The Russian River‘s Secret Horticulture

Surrounded by carnivorous eating plants was not a situation I’ve experienced in my past visits to the wine district of Northern California. In mid February I traveled to the Russian River area of Sonoma County to explore a few of the less well known gardens and parks.

First I visited the Sonoma Horticulture Nursery, which specializes in rhododendrons and azaleas, along with a wide selection of shade-loving trees, shrubs and perennials. The eight plus acres of nursery and gardens are open all year to visitors. Azaleas and rhododendrons cover the hills which surrounded a shaded pond. The azaleas were beginning to bloom and I was tempted to purchase several. The owner Polo bought this nursery in 1976. He is proudly showed off a few of his 20 to 30 varieties of magnolias and his swamp garden with weird Cypress knees rising out of the muck. <http://www.sonomahort.com/>

I lunched in the secret garden patio at the back of the Mosaic Restaurant(http://www.mosaiceats.co/). Enjoying creatively prepared vegetables gathered from the owner’s garden and other local farms.

Not far away is the Armstrong Woods State Reserve(http://www.parks.ca.gov/) with hiking and driving paths through majestic redwoods. Check out the 1400 year old redwood “Colonel Armstrong”. I was sorry to miss the rare Calypso orchids which were not yet in bloom. Also I did not have time to visit the coast which was ablaze with masses of blue irises.

In Sonoma County it is impossible to escape the rolling hills crisscrossed by rows of vines. In the spring the mustard plants add a golden swath between the vines. Many wineries have developed gardens with plants and herbs that match their wine varieties. In these gardens you are encouraged to walk with glass of wine in hand and taste the plants matching the taste and smell of their wines with certain herbs..

Some wineries have elaborate gardens which are used for wedding and events; others offer quiet maze like paths. Kendall Jackson Wine Center has an educational herb garden and Korbel is known for its rose garden.

Russian River resorts also offer delightful gardens and unusual plants. I stayed at the “green” Creekside Inn & Resort which is surrounded by redwoods (one a rare albino) and is near the Russian River. Lynn and her handsome sons are knowledgeable about the area and created delicious breakfasts and snacks. Their cabins, one-bedroom apartments, units, and bed & breakfast rooms are environmentally friendly. Their cottages are wheelchair and dog friendly.

The Sonoma Orchid Inn, a 1906 farmhouse bed & breakfast inn is owned and run by Brian and Dana who are avid orchid collectors. Orchids are displayed through out the Inn and their greenhouse displays their award winning rare species including their own hybrids.

The Village Inn & Restaurant(http://www.villageinn-ca.com/) was custom built in 1906 as a private vacation home. The lovely landscaped gardens offer views of Russian River wildlife and mountains. Their restaurant offers Classic American cuisine created with fresh seasonal ingredients from their organic herb garden and local Sonoma farms.

Returning to Virginia I bought a Venus fly trap at a garden show. In California I had learned form Peter, the owner of California Carnivores, that most insect-eating plants are local to the wetlands of the east coast from Canada to Florida. Since the wetlands have been drained; only small protected areas still support these plants. I have visions of restoring a river bank and small bog behind my house with these plants. If you are interested in these sci-fi type plants; visit his store in Sebastopol or buy one of his books.

April Gardening Notes

April is the time of year when I can’t resist buying annual flowers to add color to my gardens and containers. I look for plants with many unopened blooms. Plants which have open blooms are often root bound and will grow slower. For a constant supply of cut flowers, I plant seeds at about 2 week intervals until mid July.

We probably all have areas of poor soil. This is the perfect place to plant the colorful nasturtiums. Wait for warm soil before seeding. Blooms should appear within 50 days. Too much water and fertilizer sends energy to the leaves not the flowers.

April is a good time to divide chrysanthemums. Pinch off the tops down to 6 inches. Pinch every month to keep the plants at this height until late July. Feed monthly with liquid fertilizer such as fish emulsion until the buds show color.

Tulip leaves which have yellowed halfway down can be removed. Fertilize them at the same time. Dead head spring bulbs leaving the flower stem intact. After daffodils flowers, which have been decorating and scenting my rooms die, I don’t throw them away. Instead I scatter the flowers over my tulips and other deer loving plants. The deer bite into the daffodil stem by mistake and will leave the plant alone. Dead daffodils are a cheap and easy deer deterrent.

