Sweet Shrub

.

This native shrub (Calycanthus floridus) can grow 6 to 9 feet tall. It grows in almost any soil in sun to part shade in zones 4 to 9. The flowers are reddish brown. It is a deciduous shrub and the leaves turn yellow in fall.

Mine grows in part shade. I will cut it back when it’s done blooming to keep in within bounds. It sends out runners which need to be pulled out or dug out from time to time. I’ve given a few to friends (with this warning).

There are some comments about sweet shrub on Dave’s Garden. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/550/ . Escambiaguy from Atmore, AL submitted: “My great grandmother . . . would wrap the blooms in a handkerchief and take them to church with her. She would smell them while sitting in church.” And “The only negative comment about the plant is that it spreads like crazy. I have to constantly prune the suckers. If left alone, you will have a yard full of sweet shrub.”

But, the best thing about this bush is the aroma it gives off in spring. It is blooming right now in my garden and fills the yard with its sweet smell. The blooms will last for weeks.

.

Woodland Plants

.

Several years ago, with plants from a friend, I started a small woodland garden under edge of our 70 foot hemlocks.

I love the little plants. They are small and unobtrusive but shine in a shady place.


Dutchman’s Breeches (Dicentra cucullari), a white flowering native wildflower, grows to about 4 to 8 inches. It got the common name because the flower supposedly resembles and upside down pair of breeches. They bloom for about two or three weeks starting in April in my garden. It grows in moist woods naturally but is not tolerant of wet winter soil. They do tolerate drought.

I’m told the seeds are distributed by ants. I’ve never witnessed tiny ants carrying tiny seeds so I can’t testify to this. The foliage is toxic to mammals and I know for a fact that deer won’t eat it.

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis L.) grows to be a towering 10” tall. One of the first wildflowers to bloom in spring, it always takes me by surprise. For such a small plant the flowers are somewhat spectacular in a woodland setting.

The root was used by the American Indians for treatment of rheumatism and fever and today is being studied as a treatment for skin cancer. Its use in mouthwash and toothpaste to fight gingivitis and plaque has been approved by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration. According to the FDA, self-medication should be avoided because it could be toxic. It was also a source of red, pink and orange dyes by the American Indians.

Bloodroot prefers rich, moist soil and grows best in shade. I’ve read they are attractive to slugs, deer and other nibbling animals but I haven’t had any trouble so far.

Bloody Sorrel (Rumex sanguineus) is considered a perennial herb or ornamental vegetable. The attractive foliage is a deep green with red veins. This one tops out at about 15 inches. It likes damp shade but will usually survive a drought. Mine have never flowered but I’ve read that they have attractive redish/purple seed heads that stand about a foot above the plant.

I’ve also read that new leaves can be eaten like spinach. I hate spinach and I don’t intend to eat this pretty plant.


I’ve also added some Christmas fern, Japanese painted fern, lady fern, August lily, lungwort and a few other woodland plants. The petite plants boast a subtle beauty and add a surprising interest to a woodland setting.

.

Spring Garden Update

I spent most of yesterday afternoon deadheading spent tulips, hyacinths and daffodils to allow the energy to go in to the bulb instead of making seeds.

I’ve finished a lot on my spring list: moved blood grass, divided and potted everything on the list, finished pruning shrubs, finished trimming roses and moved (¾ of) the mulch.

I’ll start the first batch of compost tea this afternoon and make a trip to Hickory Grove in Catasauqua for some annuals to plant in May. If we get more frosty nights like last night I’ll be stashing them in the garage overnight.

There is so much in bloom right now.


Pink azalea


White rhododendron


White lilac


Bleeding Heart


The blooming trees are especially beautiful this year. The redbuds and dogwoods are full of flowers,


After the rain Tuesday, my world is green again.

(Pennsylvania bats white nose syndrome update– Morning Call story 4/29/08 http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-white.6383696apr29,0,6811063.story )

.

Earth Day

Bethlehem Area School District Earth Day Celebration at the city ice rink was a hit with approximately 3,000 elementary school children. The April 22 to 25 program was chocked full of educational displays and information.

City Recycling Center’s information “Why We Recycle” and how long waste remains in the landfill amazed the adults as well as the kids.

Liberty High School’s display of a littered campsite showed the mess that could be left behind by campers.

Freedom High School’s “Global Warming” display came complete with a jeopardy game and a lot of hoots and hollers.

