Vegetable Harvesting

Vegetable Harvesting

by | Sep 29, 2017 | LB Tutorial: Growing Food

As the harvesting duties start to pile up I needed an easy way to clean vegetables before bringing them into the house for processing. Cleaning dirt out of the kitchen sink is never fun and after trying to hold the hose and the vegetables at the same time I figured there must be a better way… I found an old metal washtub on legs at the local secondhand store. But just sloshing them around inside didn’t make sense because they didn’t get really clean.
After searching around I found a couple of things to make it easier. First, using a plastic plant tray to harvest helped to sift out the dirt back into the beds before taking them to the wash basin. Keeping the soil in the beds is a good thing since it took so long to get that lovely soil to be lovely soil.
Second, using a board across the top ½ of the basin gave me a shelf to set the harvest on while I work and a place to sit while it dries out. You can also use the tray to keep vegs from shifting in the standing water. A hose on spray will knock most of the dirt into the water while a soft vegetable scrub brush might be needed to get the root veg really clean. Some Vegs do not like to be totally dried off before storage including, leafy things, some cucumbers, and kale. As soon as they are mostly dry (don’t leave them out for days) store them as they would normally be stored.
I store leafy greens and kale in clean plastic bags slightly moist. Cucumbers like to be slightly moist and carrots, leeks and beets humid but dry. Hang the onions and garlic to dry or store in baskets. Tomatoes, eat or process when you can refrigerate until used. I also dry my hot peppers, basil, thyme and dill by hanging them in bundles inside the greenhouse (unheated and not humid yet) or in the house.
Remember to use your water wisely.  Collect the dirty water into buckets or watering can to be added back into the garden. Don’t let it just run onto the ground. How are you processing your harvest this year?  Be sure to share back any ideas you have had for making harvesting easier. Happy Vegetables make Happy Bodies!
Fall Garden List

Fall Garden List

by | Sep 16, 2017 | gardening, LB Tutorial: Skills

Welcome to those clicking over from our newsletter!  Here are more details on my top 10 ‘to-do’s’ for the Autumn.  If you didn’t get this from our newsletter sign up!  It’s free and we typically send newsletters about once a month. With out further ado here is my list of things to do this month in the garden.
  1. Harvest tomatoes and other vegetables that are warm season plants. As the nights cool the ripening process will slow down and rain will bring on some rot potential in the warm season plants. Broccoli, kale, cauliflower, brussel sprouts all are happy to have the cooler weather and will thrive.
  2. Plant cool season crops, along with leafy salad crops like arugula, spinach, and lettuce. These will germinate in the 60-degree days and you can harvest for a couple of months in my zone 7-8 garden. You can also put in starts of broccoli, kale, cauliflower, and Brussel sprouts (check your local nursery). Also available now are garlic bulbs for next year’s harvest.
  3. Remove any dead plants from the summer and think about replanting now for good root growth in the fall and establishment for next year. Some of the plants that did not make it in my garden were planted in the late spring and early summer. A long dry summer was the culprit in their demise. The plants I planted last fall did well.
  4. Weed any persistent weeds and cover area with mulch. This will keep weeds in check for next year and feed the plants during the winter.
  5. Prune fruit trees as the growth slows. Learn about pruning different kinds of trees so the pruning you do is effective not harmful. See my blog post on pruning espalier trees.
  6. Start dividing plants that have overgrown their spots. Iris, persicaria, sedums, and campanula are some that need to be divided in my garden. I will pot them up and give away or sell. This is a great by product of a successful garden.
  7. Clean out the greenhouse and prepare for winter. If you have a greenhouse this is a good time to get it ready. See my blog post on greenhouse prep. If you don’t have a greenhouse there are several ways to overwinter plants that aren’t hardy. Look for an upcoming post on DIY cold frames and mulch holding beds.
  8. Write it down. Keep good records of what did well in the vegetable garden and what did not. I have a beautiful tomato called indigo rose in the garden. It is pretty but it will not ripen. I have about 200 tomatoes on the plant and have had about 10 ripe ones. They have been a lovely black color since June. Yes, I’ve pruned it many times. Yes, I’ve eaten them and they are really not ripe. I won’t grow it again.
Two good books to help with this are ‘Week by Week Vegetable Gardener’s Handbook by Ron Kujawski and Jennifer Kujawski, and Vegetable Gardener’s Journal from Cool Springs Press. I also record my progress in the main garden in a garden journal. I have several filled journals on the shelf that have a record of gardens from when I first began gardening to the one that is ½ filled now. Sometimes, now, I spend more time on my blog posts than in the journal but the posts do tie to my gardening through the year. Plants I love, weather, plants I killed, where I got them, bulbs and seeds I planted, it all goes in the journal.
  1. Save seeds. I have saved seeds from various plants for years. It is easy to do and provide next years starts for no money and blank seed packets are available online. There is also lots of information about how to save seeds. A good resource is a free handbook on line at http://howtosaveseeds.com/toc-handbook.php. I also like ‘Seedswap’ by Josie Jeffery. It has a section on how to save seeds but also how to connect with seed banks, starting seeds, and growing on. It is just great reading about seeds in general.
10. Turn compost pile if you have one, and remove any weedy debris piles. I like to save a woody debris pile for insects to overwinter. In the Pacific Northwest, your compost pile should be kept in a fairly dry area. If there is a lot of moisture and leafy vegetation it will be a breeding ground for snails and slugs instead of habitat for small animals and insects.
Wispy, Wild, Wonderful Grasses

