Scentsibilities Herbal Adventures

Tea Adventure

2012-01-11T10:24:00.000-08:00

Visited the prettiest tea house yesterday for Ladies Lunch Out here in Florida. The Glass Slipper Tea Cottage is in Fort Walton Beach, FL and absolutely charming. The food is delicious, the teas (Harney & Sons) delicious and I had to smile when they brought out pots of Hot Cinnamon Spice tea, one of our bestsellers at the store.

We all got to put on hats, and there was a tray of tea cups where we chose our own cup. This display of tea pots from around the world was so pretty! The food was wonderful with delicious scones, savories, and desserts served with clotted cream and lemon curd They had a nice cookbook which of course I bought.

And I learned about cheese straws. I was told in the South, every shower and event has cheese straws and they are delicious. Got the recipe for that and will have to try it.

Here are the ladies, what a wonderful outing (I'm in the back on my toes, you can see my big beige hat just peeking through!).

Angelica 'Break-through"

2011-12-01T20:29:00.000-08:00

It has been said by some that it is better to know a few plants well than many plants superficially. Angelica is one of those that has fascinated me over the past couple years, and never fails to impress me and surprise me. From it's amazing size summer before last, to the many, MANY volunteer plants this summer it is beautiful and dramatic.

The Fall however brings another whole facet to the plant. The weather has gotten cold and just when you think it should be quietly dying back getting ready for winter, new growth literally bursts forth from this plant.

You may need to enlarge the picture to see how the thick, hollow stem splits right open up the middle as a new stem with leaves bursts forth. It looks like someone has taken a knife to the stem of the plant, but they are all exploding with growth at this time when everything else is faded.

So as I trim back all the growth in anticipation of the winter weather right around the corner, I can't help but leave these new stems bravely reaching out. I find it just incredible, and never get tired of watching and learning about this plant.

Herb Competition

2011-08-12T09:35:00.001-07:00

I've never entered a competitive show before, but with the New England Unit of the Herb Society of America having their second annual Competitive Herb Show next door at Tower Hill Botanic Garden, I had to give it a try. I found myself rather nervous bringing my entries in last night, we'll see what the judges say!

The picture above is my Fragrant themed container. It has five plants - Pineapple Sage (salvia elegans), Banana Mint (Mentha arvensis), white flowering Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis 'alba'), Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia 'Munstead') and a chocolate peppermint scented geranium (Pelargonium 'Chocolate Peppermint').

This is the Lemon Delight container with Lemongrass (Cympopogon citratus), Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla), Lemon Savory (Satureia biflora), Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) and Lemon Thyme (Thymus citriodorus). It was hard to get this in the car and to the show without bending the lemon grass - it grew awful tall!

And the third container submission was a single specimen of Lavender, Lavendula angustifolia 'Ellagance Sky'. Ellagance Sky has a beautiful shape and also a unique lovely light violet blue flower. I made sure to take one for myself when they came into the store this Spring as I knew they would sell quickly.

I also submitted two items into the Cut Stem, Medicinal, category - Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum) and Horehound (Marrubium vulgare). This was tricky, because I don't think I had a stem in the garden that didn't have at least one leaf with a hole or discoloration. But I picked the best I could find.

So if you get a chance to go to the show this weekend at Tower Hill, see if you can spot my entries and hope the judges are kind. I'll add a post how it turned out!

Foxglove Frenzy

2011-06-21T06:32:00.000-07:00

I just love foxglove (Digitalis purpurea). There is all kinds of folklore around foxglove and other common names are Fairy Gloves, Fairy Thimbles, Witches' Gloves and Dead Men's Bells. It

was originally Folksglove as the flowers resemble the fingers of a glove.Foxglove contains cardiac stimulants, the most familiar being Digitoxin. It is extremely poisonous and should not be used internally.

So just enjoy these wonderful plants. They come in all colors and Digitalis grandiflora, the big-flowered foxglove, is a brilliant yellow. The above picture is Digitalis mertonensis, or Strawberry Foxglove, which is a cross of Digital purpurea and Digitalis grandiflora that I am enjoying in my garden this year.

Angelica Angst

2011-06-18T12:13:00.001-07:00

Aargh!! What is happening to the angelica? I think it is a gourmet groundhog that only eats angelica? This is what was a good size 2nd year angelica at the store that I was looking forward to flowering this year. In one day, all the leaves were gone, obviously munched away. This plant is surrounded by other herbs, none of which have been touched.

The mystery actually started last week, when the seedlings from last year's beautiful angelica (see the post on that from last summer) filled the garden. They were thinned out and I left a number of them in place to mature. One day, I went out and the leaves were chopped off the seedlings, about every other one. What was up with this?
It was a few days later that the 2nd year angelica at the store was someone's dinner. Did Angelica Alice or Al like the small ones so much they went looking for larger leaves? I have never seen an angelica bothered by any type of animal or insect. Anyone have any ideas or seen this before?
So here is the picture of last year's angelica in June. No hope of that in either garden this year. Maybe if I can protect some of the seedlings we can look forward to next year and Angelica Alice will have to find something new to eat!

Scotland - Part I

2011-05-16T20:11:00.001-07:00

Scotland - land of castles, water, mountains, rock...we just returned from a wonderful trip. There were so many wonderful things but here are the "garden" pictures.

Well not exactly garden, I was fortunate to be able to visit for a 2nd time the standing stones of Callenish on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Thousands of years old, no one is quite sure who put them there, or why. Experts are pretty sure it is a lunar alignment, and the area is scattered with them. They fascinate and move me, quite extraordinary.

The land was ablaze in yellow for our visit. The gorse was everywhere. This was taken from the top of Dunnideer Hillfort, the site of an ancient Roman castle.

And more yellow came from the fields of rapeseed. I had a delicious rapeseed oil one night for dinner with fresh bread. Heavier and a bit nuttier than olive oil, it is flavorful and grown all over.

The Highlands are stark, rocky and breathtakingly beautiful, with gorse here in bloom again.

On the Isle of Skye, we visited the "fairy land". I can believe fairies live among these rocks and this tree that seemed to grow right up out of the rock.

A wonderful moss wall on a country road in Insch. It was a beautiful trip, I hope to visit again.

Scotland - Part II

2011-05-16T19:47:00.000-07:00

I was all excited when I saw this herb store in Glasgow - with the plants outside and the beautiful signs. Inside was rather like a health food store here in the States, but what I really liked was the desk where you can make an appointment to consult with an herbalist. Wish it was so here!

But here are the formal garden pictures. This collection of different heathers was beautifully arranged on a slope, with rhododendron and ablaze in color.

A formal design at House for an Art Lover at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow.

Also at Bellahouston Park, what is this? It looks similiar to angelica, and obviously the same large size, but not really quite right....

And the British do love their colorful primrose, mixed here with tulips.

A treat to see horse chestnut in flower. It brought back memories for several in the group who remembered them growing up.

At the Glasgow Botanic Garden, I thought this color combination was just beautiful.

Rhododendron in bloom at the Glasgow Botanic Garden, what colors.

Boston Flower & Garden Show 2011

2011-03-18T08:38:00.001-07:00

Aaah, flower shows. The Boston Flower & Garden Show is going on through Sunday, March 20th, and I had the chance to attend this week. Is there nothing better on a cold, raw, rainy March day than to smell the dirt, see the green, ooh and aah over the flowers and displays and think of Spring? So of course we have to start off with the tulips and bright colors. But there was so much more!
I loved this beautiful display of foxgloves, one of my favorites in the garden.

Another favorite of mine at the garden shows is the stone work. This circular stone sculpture was breathtaking, and of course there are Spring flowers there as well!
And this one I would like to have in my backyard. I have the perfect spot for it, maybe someday.
The theme of this year's show was the Container Garden.
I went to an inspiring lecture by Deborah Trickett of The Captured Garden. Here is a basket of Deborah's with seedlings just hatching from egg shells. I came home with all sorts of ideas, as Deborah said, anything that can hold dirt can be used as a container!

And wouldn't this have been a beautiful place to sit down and have lunch! The Newport Flower Show put on a gorgeous display that made you want to climb right in and sit down.

So after we rested a bit and ate some lunch, my friend Ginny looked at the plastic containers our lunch came in and declared them perfect for seed starting! We collected
containers from the ladies we were sharing a table with and came home with some nice mini terrariums.

And fasion seemed to be a theme this year as well. The stone lady went with the Newport display, and the pink dress with the flower bodice, in the display by Village Arts & Flowers of Walpole, MA was stunning.

But this lady was my favorite. Perched high on the top of a rock outcropping, you almost didn't notice her unless you were really looking. Gazing down on all of us, she looked peaceful and serene in her woodland setting, right at home.

Zentangle!

2011-03-15T14:52:00.001-07:00

When I was first approached by a friend to hold a Zentangle class at the store, I was a bit apprehensive. Zen what? Drawing lines? I'm really not artistic. But I was attracted to the concept and the instructor, Karen Keefe, is always involved in such wonderful beautiful things that I though it was worth a try. And what a wonderful afternoon!

Sixteen people gathered at Scentsibilities to learn from Karen this meditative art form.

Here we all are, the new artists. And I found, you don't need to be an artist to produce something beautiful.

Zentangle is an easy to learn method

of creating beautiful images from

repetitive patterns. It is a fascinating new art form that is fun and relaxing. It increases focus and creativity.