An interest in “Snakes, Frogs, Toads ‘n Bats” was sparked by Penn State Master Gardeners. Facts abounded, such as: “bats can eat up to 600 mosquitoes an hour” and “88% of what a toad eats are critters that are harmful in the garden” and “snakes are meat eaters that keep mice and vole populations under control.”

Commercial displays included slide shows and examples of recycled products. The kids went home with a seedling tree to plant as well as other environmentally themed school supplies. A worthwhile day of information, thanks to BASD and all the hard-working volunteers.

.

Spring

I haven’t had much time to work in or enjoy the garden this week. I hope to put in some good garden time next week.

The PJM rhododendron is putting on it’s usual spectacular bloom. Tulips, daffodils and grape hyacinths are blooming everywhere. It’s a beautiful spring color show.

Biochar

The other night I watched “Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures Return to the Amazon” on PBS. I was amazed to hear about “Terra Preta de Indio (Amazonian Dark Earths)” currently called biochar or agrichar.

According to Dr. Johannes Lehmann of Cornell University Assistant Professor, Soil Fertility Management, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences:

"Soils with biochar additions are typically more fertile, produce more and better crops for a longer period of time."

From Cornell ChronicleOnline by Susan Lang (Dr. Lehmann) “shows how reproducing the Amazon's black soil could increase fertility and reduce global warming."

If biochar is some sort of miracle soil amendment, why have I never even heard of it? Have you?

Originally, Terra Preto was made by pre-Columbian Indians in the Amazon River Basin. Most information points to a society that burned trees to make room for agriculture then added agricultural waste, human and animal waste, broken pots and refuse in a sort of an agricultural garbage dump.

As I understand it, biochar can reduce the need for fertilizers, reduce greenhouse gasses. “Char-amended soils have shown 50 - 80 percent reductions in nitrous oxide emissions, increase crop yield as well as supply a renewable energy source" (International Biochar Initiative [IBI]). According to IBI, “The bio-char process . . . produces a combination of both bio-energy and carbon-sequestering fertilizer from agricultural waste, which results in a net reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.”

Today, biochar is manufactured by slow pyrolysis. According to Best Energies http://www.bestenergies.com/ in their work on clean energy production:

“Slow pyrolysis is a thermochemical decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures in the absence of oxygen. The feed material is dried and fed into a stirred, heated kiln. As the material passes through the kiln, a combustible synthesis gas (syngas) is evolved and is continuously removed from the kiln. Approximately 35% by weight of the dry feed material is converted to a high-carbon char material that is collected on the discharge of the kiln.”

An easier to understand article was published September 1, 2007 Environmental Science & Technology published by the American Chemical Society:

"Pyrolysis, a technologically advanced form of smoldering, involves burning biomass under controlled, low-oxygen conditions. Small- and large-scale facilities work in various ways and yield a variety of energy products, including bio-oils and gases, with biochar as a byproduct." http://www.css.cornell.edu/faculty/lehmann/publ/Media/Renner%202007%20EST.pdf

OK, let’s just say heating in the absence of air.

There is definite interest in biochar research and production worldwide. The International Biochar Initiative (IBI) was formed in 2006. In 2007, IBI held a conference in Australia. It attracted science & business professionals from around the world. The 2008 conference will be held September 8-10, 2008 in the UK. http://www.biochar-international.org/

Democratic Senator Ken Salazar of Colorado introduced S.1884 – The Salazar Harvesting Energy Act of 2007. A Summary of Biochar Provisions in S.1884: Carbon-Negative Biomass Energy and Soil Quality Initiative for the 2007 Farm Bill is published here http://www.biochar-international.org/newinformationevents/newlegislation.html The bill will boost funding for biochar research.

There are many unanswered questions:

Who will conduct research into the possible negative environmental effects?

Who will regulate or measure manufacturing methods and quality (how)?

Will modern biochar be able to reproduce the sustainability of benefits to the soil that was established in pre-Columbian soils?

What system is best to mass produce biochar?

Will biochar contain enough inorganic ions, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, essential to plant growth?

What is the best raw material to use? How will it be collected?

Who will develop distribution machinery for farmers to use to spread biochar on crop fields? Will it be affordable?


There is a lot of work to be done but I suspect we’ll be hearing more about biochar in the future.

.