Finally I discovered a use for plastic packing peanuts. I use the plastic, not biodegradable peanuts, as a substitute for the gravel or stones I place in the bottom of my flower pots. A piece of pantyhose in the bottom will keep soil from dripping out.

Lilacs should be feed with manure and lime. Last azalea feeding should be after blooming. Crepe myrtles should be feed this month and July with a high phosphorus fertilizer. Fertilize tea roses once a month. Small, sparse and pale dogwood leaves are probably begging for fertilizer. Have the soil under the tree tested.

Some herbs that thrive in the sandy soil of sunny rock gardens and brick walkways are creeping thyme, sage, santolina, lavender and garlic.

The mustard greens are blooming; regrettably, I haven’t had time to harvest them. The leaves, buds and flowers are edible. This time of the year I see them for sale in health food stores. Other edible weeds are pigweed, purslane, chickweed, lamb’s quarters and dandelion greens. In my vegetable garden I’m planting Swiss chard, spinach and lettuce.

Many insects are your garden’s best friend. Bees pollinate; wasps destroy whiteflies and aphids; yellow jackets feed on flies and caterpillars; lady bugs eat aphids, mealy bugs, and spider mites. Other beneficial insects are dragonflies, lacewings, beetles, spiders, and beneficial mites. So avoid toxic sprays and dusts which kill beneficial insects, frogs and lizards.

February gardening notes

Has the lack of outdoor flowers caused you to go in to withdrawal? For your flower fix visit a garden show. This weekend, Feb. 21 -24 is the Maymont Flower & Garden Show (maymontflowershow.com) at the Richmond Convention Center. In March the Philadelphia Flower Show (theflowershow.com) is the 2th thro 9th and the San Francisco Show (gardenshow.com/sf) is the 12th thro 16th. Come April is the Historic Garden Week in Virginia (vagardenweek.org) April 19th thro 27th. Also in April is the Cincinnati Flower Show (cincyflowershow.com) which will be held outside from April 19th thro 27th. May 20th thro 24th is the grand Chelsea Show (rhs.org.uk/chelsea) in Eng.

I decided to google for info on the continuing care of my Amaryllis (Hippeastrum). I was amazed to find more than 250 sites. One site amaryllis.com only sells Amaryllis bulbs. For “after blooming care” cut off only the dead flowers. The flowering stem should not be cut until it starts sagging. After our last frost the pot can be placed outside in full sun. To provide food for the bulb you should continue to water and fertilize all summer.

When the leaves begin to yellow, cut the leaves back to about two inches from the top of the bulb and bring inside before the first frost of fall. This site then suggest removing the bulb from the pot and placing it in the frig at 40-50 deg. For a minimum of 6 weeks. Other sites say to put the plant in a 55 degree room - not the refrigerator. Since The Amaryllis Bulb Company is located in Florida they probably can not find a 55 degree room in late Fall. The plant should be placed back in sunlight 8 weeks before you would like them to bloom.

Were your paperwhites tall and floppy this holiday? They needed a drink. Professor Bill Miller of Cornell's Flower Bulb Research Program discovered that paperwhites(Narcissus tazetta) grown in water with a 5% concentration of alcohol bloomed beautifully on one-third shorter stems. Since most liquors are about 40% alcohol, that works out to 1 part booze to 7 parts water. Gin, vodka, whiskey, rum, tequila and rubbing alcohol work well, but wine and beer are too high in sugar. Start watering with this mixture once the roots begin growing and the green shoots reach about 1 to2 inches. This watering solution stunts the growth of the plant, but does not affect the blooms.

Native of Mediterranean Europe and Asia Minor paperwhite bulbs, which have not been forced, may be planted outside in zones 8 – 10. They may survive in our area if planted in a protected southern exposure site.

I’ve been watching a clump of daffodils which are growing outside my carport. When the weather is in the 40s the buds turn yellow. Then we get a freeze, they close up to green. The same buds have been slightly opening and closing for over a month.

This month our temperatures are ranging from 20 to70 degrees. Daffodils and crocuses are popping out. Winter jasmine’s masses of yellow blooms are often mistaken for Forsythia.