The Zentangle art form and method was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas.

One of the things I liked was that it can be small and portable, or large and intricate - whatever you choose.

Here are the first and second pieces of work of all the participants, most of whom had never zentangled before. All the participants learned the same patterns, but the interpretations are all so different as can be seen.

And the patterns and ways to use them are endless. Karen had a zentangled mug and box. Imagine a zentangle quilt or large collage, wall mural or as Karen shared, a friend has zentangled sneakers!

Give this a try, you'll be glad to did.

Zentangle is a registered trademark of Zentangle Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com or by contacting Karen Keefe, a certified Zentangle instructor, at Karen@being-wise.com.

Rosemary Winter Bliss

2011-03-05T09:05:00.001-08:00

Rosemary is always a struggle here in New England. It thrives in the summer and then we shock the poor plant by bringing it indoors and asking it to survive for months until Spring comes again.

I get frequent questions at the store about where to keep it, how to care for it and many laments about how it "always dies". I've had those years as well where everything seems to be going fine and then the telltale dropping of leaves. I've been known to beg the rosemary to just stay alive for a little longer!

But this year I seemed to have found the perfect spot with good temperatures and moisture. I came home from Florida at the end of January to find my large rosemary in bloom. It bloomed all through February, bringing a smile to my face every day as I walked by and is still blooming. I've never had my rosemary bloom over the winter so this is a real treat for me.

So here are my tips on how to keep the rosemary going.

1. Preparing it to be brought inside.

This is important. I generally repot and trim back the rosemary, and then gradually accustom it to less light by keeping it outside but moving to a more shaded spot. Once I bring it indoors, I will occasionally put it outside on a nice day, which I consider over 50 degrees.

2. Location.

As they say in real estate, location, location, location. I look for a place that gets as much natural light as possible. Since my rosemary is very large and heavy, I'm limited by places it can go. This year it is in an unheated, glassed in sunroom which seems to be working.

3. Temperature.

Rosemary can be kept cool, and I find this seems to help it through the winter. An unheated room is fine. Since mine is against a glass pane I do lightly cover it if the temperatures are in the teens or below.

4. Moisture.

This is a tricky one. Rosemary likes to be fairly dry, but cannot be left to dry out completely. Especially when it is in a fairly cold temperature location it can be difficult to know when and how much to water. I water once a week or week and a half, lightly so the soil is moist but not wet.

5. Humidity.

One of the things that does seem to keep the rosemary happy over the winter is a high humidity level. If your rosemary is in the house, the liklihood of it drying out just from the heating in the house is high. I mist the plant to keep it moist or it can be put on a tray filled with water and rocks. Just make sure the rosemary is on the rocks and not sitting in the water and the evaporation of the winter will help keep it moist.

So let me know, what tips do you have and how does your rosemary grow?

End of the Garden

2010-10-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

The end of the garden is always a poignant time of year. So much to do to get everything harvested, preserved and the garden cleaned up. The sun isn't as bright, the wind is cool and crisp and the leaves are dropping. Oddly, it is my favorite time of the year. I love the muted colors and diffused light and there's something about the preparation for the winter that makes these last warm, sunny days so special. So some final notes...

These are examples of the five tomatoes I grew this year, from left to right - San Marzano, German Queen, Green Zebra and in front the yellow pear and a red grape tomato that reseeded from last year. I belong to a CSA and always have plenty of fresh, organic tomatoes during the season but I like growing some of the heirlooms.

I was disappointed in the San Marzano. It was my first year growing it and they were slow, not very prolific and I didn't particularly like the taste. The German Queen on the other hand was absolutely delicious and while there were only half a dozen or so of them, they were large and tasty. The Green Zebra tomatoes just didn't stop coming, there were so many of them that I almost got tired of them. They are juicy and delicious, but enough is enough! My favorite of the season though were the yellow pears. I would just eat them right off the plant while weeding they were so delicious.

As I pulled out the plants and took the remaining tomatoes off, they all got cut up and put on a tray to slow dry in the oven. With a little olive oil, basil and garlic, this made a wonderful pasta topping for dinner that night.

The other thing that got pulled out of the garden as the nights are getting cold was all the basil. The red basil was used to make red basil vinegar as seen above. I love the color of this vinegar when it is done, and the flavor is fantastic.

Some of the rest of the basil was put in ice cube trays to freeze. I love having these cubes on hand throughout the winter for soups, sauces, or whatever I'm making.

All the tender perennials have been potted up for their winter stay inside. The scented geraniums have been cut back and potted, the lemon verbena leaves are in the dehydrator and the fruit sages are enjoying their last days out in the sun.

There's still time for more harvesting and plenty of garden cleanup left to do, but I better hurry!

Turkey Parade

2010-10-09T08:50:00.001-07:00

Eating my oatmeal this morning reading the Idiot Gardener's near-American experience (and trying not to spit out my coffee since I was laughing so hard), what do I see outside but a wild turkey walking past into the garden. I rushed to grab the camera and yelled to DH, who was totally enthralled by some History Channel show and oblivious to what was going on outside.

There were three turkeys who decided to visit. They came up the stairs, strolled down the middle of the garden and just checked everything out. The garden is enclosed, so they just stood around at the end seemingly trying to decide where to go next.

So a little stroll right through the beds, couldn't they have stayed on the paths? The beds are half-cleaned out for the season, but the guy on the left above took a nice walk through the mint.

They were very curious. This guy came right up to the window to look in, maybe he wanted to see what DH was watching on History?

They hung out on the patio a bit and then headed back down the stairs, one after the other. Guess there wasn't anything too interesting here.

DH, who had finally gotten off the couch to see the visitors, went to the back window to see where they were headed and yelled to come look. Well the 3 must have been a scouting party, because there was a group of at least 12-15 turkeys congregated by the shed.

The one on top of the wood to the left seemed to be the crossing guard, and they all got in line and slowly walked into the woods. We waved goodbye, having enjoyed their visit.

While wild turkeys are pretty common around here, such a large group was a treat. Maybe I should have grabbed one to save for Thanksgiving?

Colors of Fall - Yellow

2010-09-09T12:37:00.001-07:00

The yellows of Fall are as lovely as the reds. The peaches have been delicious this year, and I tried a new recipe for Spiced Peaches, which I canned. Delicious!

I was hoping to get to the orchard for more peaches, but the apples are already being picked. Everything is early this year and I can't keep up!

The calendula was very happy this year and still blooming away. I started making oil late, but will have plenty of flowers still to make a good amount. Here is the start of the oil, already a deep rich yellow color after just a few days. I continue to add flowers as they bloom and cover with oil (I'm using jojoba oil for this batch) and should have a full jar soon.

And the goldfinches are back again this summer. This thistle started growing in the middle of the echinacea bed. It doesn't belong there but I knew how much the goldfinches liked it so let it grow. And sure enough, they come every evening to pick at the thistle as well as the echinacea heads. I know I'm asking for trouble as I see the seeds floating all over the place, but I'd rather have the birds and just weed next year...

Colors of Fall - Red

2010-09-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

Red is my favorite color, and the garden is filled with it right now. Starting with my finally red tomatoes! I was pulling out my green tomato recipes thinking that I would never see this color but here they are, ripening daily now. At last!

The scarlet sage is blooming happily. I usually grow Autumn Sage, which also has a nice red flower, but couldn't find it in the greenhouses this year. May need to try it from seed next year, I do miss it.
And of all the glorious chard colors, I love the red. Started from seed this year, the plant is very happy and ready to eat but I love looking at it in the garden.

The woods are ablaze in red as well. The jack-in-the-pulpit berries are brilliant, and the false solomon seal berries complement them. And yes, that is the monster poison ivy all around them, it was very aggressive this year.

And purple basil. Although not technically red, it makes a beautiful red vinegar. It's past time to make it, I better get this picked and bottled.

August Bloom Day

2010-08-18T12:50:00.001-07:00

The boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum ) was late and during the Spring I searched for it, wondering if it would come back..and here it is in full bloom towering over the fence. It was planted last year, and the pictures from last summer show how much this has grown from year to year. A Native American remedy for colds and flus, it is thought to stimulate the immune system. To the right is catmint (Nepeta faassenii) flowering, going quite wild.

The San Marzano tomatoes. This plant was not very happy a few weeks ago so I am glad to see it perked up and is bearing some fruit.

My potato crop. Small, but fun. I planted a red, white and blue mix and all 3 colors grew. This was my first year growing potatoes and I need to find out a little more about growing them to see how I can increase the size.

The turtlehead (Chelone spp?) is just starting to bloom. I love these and they bloom at the perfect time when many other things have finished.

Garlic chives, which bloom in summer, have just opened up. In the background is a veriegated oregano gone wild, and the marigolds trying to make their way through.

The marigolds were very happy this year, planted around the tomatoes. Behind them is a very happy lemon thyme.

I love second blooms. This is a shrub rose tucked on a slope that isn't very visible, and I noticed it was reblooming.

And the final day lilies. I have a large collection of all kinds of day lilies around our pool, and they have been blooming profusely for a month or more. But these are the last ones and they are true beauties.

Bloom Day July 2010

2010-07-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

This has been a glorious year in the garden so far. Except for the storm that knocked down the delphiniums, which were amazing this year but the storm was too much for them, even staked. Here's some highlights...

