2005

Read Read Read   You can always learn something. I bought a "fantasy" herbal wreath book at the Mt. Laurel Library book sale rack. Why do I call it a fantasy book? Because I know very well that I will never make one of these artistic creations.
    "Herbal Wreaths" by Carol Taylor. I love it. It's such a beautiful book, with both photos of wreaths and drawings of each herb. Well researched info adds to the appeal. Did you know that if you sleep with a sprig of sweet marjoram in your hair you will dream of your future sweetheart?
    A hint from "A Woman's Hardy Garden" (my version is copyrighted in 1906) about overwintering cardinal flower which can be problematic. "About the end of November, after cutting the dead stalks, cover each plant with a piece of sod laid grass-side down. Remove this the first of April, and the little sprouts will soon appear above the ground." I'll try it. Cardinal flowers are the best ever for hummingbirds.

 
Biennial Facts of Life   A number of you have admired our colorful (and self-sown) display of woad and dame's rocket across the front of the property and hoped to buy some of same. The problem is; both of these are early spring blooming biennials and not very practical to move at that time.
    "But wait a minute" you say. "If they are biennial, how come you have them every year? Don't biennials grow one year, bloom the next, then die?".
    Yes, this is true, but most biennials produce huge quantities of seeds and many of them will grow the same year after bloom, thus making the next year the second year and the time to bloom. Therefore, the most practical time to get these spring bloomers is in the fall.

 

 

Some Wisteria Answers  I keep getting questions about wisteria. Here's what I know:

  • Wisteria can normally take up to 7 years to bloom, especially if grown from seed. Sometimes, however, they never bloom. We have one of those. It is about 15 years old and we have tried everything, including root pruning and various fertilizers.

  • Wisteria can be pruned any amount at any time of the year, and will need it because it grows wildly most of the year and will rip the gutters right off your house. Don't be afraid to cut alot off. It will survive.

  • Wisteria will grow in sun or shade.

  • There are 3 main types of wisteria: American (usually the kind you see growing wild in trees and on buildings), Chinese and Japanese. The latter 2 have longer, airier blooms. They also come in white, and I believe, pink.

  • Wisteria is a food plant for silver-spotted skippers.

  • Wisteria will shoot its seeds with tremendous force. The first time I encountered this, I hid in the house because I thought the neighbors were shooting at me. Honest.

  • For better germination you should scarify (cut or nick) the seeds.

And that is what I know about wisteria.
 
My Perennial (mostly flower) Bed looks really amazing this year and I don't know why. Not very many weeds and all plants look happy. This is even more astonishing when you think that it mostly gets planted at the end of the season with the lost souls which didn't sell. Of course the trumpet vine is still popping up all through. I think our property is undergirded with trumpet vine roots. The whole front herb garden is kind of a wreck, but the plants are still forging onward and waiting to be dug out of the weeds. Andy's favorite Orange Balsam Thyme has made a veritable cloud of bloom in the front garden. Want one? We have several left, also in bloom. They are not culinary, just pretty and fragrant. But isn't that enough?

 
Got Fennel if your Butterfly Garden? Swallowtail caterpillars like it just about as well as parsley and once established, it will be so big they will never eat it all. This is perennial sweet fennel which is grown for leaves and seeds. The immature seeds taste like licorice candy. Florence fennel is grown for the bulb and is not perennial.