Forsythia is easy to force. Every February I cut a few branches, stick them in a jar with water and within a week have small blooms. However Andre & Mark Viette describe professional methods to force blooms. Cut 2 to 3 foot long branches covered with swelling buds, put cut ends in icy cold water and place for 2 days in a cool dark location. Then again cut the ends and place in vase of cold water and display in a sunny location. That is their cold method. Their warm method is even more complicated. Place the cut branches in warm water. Tent the branches and container in plastic and locate in a warm, but darken room.

January Gardening Notes

Pruning the seed capsules off the tips of your crepe myrtles will give you larger bloom clusters this summer. Also prune the dead blooms from Rose of Sharon.

Clean your fireplaces and place the wood ashes around lilacs, roses, peonies, clematis, daffodils and vegetable garden. The ashes add both lime and potash to the soil. Do not put the ashes around your acid-loving plants.

If we get a snow storm this year; sprinkle bird seed (the birds will love you), sand or kitty litter on icy walks. Do not use salt which will burn your plants and shrubs and will eat away at bricks. Don’t forget to gently scoop fresh snow off boxwoods and evergreens for the snow may freeze and break branches.

Don’t discard your amaryllis and other forced bulbs (except paper-whites). Cut off the flower heads and place plant in a sunny indoor location. Every second watering add a half dose of fertilizer to the water. In the spring place your potted amaryllis outside (bring back inside in the fall) and plant the other bulbs in your garden.

Poinsettia plants can also be reused each year. Keep the plant in a sunny location where the night time temperature is no colder than 60 degrees. The soil should be kept damp and fertilized lightly when new growth appears. When the temperature is warm enough the plant should be cut back and spent the summer outside. In October bring the plant indoors for 12 hours of darkness a day (I set my 2006 poinsettia in a dark corner of a room.) and in December the bracts will turn to color for Christmas.

It is not too soon to start forcing blooms from flowering shrubs and trees. Forsythia is especially easy. Also try crabapple, peach, plum, pussy willow, quince, winter jasmine and witch hazel.

After a cold snap check to see if any perennials have risen from their beds. This is caused from the ground freezing then thawing. Press the plant’s soil covered roots back into the ground and cover with mulch.

My vegetable garden is still providing arugula, chard, cilantro, parsley and sage. On the north side of the garden I used discarded windows as a wind break. When the temperature hits 32o or below, I throw old sheets over my plants.

With the unseasonable warm weather insects emerge. The Boxelder bugs swam on the southern side of my home and often find entry to the inside. These bugs are usually harmless both to plants and humans, but can stain the house siding.

It is not too early to start planning your spring vegetable garden. Start sowing seeds of cool season vegetables, such as arugula, in indoor pots or trays. Also start seeds of lavender, chives, dill, rosemary, thyme and parsley. Seeds of peas (soak over night), lettuce, spinach and chard can be planted in your garden if protected with a cover of black fabric.

December Gardening notes

Today is the Winter Solstice the shortest day and longest night of the year and the official start of winter. With the shorter periods of light plants die or stop producing new growth. Average daily temperature below 43oF (6oC) will also cause plants to stop growth; so the leaves, stems, and flowers die. However, the roots of trees, shrubs and some plants are storing energy for spring growth. Tomorrow, days will start to lengthen; as nights shorten.

After weeks of the Xmas frenzy I am ready to nest in my home and read the garden books I’ve been stockpiling all year, but haven’t taken the time to read. So while your garden is resting; envision your dream garden for 2008.

A friend’s email greeting enclosed a video, which is especially appropriate for this time of year. A serious message presented in an entertaining format. Please click on www.storyofstuff.com !

Warm wishes for a peaceful, happy, and healthy Holiday and New Year!

November Gardening Notes

Many plants, shrubs and trees look dormant at this time; but, their roots are still growing. So until the ground freezes you should continue to water. Until early December continue to plant deciduous shrubs and trees.

The holly trees, decorated with red berries, remind us of the approaching holidays. If you have only one holly tree and no berries; you need a mate – for your holly tree. Hollies are dioecious. The female holly tree bears the berries and the male tree provides the pollen. One male holly tree will serve many female holly trees. Deer will munch on young holly trees; if there is nothing better to eat.

