« November 2007 | Main | January 2008 »
December 30, 2007
Start a Garden Journal in 2008
Master Gardener Column 12/29/07
As a child, I was a source of hilarity for my more free-spirited brothers and sisters because I was so serious. Now that I’m an adult some people think I’m obsessive. I like to keep records, just like the Sumerians did about 3,500 B.C. Many scholars believe that written language was first developed to keep commercial records. The Sumerians lived in the Fertile Crescent at the crossroads of history and civilizations in what is now Iraq, the same place from which Abraham began his journey. They were traders and had to keep track of their transactions, and thus written records. Right around us in Flagstaff, the Anasazi have left us their petroglyphs, the Ancient Ones’ own written records. All these records are the stuff of history. I have 10 linear feet of Daytimers, Dayrunners, and Franklin Covey, the stuff of my history with the National Park Service.
However, my sibling’s amusement morphed into amazement when they saw my garden journals. Although I’ve been gardening since I was a toddler, I didn’t start keeping a garden journal until I owned my first home in Fairfax, Virginia, in 1992. The journal, a gift from a colleague, was embellished with illustrations from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. In it, I logged plans, soil preparation, plantings, frosts, successes and failures. Along with my written entries, I kept “before and after” photos of raised beds and seasonal changes.
When I bought my home in Flagstaff in 1995, my sister gave me a Nature Company garden journal. When I filled it, I purchased a GardenKeeper from Gardeners’ Supply, further expanding my records with its sleeves for plant tags, graphs for garden design, and spreadsheets for seed inventories. I’ve just ordered a new garden journal for 2008 because I can’t close the GardenKeeper. Filled beyond capacity, it won’t hold another “Master Gardener” clipping or bulb label.
After completing the Master Gardener class in December, which included the identification of our native grasses, one of my first entries for 2008 will be the identification of species of grass that have hitchhiked into my yard on the winds or from the year-around birds.
There are two main reasons to keep a garden journal. The first is documenting successes and failures. In Flagstaff’s challenging environment, gardening enthusiasm collides with the harsh realities of short growing seasons, temperature extremes, capricious precipitation, and patchy soil. Tracking what’s planted, when planted, where bought, where planted, and how well cared for will help repeat successes the following year and avoid the failures.
The second motivation is capturing a landscape as it evolves. When I bought my home almost 13 years ago there was zilch landscaping. The previous owner headed back to the Midwest after briefly owning the house and left behind a large pile of red cinders. The soil didn’t even grow weeds. Previously a rocky wasteland, my backyard is now alive with native wildflowers including Rayless Gumweed, Hooker’s Evening Primrose, Cleome, and Showy Goldeneye, to name only a few. I have a lovely garden path, several raised beds, and even compost bins from the City of Flagstaff. I’ve records and photos showing the transformation.
The New Year is the time to start a garden journal. It can be spare or elegant, kept in a plain old three-ring binder or housed in an exquisitely designed and bound book. Some run their journals like a ship captain’s log, keeping a chronology of garden happenings, when the daffodils first appeared, the peas and beans were planted, snow fell in the spring, and the first and last frosts struck. Others may want to keep more detailed records, including orders from seed catalogs, dated plant tags, insect and spider visitations, bee activity, mystery plants, and more. For more information try Googling “garden journal” for sources or check local bookstores.
With Flagstaff’s many microclimates, no two gardens are alike. Garden journals chronicle a garden’s history, both ups and downs, and provide valuable information and genuine satisfaction. Some future archeologist may even find a Flagstaff gardener’s journal and conclude as did Father Guido Sarducci speaking of the Easter Island figures on Saturday Night Live, “They must be gods.”