Wispy, Wild, Wonderful Grasses

by | Sep 15, 2017 | gardening, plants

Traveling is an amazing way to experience many different ways to plant, plants to use, and new ideas. Reading (for those who can’t travel) is another way to be inspired. I love to read books about gardening but I also love to read magazines. One of the best magazines to be inspired by is Garden Design Magazine.   Aside from a total lack of advertising, which is amazing in itself, the pictures and articles take you to a place you can’t go except on a very expensive vacation. The Autumn 2015 Garden Design Magazine took me to a place (on paper) that was truly inspiring. The wiles and ways of grasses can be very alluring and Le Jardin Plume, Feather Garden, in Auzouville-sur-Ry France is an amazing showcase of these lovely plants.

(source)

This is a fascinating garden. Grasses are used throughout the entire garden in modern meadow plantings and inspired the name ‘the Feather Garden’. I am particularly inspired by the beautiful boxwood hedge that is shaped as a wave. The hard edges and great curves in the hedge are accented by the planting behind it.   Calamagrostis grass with asters, thalictrum, veronicastrum, and sanguisorba in crimson and white are planted in small groups behind the hedge.  The grasses are cut down during the winter keeping the clean lines of structure in the boxwood uncluttered.   As the season progresses the grasses and blooms create an unstructured, tall, transparent wave of its own, a feathery mix that echoes the motion of the wave.
While I don’t have the scope and space that Le Jardin Plume has I think I can use the same principles to create something similar in my own garden.  Just behind the Koi pond there is a path that moves through two different areas of the garden. This is a perfect place to plant the boxwood hedge. The straight lines of the stone covered edge on the pond will echo the boxwood hedge and as it grows taller will be visible behind the pond from across the lawn.
I’ve used Stipa gigantea (one of my FAVORITE) grasses as the base with white agapanthus, Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’, and salvia behind that. I am being a little more structured in the planting scheme than the random planting at The Feathers but I think it looks unstructured from a distance. The tall inflorescence of the stipa look so fabulous during the spring, summer and fall.  The evergreen leaves of the grass have a blue cast that will look amazing in the bright light of the water’s edge. I’m thinking I might add some fall asters to the mix. The Amsonia goes an amazing wheat color as it fades so will blend with the grasses as they go soft caramel.  (amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ is available from Burpee).
This beach garden has a beautiful planting of blue agapanthus with Stipa gigantea.  Back lit it is stunning. Already this year the boxwood in the back has grown about 12-15 inches. The ground cover on the path is black pebbles, fine granite gravel, and thymus minus on the edges. Here is the planting of the soon wave hedge! What inspires you?    Garden visits and travel (Blodel Reserve, see my Traveling Plantswoman posts), Lectures (Anna Pavord at Meany Hall in Seattle), specialty nursery sales (Plant Fest from the Hardy Plant Society in Portland), or visits to local gardeners to visit them and talk about plants (Windcliff Open days).
Cucamelon Harvest and Recipes