A swallowtail butterfly (I think, I'm not a butterfly expert) enjoying the monarda, with a vigorous hops vine trailing along the porch.

The stairs leading to the garden. This was just planted last year and it has filled out beautifully.

Lacecap hydrangea in front of a hot pink astilbe

Lavender in bloom

The side garden with hydrangea, astilbe, spirea and the lacecap at the top, all in bloom

Echinacea just starting to open surrounded by veronica

Two of my favorite herbs, comfrey and borage, taking over their corner in bloom.

Leaves of Three, Let Them Be...

2010-07-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

Poison Ivy is everywhere this year and is extremely large and robust. While we like to see our plants do well, this is one I would just as soon see go away. Identifying poison ivy can be difficult, so the old adage “leaves of 3, let them be” is good advice. Poison ivy can grow as a bush or a vine, the leaves can have either smooth or jagged edges and the color can range from green to yellow to orange and red. I’ve had a number of people at the store ask what they can do for poison ivy, so here are some suggestions.

Poison ivy contains urushiol, and this oily resin on the plants is what gets on our skin and causes the rash, itching, swelling and at times, blisters. The symptoms happen 12 – 48 hours after exposure, so one of the best things you can do after being outside is to wash thoroughly with soap and water, including under your fingernails, to remove any oil. It is most effective to wash within an hour of exposure. There are washes available at the drugstore specifically for urushiol and I keep this on hand for those instances where I think I have been exposed and also lotions that are guards than can be applied before going outside. The oil can stay on clothing for long periods of time and through the wash sometimes, so I also remove all my clothes and wash them separately as well. The oil can also stay on tools, so wash any garden tools, and on pet fur, so your pets may need a good bath too.

Poison ivy will go away on its own but it can take several weeks and the itching can be maddening. If you have a severe case of poison ivy you might want to see your doctor, especially if you think you have it internally. Prescription strength cortisone creams are available which are helpful but most cases of poison ivy can be relieved naturally.

A cool water bath with oatmeal and/or baking soda will help soothe the itching. Jewelweed is the classic herb used for poison ivy, and it is readily found in the wild and usually always grows near poison ivy. To use jewelweed, split open the stem and apply the sticky fluid inside directly on the rash. I also make jewelweed ice cubes out of a strong infusion of jewelweed stems and leaves that can be kept in the freezer for when needed and applied externally to the rash. A paste of goldenseal powder and aloe vera gel can help dry up the rash, and tea tree essential oil can help with the itching.

Do you have any remedies you use that work? Feel free to post a comment and share it with others.

Dr Emoto's Prayer for the Gulf

2010-06-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

This is not my usual garden blog, so please skip it if that's what you're looking for. But water is an intregal part of our gardens, our lives and our earth and I wanted to put this out there to as many people as I could.

I recently received this prayer to the Gulf that was written by Dr. Masaru Emoto. If you are not familiar with the work of Dr. Emoto, he is an author, scientist and humanitarian whose work with water was highlighted in the movie "What the Bleep Do we Know".

I won't go into the politics, blame, and horror of this current disaster. I am just sad. So I was glad to see this simple prayer, that says it all....

"I send the energy of love and gratitude to the water and all the living creatures in the Gulf of Mexico and its surroundings.

To the whales, dolphins, pelicans, fish, shellfish, plankton, coral, algae, and all living creatures...

I am sorry.

Please forgive me.

Thank you.

I love you."

I am passing this along so if you are willing to participate in this prayer, set an intention of love and healing to the Gulf and repeat it as often as you like.

Strawberries in New England

2010-06-15T12:32:00.001-07:00

I've decided it's time to stop with the garden envy from all the Blotanical posts. I read about people picking tomatoes and potatoes, harvesting beans and peas, visiting beautiful gardens and posting all these gorgeous pictures. I feel left behind and as if I will never catch up. But no more...

I live in a beautiful part of the world, which while cold much of the time, does have breathtaking seasons. And today is one of those beautiful June days when you wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Sunny, temps in the 70's, a slight breeze and the strawberries in full, lush bloom.

I don't grow strawberries myself, but like to pick them at a local farm the next town over. Indian Head Farm (www.Indianheadfarm.com) is a small, family farm that is quiet and peaceful when picking in comparison to the larger commercial operation down the street from me, which seems to always have lots of screaming children. Not my choice for a relaxing strawberry picking morning.

I had a million other things to do this morning, but the strawberry season is relatively short and decided this was the morning. How many did I pick? Not sure, I filled 2 baskets and came home to make Strawberry Jam. I used about 14 cups for the jam and have about 8 pounds left, so I guess I picked alot!
Here's the jam, the church fair is coming up this Fall and I always make some extra for that. Only 2 or 3 of us that make jams and jellies anymore, too bad. Easy and fun to make and it is always a big seller. But back to strawberries...

I may make more jam, but I wanted plenty left to snack on and eat fresh. Is there anything as wonderful as a fresh, juicy strawberry? Last night DH (on good days Dear Husband, on other days something not so nice) and I enjoyed some leftover lemon balm infused panna cotta I had made for my herbal apprentice class Sunday with strawberries on top. Ah, strawberries and cream, what a heavenly combination.

So I am feeling better, and so what if the garden isn't all planted yet, the weeds are growing, and I'm just harvesting some peas but everything else is a long ways away from harvest, that is just fine. All is as it should be today and I'm content and eating strawberries.

Angelica Guiness Book of World Records?

2010-05-29T12:06:00.000-07:00

So is there a category in the Guiness Book of World Records for the largest Angelica plant? If so, I think I should enter.

I've never quite understood the fascination for big vegetables. I look at the gimongous (wicked big) pumpkins and baseball bat size zuchini and don't really get it. Yes, there is some kind of morbid fascination with a 400 or 500 pound vegetable, but to spend all season nurturing some behemoth and then try and cart it off to the state fair for a ribbon seems a bit odd to me.

But having said that, I have a monster angelica (Angelica archangelica) growing and think it deserves some sort of blue ribbon in the monster plant world.

Angelica is known to grow large, and often reaches 6 feet, but mine is close to 7 feet and it is only the end of May. Known as an old medicinal herb to stimulate the immune system, it also has an anesthetic quality and the seeds and roots are often used with wormwood in making absinthe and the seeds are an ingredient in vermouth and chartreuse. I love the way the flowers seem to burst out of alien like pods that grow on the stems, fascinating to watch and a wonderful addition to the garden for its scent and amazing presence.

But back to the giant in the yard...I rescued this plant from some leftover plants at the store last year. It had overwintered outside in a pot and barely looked alive last Spring. Never being able to throw away a plant that has even a little life in it, I brought it home and planted it in my new garden, which had plenty of space to fill. It responded beautifully and I had a large, 5 foot plant last year which was healthy and strong but didn't flower. Wondering if it would come back this year, didn't I see it emerge in early Spring and by the end of April was as large as it was last year. Here it is in early Spring at the back left hand side of the picture along the fence...

Would it bloom this year? By the end of May it is now covered in over a dozen flower heads, just popping out all over. A recent hail storm knocked down some of them and I thought of trying to stake it, but I don't have anything near tall enough to stake it to.

Although commonly known as a biennial, angelica is really a short-lived perennial and dies after it's flowering year, which means this plant will die after this year. That makes me rather sad, so I'm trying to enjoy the plant in all its majesty this year. Candied angelica stem is a Victorian classic, and there are all sorts of recipes for using the roots, leaves, and seeds which I think I will try this summer in honor of this incredible plant.

Has anyone ever cooked or used their angelica? If so, please feel free to post your experiences or recipes. And can anyone else vie for the blue ribbon prize for biggest angelica this year? I'm awarding it to myself until I see a bigger one!

Heirloom Tomatoes

2010-05-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

There is a lot written about heirloom tomatoes but it is also a topic I get a lot of questions from at the store. This is a reprint of an article I had in last year's store newsletter that I thought would be good to repeat on the blog, as well as give it a place to stay for reference.

There are some varying descriptions of the term heirloom as it applies to plants, but generally speaking it means a variety that is over 50 years old (although some people say they should be over 100 years old) and is open-pollinated, which means the seeds can be saved and the resulting plant will be the same as the parent (as opposed to hybrids where there are different parents and the seeds do not "breed true"). So why does this matter? As Lawrence Davis-Holler explains in his book The Tomato Festival Cookbook, the hybridization after World War II to develop tomatoes that could be picked early and shipped to grocery stores without bruising (thus thicker skins) came at a cost of flavor.

The interest in heirloom tomatoes became more focused with the creation of Seed Savers Exchange in 1975 and over the years farmers have been growing more heirlooms and selling them at farmers markets and restaurants.

And you can grow your own and I would suggest you put in at least a few heirlooms with your other tomatoes, if not just grow heirlooms. Heirloom tomatoes come in almost every size and shape imaginable and that is one of the fun things about growing them. Brandywine can grow up to several pounds and is considered by many to be the best tasting tomato. Colors of heirloom tomatoes can vary from red and pink to black, purple, yellow and green. I love Striped Zebra (green with stripes) and Cherokee Purple and other great named ones are Black Prince, Great White (which is actually yellow) and Striped Cavern to name a few. Many of the heirloom tomatoes have great stories, and whole articles can be written on any one of them, making them even more interesting to grow.

Green Striped Zebra

Do you have a favorite heirloom? Post your favorite here.