Spring Garden Priorities

It’s the time of year when everything in the garden needs to be done at once. My list includes:

Divide & pot perennials – coreopsis, daylily, liriope, mums, sweet woodruff, sweet shrub, brunnera, lily of the valley

Move Japanese Blood Grass

Continue Cleanup

Spray euonymus for scale (pictures before and after the cut)

Finish trimming shrubs

Finish trimming roses

Move mulch

Fertilize lawn according to the soil test

I got a good start this week but the next two weeks will be very busy with volunteer community garden cleanup, Earth Day, classes and meetings.

I try to remove weeds as fast as they appear. Wild garlic, yellow rocket and ground ivy are beginning to give me fits but I know it pays to keep up. My trusty dandelion digger is always with me.

.

Garden Awakening

The garden explodes in spring.

There is a lot happening in the garden right now. I’ve managed to divide the liriope, daylily, and coreopsis. About half of the cleanup is done.

The daffodils,

mini iris,

glories of snow,

hellebores are blooming and

I have a load of mulch in the driveway.

As lemon thyme, bleeding heart, mums, coreopsis, lupine, columbine turn green, I’ve got a lot of mulch to move.

Why I Don’t Use Landscape Fabric

Many years ago I tried landscape fabric to keep weeds out of the garden. And it worked, somewhat.

It doesn’t mean I never had to pull a weed. I covered the fabric with mulch. Weed seeds love to settle in mulch and need to be pulled from time to time. Some weeds such as thistle or dandelion go through the fabric. I know someone who’s fabricked garden is completely covered with weeds.

Small weeds in fabricked landscape usually come out easily. If a weed gets large and you pull it out, it pulls the fabric with it and then you have to re-cover it with mulch. Sometimes a strong rain will wash away the mulch and expose the fabric. I hate to see black plastic soil.

The cost for landscape fabric can be anywhere from $13.95 for a 3’ X 50’ roll to $145.95 for 4’ X 250’ Professional Weed Barrier. I found the different types available today confusing.

I used some of the leftover fabric under rocks at the top of our small bank. I hear it may work well under a stone path. I really don’t know anyone who has rock mulch so I can’t comment on that.

.
The point is – using landscape fabric is not completely maintenance free.

See more information from efn.org http://www.efn.org/~ipmpa/fabric.html

But, the most important reason I don’t use landscape fabric – it makes it impossible to add organic matter to the soil. Compost and mulch are basics in the garden. Over time, compost and mulch produce good soil. Good soil produces healthy plants.

If you have a weedy area that you want to cover and mulch, spread newspaper 6 sheets thick and spread mulch on top. It will kill the weeds and then degrade into the soil. My side garden was done that way.

Since you have to cover the fabric with mulch anyway, why not feed your plants at the same time. I don’t even want to think about planting a new shrub in a fabricked bed.

Ornamental Grass

Cutting tall ornamental grasses is a spring chore we don’t look forward to. The long blades are tough and sharp. We have tried everything from a sawzall to a chain saw. We’ve gone back to using a hand hedge trimmer or lopping shears.

We tie the grass with baling twine in two places. I pull back on the bundle as my husband chops away at the bottom of the grass. I move the cut stems out of the way so he can see where to cut. When the grass bundle is free we pile it for delivery to the city’s compost center.

The tall grasses tend to get wider over time. I would really like to divide them this year. Since that takes a lot of digging and a strong back wielding an ax, I don’t think it will happen.

I don’t cut back the Liriope (lilyturf) every year - mostly because I forget or I am too lazy. This tough little plant doesn’t seem to mind being ignored. I needed to trim this year because I want to divide the several clumps I have around the garden. I used a grass shears for the job. It’s a tough bladed plant and takes a while to whittle it down.

Stella de Oro Daylily also needs to be divided this year. I have unashamedly put this off for the last 2 years. I have never divided the clump. It was planted in 2001 and it seems to flower less than before. I plan to use a garden fork to lift and then separate the roots by hand. I’ll spread them out in the same spot and perhaps have a few left over to give away.

A few coral bells (Heuchera micrantha 'Palace Purple') try to grow in the same area. (picture right: coral bells on both sides of impatiens in another area where they have room to grow, July ’07) The coral bells are overwhelmed by the daylily, hosta and pink azalea. I’ll move these to the front shade garden. I’ve read that they are rabbit and deer resistant. Since the critters have mowed down a row of crocus, I need more plants rabbits or deer won’t eat. I can’t spread the cayenne pepper fast enough.

Some of these plants will be given to friends who have requested them. Others will go to plant sales for local groups. Hopefully, I will have a less crowded look this summer.

Jim Brand

In memory of Jim Brand, Chairman Musikfest Flower Committee.