Cucamelon Harvest and Recipes

by | Sep 1, 2017 | garden food

Wandering through the vegetable garden sometimes make me anxious.  There is always so much to do and remember.  Prune the tomatoes, check the tomatoes to see if they are ripe, pick the ripe tomatoes, find something to do with the excess tomatoes, find someone to give the extra tomatoes to.   I think you get my drift.  This year the harvest is coming on strong.  Although a bit slower because of our cool start, now is the time I worry about how things are starting to get ripe, if they will make it before the cool weather starts, keeping things watered without splitting or molding.   One of my worries however, is not the Cucamelons.
(photo Kristy Gardner from SheEats.com)
Apparently this is the new ‘hot’ exciting vegetable.   The little sour Mexican Gherkin (Cucamelon) is first of all cute, then easy to grow, and finally fun to experiment with.  Last year I only got about 5 on my vines.   This year I have many!  I think the key was giving them something to climb.   One of my favorite cookbook authors, Kristy Gardner from SheEats.com has a great recipe for Cucamelon Bruschetta.  You should seriously click HERE to get the full recipe it’s worth it.
After this fun experiment I started another.   This one is not so quickly gratifying as it will take two weeks before I know the result.  This is my first cold pickled vegetable and I must say it looks pretty good in the jars.  Hopefully will taste great too.  A brilliant way to make these crisp summer fruit last well into the depths of winter, home pickling is far easier than you would ever think!

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups white vinegar – distilled malt or white wine
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 tbsp raw sugar
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
  • 1tsp coriander seeds
  • 9 oz fresh cucamelons
  • 1 fresh grape leaf or oak leaf

Instructions

Pour the vinegar into a bowl and add salt and sugar, then whisk until they have completely dissolved. Stir in the dill, mint and coriander seeds. Wash the cucamelons in water and pour into a sterilized jar. (Run the jars through the dishwasher and dry in a warm oven set to its lowest temperature.) Scrunch up the grape or oak leaf and place it on top of the cucamelons. The tannins in the leaf will slowly disperse outwards and help keep the fruit crisp. Pour the seasoned vinegar into the jar and seal tightly. Refrigerate for 2 weeks. The cucamelons will be pickled and ready to eat. Once opened, store in the refrigerator. They will keep up to 3 months, but most likely won’t last nearly that long! Yields about 1 quart.
First picking the cucamelons…    I picked the largest and somewhat faded.  The taste test was interesting with a sharp, lime overtone on a cucumber base.  Crunchy too.  As you can see the vines are a little crazy and unruly.  But that is ok too.  They are very cute just like the fruit.
Then I rambled around my garden and grabbed some mint and dill.   Then rambled to my neighbor for grape leaves.  What a weird thing to have in a pickling recipe, but in it goes.  Enlisting the help from my son here just today from Boston we packed the jars, dumped the brine, crushed the grape leaf, and put the caps on.   They will sit in the refrigerator for 2 weeks to pickle then they can stay in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
It is too late to try this vegetable this year but put it on your seed order for next year.   There are several good recipes on line to try. They are available from Botanical Interest Seeds.

Days to Emerge: 7 – 21 Days

Seed Depth: 1/4″

Seed Spacing: 3 seeds per mound

Mound Spacing: 4′

Thinning: Not required

Melon Cucamelon Mouse Melon HEIRLOOM Seeds

Melothria scabra

Item #0285 90 days. Cute, grape-sized fruits look like tiny watermelons but have a cucumber flavor, often with a hint of tartness. Also called sandita or Mexican sour gherkin because the fruits turn more sour as they mature. Long vines up to 10′ produce plenty of “watermelons” to harvest from summer to fall. Plants don’t seem to be affected by insects that typically cause problems with cucumbers and melons. A terrific container or hanging basket variety! This packet sows 10 mounds. When to sow outside: 1 to 2 weeks after average last frost, and when soil temperature is at least 65°F. When to start inside: 4 to 6 weeks before average last frost. Harvesting: Pick fruits when about the size of a grape or under 1″ long for best flavor. As fruits mature, sourness increases. (information from www.botanicalinterests.com)
Hydrangea Drama Continues