Spring Garden Highlights

2010-05-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

I'm a bit late posting the Spring photos of the garden. I actually started this post about 3 weeks ago, but am just getting around to finishing it up. It still takes me an awful long time to get the pictures arranged, and they still don't come out how I would like. Oh well....

It's been a beautiful, extended Spring with bouts of warm weather and rain that made the garden pop. I can't remember a Spring in recent years that lasted so long and the colors on the Spring shrubs and plants are just spectacular.

Daffodils and bleeding heart, two favorites.. Love the delicate flowers of the pulmonaria

Since the garden was just planted last Fall, I was anxious to see what would survive the winter, how the bulbs that were planted would look and if things would start filling in. I was pleased on all accounts, and just need to get some mulch down and I think the gardens by the steps will be all done. I did lose my espaliered apple tree. It fruited for the first time last summer and I was so excited. Then something ate the bark all around the base over the winter, and it is dead, dead, dead. So disappointing and I'm having trouble finding a new one. But everything else is looking good and here are some random shots of the new garden this Spring, enjoy!

Plant Swapping

2010-05-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

Gardeners are some of the most generous people in the world. Who else just loves to give their plants away? You know someone is an avid gardener when you visit their garden and they say, "let me give you some", and before you know it they have pulled out a trowel and pot and you are loaded with new things for the garden.

I recently visited the garden of a fellow blogger, Layanne from Ledge and Garden, (Layanne is one of the "Garden Guys" on 96.9FM on Sunday mornings). She had stopped by the store on a trip to Tower Hill Botanical Garden and invited me to visit her garden sometime if I was in Rhode Island. I never pass up a garden invitation, I love to look at other people's gardens! So after a plant pick up in Connecticut I swung by Rhode Island (I just love our little New England states) and not only saw Layanne's gardens but enjoyed tea, rhubarb cake and wonderful conversation and company.

And yes, I came home with plants. Here are the hellbores, astilbe and solomon seal Layanne generously shared.

So why are we all so generous with our plants? I think it's more than trying to thin out the garden. I know I hate to throw a plant away, and although my garden really doesn't need more lemon balm I know there is somebody out there who does (okay, well maybe not..) But giving our plants is like sharing a bit of ourselves with someone, a small piece of something we love that can grow on in someone else's garden. A spreading of the love maybe.

My garden club has a sale on Memorial Day every year where we all bring plants from our home gardens to sell. We often end up buying each others and my garden is filled with plants like "Carol's hydrangea" and "Carla's Rose of Sharon". The hawthorn in my garden center was a garden club leftover that 2 members dug from another member's house and potted up. When no one bought it, I did knowing that I would find someplace for it. The other fun thing about the sale is when customers ask about a plant, there is always someone chirping up "that's from my garden" and they go on to tell about how the plant grows, what they like (or don't) about it and share that little piece of themselves.

I do have to admit that I am sometimes particular about who I give a plant to and some friends liken me to Seinfeld's soup nazi, calling me the plant nazi. I won't give (or sell) a plant to what I think might be an undeserving home and have been known to refuse to sell a plant or share something from the garden if I don't think the energy is right. I think there is a certain plant etiquette, and I've had people come to the store garden and expect to be able to just dig up a part of something they've wanted. If they ask nicely I might agree, but on occasion I've flatly refused. Guess I should lighten up a bit about sharing!

But I've swapped hostas for iris and helped a friend move a garden and now Debbie's euphorbia brightens the border by the pool. And some if just recently went to my yoga instructor for her new border. I've donated goatsbeard to Paula's garden, comfrey to students and herbs and plants of all kinds to the garden club. And this past week, a customer dropped off a large piece of perennial sweet pea (Lathyrus latifolius)and Cathy of Bird of the Hand Farm, an organic farm in Sterling, dropped off samples of her plants for me. Next week I'm meeting up with a fellow herbalist to swap more plants, how much fun!

The plants in my garden have all kinds of stories and memories of people and places, a little collection of the journey of life.

Have any good swap stories? Share them here!

Seeds 101

2010-04-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many people come into the store, look at the Seeds of Change seed rack and state that they can't start plants from seed. I tell them they can and they just shake their head, having given up after attempts and ending with non-germinated seed or seedlings that have died. So I'm on a mission this year to get those seeds going.

Last month I did a free seed starting demonstration at the store, which was well attended and everyone went home with a peat pot they had planted with calendula seed. I'm always amazed by calendula seed, it doesn't look like a seed at all, more like a dried up curled little worm. That this grows into a good size plant with those beautiful flowers is rather amazing. I also have some that I found when cleaning up the garden so planted them and hope to see some reseeding this year of the calendula. But back to seed starting...

While starting seeds isn't difficult, there are some things that ensure a good healthy seedling. The first thing I talked about was soil...a good soil starting mix is needed, not your soil from the garden or even a regular potting soil. I sometimes make my own mix with peat, but found a nice organic seed starting mix this year at my local organic garden supply store that seems to be working very well so far.

Second is light, seedlings need direct light and a lot of it. A good south facing sunny window is great. Since I don't have that, I use grow lights. There is all sort of discussion about types of light to use, but I've found a regular flourescent light works fine, for 12-14 hours a day.

Seedlings also need heat, and I keep mine protected against drafts. And although my grow stand is by a window, there is baseboard heat all along the wall, giving warmth from underneath.

One of the mistakes I find people often make is starting their seeds too early. Seed packets have a wealth of information, including how long it will take the plant to germinate and grow. I've learned not to start most of my seeds until March to avoid plants ready to go in the garden way before their planting time.

Then of course there is water. Seeds do not like to be dry, and are very unforgiving if not watered. I keep my seedlings consistently moist (not necessarily wet), watering several times a day if necessary. Yes this is a bit time consuming and needs to be paid attention, but I get so excited watching the seeds germinate and the seedlings grow that I check on them several times a day just for the fun of it anyways.

I fertilize with an weak strength organic seaweed and fish emulsion while their growing, which was also included in my soil mix along with some other natural nutrients.

Here are a few of my current seedlings, cucumbers on the left and zucchini just opening...

As the seedlings are nearing time to go into the garden, they need to gradually become acclimated to the weather outdoors, a process called "hardening off". There is nothing more discouraging than spending all that time growing a seedling and then having it die of shock when it is placed in the garden. I start by opening the window behind my plants for an hour a day and then gradually longer so they get used to the wind and small breezes. I then bring them outdoors to a protected area for more wind and then gradually into the sunlight acclimate to the sun. I do this over a week or two, not a long time but it really does help them become strong plants in the garden.

Or instead of doing all this, seeds can be directly planted in the garden and some prefer to be. Again, the seed package will tell which seeds start best in which manner but I find myself starting more plants directly in the garden every year. Make sure they are kept watered and I use HotKaps to protect the delicate seedlings from heavy rain or wind and also from insects.

So there's no excuse not to start plants from seed. It is economical and provides for a lot of choice in plants which may not be available otherwise. And just for the sheer awe that a small seed can become a plant to nourish our bodies and souls is reason itself. So happy seed starting!

Spring is Here!

2010-04-07T12:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know where March went...I know I've been behind on my blogging, but when I saw my last post was in February I was rather surprised. So lets see if I can back on track here, there's so much to talk about!

After the rains and flooding that pounded our area, the sun is out and it is unseasonably warm causing the plants to burst into leaf and flower. It seemed like one day, it was suddenly mid-Spring, having missed totally the early Spring part. I hear we are supposed to get back to early Spring weather shortly, but the plants look like they are very happy with this warmth.

Since my new garden was just planted last year, this is the first I'm getting to see what survived the winter. I had never grown hellebores before, and put this one in last year. What a beauty, in full bloom, and now I want all different kinds of them. It is offset by a pink azelea behind it in full flower and daffodils, which in this shaded area haven't quite opened up. But the border of daffodils along the pool are glorious, the prettiest I've seen them in several years.

This nice weather also allowed me to get the cleanup done that should have been finished last Fall. But it was warm and everything was green one day, and then in typical New England fashion it snowed the next and the garden was covered until March (my missing month). And when the snow melted I saw how much did not get done in the Fall. It is all done now, cleaned up, perennials starting to come up and ready for the annual herbs and vegetables. Is there anything more exciting than the anticipation of the gardening season? All things seem possible, and of course, this will be the best garden ever.

Blotanical.com has me inspired to plot out my garden on the computer this year, and I have been trying different programs out. I need one that can easily make curves and other odd shapes, as none of my beds are rectangular. So maybe the graph paper is easier. I'm not giving up on the computer programs yet however.

It feels so good to work the earth, watch the plants popping up, see the trees in bud and see the flowers opening, what could be better?

Flower Show Time

2010-02-19T17:57:00.001-08:00

Spring must be near, because the flower shows have started. I played hooky today and spent the day at the Rhode Island Spring Flower & Garden Show in Providence. It's the earliest one in the area and there is something wonderful about smelling dirt and seeing plants in bloom in February.

It always amazes me how whole buildings can be brought into a convention center and set up to look like they just belong there. The time and effort required is Hurculean I'm sure. This was
my favorite, a stone house with a moss roof and a stone heart shaped entrance framing the building. It can't be seen well in the picture (double click on it to enlarge the picture) but the top was all grapevines and had a birds nest sitting in the middle. And of course, it was surrounded by incredible plantings.

