (like beet seed) and will come up thickly and need thinning once it establishes in the garden.
You should scarify Malabar spinach seed (scratch it with a file or knife). This helps to speed germination, although my preferred speed-up is soaking. It is a vine with red stems and glossy green leaves, showy enough to run up a trellis amongst your ornamental plants.
Grow any of the spinaches or subs in well-draining soil. Keep the seedbed moist until the seeds sprout. Then water whenever the soil dries out about an inch deep.
If the plants wilt during the heat of the day, check the soil with your finger before you add water. Over-watering can promote root rot and fungus infections.
Spinach recipe - Spanakopita
The first time I took cooking lessons, almost 40 years ago, was at a Greek cooking class, says chef Linda Weiss. The two recipes that we learned that night were spanakopita, and baklava. We made the spanakopita with frozen spinach that we thawed and squeezed almost dry before adding to the recipe. I made this recipe, below and in the photograph above, with fresh baby spinach. It has a different color and texture. I think you’ll like it. I sure do.
1/2 package phyllo dough, thawed *
10 tablespoons melted butter
10 ounces reduced-fat ricotta cheese
10 ounces reduced-fat feta cheese, crumbled
2-1/2 tablespoons finely grated Romano cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1 pound fresh baby spinach, finely chopped, or chopped in food processor
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 green onions with 3 inches of tender stems, chopped
1-1/2 tablespoons finely chopped dill
Pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
If phyllo dough is frozen, place in refrigerator to thaw.
Once phyllo has thawed, melt butter and set aside.
Unroll thawed phyllo dough and cut in half by width to fit a 9-by-9-inch oven-proof pan or the equivalent in volume. (I used a 7-by-11-inch pan and staggered the filo dough). Butter the baking pan and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a small skillet. Add green onions and sauté until tender. Set aside.
Prepare spinach and place in a large bowl. Add eggs, cheeses, green onions with the olive oil, dill, and pepper to the spinach. You will have about 6 cups of mixture.
In the buttered baking pan, add 8 layers of phyllo dough, brushing each layer with butter. Spread 2 cups of the spinach-cheese mixture over the phyllo. Add 8 more layers of phyllo dough, brushing each layer with butter. Spread 2 more cups of spinach-cheese mixture, and layer again with 8 buttered layers of dough. Spread the final 2 cups of the spinach-cheese mixture, and then add 14 layers of phyllo dough, brushing each layer with butter and making sure you brush the top layer with butter as well. Cut the pastry into equal pieces with a sharp knife and bake for 40 minutes or until top is golden brown. Let rest 20 minutes before serving. Serves 6 to 8.
* There are two rolls of phyllo dough in most packages. Each inside roll has 20 layers. Unroll one and cut it in half by width. This will give you 40 sheets. Make sure you keep it covered with a slightly damp cloth; otherwise, it will feel like paper crumbling in your hand when you try to pick it up.
Editor's Note: To read more of Anne and Linda's "how to grow and prepare" series, click here.
Linda Weiss is a personal chef. She attended Le Cordon Bleu of Paris’ catering program and is a professional member of The James Beard Foundation and the Southern Foodways Alliance. Her cookbook is "Memories From Home, Cooking with Family and Friends." Anne Moore is an award winning free lance writer. She is the horticulture editor, gardening consultant, and newsletter editor for GardenSmart.tv. She is a member of the Garden Writers Association. Follow Linda & Anne as they blog at www.thegardenerandthechef.com
Single peonies are attractive and the flowers aren't as likely to be adversely affected by bad weather as double flowers can be. (Courtesy of Donna Williamson)
Peony season
Peony season is a delight. This year it is earlier than normal due to weather weirdness. Usually in Northern Virginia, the peonies are Memorial Day treats.
The fragrance is compelling to many. It’s not the cloying sweetness of lily-of-the-valley or the intoxication of lilac. It’s not even the fresh grape fragrance of iris or the multicharacter fragrance of rose. Peony fragrance is of sun and clean linen.
As a fan of plants that are good companions (those that look and grow well together), I prefer single-flowered peonies to the big doubles so popular today.
Doubles need support . If you don’t get that peony ring and frame out in time, the plants' stems lean over with the weight of hundreds of petals.
Often the rains of May will turn the blossom into a soggy tan mess that then dries on the stem. Ick. It might even be dry enough to shatter into a mass of brown petals that make a lumpy pile at the base of the peony plant.
This is unattractive and requires the gardener to intervene with a quick clean-up. There are too many other things to do this time of year!
More weather-proof
The better idea is to look for the single-flowering forms of peony (see first photo above). The flowers are exquisite, can be held up by the stems, and flutter into decay after blooming. They don’t create a pile of mush, but decompose rapidly.
I often buy these types of peonies and work hard to keep the names. Sadly, cats and sun ruin my tags, and I lose the names. It doesn’t seem to matter. though, as they are still beautiful and don’t require me to clean up after their big moment.
Plant in fall
In the fall, look peony roots for sale and plant in a sunny location with good drainage. They seem to live forever and will benefit if the ants find them. Peony flowers are tasty to ants. They secrete nectar so the ants will protect them from other big and small critters looking for a meal.
Don’t plant the roots too deep; the eye needs to be less than two inches below the soil level or they will not flower well. Over time, they will often dig themselves deeper into the soil and may need dividing.
Deer tend to leave peonies alone, but not always – in a tough year. deer will eat the foliage, which does not seem to bother the plant much. After frost,cut back spent, dried foliage in fall or spring, or not at all, as it lies down and doesn’t really interfere with new growth, creating its own mulch.
And then, next May, let your eyes be filled with the beauty of peony flowers and the fragrance of clean linen.
Editor's Note: The first two paragraphs of this article were accidentally omitted when it was first posted.
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Donna Williamson is one of more than a dozen professional garden writers who blog regularly at Diggin' It. She's a master gardener, garden designer, and garden coach. She has taught gardening and design classes at the State Arboretum of Virginia, Oatlands in Leesburg, and Shenandoah University. She’s also the founder and editor of Grandiflora Mid-Atlantic Gardening magazine, and the author of “The Virginia Gardener’s Companion: An Insider’s Guide to Low Maintenance Gardening in Virginia.” She lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. To read more by Donna, click here.
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