Freddi Steele is a Master Gardener volunteer. Dana Prom Smith, a Master Gardener volunteer and the coordinating editor of the Master Gardener Column for Coconino County Cooperative Extension, can be contacted at stpauls@npgcable.com. For more information about the Master Gardener Program, call Hattie Braun, the Master Gardener Program Coordinator, at 774-1868 ext.17 or visit our Web Site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:59 AM
December 23, 2007
A Rhododendron Caveat Emptor
Master Gardener Column 12/22/07
My grandfather, Brynjolf Prom, was a Norwegian ship’s master who left the sea after his brother was swept overboard during a Caribbean hurricane. After leaving the sea, he used his navigational skills as a surveyor, charting the course for the Great Northern Railroad across the high plains. A seaman and a plainsman, he was always on watch, scanning the horizon, deeply set, steel blue eyes underneath great craggy eyebrows peering into the unknown.
He said, “If you look at the horizon where your line of sight leaves the earth’s curve and travels straight into space, Dana, you’re looking into eternity, and if you could see clearly enough, you just might see the face of God, but, alas, no one ever sees that clearly.”
A tough-minded mystic, Brynjolf gave me a sense of wonder and a critical turn of mind, something similar to Ernest Hemingway’s “built-in, shock-proof crap detector.” He often said that doubt is “the growing edge of faith.” As for atheism, he snorted, “Ach, what merit is there in believing in nothing?”
Gardeners need a sense of wonder and a critical turn of mind in the High Country. Beginning with wonder at the beauty surrounding Flagstaff, gardeners have to consider whether or not a plant belongs here. When meine Überfrau and I moved to Flagstaff several years ago, I knew I couldn’t bring my camellias, avocados, and figs, but I craved a rhododendron and some forsythia.
Along with dogwood and eastern red bud, they reminded me of my four halcyon years at Princeton when the world of the mind about which Gramps had so often spoken opened up for me. Born and raised in the desert of the West where beauty is sere, severe, and austere with its browns, grays, reds, greens, and granites, I was stunned by the voluptuous beauty of Princeton in the spring. After winter’s stillness, all at once the campus erupted in a blazing potpourri of colors, reds, purples, pinks, yellows, roses, whites, and greens. I wanted a remembrance of things past. By the way, my tuition in 1947 was $600 a semester, $2,500 a year including room and board.
In spite of meine Überfraus cautionary words, “I don’t see any rhododendrons around here,” I was determined to have a rhododendron and forsythia. Even with large holes in the clay stuffed with organic material and special care, my rhododendron shriveled each year while my forsythia flourished. Determination a flourishing plant does not make.
Purchased locally, I should’ve “stopped and thunk,” but my lust for a rhododendron kept me from doing “due diligence,” as the brokers say. Asked about rhododendrons in Flagstaff, the sales person looked away, answering faintly, “Well, they’ll need a lot of care.” However, when asked about forsythia, the eyes were straight and the voice firm, “Yes, they do well.” That should’ve been a clue.
Even such a premier gardener as Jacki Hainsworth tried a rhododendron, wanting to bring a little of Pennsylvania with her, but, try as she might, “winter kill,” a Flagstaff malaise, knocked it off. A woman with whom no sensible person would care to mess, Jacki hied herself back to the nursery complaining that she was sold a plant not suitable to Flagstaff, only to be told, “Well, people want them.”
Caveat emptor, Let the buyer beware!
Rhododendrons don’t do well because our soil isn’t acidic enough and doesn’t have enough organic matter. Our climate is too harsh with low humidity and aeronautical winds. Rhododendrons like humidity, protection, acidity, and organic soil.
Jacki has a beautiful, flourishing garden. A Pennsylvania pragmatist, she likes things that work, and as a Master Gardener, she learned what works in Flagstaff.
By the way, a gift of the tuition for February’s Master Gardening Class would make a fine gift of joy at Christmastide for a loved one who loves to garden. Being taught by experts, people who know what they’re talking about, it’s a rare gift in this age of spin and hype. They not only teach the facts, but also how to find out the facts.
(Dana Prom Smith is a Master Gardener volunteer and coordinating editor of the Master Gardener Column for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. He can be contacted at stpauls@npgcable.com. For more information about the Master Gardener Program, call Hattie Braun, the Master Gardener Program Coordinator, at 774-1868 ext.17 or visit our Web Site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.)