Here are some other pictures of displays and blooms that struck my fancy...

The lighting on this display gave an ethereal, other-worldly cast on a chapel-like stone building as if it was caught at sunset bathed in red and pink. Accenting the building was a pond in front, dramatic red dogwood branches, daffodils and flowering shrubs. On the side of this were a few fallen down tombstones, surrounded by crocus and primose. Like stepping into a fairyland.

Lady slippers and other orchids to the right. I've never been able to keep an orchid alive, never mind have these beautiful blooms, but I love admiring them.

And then there's the whimsy. This was a whole VW bus from 60's decorated in peace and love, parked in the middle of a man-made forrest. This was the back...unfortunately I dropped my camera and it decided it didn't want to work anymore so I couldn't get a picture of the front which was quite spectacular. Even had a couple hippies sitting in the front that looked like they were made of moss. Groovy!

I attended a fun demonstration on making herbal vinegars by Paul Split, a horticultural consultant who does demonstrations all over the place (http://www.paulsplit.com/). I make plenty of herbal vinegars but got some new ideas as well as a good source for bottles. Paul is a great presenter, and I appreciated his extolling the virtues of organic gardening to the crowd while making his vinegars.

I also attended a lecture by Julie Moir Messervey on the Home Outside: Creating the Landscape You Love based on her new book. Well organized, practical and inspiring, her slides were beautiful and I wanted to run home and start putting in new gardens all over the place.

I finished up the day going through the vendor area. I bought some heirloom seeds from the Hudson Valley Seed Library - a Dragon's Tongue bean and scarlet Flax - and a neat herb grinder. I usually always buy pussywillows at this show but couldn't find any so headed to the parking garage. In the elevator, wasn't there a woman with 2 bunches of pussywillows. I asked where she had found them and she told me those were the last 2. So no pussywillows this year from the show, but it was a wonderful day. How many days until Spring?

Seeds, Glorious Seeds

2010-02-02T19:00:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I just love snowstorms. I started this blog a week ago, but have been too busy to sit down and finish it. But snow days make me stop running around, stay in and I finally have some time to get some things done. Like this blog! And I find the garden breathtaking in the snow. I leave some echinacea heads purposely for winter interest (and the birds) and the hawthorn tree, fence and woods all look lovely covered with snow. Sitting by the fire, gazing at the snow covered garden with the snow falling is very peaceful and calming.

But this blog was about seeds. I put in the store seed order last week, a bit late (I left all my order info at home by mistake when I went to Florida) but in plenty of time for starting indoors. It's always a dilema - what to buy, how many, and trying to predict what people will want to grow this year. On the upside, it's wonderful to be able to order freely not having to think about what will fit in my garden or how many seedlings can I fit under the grow lights. For the store, I can buy everything I want. On the downside, it's hard to know what will sell and to make sure not to have too many left at the end of the season (which become my personal stash for next year).

But there are limits to how much I can buy, so I have to make the tough decision such as what types of basil (there are so many) and why didn't people seem interested in purple basil last year? It's so beautiful in the garden, delicious and makes a great herb vinegar in a beautiful red color. I like to have different things along with the usual parsley, cilantro, etc. so I'm trying a purple throated mullein this year and a Hopi ceremonial tobacco. Will others think these sound as interesting to try in the garden as me? Sure hope so!

I started selling more vegetable seeds last year and they were very popular. I primarily stock the heirloom and rarer types. I get all my seeds from Seeds of Change they are certified organic, well packaged and I appreciate the company's efforts to preserve biodiversity and support sustainable organic agriculture. And if people don't buy all these great heirloom seeds, they won't keep offering them I'm sure so I see it as my little part in keeping these alive.

So what did I order this year? Several bush beans - Jacob's cattle, a traditional heirloom and Tendergreen, another heirloom with purple specks that is purported to be "a great mainstay for the home garden". The usual rainbow colored chards, a rare medicinal burdock, Takinogawa Gobo, and Shiraz Tall Top beets with great tops and roots. How to pick among so many cucumbers? When in doubt, I pick what I would like to have in my garden (and will have) and picked a Lemon cucumber, Satsuki Madori, a rare Asian variety with few seeds and Smart Pickle, an early maturing pickling cuke. Same with tomatoes, so many choices so I picked a few heirloom cherries and slicing tomatoes. I rounded it out with some pumpkins, spinach, squash, kale, peas, watermelon, peppers, chicory and eggplant. A good selection of greens with lettuces, arugula, komatsuna, mizuna and mesclun mix rounded out the veggies.

And then there's the flowers. I stick to the edibles pretty much with a good selection of nasturiums, including a new Peach Melba which looks so pretty in the picture, an edible sunflower and lemon and tangerine gem marigolds. Calendula and foxglove round out the flowers with one of my old fashioned favorites, Love Lies Bleeding.

So I'm anxiously waiting for them to arrive and get some started. I try not to start my seeds too early and am already feeling the itch to get some going. But I'm holding back and getting my supplies all set. How many times have I had seedings too large for their little pots ready to go in the garden in April? One too many so I have learned to wait and work on the garden layout for the year. Maybe the topic of the next blog!

January Dreaming

2010-01-20T09:55:00.000-08:00

Ah, January. The holiday season is over, and some year I might find time to blog through it. A wonderful herbal time of year it is also so very busy. Every year I make a holiday potpourri and I think this year was my best. Beautiful and fragrant it included cedar pine tips, hemlock pine cones, cloves, allspice, cinnamon, rosehips, star flowers, curly pods, star anise and a bit of Christmas scented fragrance oil.

I'd add some pictures of the potpourri and garden, but I'm sitting in Florida enjoying some sunshine, not so warm weather but a chance to wind down after the holidays, recharge and get ready for the year ahead. There's something soothing about the ocean to me and I can walk the beach for hours. But I do miss my gardens and plants.

I just read a blog that was discussing propogating rosemary and realized how much my plants are like pets (or maybe even children) to me. I left my plants at home in the care of a good friend who will water them faithfully but just doesn't understand how plants have their own personalities. My large rosemary that I faithfully tended all summer is sitting in the sunroom right now and misses me I'm sure! I hope it is making it through the winter okay along with all the other tender perennials.

But almost as good as being in the garden is the dreams and fantasies of the wonderful gardening year ahead. I love to study the seed catalogs, research plants and plot out the garden design for the year. I try to keep a garden journal every year and this is when I go back and read it for ideas of what to do new and different this year.

My goals for my 2010 garden:

Try some new vegetables that I don't receive (or receive enough) from my CSA
Expand the medicinal herbs in the garden
Find some new shade/part shade loving perennials for those parts of the garden including native varieties
Make it beautiful

What are your goals for your garden this year? Feel free to post some of yours.

Garlic Time

2009-10-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

Fall is the time to plant garlic and there is nothing better than fresh garlic from your garden. It tastes so good and is extremely pungent, much more so that what is typically found in the grocery store. Garlic is an important herb, and a powerful antibiotic. It helps prevent colds and flus, aids in cardiovascular health and regulating cholesterol and is a great antioxidant as well.

Garlic is easy to grow. It is a heavy feeder so needs lots of good compost and fertilization, but that's about it. The soil should be well draining, and have a ph in the 6.5 to 7.0 range. A good dusting of lime can boost the ph in the soil, but I have never had a problem growing garlic in a good compost.

I start with organic garlic heads from Johnny's Seeds in Maine and like their German Extra Hardy stiffneck garlic. Garlic is known as either stiffneck, which has a stiff stalk in the middle, or softneck, which is typically the type of garlic that is braided. There are many different varieties of garlic so you can try several or find your own favorite. I find the German Extra Hardy grows well and also keeps well throughout the winter.

The cloves are separated from the head of garlic, and planted individually. Each clove will become its own plant and develop a head of garlic. I take the papery wrapping off the garlic clove, but others don't so you can experiment with that. The cloves are planted pointed end up. Make sure to mark where you planted your garlic, and after the ground has frozen put a thick layer of mulch over the area and wait for Spring.

In the Spring, the shoots will appear and can use a good side dressing of compost or high nitrogen fertilizer. I like to fertilize through the season with a seaweed emulsion. And make sure to keep the area well weeded.

Here's my garlic growing from last summer. More next summer on how and when to harvest but get your garlic planted now.

The Fall Garden

2009-10-16T12:22:00.000-07:00

I missed updating the blog in September, but when I went out this morning and there was a light dusting of snow on the garden I thought it was time to get the Fall update done! September is the month where I just let the garden go.

The nasturiums are growing into the paths blocking passage, the parsley and lovage are growing tall with abandon, the calendula and borage are trailing into paths everywhere and I just let the plants be happy for their last few weeks.

And the angelica has just not stopped growing this year. I have never seen one so large although it didn't flower. Angelica is a biennial, so this is theoretically its last year but I'm hoping it will come back and flower next year as I have heard that some do not flower until the 3rd year. With the size of this plant the flowers will be spectacular if it does return.

I also enjoy the fall blooming of the toad lily and turtlehead.

Toad lily (Tricyrtis hirta) blooms in late September to October and is well suited to a shady area. Its an attractive perennial that gives some Fall color. Also blooming in September is Turtlehead (Chelone lyonii), whose flowers really do like like pink turtle heads. It is a perennial that grows in part shade, spreads easily but slowly and is no fuss at all. And when those pink flowers show up at the end of the summer it is quite a treat.