Ginkgo trees also are dioecious. The female ginkgo produces a smelly and messy fruit, which is a delicacy in China. The ginkgo has beautiful fan shaped leaves which turns a brilliant yellow after the other tree leaves have already fallen. In my mother’s yard antique (over 100 feet tall) male & female ginkgos are the last trees to lose their leaves. Every year around Nov. 9th (my brother’s birthday) the falling brilliant yellow fan shape leaves signify the end of colorful autumn. This year the golden leaves are still clinging on. Over Thanksgiving the sugar maples were still in color. This is unusual and probably due to our warm and dry fall (global warming?).

We have plenty of dead leaves, but only the oak leaves should be used for mulching your garden. Oak leaves are pest resistant and retain moisture. Magnolia and beech leaves should remain under the tree; since they create their own fertilizer. Throw the rest of your leaves on your compost pile.

Are you considering a live Christmas tree this season? Then dig a large hole where you plan to plant your tree after the holidays. Fill the hole with your fallen leaves. When the ground is frozen; you will be thankful you were prepared.

Wisteria should only be fertilized after their leaves have fallen. This will give you more bloom and less growth next year.

Fertilize your bulb beds. Continue to water newly planted bulbs. In order to discourage voles; do not mulch around your bulbs until the ground is frozen.

Don’t sanitize your garden. Though some plants, such as Iris and peony, should be cut back and their dead leaves removed. Also roses should have their fallen leaves removed. However, many perennials are attractive and useful in their dormant state. They provide food and protection for birds and protect new growth. Especially, your chrysanthemums or mums will start to look messy as the flowers fade and the leaves fall, but the old stems will protect new growth. The result will be healthier plants next fall. So leave some of your garden clean-up till spring.

October Gardening Notes

October is a good time to plant bulbs, both in your garden and in pots. If planting bulbs in clay soil you should work bone meal, top soil and hardwood mulch into the soil. Do not plant your daffodil bulbs until after the first hard frost. After the second hard frost, plant tulip bulbs. Follow with muscari and crocus bulbs.

For indoor pleasure, force daffodil, tulip, crocus, and hyacinth bulbs. Place your potted bulbs in a dark and cool location until green life appears. Then move to a sunny location where you can enjoy the blooms during the winter gloom. After blooming, let the bulbs dry; then store in a cool dark place. Plant these bulbs in your garden the following fall. Except for paper whites, which apparently do not re-bloom. Do you know how to get paper whites to re-bloom?

October is the time to winterize your roses by applying potassium. Stop deadheading your roses so rose hips can form. The rose hips signal to the roses that this is the time to go dormant. Give the roses a final deep water then mulch to protect their soil from freezing. When the tree leaves start to show color begin to transplant and plant roses, shrubs and trees.

Steven Foster, herbalist

Last May I attended a travel writing conference in Arkansas. Many months later I found a misplaced memory card with my interview of Steven Foster on his new book, “Desk Reference to Nature’s Medicine” which is published by National Geographic. I had talked with him 12 years ago when I was harvesting ginkgo leaves for an herb company. Steven, who specializes in medicinal and aromatic plants, has become world renowned as an herbalist, lecturer, international consultant and botanical photographer. His website at http://www.stevenfoster.com/ is full of information on herbs and his international projects.

Today is Blog Action Day and this year bloggers are asked to write on the environment. A month ago I registered to participate. I was the 548,000 blog to sign in.

At the moment I’m in my favorite place Marin County, CA. near Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. Only 20 minutes or more north of San Francisco this is a serene location in which to learn how to become a better environmentalist. The flower, fruit and vegetables gardens are brimming with beauty.

On Tues. mornings one can volunteer to work in the garden. At 9 am last Tues. I met the head gardener, Astrid, and two other volunteers. Jessie is a high school student here for the morning as part of her independent study. Sarah volunteers often at the Center.

Our first activity was to spread straw mulch on a freshly weeded flower bed. We carefully placed straw (about two inches thick cover) around the flowers covering the bare ground. We used boards which we laid down on the beds to reach the center of the beds. This was to distribute our weight so as not to compact the soil. We compressed the straw with our hands to push out the air; so a strong breeze wouldn’t blow our work away.

Next we were directed to an area of the bed which needed to be weeded. Weeding is my favorite garden activity. I chose a large patch of scented Bloody Cranesbill Geraniums. Easy to zone out on the thick perfume, red tinted leaves, and blue flowers of this plant. ( I took a seed pod to germinate at home.) We used a knife-like tool to get deep at the roots of tall grasses which were popping up through the geraniums.