Posted by maxmaddy at 5:52 AM
December 14, 2007
Pelargonium: Useful Houseplants
Master Gardener Column 12/8/07
If you are you looking for an unusual but useful gift for those gardeners on your shopping list, a favorite of mine fits the bill. Commonly called “scented geraniums,” I discovered after doing a little research that they aren’t really geraniums at all but rather pelargoniums which are the horticultural kissing kin of geraniums. The “Martha Washington Geranium” is a pelargonium. However, I wouldn’t suggest that anyone purchase a Martha Washington because although a beautiful plant, it smells like dead fish. It wouldn’t be a wise buy if anyone has cats, but it would be useful for a guest bedroom, especially if house guests have outworn their welcome.
I initially discovered this beautiful and useful plant while I was working in the greenhouse at the Arboretum. On a lark I purchased a pelargonium at one of the Arboretum’s Christmas plant sales because unlike the Martha Washington it smelled so wonderful. A rose scented geranium with beautifully soft leaves, it is called ‘Attar of Roses,’ and eventually has small lavender flowers. It is grown commercially in Africa and France for its oil, which is used for perfume in the cosmetics industry. With its rose scent, it is a good choice for creating sachets and potpourri.
Most of the pelargoniums or scented geraniums are natives of South Africa where there are more than 250 varieties. Because of the highly scented leaves they are used in South Africa as a deterrent to cattle. Many cultivars have been developed, but the most popular scents found in gardens are Apple, Coconut, Lemon, Old Fashioned Rose, and Peppermint. Some of the cultivars I have found include Pine, Orange, Oak Leaf, Cinnamon, and Ginger. Although labeled with a variety of familiar scents, some scents often differ depending on the person doing the smelling. I have found the lemon, rose, peppermint, and pine to be the strongest and most likely to be identified as such by everyone.
The scent is contained in beads of oil found at the base of small plant hairs on the leaves. Just brushing them or rubbing a leaf releases the scent. In addition, these plants are interesting because their leaves come in many shapes and textures. Also, the flowers which come in many colors bloom several times throughout the season.
In addition to creating sachets and potpourri the leaves are edible and can be used for food, particularly in salads. Some of the things that I have made include a rose geranium cake, sorbet, tea, and rice. They are wonderful for hosting an afternoon tea.
Care of these plants is very easy. The only thing to keep in mind is that they are frost sensitive. I grow them in pots outside in the summer. I prune them severely in the fall and bring them in for the winter (outside temp 45F), where they continue to grow and add a wonderful aroma to any room. They like moderate water, but if they get too dry, the leaves tend to yellow and fall off. If the plants are given too much water, they are more prone to diseases and a weak, soft growth. Unlike many other houseplants the white flies don’t seem to like them. They like good air circulation and sunlight for optimum growth.
Propagating from plants is very easy. Most sources suggest a soil-less propagation environment with a firm (not woody) stem cutting with 3 nodes. When I have many cuttings from pruning, I often use water for propagating. I find it is slower, but it still produces healthy roots for me. No rooting powder is needed. They do best at about 70F.
A few varieties can usually be found at our local nurseries in the herb section, but if more unusual scents are desired, they need to be ordered from catalogs.
Good sources are:
Papa Geno’s Herb Farm www.papagenos.com 402-794-0400
Hobb’s Farm www.hobbsfarm.com 207-763-4606
Mountain Valley Growers www.mountainvalleygrowers.com
There is also a wonderful little book with great photos of the flowers and leaves, called Scented Geraniums: Knowing, Growing, and Enjoying Scented Pelargoniums by Jim Becker & Faye Brawner, published through Interweave Press in Loveland, Colorado.
Loni Shapiro is a Master Gardener volunteer. Dana Prom Smith, a Master Gardener volunteer, is coordinating editor for the Master Gardener Column. He can be contacted at stpauls@npgcable.com. For more information about the Master Gardener Program, call Hattie Braun, Coordinator of the Master Gardener Program, at 774-1868 ext.17 or visit our Web Site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at 8:39 PM