September and October are also busy garden months. Harvesting is finished, pickles are made (the cucumbers were so prolific I made 3 batches), herbs are dried and frozen and annuals are pulled up. The scented geraniums have all been dug and potted and are ready for overwintering inside, along with the rosemary, bay, and stevia. I grew ashwaganda in a pot this year and will see if that overwinters. The garlic has been planted, and I'll write a separate post on how to grow garlic. It is so easy every garden should have some!

Some things I don't try to overwinter and use them up and say goodbye. I enjoyed a wonderful cup of tulsi (holy basil) tea the other night as the cool weather will kill the plant soon. It has such a beautiful fragrance in the garden however I like to keep some of the plant growing as long as possible.

The pumpkins were harvested and are shown here in a Fall display. I hate to use them they look so pretty, but I think with the cool weather recently it's time for some pumpkin soup.

So the first snow has fallen and the garden is saying goodbye. It is always bittersweet. But I'm taking my notes and already starting my plans for next season.

Summer Garden Visits

2009-08-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

I love to visit gardens, especially herb gardens, during the summer. This year I stayed close to home and visited Elm Bank, home of the Horticultural Society of Massachusetts and the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.

I love the design of the herb garden at Elm Bank but thought the garden itself looked a bit neglected. It is a beautiful design in a wheel with spokes pattern. Each "spoke" has a different theme such as the dye garden, fragrance garden, etc with herbs fitting the category. There was a good selection of herbs, just needed some tending.

One of the other things I love about Elm Bank is the trial garden. There is always a great variety of new plants to see. One I really liked as Achillea "Apricot Delight", a pretty little yarrow in delightful colors. There were also different varieties of Echinacea and a large selection of scented geraniums including a very fragrant Vanilla scented geranium I will have to go look for. Here is a picture of the achillea.

But I thought the most beautiful garden of the day at Elm Bank was the Childrens Garden. In full bloom with wonderful scents, textures and colors it was a joy to walk through with all kinds of little paths going through the garden and places to just sit and enjoy.

The New York Botanical Garden had a summer exhibit called the Edible Garden, including a culinary herb garden with plantings designed by Martha Stewart, which was the reason I went down there. It was well worth the trip. Sipping on some Martha Stewart herbal iced tea available at the cafe, I spent time in the small but beautifully designed and impeccably maintained herb garden. With beautiful formal boxwood knot gardens filled with sage and cardoon and amazing planters with scented geraniums, rosemary and hops it was a delight.

But along with the herb garden was a wonderful display of edible gardens in a community garden and all through the botanic garden. I particularly liked this display of lettuces as a border.

Of all the beauty in this garden, I think my favorite thing was the flowering lotus in the

courtyard of the conservatory. Having seen lotus flowering in China many years ago, I had forgotten its delicate beauty and the way it rises above the water with those large dramatic leaves.What a treat to see this.

August Garden Progress

2009-08-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

Even though we have had a rather cold, rainy summer the new garden has been doing well overall. Okay...so the tomatoes are still green but I have been overrun with cucumbers and zuchini and the garlic harvest this year was fantastic.
Some highlights...

The nasturiums that were planted around the center circle Hawthorn have been spectacular this month. This was a last minute idea, and I used unsold plants at the store so they are a mix of different kinds and colors. Some looked small and a bit forlorn, but as soon as they were in the ground they were amazing. As seen in the picture left, they have totally filled out the circle. Here are a few closeups of these beautiful, and tasty, flowers.

I used a climbing trellis for the cucumbers for the first time this year (from Gardeners Supply). It worked great, and it is so cool to see the cucumbers hanging off the back of it. It isn't quite tall enough as the cucumbers are vining back down it, off it, around it, anywhere and I think next year I'll get a second one and put them back to back in a teepee like structure. Here's the front and the back view:

I've made pickles, salads, given cucumbers away and they are still coming. Think another batch of pickles is on the agenda soon.

Surprisingly, the peppers did well in August. I had planted a yellow sweet pepper called Banana I think (I lost the tag) and they are so pretty.

And all the herbs have taken well and growing vigorously. The catnip is quite large, the mint was planted in containers and already overflowing them and the tarragon is ready for some tarragon vinegar. Parsley, lovage, oregano, thyme and basil are all quite full and I've been using them in cooking all month. It's time to start drying and freezing them and make some vinegars but I love to see them out in the garden and get rather sad about cutting them all back in anticipation of winter.

One of the special plants I put in this summer was a boneset plant I bought at the International Herb Symposium in June from Zach Woods Herb Farm, an organic herb farm in northern Vermont. Their plants are always wonderful and the boneset is in full bloom and done quite well for its first year. Boneset is a wonderful plant in the back of a garden where its height can really highlight other plantings. And I love to get a plant as a reminder of a special place I've been, it always gives it a special meaning. Medicinally, boneset is used for colds and flus and especially to break fevers by causing perspiration.

I also noticed in the garden this month a large number of butterflies. I'm not great at identification, but this one really loved the dahlias.

Well I guess that's it for now. As the season winds down, I'm starting some plantings of lettuce and spinach for the Fall and starting to think about plans for next year. I just hope those tomatoes ripen - anyone have any good ideas on what to do with lots of green tomatoes?

Harvesting the Hops

2009-08-29T07:40:00.000-07:00

Three years ago I planted a small hops plant given to me by a friend at the corner of the store, hoping to train it across the porch railing. The first year it was rather slow growing and I wondered if it would make it. Last year it started growing vigorously and made it about halfway across the porch. Then this year it just took off. It almost made it to the end of the porch and I had a bine filled with beautiful hops.

No that's not a typo, it is a hops bine, not vine. Bines have stout stems with stiff hairs that aid them in climbing while vines use tendrils, suckers or other appendages to attach themselves. Hops are the female flower cones, also known as strobiles.

Hops are most generally known as a flavoring and stability agent used in making beer. Its antibacterial properties also help in beer making by helping the brewers yeast react over other bacterial organisms. Tom's of Maine uses hops in their dedodorant for its antibacterial properties. Hops are also used in a way similar to valerian, as a treatment for anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia. A pillow filled with hops is a popular folk remedy for sleeplessness. Hops may be used alone, but more frequently they are combined with other herbs, such as valerian. The relaxing effect of hops is largely due to a specific chemical component, dimethylvinyl carbinol.

I use a dehydrator to dry my hops. Hops are very light and dry even lighter. I started with about 5 ounces of hops, which dried to about 2 ounces. Here's the process I followed:

I pick the hops when they are full, but not opened, and a vibrant green color. Here they are on the vine and just picked.

I don't wash the picked hops, I just brush them off and make sure there is no dirt (or any bugs!) and no brown spots. They are then placed on the dehydrator screens with enough space in between them for air circulation.
As they dry, they fill out a bit and become very light and airy. I try to dry them just until they are totally dry, but not overdried to keep the color and flavor. In my dehydrator, that is about 6 hours on the lowest temperature setting.

Here are the dried hops, you can see the difference...

Hops are a beautiful, hardy plant that go great across a trellis, along a fence, or anywhere that they can climb and have plenty of room. Add one to your garden!

July Garden Musings

2009-07-17T10:16:00.000-07:00

When I wrote at the end of May about needing patience in gardening, I didn't know that we were going to have the rainiest June on record and that planting was going to be more delayed than I had even imagined!

But I persevered, catching windows of time here and there in between rain storms to continue planting. I had taken a workshop a few years ago about soil and it was drilled into me not to work soil that is wet. I tried very hard to follow that, but wet soil was the norm in June.

The perennials were all planted and the gardens mulched. Slugs have appeared in abundance and seem to love cilantro, but I've been trying to control them with an organic product that seems to be working. The garlic was the only thing that was able to be planted last year, and it seems very happy. The currants transplanted well this Spring and are fully of berries, providing a pretty backdrop to the garlic. And bordering it is lemon balm, which after all the construction came back up on it's own!

The plant search continues with some spots needing "just the right" plant. I searched all over for an apothecary rose (rosa gallica), an old heirloom traditionally used by herbalists and ended up buying one online. It is small but seems very healthy. I know it will grow large, so there are a lot of annuals around it round now, as is the case with many of the perennials that were planted. I just don't like the look of lots of mulch and the annuals are adding a lot of color and interest, Here's a picture of my small little rose bush before the annuals were planted...

And now mid-July, the garden is looking good. The Hot Kaps that I used were wonderful and I've already picked a 10" zuchinni from the plants I started from seed. I was so proud of it (see picture) and my husband even remarked with amazement "that's from our garden?" The bed I had with the zuchinni and pumpkins is overflowing and there should be a good crop of both this year.

And the espaliered apple tree that I put in 5 years ago has apples for the first time! When the garden was redone we discussed taking the tree out, but I'm so glad now that it stayed. The apples are a bit hard to see in the picture, but they're there!

How is your garden growing this year? Feel free to post comments and pictures!

May Garden & Lessons in Patience

2009-05-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love about gardening is the many life lessons that can be received. And for me, patience is one of those. Plants and gardens have their own timetables and they may not necessarily correspond with mine. May has been a month of waiting and watching, planning and yearning, fine tuning the garden plan and wondering how it is all going to work.