Hydrangea Drama Continues

by | Aug 25, 2017 | Plants I Dig

In my last post, I decided (while writing it) that maybe hydrangeas were not so ‘ho hum’. In fact, I came up with so many that it should really be split into two posts so, as promised, here is the ‘rest of the story’ starting with my collection from Windcliff Nursery.
plantswoman design serrata beni 002
Hydrangea serrata beni a sweet little hydrangea from Windcliff.   Living close to Dan Hinkley gives me the chance to visit his nursery regularly and bring home some choice selections.  This one went in the garden last year and is starting to put on some good growth.   The flowers are an amazing scarlet velvet red.    As they fade they move towards a darker brick red but still maintain a velvet texture.   Beni translates “red” in Japanese, and red, specifically a darkly imbued red lacecap is what this small rounded shrub delivers. Originally collected from a wild clone, its graceful form has dainty flowers that first emerge blushed white and gradually deepen to velvet red shades.  The rich, stop-in-your-tracks color persists on the sepals well into autumn. With cool green leaves and ardent inflorescences, ‘Beni’ is a dynamic choice for a tight space. Blooms mid-July–September. Size: 4′ 0″ high x 4′ 0″ wide; hardy to zone 6. Hydrangea serrata ‘Beni’ (S-0643)
plantswoman design serrata beni 002
Deinanthe caerulea ‘Blue Wonder’. Another plant gleaned from Windcliff is Deinanthe caerulea ‘Blue Wonder’, the Chinese false hydrangea hailing from 2,500-5,000′ elevation in western Hubei province.  It forms an 18″ tall x 3′ wide clump of upright stems in the garden, the stems of Deinanthe caerulea have four heavily serrated terminal leaves without tip branching. It is topped in early July with small terminal clusters of intricate nodding blue flowers composed of a stigma and hundreds of anthers…so very cute. Deinanthe caerulea needs to be planted in cooler sections of the woodland garden with good moisture and good drainage.
plantswoman design serrata beni 002
plantswoman design serrata beni 002
plantswoman design serrata beni 002
I have grown Hydrangea Plum Passion for several years and I have it in two places in my garden. One in part sun and one in high canopy shade. It is fun to see the two different plants and how they handle the different conditions. The one in full shade has great dark leaves, the one in part sun has more faded leaves. The one in full shade is slower to bloom and had less blooms while the one in part sun has more blooms and is very prolific. Both are about the same size but the one in shade is more compact and has lots of leaves, the one in the sun is open with less leaves. It clearly likes to grow in partial shade with regular water but will deal with full shade.   It tends show stress in the summer without water.  It likes moist soil.    Zone 7 – 10, 5 – 6 foot in height and spread.
plantswoman design serrata beni 002
This hydrangea is also an introduction from Dan Hinkley from China.  A type of aspera it has dark, fuzzy, purple leaves with rosy purple undersides. The delicate flowers are a great contrast to the drama of the foliage. It is deciduous with great fall color. Give it room to grow and it will stop you in your tracks with its loveliness.
plantswoman design serrata beni 002
Hydrangea angustipetala ‘Golden Crane’, (Hydranges angustifpetala ‘MonLongShou’) also an introduction from Dan Hinkley for Monrovia, (I think he likes hydrangeas) is the second fragrant hygrangea I’ve ever grown.   It blooms very early with white flowers surrounding golden yellow fertile florets in late March and April.    The pictures here have the remainder of flowers still hanging on and will sporadically bloom during the remainder of the summer.    I do have to say it takes a while for them to get established and live up to their hype, but they are beguiling and sweet.   The fragrance is jasmine-like and floats through the garden in early spring.   Likes full shade to part shade, regular water and moist soil. Zone 6 – 10. Will eventually reach 3 – 5 feet tall and wide.
plantswoman design serrata beni 002
One of the many cool things about doing landscape design is the ‘personal shopper’ aspect. Going to the nursery to pick out what is beautiful at the moment is a fun trip. While shopping for a client last week I did see some beautiful hydrangeas. These are ones that are available but I haven’t grown yet. Maybe you will agree that they deserve a spot in your garden. The Wedding Gown double did make it back to my house, now a wander around the garden to find just the perfect spot for it.
Hydrangeas, Ho Hum?