Around 10:30 we headed into the dining room for a mid-morn snack of fresh bread, muffins, fruit, tea and coffee. Rather than returning directly to the gardens we help peel and chop quinces which will be made into a paste. After an hour we returned to the gardens to deposit our weeds on the correct compost piles (we used white buckets for compostable weeds and black for invasive) and to return our gardening tools and wheel barrels to the garden shed.

Then we joined the rest of the members of the Center for a delicious lunch. The breads freshly baked in the kitchen, large salad of argula, flowers, and melon from the garden, four different soups (a thick puree of spinach and chard topped with fresh cheese shaving; tomato & lime; miso; and beet).

The San Francisco Zen Center which includes Green Gulch, Tassajarra, City Center and Greens Restaurant (vegetarian food) states that “As an expression of our Zen practice, it has always been important for us to pay close attention to our impact on the environment”. There is their organic farm and gardens at Green Gulch, where they are restoring a creek; the solar panels at each center; and programs and lectures on the environment.

For directions and more info on Green Gulch Farm Zen Center see website at http://www.sfzc.org or call 415-383-3134.

If you pass or visit Lynchburg, Virginia during your travels take a few minute detour to view the lovely preserved garden of Anne Spencer. Anne Spencer was first recognized as a Harlem poet during the 1920’s. She lived most of her life in Lynchburg where the garden she and her husband created formed the metaphor for many of her poems, such as the following written in 1975, the year she died:

“Turn an earth clod
Peel a shaley rock
In fondness molest a curly worm
Whose familiar is everywhere
And the curly worm sentient now
Will light the word that tells the poet what a poem is “

The nature images in her poems often soften her themes of feminism and discrimination. As her garden was a respite from the harshness of life.

“Most things are colorful things- -the sky, earth, and sea.
Black men are most men; the white are free!... “ excerpt from her poem "White Things"

This fall a collection of her letters and poem drafts will hopefully become part of the archives of the University of Virginia’s Special Collections Library. In 2005 a PBS GardenStory series presented a segment “Garden as Muse” on Anne Spencer.

Thanks to volunteers, such as the Hillside Garden Club, Lynchburg college students, and individuals, her garden and home remain open to the public. Several other historical buildings line the block where she lived. Her garden, always open to the public, is located behind her home at 1313 Pierce Street close to Route 29. Call Sandra Wilson (434-384-3963) for a guided tour of the Anne Spencer House & Garden Museum.

Still no rain, but a few tears! My mother had a heritage copper beech slaughtered. Trees have always been a special friend. My sister and I called this beech "the elephant tree". As a child I spent many hours prone on the enormous gray branch, hidden by the reddish leaves. All that is left is a seedling, which I will nourish.

September Gardening Tips

September is the time to start planning and working on your spring garden. If you haven’t already noticed; the garden catalogues, garden shops and even hardware stores are selling a variety of spring bulbs and perennials. Prolific use of deer proof daffodils is always a guarantee for a joyful early spring.

This has been a wonderful summer for crepe myrtles and to prolong the white, pink and purple blooms remove the faded blooms. Removing the dead blooms on butterfly bushes will also stimulate new blooms.

Continue to cut the faded blooms of lilies, but do not cut the stems and foliage until they have turned yellow.

When your peony foliage and stems turn brown; cut and destroy the stems and leaves to protect spring growth from diseases. Now is the time to divide and plant peonies. Dig holes 2ft deep and 2ft wide and fill with compost and bone meal. Let soil settle a week or so then plant the peonies with their roots about 11/2 inches below the soil surface.

Use wood ash from your fireplace, wood stove, or burn pile to fertilize peonies and lilacs.

September is the best month to work on your lawn. My method is to let the clover spread and to encourage patches of mosses. However, I realize most still strive for the perfect “lawn”. So reseed, fertilize and remove weeds.

We may have moderate weather for several months so there is still time for your fall vegetable garden. Cool weather vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, herbs etc. Plant a few in containers. Before our first frost, take the containers inside to sunny spot and enjoy fresh vegetables and herbs all winter.

Water newly planted seeds, vegetables, shrubs and trees often. If dry; water established plants well no more than once or twice a month to encourage deep roots.

As always attack your weeds before they can reseed!