We had some periods of warm, sunny weather where I wanted to run out and plant, but I knew it was too early. The full planting moon came several weeks ago but it was still too cold and early. But slowly some chervil, parsley and onions went in the garden.

Martha Stewart had a show recently where she showed a product called Hot Kaps (hotkaps.com) to protect seedlings. Her garden was planted and covered with caps - ah ha I thought! I went online and bought some and planted my pumpkins and zuchini started from seed and covered them protectively with their hot kaps. How cute and how satisfying to get some planting done.

And so I waited, as weeds started filling my beautiful new garden soil. The hollyhocks I started from seed went into the garden, also wearing their hot kaps and a good size echinacea and perennial carnation went in. Ladies mantle was transplanted, and russian sage, catmint and comfrey went in. And the weeds still came and the garden looks so empty.

I know that the first year is the year of the "bones" of the garden. Get the perennials in and started, allowing plenty of room for their eventual growth. I yearn to plant everything closer, but know that if I do, I will be pulling out, dividing, and trying to control the plants in a year or two so am holding myself back.

I have a garden plan on paper, with each bed measured and on graph paper to scale, filled in with plants at their mature size. But the gardens look so much bigger in real life and right now they look rather empty.

But in getting plants to fill in all the space, I've also had to deal with my perfectionism in my garden. I go between 2 extremes....one wanting just the right, perfect plant for a certain location and the other saving every lost little plant I find. Sometimes this works....a plant that is struggling at the store I will put in my home garden knowing that it will come to life and be a wonderful addition. I just can't throw a plant away and although it might not be perfect enough to sell, it can be salvaged. A few of the scented geraniums I overwintered fell into that category. Missing most of their leaves and looking very scraggly, I planted several of them in the garden where they are flowering and new leaves are starting to appear. Voila! But I know I will get a lot further, faster if I buy full size perennials such as the echinacea that went in. So I go between the two extremes, feeling satisfaction in watching the struggling plant come back to life but also appreciating the beauty of the large full plants.

And I realize that it is the need for instant gratification, the desire to have the perfect garden NOW and wanting the plants and nature to be on my schedule rather than my having to adapt to theirs that can be so frustrating. So I take a deep breath, talk to the plants and allow myself to sink into the process of building a garden which will take years, not days.

But that is part of the joy of it and the sense of being part of something living outside myself. I am their caretaker, and they are mine. There is so much in life that is fast, easy and instantaneous that it can feel uncomfortable to be slow, mindful and on nature's schedule. But maybe that's the sign that I need it all the more.

New Garden in April

2009-04-23T12:06:00.001-07:00

The planting has started in the new garden, hurrah! It has been a cold wet month and not a lot has been able to go in yet. I mentioned to someone that I was planting and she replied that I had said in the store newsletter that it was too early to plant in April. Well, generally speaking that's true. But there are always exceptions. So what has been planted in April....

The Hawthorn tree (in picture). This is planted in the center circle. There was much discussion about what to put in the circle...a fountain, maybe a statue, some plantings, a tree or shrub? I decided on the hawthorn because hawthorn is a gentle herb of the heart, and is a sacred plant from the tradition that it supplied the cross of thorns. It is also considered a magical plant for protection. I had a beautiful small tree from our garden club plant sale and no where to put it. It does get large and may not stay in its current home, but we'll see how it goes!
Overwintered perennials. Many of my plants had to be moved for the new garden and it was too late in the year to replant them, so I overwintered them in a holding spot until Spring. As they started to show new growth, I've replanted them and have a small border of lavender along with lovage, valerian, ladie's mantle,thyme, chives and angelica replanted.
Cold hardy plants. Newly planted are lettuces, arugula, sorrel, tatsoi, peas and a few other assorted greens that grow in the cold soil and air.

So now I'm just waiting for the soil to warm up a bit to continue planting. The space is much larger than I'm used to having which is a good thing, but also a bit overwhelming. So I'm just taking it a bit at a time and trying to curb my impatience as I space plants far apart knowing that they will grow in and a the bones of a beautiful garden are being established.

My New Herb Garden

2009-03-26T12:25:00.001-07:00

Is there nothing more promising than a new garden, ready to be planted? Dreams of lush flowers, the air filled with the scent of herbs and robust vegetables ready for the dinner table... We all know that by July those dreams may be dashed, but in late March everything seems possible.

This garden is the result of 6 years of dreaming and planning. Having moved into this house with a small garden running along the side of the house, I struggled to make it work. It was filled with lemon balm and the first few years I affectionately called it my lemon balm garden. And although I love lemon balm, I would like some other things there also. So lemon balm plants went to the Garden Club sale, the store, friends and anyone who would take it....and still there was lemon balm. But after a year or two of diligent removal and new plantings, the form of an herb garden began to take shape. But there wasn't enough room in the narrow strips on either side of an old, lopsided brick path to include all I wanted. And the vegetables always overflowed, with pumpkin and squash vines taking up the path and winding around other plants, tomatoes running into the currant bushes that were there, and the sage growing large and overshadowing everything around it.

But the final blow was the vole, or what seemed like a large family of voles. My first indication several years ago was the echinacea. Big, beautiful echinacea in bloom suddenly was tilting to one side. When I went out to see what was happening, I pulled at it and up the whole stalk came, with no roots at all on the plant or in the ground. After much internet research I found this was probably the work of a vole and the next year, almost the entire garden was eaten from below ground. The vole war started, and after trying all the organic remedies I resorted to poison, which still only worked minimally. So last year I planted in cages I made out of chicken wire and decided that was it....I was giving up on reforming this garden and a new one was warranted.

So after close to a year of plans, discussions, hiring and work my beautiful garden is finished (many thanks to Lisa Bailey of BayLeaf Studios in Maynard, MA, Steve Jackson of Stonewalls by Jackson in Lancaster, MA and Miller Fence in Worcester, MA).

But we finished just as the first snow and freezing weather started, leaving me a blank landscape to start with in the Spring. I heeled in existing plants I wanted to replant and hopefully they have made it through the winter.

So the winter months were spent on dreaming and planning....what to plant, where, how many, how to work around the shade areas and slope by the stairs....all the fun stuff.

I plan to post my progress this season in the blog. Any ideas, suggestions and comments are welcome!

Herbal Companion Planting

2009-03-06T10:54:00.000-08:00

So I'm not very good at blogging. I think of all sorts of things to write about, but never actually sit down and do it. So I'll keep trying and see if I can get into the swing of this!

A customer who is planning her herb garden contacted me recently looking for a listing of herb companion planting. No problem I thought, I have lots of information on companion planting. But in looking at it more closely, I realized all the information I had related to companion planting with vegetables and I really didn't have anything that specifically addressed herbs.

Intrigued, I decided to make up my own. What a good winter project, that turned out to be more difficult than it sounds. There really wasn't a lot of good information in my own personal herb book library or on the internet, so I picked out what I could and then headed to the library at Tower Hill Botanic Garden. I went through all kinds of herb books, and developed my own list.

So what is companion planting? Simply speaking, it is putting plants together that benefit each other or keeping those apart that don't. Mother Nature does this on her own but we can mimic it in our own gardens. Companion planting sets up a kind of large scale symbiosis between the plants in your garden, and can do everything from provide insect control, climbing support, control competition, and provide soil conditioning. Some plants even release chemicals that are helpful to other plants, or on the other hand, toxic to other plants.

Going a little further, companion planting also includes not planting together plants that are susceptible to the same insects or diseases and putting together plants that like the same growing conditions but occupy different soil strata. For example, planting African marigolds and narcissus together. The bulbs are planted deep so the marigolds can be planted on top and the marigold repels nematodes that attack the bulb.

According to Anna Carr in Good Neighbors: Companion Planting for Gardeners, companion planting is a mix of folk wisdom, fairy tale or scientific proof, usually a little of all three.

I found this all fascinating. If you would like to read further about companion planting, some books I like are Herbs in the Garden, The Art of Intermingling by Rob Proctor and David Macke, Roses Love Garlic, Secrets of Companion Planting with Flowers by Louise Riotte (which has a great list of herbs as they related to insect control), and Good Neighbors: Companion Planting for Gardeners by Anna Carr.

And I will continue working on my list so if you have any good herbal companion planting thoughts, please pass them along!

So here's the list of things to plant together with their dislikes and other information such as pest control. I included vegetable information as well because if you're like me, I interplant my vegetables and herbs together so find this helpful.