Hydrangeas, Ho Hum?

by | Jul 30, 2017 | Plants I Dig

At best, I have a tenuous relationship with hydrangeas.  Sometimes I love them and sometimes they seem like a boring old grandma shrub with little to bring to the garden. But just this week I was going through the upper shade garden and surprise, surprise there are many hydrangeas there. Did they sneak in while I wasn’t looking?  Actually, I probably planted them as a test for my clients and there they are looking, I have to admit, fabulous.

When I’m thinking about using a new variety or type of plant in client gardens I test it out in my garden first so I know how it behaves. Hydrangeas are a long-time client favorite so it makes sense that there are some in my garden. I usually think of them as pretty blobs of color, good background, nice color but not really spectacular. However, I think anyone could agree to have these beauties in their garden.

When black stems became the rage several varieties of hydrangeas were introduced.  Two of them are in my garden and while having the same stem they have different habits and color in the flower.

Hydrangea Zorro is a lace cap style that starts out fairly pinky blue and then changes shade to purple blue with lots of variations in color. Strong stems keep the flowers erect and impressive. This one is grown with very little direct sun but a bright open canopy.

Hydrangea Zebra is another black stemmed variety. It has stunning pure white blooms with that are a lace cap variety but the blooms are so closely packed they tend to look like the mop-head variety.   It is grown with the same canopy and good shade.  It likes moisture and good rich soil.

Walking on the dark side gives us the beautiful Hydrangea ‘Plum Passion’.   The flowers are great but the real stunning part of this Hydrangea is the fuzzy leaf.  The structure is big with a great background presence.   I’ve grown it in a container by a front door and it maintains its leaves with a wandering long stemmed shape.   This has been one of my favorite hydrangeas for years though most people would not recognize it as a hydrangea.  Not a fan of direct sun, give this beauty shade and protection from strong winds.

Along with black stems, I do love lime colors in the garden.   In a shaded area the bright lime really stands out.

Lemon daddy Hydrangea does that with very lime leaves. The mop-head blooms are white and stay true to color throughout the season. The leaf is electric lime with good variation in color within the leaf. Slugs occasionally eat the leaf so that can be a little discouraging as most hydrangeas don’t have a big slug problem. Lemon Daddy can take some morning sun but dislikes the hot afternoon sun. Good moisture is preferred but can take some drought too.

Two must haves are Lime light and Little lime, almost the same except for the size. Limelight can be 4 – 6 feet tall with blooms about 12” across while Little Lime stays more at the 2-3 foot height with blooms about 6” across. Both have tiny little blooms packed on the stems. It is a paniculata type with loose cone shaped blooms. These are grown in light shade with good moisture. They can take some drought but not hot afternoon sun.

I love the shape of paniculata style hydrangea. Fire and Ice is another paniculata style Hydrangea. This time instead of a green stem it has a good red stem. The contrast in the lime/white blooms and the red stems is very effective in a shade garden. The fall color tends towards red as the weather cools. Coming in at about 4 feet in the garden it makes a good background shrub for the back of a low border.

The oak leafed hydrangea ‘Jet Stream’ is a beautiful example of Hydrangea quercifolia with blooms held away from the main stem so they can be seen individually. The blooms have a tendency to be heavy so will sometimes droop when the bloom is especially large. As they get a little older they will have thicker stems so the blooms will stay up better. Jet Stream likes a little more sun and the thick oak shaped leaves will not burn so easy in the extra sun. They have a lovely pink tinge to the blooms as they fade in the fall.

Well as I write this I realize I really do like hydrangeas. In fact, I haven’t finished telling you all about the other ones in my garden. In my next post, I will share my favorite unusual varieties. Fragrance, deep velvet color and climbers are also here in my garden.  Stay tuned!

Hydrangea styles:

Paniculata

Genus:  Hydrangea

This plant produces gracefully arching branches and pyramidal clusters of white, then pink-tinged to dusky purple blossoms.

Noteworthy Characteristics:  This is one of the most cold-hardy species. It may be grown as a single-stemmed specimen or as a multi-stemmed shrub.

Care:  Grow in moist, but well-drained soil, in sun to partial shade. H. paniculata blooms on the current season’s wood; it may be cut back to a few buds to form a framework in spring to produce larger flowers, or allowed to grow with minimal pruning.

Not subject to frost damage because they bloom on new wood.