Leader, jokester, inspiration, and friend.

We will miss you Einstein.

.

Right Plant/Right Place

(Spring - crocus at the top of the bank.)

Kay Johns spoke at the Bethlehem Garden Club meeting this week. Kay and her husband Herb own Point Phillips Perennials in Danielsville, Pa. http://www.ppperennials.com/

Kay’s talk “Perennials: Right Plant/Right Place” included:

Sun Loving Drought Tolerant Plants
Sun and Moisture Loving Plants
Shade Loving Drought Tolerant Plants
Shade and Moisture Loving Plants
Sun and Moisture Loving Drought Tolerant Plants
Shade and Moisture loving Drought Tolerant Plants

Her informative and fascinating talk started by stressing the need to know the soil moisture during the winter as well as the summer. In some areas of the garden, snow cover keeps the soil wet in winter. If the plant can’t take the winter moisture it may rot.

Ms. Johns provided a list of specific plants for each condition. It was another reminder to do the research to save time, money and the environment.

Experience has taught me to follow the “after established” caveat when planting drought tolerant perennials. A new plant may need to be watered into October or November depending on weather. Planting in July requires more frequent deep watering than the same plant planted in September. New perennials, trees or shrubs may need to be watered for one or even two or three years. Once established, drought tolerant perennials may not bloom generously during a dry, hot summer but they should survive.

.

(The side bar is back!!)

Coffee in the Garden

I love to walk through the garden on a warm spring morning with a cup of coffee. I take stock of perennials and re-seeding annuals breaking though the soil. I notice weeds and re-seeders in the wrong place. I check bunny damage and make a mental note to use cayenne pepper. I also plan my next area of garden work. Mostly, I just enjoy the garden.

But, the best thing about morning coffee is the coffee grounds available to spread on the garden or into the compost bin.

I spread the grounds around the acid-loving plants such as rhododendron and hydrangea. I don’t bother to dig it in. I save that job for when I’m spreading mulch or working in that area of the garden. The thin layer of grounds won’t lower the pH much but they say the worms love it. It may also send slugs somewhere else.

For more about coffee grounds and the garden see Doug Green’s http://www.simplegiftsfarm.com/coffee-grounds-and-gardening.html

.
(I apologize – the sidebar “About Me”, “Previous Posts” and “Archives” - has moved to the bottom of this blog. Please scroll down to see link to previous posts.)

Indoor Blooms

The garden outside is still messy since I haven’t had time to get out so far this week. A few hyacinths have broken through the ground.

Inside, the orange and the pink Christmas cacti are re-blooming. The poinsettia is coming into bloom and the amaryllis’ pop of color is quite spectacular.

.

(I apologize – the sidebar “About Me”, “Previous Posts” and “Archives” - has moved to the bottom of this blog. Please scroll down to see previous posts.)

Garden Clean Up

I took a lap around the yard yesterday. It’s a bit of a mess. A lot of it looks like this.

I don’t have anything that needs pruning immediately so I can work on clean up one section at a time. (Here is a handy pruning schedule from University of Virginia Extension http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/nursery/430-462/430-462.html ) Ornamental grasses will have to be cut soon before any more pieces blow around the neighborhood.

I need to get the leaves out of the azaleas, clean up the tulips and crocuses, and trim some left over perennials from last year. Hostas have dead spikes and leaves of mush on the ground. Fortunately, I have paths to work from so I don't have to tromp on the garden.

Bunnies (or something) are munching on the tulips. They have all been sprayed with Liquid Fence. The deer, groundhogs, rabbits and skunks dine on new spring growth and critters in the soil. The birds pick dusty miller for their nests. I won’t cut last year’s dusty growth until June when the new growth is well established. I also use a lot of cayenne pepper in the spring to try to convince the critters to eat something less ornamental. My husband insists they are out there making salsa in the middle of the night.

The hellebores appeared like magic it seems. The purple flowers are ready to open. A two-inch patch of mysterious green appeared next to the rhododendron. I think (hope) it is Irish Moss (Sagina sublata) although I have no record of planting it there. If anyone recognizes it, please let me know.

The gardening season has begun in earnest. I have a very busy schedule next week but I’m trying not to panic and run helter-skelter through the clean up. It’s a grand time of year as each day presents surprises in the garden.

.

(I apologize – the sidebar “About Me”, “Previous Posts” and “Archives” - has moved to the bottom of this blog. Please scroll down to see previous posts.)