Angelica: Nettle. Dislikes Dill
Anise: Cilantro -plant together for faster germination
Basil: Marigold, Parsley, Tomatoes. Dislikes Rue. Deters flies, mosquitoes, aphids, white fly, controls tomato worm (1 basil plant to 3 tomato plants)
Bergamot (Monarda/Bee Balm): Attracts honey bees
Borage: Tomatoes, Squash, Strawberries, said to increase strawberry crop. Controls tomato worm. Adds potassium, calcium & minerals to soil.
Caraway: Avoid Dill, fennel, carrot. Plant throughout the garden to loosen the soil.
Catnip: Eggplant, collards. Deters flea beetle, ants, attracts bees
Chamomile: Mint, Roses. Plant cabbages & onions to improve chamomile flavor. Improves health of plants grown close to it.
Comfrey: Strawberries. Rich in potassium, nitrogen & phosphates. Great in compost/compost tea
Cilantro (Coriander): Anise, Chervil, Dill (plant with Anise for faster germination). Deters aphids
Chervil: Cilantro, Dill, Anise. Deters aphids, attracts bees .
Chives: Parsley, Roses, Tomato, Carrots. Deters aphids, black spot on roses
Dead Nettle: Potatoes. Deters potato bug
Dill: Dislikes Lavender, Fennel, Caraway, Angelica. Dill & Fennel can cross-pollinate, attracts honey bees
Fennel: Most plants dislike this herb, don’t grow in vegetable garden. Deters fleas.
Feverfew: Roses, attracts aphids away from roses
Flax: Carrots,Potatoes. Deters Potato Bug
Garlic: Roses, raspberries, tomato, fruit trees. Deters Japanese beetle, aphids
Horehound: Tomatoe, horseradish. Deters potato bug, blister beetle
Henbit: General insect repellent
Hyssop: Cabbage, grapes, collards, broccoli, brussel sprouts. Dislikes radishes. Deters cabbage moth
Lamb Quarters: Marigolds, pansies. Deters Leaf miner, attracts lady beetle. Soil improver.
Lavender: Deters Moths -- combine with southernwood, wormwood and rosemary in an anti-moth sachet
Lemon Balm: Most plants, improves tomatoes, attracts nees
Lovage: Improves health & flavor of most plants near it. Dislikes rhubarb.
Marjoram: Sage, Nettle, Pepper. Repels most insects, attracts bees
Marigolds: Plant throughout the garden. Deters Mexican bean beetles, nematodes, others
Mint: Chamomile, Salad Burnet, Nettle, Tomato, Cabbage. Dislikes parsley. Deters white cabbage moth, aphids, flea beetles ants, mosquitoes, mice
Nasturium: Marigold, Savory, Cucumber. Deters cucumber beetle (sow in cucumber hills when plant)
Nettle: Mint, Sage, Marjoram, Angelica, Valerian. Deters Slugs, Snails
Oregano: Cabbage, cucumber, grapes. Deters Cucumber beetle, cabbage butterfly
Parsley: Chives, Roses, Onion, Tomato. Dislikes Mint. Deters Rose beetles, carrot flies, asparagus beetles
Pennyroyal: Roses, broccoli, cabbage. Deters ants, flies, fleas, mosquitoes. Helps roses, attracts bees.
Roses: Tansy, Rue, Pennyroyal, Parsley, Garlic, Chives, Chamomile. Dislikes Boxwood.
Rosemary: Sage, Collards, Cabbage. Deters cabbage moth, bean beetles, carrot fly
Rue: Roses, Strawberries, Raspberries. Dislikes Basil, Sage. Deters flies, Japanese beetles, dogs & cats
Sage: Rosemary, Nettle. Dislikes Rue & Onions.
Salad Burnet: Mint, Thyme
Savory: Onion, beans
Tansy: Roses, Raspberries, Squash. Dislikes Collards. Good all-round insect repellant. Concentrates potassium in soil.
Tarragon: All purpose beneficial garden helper
Thyme: Hyssop, Salad Burnet, Lettuce, Cabbage family. Deters cabbage maggots & worms, flea beetles. Said to help sick plants recover.
Valerian: Nettle. Stimulates phosphorous activity in soil, good for compost. Attracts earthworms.
Wormwood: Dislikes most vegetables. Deters Black flea beetles, mosquitoes, most animals
Yarrow: Aromatic herbs. Increases essential oil content & aromatic quality

Not Meant to Have St John's Wort Oil this Year!

2008-08-01T09:44:00.000-07:00

On the Elder Flower Adventure, I started picking St John's Wort to make oil. This is one of my favorite things to do every summer. The flowers are a beautiful shiny buttercup yellow and the oil of the plant a blood red color. When the flowers and flower buds are infused in oil, the oil turns a brilliant ruby red color. I like to use the oil in the lip balms I make as it is good for sun protection and soothing and healing to the lips, especially if they get chapped in the winter.

But I'll have to get some oil from friends this year. I started off well with the flowers I first picked, adding them to jojoba oil. But after a few days I noticed it wasn't turning the red color it should but was rather a pinky color. It had been stormy so I hadn't put it out in the full sun as I usually do so I figured it just didn't get enough heat and I moved it.

I kept picking flowers and one of the wonderful things about St John's Wort is that it pops up all over! I found it on the farm where I belong to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). I asked the farmer if I could pick the St John's wort and he didn't even know what it was, so I pointed out all the beautiful plants growing in the field (alongside lots of red clover) and he said I was welcome to whatever I wanted to pick. I also found it in my yard (where I'm always careful to mow around it) and on the golf course.

I was golfing one evening and came around a corner to a spot that had elder flower, which of course I now see everywhere, several large mullein plants and St John's Wort. I was ready to stop the game and go pick herbs, but the women I was golfing with didn't understand why I would go want to pick some weeds and I couldn't hold the game up!

But I digress.....As I picked new St John's Wort, I started a new jar of oil in case the pink one was just ruined. Using organic olive oil this time, it turned a nice red and I was happily adding flowers as I found them to my oil mixture out in the sun. All was going well, until....

We had terribly humid weather for a period and a friend who was visiting noticed my oil and commented that there was condensation on the inside of the jars. Not a good thing for oil! So I replaced the jar lids with cheesecloth, folded over several times and secured with a rubber band around the lid. This allowed enough air that the condensation went away and I was merrily continuing adding flowers to my oil.

And then yesterday afternoon there was a large thunderstorm. It hadn't been forecasted, and my jars of oil were out in the sun, brewing away. And now that there was cheesecloth instead of the jar lids, the rain poured into my jars.

Oil and water definitely do not mix and I'm heartsick to lose my oil. Most of the St John's Wort has stopped blooming, so there's really nothing left to do until wait for next year.

Lesson learned!

Elder Flower Adventure

2008-07-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

Having just made a non-alcoholic elder flower cordial for a Cordials & Liqueurs workshop at the store, I decided I needed to make more for the herbal apprentice class coming up in a few weeks. But where to find elder flowers? Faith, my fellow herbalist and teacher, had brought the elder flowers to the workshop and I knew they were passing their prime quickly. Driving home yesterday taking my usual backroad shortcuts, I glanced over at the woods and what did I see - flowering elder! I drove past again and clocked the mileage from the trees to home, exactly 2 miles. I could bike there in the morning and pick the elder flowers.

So this morning the adventure began. I just got my bike last week, deciding with my husband that we needed to do something to get into shape as well as have something we would enjoy doing together. I went out once and made it about a mile or so. But this should be easy, what is 4 miles round trip?

Alot, at least for me. Setting out around nine to beat the hot humid weather forecasted for the day didn't work. It was hot and humid. I had made my usual fruit yogurt shake for breakfast, and when I took a sip of the ice cold water I had brought, Vesuvius broke out in my stomach. About a mile and a half in, I pulled over, sat on someone's lawn and thought I would lose breakfast. But it passed, and I was determined to get to the elder.

Heading to my spot, I passed another elder. Ha ha! I don't have to bike the full 4 miles and can still get my elder flowers. As I approached the flowers I saw the large swath of poison ivy surrounding it. Faith had encountered prehistoric size mosquitos in her elder flower quest, and my bane was poison ivy. So I decided to pass walking in the poison ivy and to reach my original destination.

I biked, I walked, I wanted to throw up and I reached "my" elder flowers. They were beautiful, and also surrounded by poison ivy. I was picking them, poison ivy or not! After all this I was not going home without elder flowers. So I gingerly walked through the poison ivy, picked the flowers and headed back home.

I started feeling a bit better on the way back and took it easy, walking the bike up the hills. There are no flat roads around here! I stopped at the first elder I had found, and the flowers were beautiful and in their prime so I decided to brave the poison ivy and pick some more. Thankfully the poison ivy was also surrounded by jewelweed, so after picking I opened the stems of some jewelweed, smeared it all over my legs and hoped for the best. Poison ivy and I have a long, painful history and I treat it with much respect and usually stay as far away as possible.

With a bag full of elder flowers, I headed home. Reaching the center of town, I noticed St John's wort blooming. Well how could I ride past that? So I stopped and picked St John's wort flowers to make an oil. I had only brought one bag, so the St John's wort went in with the elder flowers, mixing colorfully.

I got home, got out the Tecru and washed all over in fear of the poison ivy oil and jumped in the pool to cool off.

Refreshed, I sorted out the elder and St John's wort flowers and made an infusion of the elder flowers and set the St John's wort flowers to wilt a bit before making the oil.

Here's the elder flower cordial recipe that started the whole adventure. It is well worth it! It makes a lot, so can be reduced. I am infusing the elder flower in the water to freeze it, and then make the syrup in a few weeks.

English Elderflower Cordial
5 cups water
3 pounds sugar
1 lemon, sliced
25 large elderflower heads
6 tablespoons citric acid
Sparkling or still mineral water to dilute

Place the water in a large plan and bring to a boil. Add the sugar and lemon and remove from the heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Place on the heat again and return to a boil. Add the elderflower heads and citric acid and bring to a boil once more. Remove from the heat and leave to stand until cool. Strain and bottle in clean bottles with corks. This can be drunk immediately. If stored in a cool place, it should keep about three months. When serving, dilute with 5 parts water and add ice.

Yield: approximately 2 quarts of syrup
Source: Drink to Your Health, Anne McIntyre