Overview

  • Height               15 ft. to 30 ft.
  • Spread               10 ft. to 15 ft.
  • Growth Habit      Clumps
  • Growth Pace       Fast Grower
  • Light                 Full Sun to Part Shade
  • Moisture            Medium Moisture
  • Maintenance       Moderate
  • Characteristics     Showy Flowers, Showy Seed Heads
  • Bloom Time       Summer

Macrophylla ( Mop Head)

Genus:  Hydrangea

This is one of the most widely recognized species of hydrangeas. It boasts a plentiful number of cultivars. The species is divided into two groups: the Hortensias (or “mopheads”) have globe-shaped flowers made up of large male flowers, and the Lacecaps have flattened flower heads, with central, female blossoms ringed in larger, male blossoms

Noteworthy Characteristics:  Lacy, horizontal blossoms and large globes of flowers in rich colors. Many different colors have been developed but some can go through a color change with addition of soil additives. Lime soil will make some blooms pink while acid soil can push the blooms to blue.

Care:  Grow in moist, but well-drained soil, in sun to partial shade. Provide shelter from drying winds. These hydrangeas flower on the previous season’s wood, and can be maintained by cutting back just to the first pair of buds beneath the old flower in spring.

Overview

  • Height               3 ft. to 6 ft.
  • Spread               6 ft. to 10 ft.
  • Growth Habit      Clumps
  • Growth Pace       Moderate Grower
  • Light                 Full Sun to Part Shade
  • Moisture            Medium Moisture
  • Maintenance       Low
  • Characteristics     Showy Flowers, Showy Seed Heads Drying
  • Bloom Time       Fall, Summer

Hydrangea quercifolia (Oakleaf)

Oakleaf hydrangeas originated along the sandy streams of the southeastern United States, and they are more drought tolerant than many other hydrangeas. Their matte green leaves are coarsely textured and deeply lobed, and in fall they turn red and purple. White flower heads form in spring, and as summer draws to a close they turn shades of pink, green, and ecru. -Nellie Neal, Regional Picks: Southeast, Fine Gardening issue #127

Care:  Moist, well-drained soil.

Overview

  • Height                  3 ft. to 6 ft.
  • Spread                 6 ft. to 10 ft.
  • Growth Pace       Moderate Grower
  • Light                     Full Sun to Part Shade
  • Moisture              Medium Moisture
  • Maintenance       Low
  • Characteristics    Showy Fall Foliage,  Showy Flowers
  • Bloom Time         Early Summer, Late Spring, Spring,Summer
  • Flower Color        White, pink

Blueberries for All Seasons

Blueberries for All Seasons

by | Jul 21, 2017 | garden food, Plants I Dig

As I continue to think about design in the vegetable garden I can’t help but think about the great design opportunities with the new varieties of Blueberries.   The great thing about designing with blueberries is the year-round color and growth in the garden as well as the benefit of delicious berries in July.  Many of these cultivars have a low chill factor so you can grow these in even warmer places and still have great fruit.

The cultivar ‘Sunshine Blue’ was introduced in 1979 but I didn’t know anything about it until about 10 years ago when it became more available in our area. I like using the cultivar ‘Top Hat’, which is a dwarf evergreen blueberry and difficult to find, whenever I could.

Vaccinium ‘Sunshine Blue’ has a slightly pointed leaf that is a medium blue green.   With its fine, delicate foliage it can be used in a mixed bed, foundation planting or edging for a more formal bed.  It can be sheared if you don’t care about the fruit and takes on a lovely blush purple color in the fall. In my zone 8 garden it is mostly evergreen with good production of fruit.

Plant Description

One of the best for mild-winter areas, a low-chill selection perfect for small gardens or large patio tubs. Blue-green foliage and showy pink to white flowers provide ornamental value, followed by an abundant crop of fruit. Self fruiting, but yields best when planted with another variety. Recommended winter chill: 150 hours. Semi-evergreen.

One of my new favorites is the ‘Bountiful Blue’ Blueberry.  This one has a beautiful rounded leaf with good blue color.   They tend to have a coarser texture than the ‘Sunshine Blue’ but boast prolific foliage and sturdy structure.  These look wonderful in a natural landscapes with many types of ornamentals.  Japanese, northwest and cottage styles all benefit from these great plants.

Plant Description

An award winning variety with the bluest foliage of all! Pink-blushed flowers produce a big crop of large, sweet, juicy berries on a compact, mounded shrub. Perfect for hedging or planting in large tubs. Self-fertile, though planting another variety may yield a more prolific harvest. Needs only 150-200 winter chill hours. Semi-evergreen in mild climates.

These are also candidates for container production.   I have several clients with large pots in their gardens with blueberries. ‘Pink Lemonade’ and ‘Peach Sorbet’ work particularly well for containers.

For the best fruit production give the plants good full sun and good moisture. They are happiest under irrigation. You could put them in part shade but expect lower fruit production.

Here is a video from Nicolas Statton on how to prune the evergreen varieties for fruit production. These are available from the growers at Monrovia. Have a look at that while I go make blueberry muffins.

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Color in the Vegetable Garden

Color in the Vegetable Garden

by | Jul 14, 2017 | garden food, LB Tutorial: Growing Food

We have all seen great pictures and even visited designed vegetable gardens. Some great potager, or kitchen, gardens are famous for their beautiful symmetrical designs. My kitchen garden sports simple raised beds in a fairly linear design. I’m planning on revamping the configuration of the beds next year.  I’ve found that the long beds that are wide (6 feet) are easy to plant but hard to harvest. Stepping into the bed is not optimal and sometimes there are such a tangle of plants in the middle the harvest is lost. That, however, does not keep me from planning some good color combinations in the veg garden.

This year I experimented with purple. I already had purple artichokes from last year and they are lovely again this year.   Not only do they lend great sculptural qualities but their color is amazing. A combination of purple and green that holds it color even when dried for fall decoration.

Purple peas are growing, rambling and producing the loveliest pea pods. The peas inside are green and flavor is amazing. The pods are too tough to eat but there are so many pods that the harvest is good for shelled peas. This is a tendril pea so the strange flower like tendrils were odd looking for me. I did pick some and did a quick sauté to go with halibut cheek. Pretty great!

 

 

Sugar Magnolia Tendril Peas:

70 days A marvelous innovation in sugar snap pea breeding from Dr. Alan Kapuler, the first ever purple podded sugar snap pea! We love the dusty purple blue pods that really pop in a sea of green foliage. … The flavor is perfect, not too sweet, with a great snap!

[From Territorial Seeds]

 

 

Purple broccoli is another purple plant that has a wonderful color with contrasting dusty sage green leaves. The flavor is great and it produces well. Baby leaves can be used in salad as well.  My plant came from the nursery in a pack and unfortunately, they don’t list the seed variety on the plants. I have tried the purple sprouting kind before and it is best in the fall and winter. It over wintered and produced small broccoli pieces all winter.

In my blog post, Easter Gift Of Plants, we planted purple carrots at my grand daughter, Kayla’s, request. They’ve done well and are great to eat, beautiful to look at in salads. (that garden is doing quite well!)

Of course, you can’t help but love the purple blue color of blueberries in the garden. The fresh lovely blush or purple/blue as it becomes deep blue is so beautiful. In the early morning with dew they become a reflection of the sky and the green leaves around them. These are an unknown variety rescued from a garden under construction. The border around the fruit beds are Vaccinium Bountiful Blue, an evergreen blueberry that produces great fruit and is beautiful all year round. Fine Gardening has this to say about it.

An award winning variety with the bluest foliage of all! Pink-blushed flowers produce a large crop of large, sweet, juicy berries on a compact, mounded shrub. Perfect for massing in the landscape or featuring in large tubs. Self fertile, though planting another variety may yield a more prolific harvest. Requires just 150-200 winter chill hours. Semi-evergreen in mild climates.

Care: Provide rich, acidic, well-drained soil. Water regularly during the growing season to maintain a deep, extensive root system. In extremely hot and arid summer areas, best with some shelter from harsh, reflected afternoon sun. Before new growth begins, prune off twiggy growth, leaving only main stems to prevent overbearing.

Read more: http://www.finegardening.com/bountiful-blue-blueberry-vaccinium-corymbosum#ixzz4mp1pdVz0
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There are two more purple things in the garden that are not quite ready yet. Some seed samples from Burpee seed included a Depurple cauliflower hybrid. The plants are doing well but not ready for a picture yet. Burpee seed description.

Ravishing new purple cauliflower with buttery-sweet flavor.

Full Description

In foodie land, cauliflower is now a thing—a flavorful, delicious thing—inspiring culinary rapture, with food writers reaching for apt superlatives. ‘Depurple’, a ravishing new purple cauliflower, is a trendsetter with delectably textured, buttery-sweet, nuttily nuanced lavender-blue florets. Adds magical color and savory rich flavor served fresh, broiled, sautéed; as fritters, or in a summery cool purple soup. The distinctive color comes from anthocyanins, the antioxidants found in red wine, so purple cauliflower is more nutritious too. To retain the color, sprinkle with vinegar or lemon juice before steaming, roasting, or sautéing. A must-have selection for 2017.

80 days to maturity, sun, plant in fall or spring.

I also picked up some purple brussel sprout seeds from Territorial seeds.   The Rubine Brussel Sprout seeds are in the house now.   They are 4 leaves and will be ready to go out in about two weeks. 85 days. An heirloom variety not often seen in the garden. Rubine offers up a bountiful harvest of gorgeous 1-1 1/2 inch purple-red sprouts that are full of wonderfully rich old-time flavor. A striking addition to any vegetable patch and a gourmet special for your table. Grows to 24 inches and performs best when planted early.

I’ll keep you updated on progress and will take pictures of the varieties as they continue to produce. Many of the seeds are available for fall planting so it is not too late to start gardening in color!

Just Breathe

Just Breathe

by | Jul 7, 2017 | plants, Plants I Dig

Summer is creeping up slowly. Hard to imagine that the 15th of June was raining, blowing, and 52. Sometimes you have to just wait without railing against the weather and just enjoy.

Some things were very unhappy in the garden. The tomatoes think they got transplanted to Siberia. Basil seeds refused to budge from the soil. Clematis starts remained at 1 inch for the past month, and begonias only had two small leaves showing in each corm.

But other things loved the cool weather. The peas are producing and lush. Starts in the green house are patiently gaining girth and the rest of the garden was full of surprises.

The Himalayan blue Poppy – meconopsis ‘Lingholm’ is thriving in my garden. The incredible blue color is hard to imagine, even in person. Once considered a myth, I planted these spectacular flowers—which are native to the high elevations of the Himalayan Mountains—in my garden this year.   One was planted last fall and is a little bigger than the ones I planted this spring.   This cultivar, ‘Lingholm’, produces large flowers that are four-inches in diameter on average. The substantial petals are a mesmerizing deep sky blue color.  When under stress, the plant may show a tint of mauve.  Having grown Meconopsis betonicifolia once before (it lasted 2 years before it died) I was happy to try this easier version.  The myth said to pinch off flowers for 2 years to make a stronger plant.  I did it to one but couldn’t resist letting the other one bloom.  They both died the same year. The ‘lingholm’ strain is easier to grow and is a more reliable perennial. Happy in my cold garden this May.

This dogwood (Cornus ‘Milky Way’) was transplanted from a client’s garden.  It was unhappy down by the beach where I had originally planted it.   With only three good branches, much of it was dead. I replaced it with a maple that was happier by the beach. Last year it was just barely alive, but this year it is very happy.  The cool weather and lots of rain have made it so happy. The blooms lasted for two months and hung on despite the stormy winds.

Iris are also showing themselves in the garden. This little charmer is Iris ‘Leopard Print’. Although it is small it stops you in your tracks because of it’s unusual coloring. It needs a little slug protection but can hold it’s own place in the garden.

The spring combinations of Sambucus ‘lemony lace’, purple pansies, Weigelia ‘Dark Horse’, Nandina ‘Firepower’, and sparkle of Carex elata ‘aurea’ are fresh and vibrant against the gray skies.   The extra moisture has insured its lush foliage is undamaged by too much sun. I will add Nicotiana later in the year for fragrance when the pansies are fading.

Walking through the garden is very necessary on gloomy days.   I remember when I first started back to school for Horticulture.   Walking to class through the arboretum I saw that spring happens one day at a time.   Not in gulps and leaps but slowly.  Every day there is something else to see that wasn’t there the day before. This is true in your garden too!